Thursday's Sports in Brief

Jan 29, 2016 - 7:41 AM TENNIS

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) Like Serena Williams before him, Novak Djokovic moved into another Australian Open championship decider with a relatively untroubled semifinal win.

Top-ranked Djokovic had a 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory over No. 3 Roger Federer. Hours earlier on Rod Laver Arena, Williams advanced to within one win of another Grand Slam milestone, beating Agnieszka Radwanska 6-0, 6-4 in a semifinal that was almost a non-contest between the players who'll be Nos. 1 and 3 in the next women's rankings.

If six-time champion Williams wins Saturday's final against No. 7-seeded Angelique Kerber, she'll equal Steffi Graf's record of 22 Grand Slam singles titles, a record in the Open era, and the second-most in history behind Margaret Court's 24.

PRO FOOTBALL

CANTON, Ohio (AP) - Joe Montana, Joe Greene and Emmitt Smith are among the 22 Pro Football Hall of Famers voted to the Super Bowl 50 Golden Team.

The squad was selected by voters for the Hall of Fame inductions. It features one player who won five Super Bowl titles, defensive end Charles Haley, and 10 who earned four rings: Montana, Greene, Ronnie Lott, Franco Harris, Lynn Swann, Mike Webster, Mel Blount, Jack Ham, Jack Lambert and Adam Vinatieri, the only unanimous selection.

The coach of the team was Chuck Noll, took four championships with Pittsburgh, which had seven players selected.

Also chosen were Hall of Famers Jerry Rice, Art Shell, Gene Upshaw, Reggie White, Randy White, Deion Sanders, Lawrence Taylor, Forrest Gregg, Ray Guy and Larry Allen. Others selected were Jay Novacek, Jake Scott, Ray Lewis and Desmond Howard. Three players also won regular-season MVP awards: Montana, Smith and Taylor.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Panthers All-Pro linebacker Thomas Davis isn't worried about his broken arm affecting his tackling ability in the Super Bowl.

The 11-year veteran had surgery Monday to have a plate inserted into his right forearm. He injured it on Sunday in the NFC championship game.

He plans to wear a smaller brace than first expected - one similar to what ex-Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith has worn in the past. It will not be as bulky as Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski's brace. Davis said he has full use of his right hand and the brace ''won't be as big of a challenge as an offensive lineman playing with a club.''

PRO BASKETBALL

NEW YORK (AP) - Draymond Green and Klay Thompson were picked for the Western Conference team, giving the NBA champion Golden State Warriors three All-Stars for the first time in 40 years.

Sacramento's DeMarcus Cousins, Houston's James Harden, San Antonio's LaMarcus Aldridge, the Clippers' Chris Paul and New Orleans' Anthony Davis were also chosen for the West squad for the Feb. 14 game in Toronto.

The Raptors' DeMar DeRozan will represent the home team and is joined by fellow East reserves Chicago's Jimmy Butler, Detroit's Andre Drummond, Miami's Chris Bosh, Washington's John Wall, Atlanta's Paul Millsap and Boston's Isaiah Thomas.

The reserves were selected by the head coaches in each conference, who had to vote for seven players: two guards, three frontcourt players and two additional players at any position. They were not allowed to vote for players from their own team.

NEW YORK (AP) - The WNBA is switching up its playoffs.

The league, set to begin its 20th season in May, is taking the top eight teams based on record as opposed to conference allegiances the WNBA announced Thursday.

In the past, the best four teams from the Eastern and Western Conferences would make the postseason since the WNBA expanded its playoffs to eight teams in 2000.

The league is also increasing the postseason to four rounds. The top two seeds receive a bye to the semifinals, which will now be a best-of-five series. The opening two rounds are both single-elimination games. The WNBA Finals remain unchanged. The teams will be re-seeded after each postseason round.

FLINT, Mich. (AP) - Tom Gores, a Flint native and owner of the Detroit Pistons, is pledging to raise $10 million to address the short- and long-term needs of his Michigan hometown, where the drinking water is contaminated with lead.

Gores said in a statement he has appointed two associates to raise money from other business leaders and identify priorities in Flint.

Gores, who is chairman of Los Angeles-based Platinum Equity, also will contribute. He says Flint once was a ''cornerstone of American industry,'' and that people ''from coast to coast'' need to step up.

Pistons vice chairman Arn Tellem and Platinum Equity partner Mark Barnhill will lead the effort.

Barnhill says the residents' immediate needs are important but that long-term opportunities in Flint will also be explored, such as small business assistance.

