Nothing could be finer for Samsonov

Sergei Samsonov, a midseason waiver-wire pickup who blossomed as the right winger on Carolina's second line, signed a three-year, $7.6 million contract to remain with the Hurricanes. The announcement came roughly a week after the former Bruin expressed a strong desire to return to Carolina and general manager Jim Rutherford said re-signing the 1998 Calder Trophy winner was his top priority of the offseason. The 10-year NHL veteran would have been an unrestricted free agent July 1. Samsonov finished with 14 goals and 18 assists in 38 games - his best point-per-game numbers since 2001-02, when he had 70 points in 74 games with the Bruins.

Pascal Pelletier scored from the slot at 9:01 of overtime as the host Providence Bruins beat the Manchester Monarchs, 3-2, in Game 1 of their AHL first-round series . . . The New England Hockey Writers awarded Nathan Gerbe the Herb Gallagher Award as the region's top forward and teammate Matt Greene of Plymouth the Frank Jones Award as the region's top defensive forward . . . Andre Petersson scored with 16 seconds left in the third period, lifting Sweden to a 5-4 win over the United States in a preliminary-round game at the Under-18 World Championship in Kazan, Russia. Sweden clinched first place in Group B and a spot in the semifinals. The US will play in a quarterfinal Sunday . . . UMass-Dartmouth's Tyler Crocker of Wakefield won the J. Thom Lawler Award, given annually to a Division 3 player who displays outstanding leadership qualities.

Chicago Cubs left fielder Alfonso Soriano was placed on the 15-day disabled list after an MRI confirmed a strained right calf. Soriano sustained the injury Tuesday night while catching Ken Griffey's fly ball to end the top of the first inning . . . Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Gabe Kapler, who is was batting .423 with four home runs and 11 RBIs, missed his second straight game a day after bruising his right shoulder leaping at the wall for a batting practice fly ball . . . Atlanta Braves lefthanders Tom Glavine (strained right hamstring) and Mike Hampton (strained left pectoral) threw bullpen sessions and are encouraged they're on the mend . . . Reliever Al Reyes of the Tampa Bay Rays was placed on the DL with an impinged right shoulder. Kurt Birkins, out since March 21 with an injured left elbow, was activated to replace him . . . Tigers center fielder Curtis Granderson, out for nearly a month with a broken bone in his right hand, is hopeful he can start a rehabilitation assignment by tomorrow night . . . Antonio Nararainsami, 36, lost his balance on an escalator and fell two stories to his death at Shea Stadium at the end of the Mets' game against Washington Tuesday night, police said.

Tyreke Evans of American Christian School in Pennsylvania, one of the country's last undecided high-profile basketball recruits, will spend next season at Memphis . . . UCLA All-American Kevin Love will announce today whether he'll remain with the Bruins' basketball team or enter the NBA draft . . . New Duke football coach David Cutcliffe said Thaddeus Lewis likely will enter the fall preseason camp as the Blue Devils' first-string quarterback but added that former starter Zack Asack of Westwood also worked with the first team this spring . . . Wally Kleine, 43, who played defensive tackle for Notre Dame and the Washington Redskins, died of heart failure Sunday in Texas, his sister said.

A former high school classmate of Tim Donaghy pleaded guilty to charges he paid the disgraced basketball referee thousands of dollars for inside betting tips on NBA games. Thomas Martino, 42, told a federal judge in Brooklyn that Donaghy was involved in a scheme to provide "good picks" on the games "for gambling purposes." Martino faces 12-18 months in prison . . . Washington's two US senators, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, asked the NBA to delay its scheduled vote on whether the Seattle SuperSonics can move to Oklahoma City . . . Milwaukee's Royal Ivey was suspended for three games without pay by the NBA for punching Chicago's Aaron Gray in the groin Monday . . . Knicks president Donnie Walsh won't make any decision on coach Isiah Thomas until at least today . . . Pacers co-owner Herb Simon said he is moving into day-to-day operations as chairman and CEO of Pacers Sports and Entertainment after years of mostly hands-off ownership. Larry Bird will remain as the team's president of basketball operations . . . A Boston Marathon tradition that brought Kenyan runners to a Hopkinton elementary school had to be canceled this year when several students caught chicken pox . . . The US Anti-Doping Agency has launched the opening phase of a voluntary pilot program it hopes will improve the accuracy of doping tests. The agency will profile the body chemistry of 12 participating athletes using a series of blood and urine tests, and those measurements will be used as a baseline for subsequent tests . . . Houston's Eddie Robinson was suspended three games and fined $1,000 by MLS for violent contact with Kansas City's Tyson Wahl Saturday . . . A week after Venus Williams pulled out, amateur Madison Brengle was named to the US team for the Fed Cup semifinals against Russia next weekend. Liezel Huber, Vania King, and Ahsha Rolle were also chosen to face Russia.