NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol and his college-aged son emerged from the wreckage of a corporate jet after it crashed during takeoff and burst into flames, killing two people. Rescuers were still searching for Ebersol’s younger son.

The charter jet crashed Sunday morning at Montrose Regional Airport in southwest Colorado. A witness said the impact ripped the cockpit from the fuselage, and that Charles Ebersol helped his 57-year-old father to safety through the front of the plane.

A second son, 14-year-old Edward, was missing, Denver NBC affiliate KUSA-TV reported. A Montrose County Sheriff’s spokeswoman said the boy had not been located by late Sunday.

The sheriff’s office also said two people were killed in the crash, though their identities were not released. KUSA said the victims were the pilot and co-pilot.

BBASEBALL

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jason Kendall was traded Saturday from Pittsburgh to Oakland, giving the Athletics one of baseball’s most durable catchers and partly freeing the Pirates of their biggest financial burden.

The Pirates got left-hander Mark Redman and left-handed reliever Arthur Rhodes for Kendall, a three-time All-Star and .306 career hitter.

The deal will save the Pirates about $15 million over three years. Pittsburgh owed Kendall $34 million through 2007.

BGOLF

LA QUINTA, Calif. (AP) — Fred Couples prevailed in four playoff holes over Tiger Woods to claim the final three skins worth $340,000 and win his record fifth Skins Game with a total of $640,000.

Couples won all his money on Sunday, starting with a birdie putt worth $300,000 and eight skins on the first hole. He finally won after Woods’ tee shot went into the water on the last playoff hole, the par-3, 204-yard 17th at Trilogy Golf Club on a cold, windy day in the desert.

After making a sensational debut last year, Annika Sorenstam was shut out this time. She and Australia’s Adam Scott were eliminated on the first playoff hole.

BCOLLEGE FOOTBALL

Top-ranked Southern California received 52 first-place votes, four more than last week, and 1,610 points in The Associated Press Top 25 on Sunday. In the previous poll, Southern Cal had lost three first-place votes.

Oklahoma extended its lead over Auburn for second place by five points. The Sooners received seven first-place votes and 1,540 points. The Tigers got six first-place votes and 1,530 points.

The top nine teams in the latest AP poll were the same as last week. No. 4 California was followed by Utah, Texas, Louisville, Georgia and Miami.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Alabama-Birmingham accepted an invitation Sunday to play in the Dec. 24 Hawaii Bowl, the team’s first trip to a postseason bowl. The UAB Blazers will meet an opponent still to be determined. The team has played at the Division I-A level since 1996.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota will play in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 31, the Golden Gophers’ third straight postseason appearance. Minnesota will play a Southeastern Conference opponent still to be determined in Nashville, Tenn.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Notre Dame accepted an invitation Sunday to play in the Insight Bowl in Phoenix against a Pac-10 team on Dec. 28.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Sun Belt Conference champion North Texas will face Southern Mississippi in the New Orleans Bowl on Dec. 14. Southern Miss accepted an invitation to the game after becoming bowl eligible with a win over Alabama-Birmingham on Saturday. North Texas had clinched its fourth consecutive Sun Belt title and its fourth trip to the New Orleans Bowl on Nov. 13.

BTENNIS

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia edged defending champion France 3-2 to claim its first Fed Cup title Sunday, with Anastasia Myskina and Vera Zvonareva beating Marion Bartoli and Emilie Loit 7-6 (5), 7-5 in the decisive doubles match.

Russia had lost its four previous Fed Cup finals.

The two-day final was tied 1-1 heading into Sunday, and Myskina beat Nathalie Dechy 6-3, 6-4 to put Russia ahead 2-1. But U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova wasted a chance to clinch the title, losing to 16-year-old Tatiana Golovin 6-4, 6-1.

BBOXING

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Marco Antonio Barrera won a majority decision over Erik Morales Saturday night to take the WBC 130-pound title in a wild slugfest.

After 12 rounds of almost nonstop action, Barrera was favored 115-113 on one card and 115-114 on a second. The third judge had it 114-114.

BSKIING

LAKE LOUISE, Alberta (AP) — Bode Miller became the first man to open a World Cup season with three victories in three disciplines, winning a super-giant slalom Sunday ahead of Hermann Maier.

Miller’s first career Super G win came one day after his first World Cup downhill victory. He also won the season-opening giant slalom in Soelden, Austria, and is just the fourth skier to win World Cup races in all five disciplines over his career (slalom and combined are the others).

ASPEN, Colo. (AP) — Finland’s Tanja Poutiainen won for the second time in three races at Aspen Mountain, beating Italy’s Manuela Moelgg by more than a second in a World Cup slalom on Sunday. American Kristina Koznick was third.

After winning the giant slalom on Friday and finishing second to Croatia’s Janica Kostelic in the first slalom race Saturday, Poutiainen overcame a couple of loose spots on her final run Sunday to win again.

BFIGURE SKATING

MOSCOW (AP) — World champions Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov easily won the ice dance Sunday, giving the home country its third victory in four events at the Cup of Russia.

On Saturday, Russians Evgeni Plushenko and Irina Slutskaya captured the singles titles, while the pairs event went to Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao of China.