GOLF

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Scott Brown birdied his last hole for a 30 on the front nine, a 6-under 66 and a share of the lead in the Farmers Insurance Open.

Only it felt much better for Brown. He played on the tough South Course at Torrey Pines, which was 2 1/2 strokes harder than the North Course where Andrew Loupe shot his 66 in the opening round.

Phil Mickelson salvaged a rough start when he made double bogey on the second hole, the second-easiest par 4 on the South. But he stayed patient, made six birdies and wound up with a 69.

Jason Day, who missed the pro-am with the flu, had a 72 on the North Course. Rickie Fowler, who won last week in Abu Dhabi, had a 73 on the North Course.

DOHA, Qatar (AP) - Paul Lawrie benefited from a putting tip off a friend in shooting a 6-under 66 at the Qatar Masters, giving the former British Open champion a one-shot lead after the second round.

The 47-year-old Lawrie followed up a first-round 67 to move to 11-under par, a stroke clear of Nicolas Colsaerts (68).

Lawrie missed the cut in Abu Dhabi last week and was given some putting advice from fellow Scottish player Marc Warren, who said Lawrie's stroke was too long and slow.

Lawrie, who rolled in seven birdies on Thursday, said ''I've been working on it the last couple of days and certainly feels as though I've got it.''

Sergio Garcia is in a five-way tie for sixth place after a 66. Joint first-round leader Louis Oosthuizen shot 73 and is five strokes back.

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) - Michelle Wie was stung by a bee Thursday in the season-opening Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic, and second-ranked Inbee Park withdrew because of back pain after the second-worst round of her LPGA Tour career.

Wie was stung on the hand on the 16th hole, her seventh of the day at the Ocean Club. She had three bogeys on her back nine and finished with a 3-over 76 to fall eight strokes behind leaders Paula Creamer, Charley Hull, Alison Lee, Ashlan Ramsey, Catriona Matthew, Mika Miyazato and Haru Nomura.

Park shot an 80, playing her final four holes in 5 over with a double bogey on the par-5 15th and three bogeys. She will sit out the Coates Golf Championship next week in Florida.

Jennifer Johnson and Min Seo Kwak were a stroke back at 69.

NHL

NEW YORK (AP) - Calgary Flames defenseman Dennis Wideman was suspended indefinitely pending a hearing for checking and knocking down linesman Don Henderson on Wednesday night.

Wideman will have a hearing Tuesday with the NHL's department of hockey operations.

During the second period of the Flames' game against Nashville, Wideman got up after being hit and struck Henderson on the way to the bench. Wideman said he was in pain and was just trying to get off the ice, adding that he couldn't avoid Henderson. Wideman apologized to Henderson after the incident.

NEW YORK (AP) - Evgeny Kuznetsov will replace Washington Capitals teammate Alex Ovechkin, and James Neal of the Nashville Predators will replace Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks at this weekend's NHL All-Star Game.

Ovechkin pulled out of All-Star weekend with a lower-body injury that the team said had been bothering him since mid-November. Toews left Chicago's game Tuesday with an illness.

By NHL rule, Ovechkin and Toews are suspended for the first game after the All-Star break.

The NHL is debuting a 3-on-3 All-Star tournament this year to replace the traditional game. It takes place Sunday in Nashville, Tennessee.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - Missouri has dismissed quarterback Maty Mauk from the program after a series of missteps.

New coach Barry Odom said Thursday he met with Mauk in December and gave him a fresh start. But Missouri suspended Mauk again this week after a brief video was posted to Twitter. It shows a person appearing to snort a white, powder-like substance and the tweet mentions Mauk by name.

Odom says he believes the video is from ''a long time ago,'' but it was clear Mauk had violated team rules in recent weeks and that was the reason for the dismissal.

Mauk, a junior, was suspended on Nov. 1 following an incident at a downtown bar not long after returning from a suspension on Sept. 29 for an undisclosed violation of team policy.

BASEBALL

HOUSTON (AP) - Right-hander Doug Fister and the Houston Astros have agreed to a one-year contract.

The 31-year-old was 5-7 with a 4.19 ERA in 15 starts and 10 relief appearances last season for Washington. He was 16-6 with a 2.41 ERA for the Nationals in 2014, when he finished eighth in NL Cy Young Award voting.

Fister is 65-63 with a 3.42 ERA 167 starts and 13 relief appearances in seven major league seasons that also included time with Seattle (2009-11) and Detroit (2011-13). His 1.77 walks per nine innings is the lowest among active pitchers with 1,000 or more innings.