Off the wire

FIGURE SKATING U.S. wins World Team Trophy

Ashley Wagner and Gracie Gold finished on the podium in the free skate Saturday to help the United States win the figure skating World Team Trophy in Tokyou. Wagner, fourth after the short program, received 188.60 points to finish second. Gold was third with 188.03 points. Akiko Suzuki of Japan won the women’s free program with 199.58 points. “I could not be prouder of the U.S. team,” Wagner said. “Every member contributed to this victory and I am proud to be the captain.” The United States, which won the inaugural World Team Trophy in 2009, entered the final day of competition leading in the overall standings and finished with 57 points. Canada was next with 51, two points ahead of Japan. The World Team Trophy brings together selected skaters from the six countries that scored the highest combined points at major senior and junior competitions. A team event will be included for the first time at the Winter Olympics next year in Sochi, Russia, although the format will differ slightly from the World Team Trophy.

TENNIS

Isner, Almagro reach final

John Isner got his big serve working after a slow start to reach the final of the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston, beating defending champion Juan Monaco of Spain 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday. The fifth-seeded American will face Nicolas Almagro, the top-seeded Spaniard who needed only 58 minutes to beat American wild-card Rhyne Williams 6-2, 6-1. Isner finished with nine aces for a tournament total of 57, three short of the record set by Pete Sampras in 2002. The 6-9 Isner used his power to good advantage in the final game of the match with serves clocked at 142, 144 and a fault that hit 147 mph at match point. Monaco returned Isner’s second serve, but Isner sealed the match with a backhand volley. Almagro started the week ranked No. 1 on the ATP Tour in aces and he had seven aces and won 62 percent of his first serve points against Williams, playing inhis first ATP semifinals. Almagro became the first top-seeded player to reach the clay court final since James Blake in 2008.

Tommy Robredo of Spain and Kevin Anderson of South Africa rallied to semifinal victories Saturday, setting up a title match in the Grand Prix Hassan in Casablanca, Morocco. Robredo beat top-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland 1-6, 6-3, 6-2. Anderson, seeded second, downed third-seeded Martin Klizan of Slovakia 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. This will be Robredo’s first final since winning on outdoor clay in Chile two years ago. He will be going for his 11th career title. Anderson has two career titles, both on outdoor hard courts. His previous title was last year at Delray Beach, Fla. He has never played Robredo.

BASKETBALL

Groce gets extension, raise

Illinois has rewarded Coach John Groce’s successful first season in Champaign with a contract extension and a $200,000-a-year raise. Athletic Director Mike Thomas said Saturday that Groce’s contract will be extended one year through the 2017-2018 season. The raise will increase his pay to $1.6 million a year. Both changes still need approval of the university’s board of trustees. The Illini made it to the NCAA Tournament and defeated Colorado before losing to Miami.

Chicago Bulls guard Richard Hamilton was suspended one game without pay by the NBA on Saturday for hitting Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan the previous night. With about 5½ minutes remaining in the third quarter of the Raptors’ 97-88 victory Friday, Hamilton hit DeRozan in the face with his elbow. Hamilton was whistled for a Flagrant 2 and ejected. He will miss the Bulls’ game at Miami today.

HOCKEY Yale wins NCAA title

Jeff Malcolm stopped 36 shots and Yale won its first NCAA hockey championship with a 4-0 victory over top-seeded Quinnipiac on Saturday night in Pittsburgh. Clinton Bourbonais, Charles Orzetti, Andrew Miller and Jesse Root scored for the Bulldogs, who avenged three earlier losses to the Connecticut-rival Bobcats this season.

BASKETBALL Kobe out for season with torn Achilles tendon

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. - Kobe Bryant had surgery Saturday on his torn Achilles tendon, ending his season with two games left in the Los Angeles Lakers’ playoff chase.

Lakers trainer Gary Vitti thinks Bryant will need six to nine months for recovery from the most serious injury of his 17-year NBA career. Given Bryant’s history of swift recovery from countless minor injuries, Vitti and Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak believe the 34-year-old guard could be back for their season opener in the fall.

“I think that’s a realistic goal for him, based on what he was talking about this morning,” Kupchak said at the Lakers’ training complex after visiting Bryant at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic.

Bryant completely tore his left Achilles tendon late in the Lakers’ 118-116 victory over Golden State on Friday night, falling to the hardwood after pushing off his planted foot in an ordinary move toward the basket. Although he stayed in the game to hit two tying free throws with 3:08 to play, Bryant’s season was over.

Bryant’s foot will be immobilized for about a month to prevent him from stretching out the tendon, followed by a lengthy rehabilitation process. Nobody knows how the injury will affect Bryant’s play, but his decision to have surgery less than 24 hours after getting hurt suggests he’s determined to get back on top swiftly.

“He’s already taken the challenge,” Vitti said. “For us, it’s going to be trying to slow him down.”

And while it’s far too early to predict exactly when Bryant will be back, the Lakers say they wouldn’t consider parting ways with their franchise player, who will make nearly $30.5 million next year. If the Lakers used the amnesty clause on Bryant in early July, they could save possibly $80 million in luxury taxes.

While the rest of the Lakers prepared for their final two regular-season games in a tumultuous season, Bryant’s injury left many Lakers fans wondering whether the club had done enough to protect Bryant from himself.

The fourth-leading scorer in NBA history has logged heavy minutes all season, basically dictating his own playing time while the Lakers chased a playoff spot. He has played far more minutes than any other NBA player over 30, including nearly 46 minutes per game in the seven games leading up to Friday night.

Bryant simply doesn’t like to sit out, even when he’s hobbling - as he was Friday night after hyper extending his left knee early in the second half. While Achilles tendon tears can occur in athletes under any level of stress, even first-year Coach Mike D’Antoni acknowledged he might have forced Bryant to sit out a bit more if the Lakers weren’t desperate for every victory to stay in playoff position.

“He’s a warrior,” D’Antoni said. “All I do is respect what he wanted to do for the franchise and the city. He’s earned the right to do certain things. … I would have probably [made Bryant rest more] if we were comfortably in the playoffs.”

Los Angeles (43-37), which hosts San Antonio today and Houston on Wednesday, is one game ahead of the Utah Jazz (42-38) for the final postseason spot in the Western Conference. Utah holds the tiebreaker, which means the Lakers must finish one game ahead to make the playoffs for the 16th time in Bryant’s career.