Reports vary on Biedrins in Europe

Conflicting reports had Warriors center Andris Biedrins signing with different international teams Friday. The beleaguered big man would have an opt-out clause either way, allowing him to return to Golden State when the lockout ends.

TuBasket.com reported that Biedrins signed with VEF Riga, the Latvian League champions who will play

next in the Euroleague. Blic, a Serbian tabloid newspaper, had him signing with Turkish team Anadolu Efes.

Biedrins' agent, Bill Duffy, could not be reached.

- Rusty Simmons

-- The Chinese Basketball Association said it will sign only free agent players interested in playing a full season in China, not those under contract with NBA teams who had shown interest, such as the Warriors' Stephen Curry and Dorell Wright or All-Stars Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul.

-- Elena Delle Donne had 22 points and 11 rebounds to lead the United States to a 79-67 win over Australia in the semifinals of the World University Games in Shenzhen, China. The U.S. team (5-0) will face Taiwan on Sunday in the gold-medal game.

TENNIS

Nadal and Federer ousted from tourney

A weary Rafael Nadal and an off-target Roger Federer were knocked out of the quarterfinals of the Western and Southern Open in Mason, Ohio.

Playing a day after he spent five hours on court, Nadal faded in a 6-3, 6-4 loss to American Mardy Fish. Later, the third-seeded Federer struggled with his groundstrokes during a 6-2, 7-6 (3) loss to a sore-shouldered Tomas Berdych.

In the wide-open women's bracket, second-seeded Vera Zvonareva and No. 4 Maria Sharapova advanced in straight sets. Jelena Jankovic moved into the semifinals when Peng Shuai withdrew with a sore left hip.

-- Two-time defending U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters will not go for three in a row because of a stomach muscle injury.

ELSEWHERE

Former Sharks chief bids for Coyotes

A group headed by former Sharks President and CEO Greg Jamison is one of two bidders for the Phoenix Coyotes. Julie Frisoni, spokesman for the city of Glendale, Ariz., would not elaborate on the negotiations or identify the other bidder.

-- All-Star Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller, who played very little last season after the All-Star break, said he's free of vertigo symptoms and expects to be ready for training camp next month.

Soccer: Robbie Keane, Ireland's celebrated striker, went through his first training session with the Los Angeles Galaxy and is expected to make his debut tonight against the Earthquakes.

-- Brazil's flamboyant attack meets Portugal's impregnable defense in today's final of the Under-20 World Cup. Brazil goes in as the favorite, looking for its fifth U20 title.

Track and field: Former U.S. sprint champion Michael Rodgers has accepted a provisional doping suspension and will not compete at world championships.

-- U.S. sprinter Jeremy Dodson was arrested on suspicion of identity theft just days before leaving for world championships in Daegu, South Korea. He was arrested and released after posting a $10,000 bond.

Gymnastics: Danell Leyva won his first men's all-around title at the U.S. gymnastics championships in St. Paul, Minn., beating two-time defending champion and world bronze medalist Jonathan Horton.

Colleges: Witnesses said LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson and unidentified teammates were involved in a fight outside Shady's bar at 2 a.m. Friday, according to Baton Rouge police, who have neither substantiated the allegation nor spoken to Jefferson.

San Jose Sharks clinch No. 2 West seed with win

Maybe it did take all 82 games, but the uncomplicated part is over.

The Sharks earned the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference at HP Pavilion on Saturday night with a 3-1 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes, playing the kind of hockey they hope will carry over into the Stanley Cup playoffs that begin this week.

The complicated part -- whom the Sharks will face in the first round -- remains to be sorted out Sunday with the Chicago Blackhawks, Los Angeles Kings, Coyotes and Nashville Predators all a possibility.

"The intensity was there, and it was something we needed to experience this week so we can get ready for what lies ahead," said coach Todd McLellan, whose team had looked uninspired for long stretches in losing its previous two games.

Goals by Ian White, Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture provided the offense, but it was goaltender Antti Niemi, who made 35 saves while giving up a goal to Lauri Korpikoski, who earned much of the credit for the two points that gave San Jose 105 for the season.

"Was he good? When we made mistakes, he was there to make some tremendous saves," McLellan said. "There's not many nights on the bench where I turn to the coaches, and we're all going 'Wow!' "

Had the Sharks lost, they would have had to wait until the outcome of Sunday morning's game between the Detroit and Chicago to know their final spot in the standings, but the Red Wings can no longer catch San Jose for second place.

Now, if Chicago wins in regulation or overtime, the Sharks will face Phoenix. If Chicago loses in overtime, the Sharks will face the Blackhawks. If Chicago loses in regulation, the Sharks will face Los Angeles. And if Chicago wins in a shootout, the Sharks will face Nashville.

The No. 2 seed is significant only if the Sharks advance beyond the first round because it guarantees home ice in the next one.

The Sharks had struggled since clinching the Pacific Division title Monday night, getting blown out in Anaheim and dropping a 4-3 decision Friday night in Phoenix.

San Jose was also missing injured forward Ryane Clowe for a third consecutive game, with Benn Ferriero called up from Worcester to fill Clowe's spot in the lineup.

The game was scoreless into the second period when White's goal at 7:11 on a 52-foot one-timer capped a 57-second sequence that saw the Sharks put three shots on net, send two wide and had three others blocked.

"It seems whenever you get momentum and get some shots off, there's a good chance you're going to get the puck back," White said. "It was a great momentum shift for us, and fortunately one of them went in."

White had gone 21 games without a goal since being traded from Carolina in February, but had one in each of the past two games.

Pavelski's power play goal at 18:37 of the second period from just outside the crease was his 20th of the season and enabled the Sharks to finish the season as the only NHL team with seven players to hit that mark.

Phoenix got on the scoreboard at 8:36 of the final period when Korpikoski blocked a shot by Jason Demers, then scored on the breakaway that followed, but Couture's 32nd goal of the season on a power play at 18:29 assured the Sharks of their second-place finish.

The Sharks finished the past two seasons as the West's No. 1 seed, reaching the Western Conference finals a year ago after being upset in the first round the previous season. Vancouver topped the conference this season.

"Going into the playoffs, we're all excited about it," McLellan said. "I think there's less talk and less hype about our team, which will help us. We've experienced the Vancouver scenario -- I have as a coach more than once -- and that's a tough one. We like where we're at, and it's up to us now to get ready and be prepared."

From White's perspective, it's all good.

"I've been warming up for this for six years now," said the well-traveled 26-year-old defenseman who will be seeing his first postseason action after 401 NHL games.

The victory was McLellan's 152nd since taking over behind the San Jose bench, enabling him to tie Mike Keenan for most NHL wins by a coach over his first three seasons.

But that is one record that the Sharks coach considers less than meaningful.

"You're asking me about a stat that's really quite irrelevant when it comes to me, and I bet Mike Keenan would tell you the same thing," McLellan said recently. "It's different eras, the games are tracked differently."

Seventeen of McLellan's victories, for example, came in the shootout. When Keenan set the mark between 1984 and 1987, games that weren't resolved in overtime ended as ties.

Annual team awards for 2010-11 went to Niemi as the Sharks MVP and Logan Couture as rookie of the year by a media vote. Patrick Marleau won the title of "fan favorite" in online voting.