Narrenpost-Kasten » Stephens held off Croatian qualifier Petra Martic 6-2,

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Washington Capitals forward Brooks Laich is expected to miss the rest of the regular season after having an operation on a groin muscle. The Capitals announced Monday on Twitter that Laich "underwent a successful procedure to release a tight adductor," which is part of the groin. The team said a full recovery usually takes four to six weeks. Washingtons last regular-season game is April 13. Laich missed two of the past three games for Washington, which entered Monday ninth in the Eastern Conference, one spot out of a playoff berth. He has eight goals and seven assists this season. Hampered by a groin injury, Laich only played in nine games last season. The Capitals play Tuesday at the Anaheim Ducks. Cheap Nike Shoes Free Shipping Wholesale .com) - Nate Buss 3-pointer with 5. Wholesale Air Max For Sale . UCI President Brian Cookson said Wednesday the commission will investigate allegations "that the UCI has been involved in wrongdoing in the past -- allegations which have done so much to hurt the credibility of the UCI and our sport. http://www.cheapshoesnike.com/ . The Cubs made the moves before Thursdays game against Arizona. They promoted left-hander Zac Rosscup and right-hander Neil Ramirez from Triple-A Iowa and optioned righty Blake Parker to their top minor league team. Cheap Authentic Nike Shoes Wholesale . -- Canada played to expectation up until halftime. Nike Shoes Clearance Sale . Bookies were offering odds of 13/1 before kickoff that the home team Houston Dynamo would prevail by three goals to nil.Mason, OH (Sports Network) - Ninth seed Angelique Kerber of Germany rallied to win her first-round match and American Venus Williams breezed into the second round Monday at the $2.369 million Western & Southern Open tennis event. Kerber, last years finalist, disposed of Italian Karin Knapp, 6-7 (6-8), 6-0, 6-1. Williams, playing in only her second event since a first-round loss at the French Open, carved up a 6-4, 6-1 victory against Slovakian qualifier Jana Cepelova. Williams has been hampered by a low back injury this year, but she moved into round two in a swift 66 minutes. Former U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur posted a first-round victory. The 11th-seeded Aussie got past former top-five Russian star and fellow former U.S. Open winner Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-1, 7-5, on the hardcourts at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. Stosur was a hardcourt titlist in Carlsbad, Calif., two weeks ago. Italian Roberta Vinci, the No. 12 seed, ousted American wild card Bethanie Mattek-Sands, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3. Meanwhile, 16th-seeded Russian Maria Kirilenko outlasted Georgian qualifier Anna Tatishvili, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4). In action involvinng Americans on Day 1, Sloane Stephens held off Croatian qualifier Petra Martic 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, qualifier Vania King topped Frances Kristina Mladenovic 6-3, 6-4, and wild card Lauren Davis surprised Czech veteran Klara Zakopalova 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-1).dddddddddddd Stephens is rewarded with a second-rounder against 2011 champion, 2010 runner-up and former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova, while King will meet former top-ranked star Victoria Azarenka in her next outing. Also advancing were qualifiers Marina Erakovic of New Zealand and Eugenie Bouchard of Canada, Russian Alisa Kleybanova and Romanian Simona Halep, who has won three WTA titles since mid June. Up next for Halep will be Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli. This weeks top seed is last weeks Toronto titlist, Serena Williams, whos also the reigning U.S. and French Open champ. Chinas Li Na beat Kerber in last years Western & Southern finale. Li will meet Davis in the round of 32 here. This weeks winner will earn $426,000. The tournament is part of the U.S. Open Series, or the North American hardcourt events that lead up to the U.S. Open, which will commence August 26. ' ' '