Sports in Brief: Staley named assistant on national hoops team

Connecticut women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma is familiar with his assistant coaches for the world championship this fall.

DePaul's Doug Bruno, South Carolina's Dawn Staley and Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve will help him coach the U.S. women's basketball national team, USA Basketball announced Monday.

Staley, a Philadelphia native, and Bruno become the fourth and fifth U.S. coaches to serve twice as assistants at the world championship. Reeve joins for the first time.

The U.S. national team will kick off its training for the worlds in early September at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. The world championship begins on Sept. 27 in Istanbul.

HOCKEY Viktor Tikhonov scored twice and Alex Ovechkin added a goal and two assists as Russia routed the United States, 6-1, for its third straight victory at the ice hockey world championships in Minsk, Belarus.

In the day's other big matchup, Canada downed the Czech Republic 4-3.

HORSE RACINGAlready a three-time winner this year, Joint Return goes for her biggest payday yet in the 90th renewal of the $500,000 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes on Friday at Pimlico Race Course.

Trained by John Servis for Main Line Racing Stable, Joint Return will break from the rail in a field of 11 for the 11/8-mile Black-Eyed Susan.

Kentucky Derby winner California Chrome has arrived at Pimlico Race Course, where he will try to keep his Triple Crown bid alive in Saturday's Preakness.

After being transported on a chartered flight from Kentucky to Baltimore, California Chrome settled into prestigious Stall 40 at Pimlico.

TENNIS Grigor Dimitrov overcame a slow start and sweaty hands to beat 45th-ranked Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, in the first round of the Italian Open in Rome on Monday.

In women's play, 11th-seeded Ana Ivanovic defeated Italian wild-card entry Karin Knapp, 6-1, 6-1, 1999 champion Venus Williams cruised past Annika Beck of Germany, 6-3, 6-1, local favorite Francesca Schiavone of Italy eliminated 17th-seeded Eugenie Bouchard, 6-4, 6-2, and Svetlana Kuznetsova ousted fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko, 7-5, 6-0.

SOCCER Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer have signed new broadcast rights deals with ESPN, Fox and Univision. The new contracts are for eight years through 2022.

ESPN has televised MLS games since the league's inception in 1996. Fox broadcast games from 2003 to 2011 before NBC won the rights to the contract. NBC is in the final season of a three-year agreement.

COLLEGES Rutgers-Camden (29-11-1) has received a bid to play in the NCAA Division III baseball regionals in Ithaca, N.Y. The Scarlet Raptors are seeded fourth in the eight-team regional.

They will face fifth-seeded Farmingdale State (25-11) on Wednesday at 10 a.m.

Regional winners will advance to the Division III World Series May 23-27 in Appleton, Wis.

- Staff and wire reports