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ROME -- Defending champion Italy will not use its top players at the United States in the first round of the Fed Cup. The Italian tennis federation says in a statement that Sara Errani, Roberta Vinci, Flavia Pennetta and Francesca Schiavone asked to skip the Feb. 8-9 competition in Cleveland. Instead, Italy captain Corrado Barazzutti will likely rely on Camila Giorgi, Karin Knapp, Nastassja Burnett and Alice Matteucci. The top players cited a travel schedule that would have taken them from the Australian Open to a tournament in Paris, then Cleveland, then to another tournament in Doha, Qatar -- over a 16-day span. Errani and Vinci won the Australian Open doubles title Friday. Barazzutti says, "We decided to accept the request of our veterans." The team will be named officially Wednesday. . Halak, 28, split his eighth NHL seasons between the St. Louis Blues, Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals, compiling a 29-13-7 record in 52 games. . - PGA Tour rookie Tony Finau shot a 9-under 63 at Del Monte and had a two-stroke lead over Billy Andrade and Lee Janzen of the Champions Tour after Thursdays opening round of the Callaway Pebble Beach Invitational. . GQ Lundqvist quite well.Three rounds, and nearly two months later, will the Kings have the strength to reach the summit of the Empire State to claim the cup?Truer words have never been spoken. . According to MMAFighting.com, MacDonald needs an x-ray on his right ankle and doctors clearance to fight or he will be subject to a mandatory medical suspension that will end on August 22, 2014. . Pikul Khueanpet scored early in the second half and Kanjana Sungngoen made it 2-0 in the 65th minute of the playoff. Tuyet Dong narrowed the margin with goal four minutes from time. The win gave Thailand fifth place at the Asian Cup and the last of the continents qualifying spots for the 2015 Womens World Cup in Canada.(SportsNetwork.com) - The top two teams in the Metropolitan Division will clash Wednesday evening in D.C. as the Washington Capitals welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins for a battle at the Verizon Center. You can watch the game on TSN2 at 8pm et/5pm pt. With 26 points on a 13-8-0 record, Pittsburgh is just one point ahead of the streaking Capitals for first place in the Metro, the newly-named division that makes up half of the realigned Eastern Conference. This is the first of four scheduled meetings between the Pens and Caps during the 2013-14 regular season. Pittsburgh enters Wednesday on a four-game winning streak in this series and also has taken three of the past five meetings in the nations capital. Washington, however, is coming off its third straight victory and can match a season-best winning streak with another triumph in tonights divisional matchup. The Capitals opened November with four consecutive wins, but then dropped two in a row before getting back on track with their current hot streak. Washington has scored four goals in each of its wins during the three-game stretch and the club last played on Sunday when it downed the visiting St. Louis Blues by a 4-1 count. Alex Ovechkin continued his terrific start to the season with a two-goal performance against the Blues. The Russian superstar has 17 goals on the season, tying him with Alexander Steen of St. Louis for the NHL lead. Ovechkin, of course, led the league with 32 goals in 48 games last season and won his third Hart Trophy at the end of the lockout-shortened campaign. Ovechkin enters Wednesday on a three-game goal-scoring streak and has four markers during that stretch. The 28-year-old winger has registered 22 goals and 40 points in 31 career games against the Penguins. John Carlson and Mikhail Grabovski each scored a goal while Nicklas Backstrom posted three assists for thee Capitals on Sunday.ddddddddddddBraden Holtby made 46 stops to earn the win. "I think weve been playing decent hockey and hopefully well continue to grow," said Washington head coach Adam Oates. The Capitals have won six straight home games and havent been defeated in D.C. since dropping a 2-0 decision against the New York Rangers on Oct. 16. Pittsburgh enters Wednesdays showdown having won two of its past three games, but the club is just 2-4-0 since winning four in a row from Oct. 28-Nov. 2. The Pens last played on Monday when they recorded a 3-1 home victory over the Anaheim Ducks. Brian Gibbons, Brandon Sutter and Sidney Crosby each scored third-period goals to back 27 saves from Marc-Andre Fleury in the triumph at CONSOL Energy Center. Gibbons, making his NHL debut after being recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL on Monday, added an assist on Sutters marker that came just 62 seconds after the rookie snapped a scoreless tie. Evgeni Malkin delivered a pair of helpers for the Penguins, who had registered only eight goals in dropping four of their previous five coming into Mondays tilt. "I think I am just taking it all in right now," Gibbons said. "I dont usually show a lot of emotion, but on the inside I am really happy." Crosby is tied with Steen for the NHL lead in points with 26. Like Ovechkin, Crosby has fared well in tonights matchup during his career, posting 14 goals and 43 points in 25 career games against the Capitals. Fleury is 13-7-2 with a 2.60 goals against average in 23 career games against Washington. Holtby is 0-3-0 with a 4.53 GAA in three outings versus the Pens. Capitals defenseman Mike Green has missed the past two games with a lower-body issue, but was able to practice on Tuesday. However, he may need a little more time to get into game shape before returning. ' ' 'quired to partake in media sessions that will be held at the Seahawks team hotel on Wednesday and Thursday. ' ' '
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