*COLLEGE BASKETBALL : Freshman William Buford scored a career-high 19 points and Ohio State pressured and fast-breaked past road-weary Houston Baptist 89-65 on Friday night. Evan Turner added 15 points and B.J. Mullens and Jeremie Simmons each had 12 for the Buckeyes (11-3), who had lost three of their last four after opening 9-0 and climbing to No. 15 in the Associated Press Top 25. The Buckeyes shot 56 percent from the field. Gordon Watt had 28 points and Andrew Puzyk 18 for Houston Baptist (1-16). The Huskies, now in their second year of transition from NAIA back to Division I, opened the season with 14 losses.
*HOCKEY : Maple Leafs forward Mikhail Grabovski received an automatic three-game suspension without pay for shoving an official during a game Thursday in Montreal. The NHL suspended Grabovski on Friday for pushing linesman Scott Cherrey at the end of a melee in the third period when Grabovski and Canadiens forward Sergei Kostitsyn were trying to get at one another. … The Penguins say forward Ruslan Fedotenko will miss four to six weeks with a broken right hand. Fedotenko injured his hand less than two minutes into Tuesday night’s game against the Atlanta Thrashers in a one-punch fight against former Penguins player Colby Armstrong. Fedotenko decked Armstrong with the punch, although Fedotenko rarely fights. … Bruins center Patrice Bergeron, recovering from his second concussion in 14 months, said Friday he is symptom-free and vowed to return to the ice this season. … Jack Skille scored for Rockford handing the Wolves a 3-1 loss. The Wolves have lost a season-high five straight games.
*NBA : Nets point guard Devin Harris and Bucks center Andrew Bogut missed Friday night’s game against the Bucks with lingering injuries. Harris aggravated his injured right hamstring on Monday night against the Kings. Bogut has missed the last four games due to back spasms.
*SOCCER: David Beckham’s agent has dismissed a suggestion by former Galaxy general manager Alexi Lalas that the star may quit the MLS team after his loan to AC Milan expires. Beckham spokesman Simon Oliveira said the English star was committed to returning to the Galaxy. “As David has said recently, he will be back in the U.S. for March 9 and with L.A. Galaxy for the start of the MLS season.”
*TENNIS : Defending champion Andy Murray beat Roger Federer 6-7 (6), 6-2, 6-2 on Friday to reach the final of the Qatar Open, his fourth straight win over the former top-ranked player. Murray, who improved his career record against Federer to 5-2 in tour matches, will face Andy Roddick in Saturday’s final. … Fernando Verdasco of Spain won six straight games in the opening set on his way to a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Paul-Henri Mathieu in the Brisbane International semifinals. … Former No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo hopes to be ready for the Australian Open despite withdrawing from her Brisbane International semifinal with a thigh injury Friday, putting fellow Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli into the title match. The fifth-seeded Mauresmo, who upset top-seeded Ana Ivanovic in straight sets the previous day, was trailing 4-0 in the opening set when she called for a trainer during her third service game. She received treatment to her left thigh and lower back and retired without playing another point. … Elena Dementieva beat fellow Russian Elena Vesnina 6-4, 6-1 in the ASB Classic on Saturday to win her 12th WTA singles title. Dementieva, ranked No. 4 and the tournament’s top seed, cruised past 76th-ranked Vesnina in an 88-minute final, overcoming a slow start to dominate the match with consistent power and accuracy.
*AUTO RACING : Sebastien Buemi, 20, has won a Formula One seat with Toro Rosso and is expected to be the youngest driver on the F1 circuit in 2009.
