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U.S. Figure Skating

CLEVELAND — Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett sure know how to make an entrance.

Reunited only since June after a brief partnership two years ago, the pair pulled off a major upset at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Thursday. Not only did they win the short program with a flawless routine, they beat defending champions Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker and veterans Rena Inoue and John Baldwin in the process.

The free skate is Saturday, and the top three couples are so close, it’ll be winner takes all.

nation

NBC will televise BMX

GILBERT, AZ. — The American Bicycle Association and NBC Universal Sports announced an exclusive four-year agreement to televise ABA events and the 2009 UCI Continental events.

The ABA is building upon the great success of BMX racing’s 2008 Olympic debut. The televised race series will focus on the UCI events to be hosted at the following ABA National events:

The ABA and NBC Universal Sports will deliver over 20 hours of programming per year for the next four years to an audience of over 40 million homes. With BMX emerging as the newest Olympic action sport in 2008, and with the Americans claiming three of the first six BMX Olympic medals ever awarded, the ABA is poised for growth leading up to the 2012 Olympics in London.

Howard sets record

ORLANDO, Fla. — He was the first to dress as Superman to win a dunk contest.

He’s now the first player to get 3 million votes from fans.

Yes, the All-Star game is fast becoming Dwight Howard’s personal showcase.

The Orlando Magic center — who leads the NBA in rebounds, blocked shots and double-doubles — got a record 3,150,181 votes to lead this season’s All-Star team, released Thursday.

The Feb. 15 game in Phoenix will mark the third All-Star trip for Howard, who’ll be starting for the second time and easily topped the previous record of 2,558,278 votes collected by Houston’s Yao Ming four years ago.

Miami’s Dwyane Wade (2,741,413) and Detroit’s Allen Iverson (1,804,649) will be in the East’s backcourt, alongside reigning All-Star MVP LeBron James of Cleveland (2,940,823) and Boston’s Kevin Garnett (2,066,833), who beat New Jersey’s Yi Jianlian for the starting nod by 253,004 votes.

Dungy, Holmgren added to NBC’s team

NEW YORK — Tony Dungy and Mike Holmgren are going from the sidelines to the broadcast booth.

The recently retired NFL coaches will contribute to NBC’s Super Bowl pregame coverage on Feb. 1 in Tampa, Fla., joining the broadcast at noon ET, NBC Sports chief Dick Ebersol announced Thursday.

Dungy, who retired on Jan. 12, was the first black coach to win a Super Bowl when he led the Indianapolis Colts to the title in 2007. Holmgren, who stepped down as Seattle’s coach after the season, led the Packers to the 1997 Super Bowl title.

Phelps wants back in

Michael Phelps returned to training this week, five months after his record-setting performance at the Beijing Olympics.

Boy, did it hurt.

“I’m in a world of pain right now,” Phelps said Thursday during a teleconference to mark yet another award: his selection by the U.S. Olympic Committee as its sportsman of the year for 2008. “It’s all over my body. I’m almost in a state of shock. Literally every part of my body is hurting.”

Phelps resumed formal training Tuesday with longtime coach Bob Bowman. The swimmer spent a little over an hour in the weight room, a session.

Vizquel gets ready

Omar Vizquel is ready for the challenge of becoming a utility player for the Texas Rangers and a mentor to a rookie shortstop half his age.

Even though the 41-year-old Vizquel, an 11-time Gold Glove winner and three-time All-Star going into his 21st major league season, still thinks he can be an everyday player.

world

Crosby can’t play

MONTREAL — Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby will miss the All-Star game because of an injured left knee.

Tampa Bay Lightning leading scorer Martin St. Louis will replace Crosby on the Eastern Conference roster, the NHL announced Thursday. The game is Sunday at the Bell Centre.

Crosby sat out last Friday’s game because of the knee injury, and was struck twice on the left arm by pucks during a 2-1 loss to Carolina on Tuesday night.

Crosby received a record 1.7 million votes in fan balloting. A high ankle sprain kept him out of last year’s All-Star game.

St. Louis will be making his fifth straight All-Star game appearance. He has 17 goals and 29 assists this season.

Vindicator staff/wire reports