Sports briefs

NASCAR

Stewart tops Edwards

Tony Stewart raced to his second straight victory, and fourth in the eight Chase for the Sprint Cup races, finishing just ahead of Carl Edwards Sunday in Fort Worth, Texas. Stewart cut his points deficit from eight to three behind Edwards.

NHL

Blues dump coach

The St. Louis Blues have changed coaches after a 6-7 start, firing Davis Payne and hiring Ken Hitchcock to a contract through next season.

BASEBALL

Dan Duquette is back

A person familiar with the deal says Dan Duquette has signed a three-year contract to become the Baltimore Orioles' president of baseball operations. Duquette, 53, was general manager for the Expos from 1991-94 and Red Sox from 1994-2002.

GOLF

Kaymer streaks

Martin Kaymer holed a sand shot from a deep bunker at the seventh green for a birdie, and he ran off nine birdies in the last 12 holes to blow past Fredrik Jacobson on his way to a 9-under-par 63 and a three-shot victory in the HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai . . . Jay Don Blake closed with a par 71 for a two-stroke victory in the Charles Schwab Championship for his second win of the season following a 20-year drought, and Tom Lehman took the season points title and $1-million annuity . . . Frank Bensel, 43, assistant pro at Century Country Club in Purchase, overcame an eight-stroke deficit to win the PGA Assistant Championship for the second straight year, shooting 6-under 66 in Port St. Lucie, Fla., for a one-stroke victory.

COLLEGES

UConn routs Post

Jeremy Lamb scored 23 points to lead No. 4 Connecticut to a 91-61 win over Division II C.W. Post in an exhibition in Hartford.

TENNIS

Federer gets hardware

Defending champion Roger Federer beat Kei Nishikori, 6-1, 6-3, in the Swiss Indoors final in Basel, his first title in 10 months.-- AP