The Associated Press

MOBILE, Ala. - Canada's Lorie Kane shot a 2-under 70 in windy conditions Thursday to take a one-stroke lead over Australia's Karrie Webb in the LPGA Tournament of Champions.

Dorothy Delasin and South Korea's Hee-Won Han opened with 72s, Scotland's Catriona Matthew had a 73, and Wendy Ward shot a 74.

Two-time defending champion Se Ri Pak was six strokes back after a 76 in the event limited to tournament winners from 2001-03 and active Hall of Fame members. She had a double-bogey on the ninth hole and a triple-bogey on the par-5 13th.

WORLD CUP: Germany's Alex Cejka and Marcel Siem combined to shoot a 5-under 67 in windy conditions to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the World Cup.

Wales' Ian Woosnam and Bradley Dredge opened with a 68, while the United States' Jim Furyk and Justin Leonard were tied for seventh after a 71.

WIE: Michelle Wie accepted a sponsor exemption to play in the Sony Open in January, putting her in position to become the youngest woman to play in a PGA Tour event.

TAIHEIYO MASTERS: British Open champion and Ohio native Ben Curtis shot a 7-under-par 65 Thursday to take a one-stroke lead after the first round.

Tennis

MASTERS CUP: About 12 hours after being guaranteed the year-end No. 1 ranking, Andy Roddick lost to Rainer Schuettler 4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3) in round-robin action at the Tennis Masters Cup.

Roddick faces No. 4 Guillermo Coria Friday for a semifinal berth. Coria defeated No. 7 Carlos Moya 6-2, 6-3.

Hockey

Islanders 3, Canadiens 1

UNIONDALE, N.Y. - Garth Snow stopped 28 shots to lead New York.

Oleg Kvasha, Mark Parrish and Jason Blake scored for New York, 7-2 at home. The Islanders are have a five-game home unbeaten streak against the Canadiens (4-0-1).

Hurricanes 5, Thrashers 1

RALEIGH, N.C. - Erik Cole scored 26 seconds in, and Josef Vasicek and Rod Brind'Amour added key power-play goals to Carolina.

Carolina snapped a nine-game winless streak against Southeast Division opponents, dating to Feb. 14, and extended its home unbeaten streak to four (3-0-1).

Flyers 4, Canucks 3, OT

PHILADELPHIA - Simon Gagne scored 1:47 into overtime to lift Philadelphia to its fifth straight victory.

Eric Desjardins, Michal Handzus and Mark Recchi also scored for Philadelphia, which remained unbeaten at home (6-0-2). Vancouver is the only other NHL team without a home loss (7-0-1).

Devils 3, Panthers 1

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Patrik Elias scored on a power play to kick off a three-goal second period and New Jersey pushed its unbeaten streak to eight games.

Brian Gionta and Jay Pandolfo also scored for the Devils (6-0-2), who have not lost since Oct. 25. Martin Brodeur made 20 saves.

SHARKS: Left wing Scott Thornton agreed to a two-year contract extension with San Jose Thursday.

AVALANCHE: Colorado activated Paul Kariya from injured reserve Thursday, three weeks after he sprained his wrist.

WILD: Minnesota claimed center Jason Wiemer off waivers from the Islanders.

Auto Racing

BUSCH SERIES: Greg Biffle won the pole for the season-ending NASCAR Busch series race on the reconfigured Homestead-Miami Speedway.

TRUCKS: Bobby Hamilton led a Dodge sweep of the first three starting positions in qualifying for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series' finale at Homestead.