Computer guy in goal? It's no tall tale

A 6-foot-7-inch website producer for the Washington Capitals dressed as the team's backup goalie for last night's game against the Ottawa Senators because of an injury to Jose Theodore. Brett Leonhardt, a Division 3 goalie at Oswego College, signed an amateur tryout contract before the game. If he had actually played, he would have tied former Maine goalie Ben Bishop of the St. Louis Blues as the tallest goaltender to play in an NHL game. "Every dream come true," Leonhardt said. "Growing up in Canada, playing since I was 4. It was just very surreal. It was a blur, went by real quick." Theodore suffered a hip flexor injury during the Capitals' morning skate, and Simeon Varlamov was recalled from Hershey, the team's AHL affiliate, to back up starter Brent Johnson. But Hershey was playing in San Antonio, and Varlamov didn't arrive in time for the 7 p.m. game. So the Capitals received permission from the league to dress three goalies. Leonhardt had a spot on the bench until Varlamov arrived midway through the first period. Although he didn't play, Leonhardt skated with the team during pregame warm-ups.

Army coach Stan Brock was fired, six days after the Black Knights completed their season with a 34-0 loss to archrival Navy. Brock compiled a 6-18 record in two years at West Point . . . Bowling Green hired former Tennessee offensive coordinator Dave Clawson as its head coach. Clawson spent only one season at Tennessee, but new Volunteers coach Lane Kiffin decided not to keep him on staff. Clawson replaces Gregg Brandon, who was fired after six seasons . . . Syracuse introduced Doug Marrone as its new coach, hiring a former Orange player to try to turn around the school's struggling program. The offensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints since 2006, Marrone, 44, will try to resurrect a program that hasn't had a winning season since 2001.

Annika Sorenstam had an eagle and four birdies in a 6-under-par 66 that gave her a one-shot lead over Nikki Garrett after the second round of the Dubai Ladies Masters, her last tournament before retiring . . . American Len Mattiace, England's Robert Rock, and Sweden's Oskar Henningsson shared the lead at 11-under 133 halfway through the Alfred Dunhill Championship in Malelane, South Africa . . . Jeff Sluman made a 35-foot downhill birdie from off the green on No. 18 as he and Nick Price combined for an 8-under 64 that gave them a one-shot lead over Scott Hoch and Kenny Perry at the Merrill Lynch Shootout in Naples, Fla. . . . Australia's Stephen Dartnell had a two-stroke lead in the Australian Open after the completion of the rain-suspended second round. John Daly completed an even-par 72 to miss the cut for the third consecutive week . . . Max Elbin, the president of the PGA of America when tournament players broke away to form the PGA Tour, died of heart failure in Bethesda, Md. He was 88. He became the 15th president of the PGA of America in 1965, serving three years during tumultuous times that reshaped the organization. Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus led a move to create a separate division, which eventually became the PGA Tour.

The Charlotte Bobcats have signed 15-year veteran Juwan Howard three days after reaching an agreement with the veteran forward. Howard had been without a job since being released by Denver after the Allen Iverson trade last month.

Benjamin Raich of Austria won the World Cup super-combi on a tough course in Val d'Isere, France, that Bode Miller couldn't finish and gave Ted Ligety fits. In the opening super-G, defending champion Miller mistimed a gate near the midsection, spinning around a pole before sitting down. Miller banged his ankle but should be ready to compete in the giant slalom this weekend, US officials said. In the slalom run, Ligety skied too wide on two gates and finished 27th . . . Germany's Anna Haefele swept the first leg of the Continental Cup winter season in Park City, Utah, for her first two victories on the women's international ski jumping circuit . . . Toronto FC acquired All-Star and Canadian international Dwayne De Rosario from the Houston Dynamo in exchange for defender Julius James and allocation money . . . The Breeders' Cup will slash $4.5 million in co-funding of stakes races at North American tracks in 2009 because of the economic downtown. The cutback will affect 121 stakes races for Breeders' Cup-nominated horses at about 40 racetracks. The reduction won't affect the two-day Breeders' Cup, scheduled for November at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.