Thursday's Sports In Brief

May 6, 2016 - 8:36 AM PENN STATE ABUSE

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) A judge said that insurers in litigation with Penn State claim a boy told football coach Joe Paterno in 1976 that he had been molested by Jerry Sandusky, Pennlive.com reported.

The order by Philadelphia Judge Gary Glazer also cited reports by unnamed assistant coaches they witnessed inappropriate contact between Sandusky and children, Pennlive.com said.

Glazer wrote in a decision on insurance coverage for Sandusky-related claims there was ''no evidence that reports of these incidents ever went further up the chain of command at PSU.''

NHL

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Mike Fisher scored his second goal of the game at 11:12 of the third overtime, and the Nashville Predators beat the San Jose Sharks 4-3 in the longest game in franchise history.

The Predators won their first overtime game on home ice. More importantly, they tied this second-round, best-of-seven series at 2-2.

James Neal scored with 4:21 left in the third period tying it up at 3-3, and the teams went scoreless during the first two overtimes and headed to a third extra period - the first in the NHL playoffs this year.

This was the longest game for the Sharks since a four-overtime game in Dallas in 2008.

Fisher started the scoring for Nashville at 9:50 of the first period. Colin Wilson also scored. Pekka Rinne made 44 saves.

Brent Burns scored twice, and Joonas Donskoi also had a goal for San Jose. Martin Jones made 41 saves.

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Cody Eakin scored at 2:58 of overtime and the Dallas Stars beat the St. Louis Blues 3-2, bouncing back from a blowout loss two days earlier to tie the second-round series at two games apiece.

Patrick Sharp set up the winner and also scored for the Stars, coming off a 6-1 loss in Game 3. Rookie Radek Faksa had the other goal.

Vladimir Tarasenko scored his sixth goal of the playoffs on a first-period breakaway and added an assist for St. Louis, giving him five points in the last two games. Paul Stastny also scored off a deflection from Tarasenko.

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - The NHL has followed Major League Baseball's analytical trend in recent years, relying more on advanced statistics to evaluate players and tendencies.

The Arizona Coyotes boosted their analytical abilities before last season by hiring John Chayka, co-founder of a hockey analytics firm, as their assistant general manager.

The Coyotes took another, bolder step toward a ''Moneypuck'' mentality on Thursday, announcing that the 26-year-old Chayka has been promoted to general manager, making him the youngest GM in league history and first with a primarily analytics background.NBA

TORONTO (AP) - DeMarre Carroll scored 21 points, Jonas Valanciunas had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and the Toronto Raptors beat the Miami Heat 96-92 in overtime to even the Eastern Conference semifinals at one game apiece.

Valanciunas had 11 points and seven rebounds in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Raptors avoided losing consecutive games for the first time this postseason.

Toronto made just 42 percent of its shots compared to Miami's 49.4 percent, but the Raptors survived.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Stephen Curry is unlikely to play Saturday for Golden State in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals at Portland since he still hasn't practiced on his sprained right knee.

Curry did work on the side while the Warriors practiced Thursday but couldn't yet do any of the scrimmaging that the medical staff and coaches want to see before he is cleared to return.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Frank Vogel will not return as Indiana Pacers coach next season.

Pacers President Larry Bird said the team will not renew Vogel's contract for next season, cutting ties with a respected name in the coaching ranks. Bird said he believes it's time for a new voice to lead the Pacers, keeping with his long-held philosophy on short shelf lives for coaches.

Vogel was 250-181 in 5 1/2 seasons with the Pacers. He led the team to the playoffs five times, including a first-round loss to the Toronto Raptors this season.

NFL

RENTON, Wash. (AP) - Beast Mode is in retirement mode.

The Seattle Seahawks placed running back Marshawn Lynch on the NFL's reserve/retired list, making official what was implied in February when Lynch indicated he was ready to end his football career.

It was a procedural step, but one that needed to be taken to make Lynch's intended retirement official.

Lynch stole attention from the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl in February when he posted a picture on Twitter with a pair of green football cleats hanging from a telephone or electrical wire. His agent confirmed a day later that Lynch intended to retire.

SOCCER

CHICAGO (AP) - World Cup champions Brandi Chastain and Shannon MacMillan, and MLS Commissioner Don Garber have been elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Chastain, who scored the winning goal in the 1999 World Cup final shootout against China, was selected on the player ballot. She played 12 seasons of international soccer, scoring 30 goals in 192 matches. Chastain also won a World Cup in 1991, and earned Olympic gold in 1996 and 2004.

MacMillan, her teammate on that squad, was voted in on the veteran ballot. MacMillan also was on the 1996 Olympic team. She scored 60 goals in 12 international seasons and was the 2002 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year.

Garber was chosen on the builder ballot. In his 17th year as MLS commissioner, Garber was cited for his work growing the sport in the United States.

GOLF

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Steve Wheatcroft and Andrew Loupe each shot 7-under 65 in rain and steady wind to share the first-round lead in the Wells Fargo Championship, while Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler dodged a thrown golf ball with an earplug attached to it.

As if battling a lengthy and saturated course wasn't enough, playing partners McIlroy and Fowler endured a bizarre event on the sixth tee box when a spectator hurled the dressed-up golf ball their way as Fowler was preparing to hit. The fan was escorted from the property by police.

Fowler, the 2012 winner at Quail Hollow, finished with a 71, leaving him six shots behind Wheatcroft and Loupe, who were also paired together. McIlroy, the only two-time winner of the tournament, shot a 73 after a bogey-plagued start to his title defense.

PRATTVILLE, Ala. (AP) - Laetitia Beck took the first-round lead in the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic, dodging some of the wind in the morning in a bogey-free 7-under 65.

The 24-year-old Beck, the first Israeli player to qualify for the LPGA Tour, was in the first group of the day off 10th tee. She birdied four of the final five holes on her opening nine in calmer conditions, and had three more - two on par 5s - on the windier second nine.

Annie Park and Australia's Minjee Lee were tied for second at 67. They played in the afternoon.