COLLEGES

The University of Maine football team, riding a five-game win streak, has cracked a national Top 25 poll this week.

The Athlon Sports FCS Power Poll, released Monday, ranks Maine No. 24.

The Black Bears are one of six Colonial Athletic Association teams in the poll, along with Richmond (5), James Madison (6), Villanova (14), New Hampshire (20) and Stony Brook (23). Maine hosts Villanova on Saturday at noon.

 UMaine’s Micah Wright was named CAA special teams player of the week.

The sophomore returned a punt 67 yards for a touchdown in Maine’s 35-28 victory at William & Mary.

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AUTO RACING

NASCAR: Virginia State Police said they’ve charged a man with reckless driving after a crash injured more than 22 people in a Martinsville Speedway parking lot after a NASCAR race.

Police said Monday that the unnamed driver of a car that hit pedestrians in the congested handicapped parking lot after Sunday’s race was taken into custody and charged with reckless driving

Police said they are trying to determine the exact cause of the crash.

TENNIS

PARIS MASTERS: Benoit Paire’s 14 aces were not enough to win as Italian veteran Paolo Lorenzi beat the Frenchman 6-4, 7-6 (4) in the first round at Paris.

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In other matches, Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain downed Fabio Fognini 6-3, 6-1 to record his third straight win against the Italian. Also, Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus won 6-2, 6-4 against Paul-Henri Mathieu, breaking the Frenchman’s serve four times.

 By the end of the week, Andy Murray could become the top-ranked player in the world for the first time in his career.

Ever since he first reached No. 2 seven years ago, Murray, 29, has been trying to catch the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Now that coveted spot is within reach and he will replace Djokovic at the top if he wins the Paris Masters and Djokovic fails to reach the final.

HOCKEY

NHL: Dallas Stars forward Ales Hemsky will miss five to six months after surgery for a hip injury that General Manager Jim Nill said was sustained during the World Cup of Hockey.

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Nill said the surgery was performed Monday. Hemsky, who was on injured reserve early in the season with what was called a groin injury, played one game this season against Columbus, recording one shot in 16 minutes. He played for the Czech Republic in the World Cup.

The Stars, who had the best record in the Western Conference last season, have dealt with a series of injuries so far this season.

 A judge will dismiss the charges against Buffalo Sabres forward Evander Kane stemming from scuffles with women in a bar if he stays out of future trouble.

The arrangement is contingent on the 25-year-old player avoiding legal issues for the next six months.

SOCCER

OBITUARY: Silvio Gazzaniga, the sculptor who designed the World Cup trophy, has died in Milan. He was 95.

Silvio Gazzaniga designed and created the World Cup trophy in 1971 after Brazil retained the right to keep the Jules Rimet trophy by winning its third World Cup in 1970.


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