Spurs' Parker on shelf for four weeks

Tony Parker will be out about four weeks with a sprained left ankle, the San Antonio Spurs announced yesterday, a critical blow to a team off to its worst start in 12 years. Parker, second in the NBA in scoring at 27.4 points per game, was using crutches and wearing a protective boot while watching yesterday's practice. At 1-4 the Spurs are off to their worst start since 1996, when they opened the season 1-5. Parker will be replaced by rookie George Hill or 12th-year veteran Jacque Vaughn.

Liza Rebello scored with 5:06 left in the second overtime to give Northeastern a 1-0 victory over Hofstra in the final of the Colonial Athletic Association women's soccer tournament in Williamsburg, Va. The Huskies (13-8-1), who were the first No. 6 seed to win the CAA title, will take a five-game winning streak into next week's NCAA Tournament, the first appearance ever for the team . . . Corie Halasz and Mara Osher scored 1:27 apart late in the game and Boston University held off Stony Brook, 2-1, to win the America East women's soccer championship at Nickerson Field. The Terriers, who have won back-to-back America East titles, earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament . . . Freshman forward Melissa Henderson scored with 3:02 left in overtime to help unbeaten Notre Dame (21-0-0) edge Connecticut, 1-0, in South Bend, Ind., and win the Big East women's soccer championship . . . Maggie Befort scored off a penalty corner with no time remaining to give Syracuse a 1-0 win over Connecticut in the Big East field hockey title game. UConn (17-3) will wait to learn if it will get an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament . . . Brian Flynn scored with 1:34 left and Maine edged No. 2 Boston College, 2-1, giving the Black Bears (4-3-0, 1-2-0 Hockey East) their first hockey win over the Eagles (5-3-0, 2-3-0) in eight games . . . Auburn associate athletic director Virgil Starks, 46, died of a heart attack while returning from Saturday's football game against Tennessee-Martin.

Venus Williams rallied to win the WTA's Sony Ericsson Championships for the first time, defeating Vera Zvonareva, 6-7 (5-7), 6-0, 6-2, at the season-ending event in Doha, Qatar. Williams won $1.34 million at the event, which for the first time offered the same prize money as the men at the ATP's season-ending Masters Cup . . . In the Masters Cup in Shanghai, Novak Djokovic started round-robin play with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Juan Martin del Potro. Also, Nikolay Davydenko overcame Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for a 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 7-6 (7-0) victory in the other Gold group match. The Red group, which includes Roger Federer and Andy Roddick, begins play today.

Davis Love won the Children's Miracle Network Classic at Disney in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., closing with an 8-under-par 64 for a one-shot victory over Tommy Gainey in the final PGA Tour event of the year. It was the 20th career victory for Love, giving him a lifetime exemption on the PGA Tour. Among active players, only Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, and Phil Mickelson have won more than 20 tour events . . . Sergio Garcia won the rain-delayed HSBC Champions to take the No. 2 spot in the world ranking behind Tiger Woods, beating Oliver Wilson with a birdie on the second hole of a playoff today in Shanghai . . . Shin Ji-yai finished with a 5-under 67 to beat Mayu Hattori by six strokes in the LPGA Mizuno Classic in Shima, Japan . . . Matt Bettencourt won the Nationwide Tour Championship to take the season money title, birdieing the final hole at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, for a 2-under 69 and a one-stroke victory over Jeff Klauk. The title also gives Bettencourt full exempt PGA Tour status . . . Dane Richards had a goal and an assist, and the New York Red Bulls won the MLS Western Conference semifinal series on goal aggregate with a 3-0 victory over the Dynamo in Houston. The teams had tied, 1-1, in the opener. New York will travel to Real Salt Lake for the Western Conference championship Saturday . . . Yankees lefthander Andy Pettitte filed for free agency but repeated that he hoped to return to the club next year. Pettitte went 14-14 last season with a 4.54 ERA . . . Erica McKenzie beat Charline Labonte in the sixth round of a shootout, and Jessie Vetter stopped all six Canadian shots in the tiebreaker to give the US women a 3-2 victory over Canada in the Four Nations Cup final in Lake Placid, N.Y. Former Harvard star Julie Chu scored for the US, which was coached by the Crimson's Katey Stone . . . American Olympic champion Shani Davis narrowly lost to Stefan Groothuis in the opening 1,000-meter race of the World Cup speedskating season in Berlin. Christine Nesbitt of Canada won the women's 1,000.