HOCKEY

Capitals beat Bruins 3-2 in the preseason, stay unbeaten as Ovechkin makes debut

Alex Ovechkin recorded a pair of assists in a feisty preseason debut, helping the Washington Capitals defeat the Boston Bruins 3-2 on Tuesday night at Washington.

Ovechkin took three shots and delivered several checks. With 3:03 left in the game, Ovechkin got into a shoving match after being run into the boards headfirst by Gregory Campbell. Ovechkin retaliated by slashing Campbell with a one-handed stick swing, and both players earned minor penalties.

The Capitals are unbeaten in three exhibition games.

Alexander Semin, Mathieu Perreault and Cody Eakin scored for Washington.

Jeremy Reich and Brad Marchand scored for the Bruins.

• Phil Kessel scored two goals to lift Toronto to a 5-4 preseason victory over Buffalo at Toronto.

Nikolai Kulemin also had two goals, and Christian Hanson added one for the Maple Leafs (3-2-1).

Nathan Gerbe scored twice, and Drew Stafford and Jordan Leopold also had goals for the Sabres (1-1-0).

HORSE RACING

RETIREMENT: Rachel Alexandra, the sensational filly and 2009 Horse of the Year, was retired after a disappointing season where she won only two of her five races.

The popular 4-year-old caused a stir last year when she won all eight of her races. She beat fillies by 20 lengths in the Kentucky Oaks and 19 in the Mother Goose Stakes before taking on the boys and winning the Preakness, Haskell Invitational and Woodward Stakes.

• Real Quiet, a slightly built colt that wasn’t supposed to be a star but went on to win the 1998 Kentucky Derby and Preakness, died Monday after a fall in his paddock. He was 15.

SAILING

AMERICA’S CUP: Officials in San Francisco say they’ll help raise $270 million from sponsors if their city is chosen to host the 34th America’s Cup.

The money would help defray the costs of staging sailing’s marquee event, which is scheduled for 2013.

America’s Cup champion BMW Oracle Racing, based in San Francisco, is evaluating similar offers from Valencia, Spain, and a port outside Rome.

SOCCER

WPS: Launched in 2009 during a severe economic downturn, Women’s Professional Soccer saw attendance plummet by 18 percent this year, teams in Los Angeles and St. Louis fold and the departure of league founder Tonya Antonucci as commissioner.

But a year of financial hardship ended optimistically for the fledgling league, with a near-sellout crowd of 5,228 for its title match won by FC Gold Pride at Pioneer Stadium in Hayward, Calif., last weekend.

• Jim Gabarra resigned as head coach of the Washington Freedom after a first-round exit in the WPS playoffs.

BASKETBALL

FIBA: Sylvia Fowles scored 15 points and Diana Taurasi added 14 to help the unbeaten United States rout Belarus 107-61 in Mostrava, Czech Republic. Candice Dupree had 12 and Swin Cash scored 11 in another balanced effort.

After previous slow starts, U.S. Coach Geno Auriemma changed his lineup, inserting Dupree and Tina Charles. The pair then scored the team’s first 10 points. The U.S. (5-0) took a 23-6 lead in the game’s first seven minutes.

The Americans will play rival Australia tonight in the final game of the second round.