Enquirer staff and wire reports

Whether you like baseball, football, auto racing or horse racing, it's definitely a great weekend to be a sports fan in our area. Here are some top events to get ready for:

• The Reds will honor longtime radio broadcaster Joe Nuxhall (above) before Saturday's 7:10 p.m. game with the Cubs.

• College football's Ohio Classic comes to Paul Brown Stadium on Saturday, with Grambling State playing Bethune-Cookman at 1 p.m. For tickets, go to www.ohioclassic.com, or call (513) 562-4949.

• Kentucky Speedway is holding its V-Taps Triple Header Fall Classic on Saturday in Sparta. For tickets, call (888) 652-RACE, or go to kentuckyspeedway.com.

• Turfway Park holds the 11th running of the Kentucky Cup Saturday in Florence. General admission is free, or you can reserve seats. Call (800) 815-2807 for reservations.

• The Bengals return to Paul Brown Stadium for their home opener on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. against the Miami Dolphins. The game is sold out.

Canada tops Finland in World Cup final

Joe Sakic, Scott Niedermayer and Shane Doan scored on the first shot of each period Tuesday night, and Martin Brodeur shook off a wrist injury to make 27 saves in Canada's 3-2 win over Finland in the World Cup of Hockey championship game in Toronto.

The host nation celebrated the victory, but the joy was tempered since the NHL is set to impose a lockout today because of a labor dispute with the players association.

Canada clinched the tournament, formerly known as the Canada Cup, for the first time since 1991. The Canadians lost the World Cup in 1996 to the United States, but rebounded to win the event for the fifth time. Canada has reached the finals all seven times the tournament has been held.

RED WINGS: Steve Yzerman, 39, re-signed with Detroit for his 22nd NHL season, all with the Red Wings.

MIGHTY DUCKS: Anaheim assigned these players to its AHL farm club in Cincinnati:

Goalies: Ilya Bryzgalov, Eddy Ferhi.

Defensemen: Juha Alen, Sheldon Brookbank, Tomas Malec, Shane O'Brien, Mark Popovic, Aaron Rome.

Forwards: Tim Brent, Stanislav Chistov, George Davis, Curtis Glencross, Zenon Konopka, Michael Holmqvist, Chris Kunitz, Joffrey Lupul, Pierre Parenteau, Cory Pecker, Dustin Penner, Joel Perrault, Igor Pohanka, Alexei Smirnov, Joel Stepp.

Ice chips: Alen, Brookbank, Bryzgalov, Chistov Davis, Ferhi, Glencross, Holmqvist, Kunitz, Lupul, O'Brien, Parenteau, Pecker, Pohanka, Popovic, Smirnov and Stepp played in Cincinnati last season. .... Four of the players assigned - Chistov (2001), Holmqvist (1997), Lupul (2002) and Smirnov (2000) - were first-round picks by Anaheim. ... The Ducks open their eighth training camp Sept. 29 at the Gardens. All workout sessions will be open to the public.

Horse racing

TURFWAY PARK: Whitney Handicap winner Roses in May heads the list of probables for Saturday's Kentucky Cup Day of Champions. Roses in May is ranked fourth in the national thoroughbred poll behind only Pleasantly Perfect, Ghostzapper and Birdstone.

Probables for the five Kentucky Cup stakes races:

Grade II Classic: Roses in May (Dale Romans); Seattle Fritz (Kieran McLaughlin); Adreamisborn (Jerry Hollendorfer); Pie N Burger (Jamie Theriot); Country Be Gold (Reynaldo Nobles); Tricky Taboo (Edward Frederick); Sonic West (Thomas Van Berg).

Grade III Sprint: Cuvee (Steve Asmussen); Heckle (Todd Pletcher); Silver Minister (Greg Foley); Intrinsic North (Michael Stidham); Level Playingfield (Robert Holthus); Swift Attraction (D. Wayne Lukas).

Grade III Juvenile: Storied Cat (Lukas); Norainonthisparty (Susan Stidham); Greater Good (Holthus); Magna Graduate (Gary Simms).

Juvenile Fillies: Im a Dixie Girl (Bernard Flint); Runway Model (Flint); Carmandia (Carl Nafzger); Jules Best (Vickie Foley); Punch Appeal (Asmussen); Victorious Halo (Joseph Martin); Winning Season (Lukas); Mary Alex (Steve Hobby); Bubble N Squeak (Ken McPeek).

Grade III Turfway Breeders' Cup: Mayo on the Side (Nafzger); La Reason (David Vance); Fly Away Angel (William Connelly); Angela's Love (Romans); Class Above (McLaughlin); Hypogator (Hollendorfer); Susan's Angel (Lukas).

KEENELAND: A Japanese trainer paid $8 million for a colt by top sire Storm Cat at the September yearling sale. Hideyuki Mori won a bidding war with Irish agent Demi O'Byrne by paying the fourth-highest price ever for a yearling. The record is $13.1 million, paid for a Nijinsky II colt in 1985. The $8 million price tag was a record for Keeneland's September sale, now in its 61st year. The chestnut colt sold Tuesday was out of Welcome Surprise. Lane's End Farm, in Versailles, owns Welcome Surprise and consigned the colt for the sale.

Storm Cat is North America's most expensive sire, commanding a breeding fee of $500,000 per live foal.

Harness racing

MESSENGER STAKES: Metropolitan fought off the challenges of Triple Crown-hopeful stablemates Timesareachanging and Western Terror to win the second leg of pacing's Triple Crown in 1:52.2 at Harrington Raceway.

Timesareachanging and Western Terror had finished in a dead heat to win the Cane Pace, first jewel in the Triple Crown. The Little Brown Jug, the third jewel, is Sept. 23 at Delaware, Ohio.

Golf

MET WOMEN'S SENIOR: Bernice Gallagher of Coldstream Country Club won the title with a two-day total of 166 (84-82) at O'Bannon Creek Golf Club. O'Bannon Creek's Kyle Earhart won low net with a 146 (72-74).

USGA MID-AMATEUR: Six years removed from her last finals appearance, Virginia Derby Grimes, 40, is headed back and will meet Corey Weworski, 42, for the title at Knoxville, Tenn.

Etc.

WHIFFLE BALL EVENT: GetSportsInfo.com is hosting a Wiffle Ball tournament Saturday, with proceeds donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation in the name of Casey McAlister, the son of WCKY-AM (1360) radio show host Lance McAlister who has leukemia. There will be prizes and refreshments, and a silent auction also will be held. The entry fee is $100 per six-person team. Participation in a home run derby, with Lance pitching, is $10 for 10 swings. Go online to www.getsportsinfo.com.