France beats Italy 46-20 in 6 Nations

France scored six tries to thrash Italy 46-20 and take a step closer to winning the Six Nations Grand Slam.

Center David Marty scored two tries and No. 8 Imanol Harinordoquy added another at Stade de France to put coach Marc Lievremont's team 22-3 up at the interval.

Winger Marc Andreu, veteran center Yannick Jauzion, and flanker Alexandre Lapandry added tries in the second half, before lock Carlo Del Fava and scrumhalf Pablo Canavosio got Italy's consolation tries late on.

"We are happy and relieved. We took charge of the game the right way," Lievremont said. "The two halves were similar. We played well for 25 minutes and then had …

Historic power-sharing takes hold in N. Ireland

The people of Northern Ireland - Protestants and Roman Catholics -for the first time have a provincial government they can call theirown.

Queen Elizabeth II on Wednesday approved a law grantingsubstantial powers of self-rule to Northern Ireland, and power passedfrom London to the provincial capital, Belfast, at midnight.

The Protestant-Catholic government assumes control of its affairs610 days after the signing of the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement toend a sectarian conflict in which more than 3,500 people have died inthe last 31 years.

The first meeting of the 12-member Cabinet will be today, but thetwo members from a hard-line Protestant party plan to skip …

England looks to repeat 2003 Grand Slam exploits

DUBLIN (AP) — England will attempt to lay down a marker ahead of the World Cup by beating Ireland to win the Grand Slam in the Six Nations on Saturday, eight years after achieving the same feat under the captaincy of its current coach.

In one of England's best ever performances, Ireland was blown away 42-6 in Dublin in a Grand Slam decider in 2003, setting the team up for a successful assault on the World Cup later that year.

The captain on that occasion was Martin Johnson and the former lock returns to Lansdowne Road this weekend as a coach, ready for the team's biggest challenge yet in this campaign.

"I'll never forget that match in Dublin — it was a big day," said …

Reavie shoots 62 to lead Deere Classic by 2 shots

SILVIS, Ill. (AP) — For Chez Reavie, the mental aspect of overcoming knee surgery was tougher than the physical work of rehabilitation.

He didn't get comfortable on the golf course again until he stopped thinking about his rebuilt right knee.

Reavie, who had surgery on June 1 last year for a torn ACL and meniscus in his right knee, relied on near-flawless putting Friday to shoot a 9-under 62 and claim a two-stroke lead at the John Deere Classic.

"I knew if I just got it on the green somewhere, I really had a good chance of making a birdie," he said.

It was a sharp contrast to the way he played early in the year, when he missed the cut in three of his first five …

Nebraska extends list of dismissed, Assistant AD Dave Gillespie released after Frank Solich

LINCOLN, Neb. - Nebraska has dismissed an assistant athleticdirector for football following the firing of head coach FrankSolich.

Dave Gillespie is no longer with the department, sportsinformation director Chris Anderson confirmed Tuesday. Gillespiedeclined to comment.

On Sunday, Solich was fired after a 9-3 regular season. Defensivecoordinator Bo Pelini took over as interim head coach.

Gillespie served as Nebraska's running backs coach and recruitingcoordinator from 1998-2002. He moved into his administrative positionin January, when Solich overhauled his …

Wheldon Wins Third Straight at Homestead

HOMESTEAD, Fla. - Winning three in a row at Homestead-Miami Speedway is fine, but Dan Wheldon was barely out of the cockpit after his season-opening victory Saturday night before he was thinking about another race win he wants more.

"This is step one toward the Indianapolis 500," said Wheldon, who won both the 500 and the IndyCar Series championship in 2005. "I'm all about the Indianapolis 500, nothing else matters to me. But to get three consecutive wins on the same speedway is a big deal, too."

The Englishman, who started from the pole, fought off an early challenge from Sam Hornish Jr., another three-time Homestead winner, and easily overcame a bad pit stop to drive …

White House: Republicans are 'party of no'

President Barack Obama wants Republicans to return to Congress this week from their spring recess with a more constructive attitude toward health care, energy and other administration initiatives. Republican lawmakers say they have ideas, just not the ones the president may want.

"When you're the party of no, when you're the party of never, when you're the party of no new ideas, that's not constructive," White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said Sunday. "The challenge will be, will the Republicans come to the table with constructive ideas?"

Emanuel predicted progress by congressional committees on changing the health care system, …