PARALYMPICS

Summer star wins winter silver — Making the transition from track to snow has been seamless for Tatyana McFadden. Less than a year after taking on the new challenge, the American collected a first Winter Paralympics medal on Wednesday to join the 10 she has won across the past three Summer Paralympics. And she is still only 24 years old. The Russian-born McFadden, who won three titles at the 2012 London Paralympics in wheelchair racing alone, claimed silver in the cross-country 1-kilometer sprint sitting event at the Sochi Games. “I could not go easy, I needed to go hard from the start,” McFadden said. “I knew that they were coming and I could feel them down my neck. It was a good race.” McFadden, who finished just 0.1 seconds behind Mariann Marthinsen of Norway, was born with spina bifida and moved to the U.S. at age 6 after being rescued from a St. Petersburg orphanage. Back competing in the country of her birth, McFadden, of Clarksville, Md., was cheered on by her Russian birth mother and her adopted American mother on Wednesday. “They were here all day holding out for me in the snow,” she said. “They gave me a lot of extra energy, and them being here pushed me forward in all my events.”

MLB

Cacti: the scourge of spring training — Francisco Rodriguez’s spring training debut for the Milwaukee Brewers could be delayed after the pitcher injured a foot by stepping on a cactus. “He took out a lot of the thorns, but there some more in there,” Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said Wednesday. “I don’t think it’s that big of a setback, but I imagine he’s pretty sore today.” Rodriguez reported late because of a visa problem and was expected to make his first appearance today against San Diego in Peoria. Milwaukee has history with unusual injuries. Pitcher Zack Greinke began the 2011 season on the disabled list after getting hurt during a pickup basketball game, and general manager Doug Melvin was bitten by a scorpion last year. In 1994, pitcher Steve Sparks separated a shoulder trying to tear a phone book in half.

SOCCER

Barcelona, PSG reach Champions quarterfinals— Lionel Messi and Dani Alves scored second-half goals, and Barcelona beat Manchester City 2-1 Wednesday night for a 4-1 aggregate win to reach the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals for the seventh straight year. Cesc Fabregas’ pass bobbled through the legs of defender Joleon Lescott in the 67th minute, and Messi ran onto the ball and flicked it over goalkeeper Joe Hart. Messi has eight goals in five Champions League matches this season and 67 overall in Europe’s top club competition, four shy of Raul Gonzalez’s record. In the night’s other game, Paris Saint-Germain gave up an early goal and rallied past visiting Bayer Levekusen 2-1 for a 6-1 aggregate win.

Sporting KC, Galaxy lead after first leg — Kevin Ellis scored his first goal in his fourth start as Sporting Kansas City beat Mexico’s Cruz Azul 1-0 on Wednesday in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals. The second leg of the quarterfinals series will be played March 19 in Mexico City. In Carson, Calif., Samuel scored in the 11th minute and the Los Angeles Galaxy held off Club Tijuana’s frantic late push for a 1-0 win. Samuel tallied after Marcelo Sarvas’ chip into the Club Tijuana box caromed to him off Galaxy captain Robbie Keane’s midsection, and goalkeeper Jamie Penedo and midfielder Sarvas made big stops in the second half.

HOCKEY

Stars’ Peverley will sit for season after collapse — Rich Peverley will not play again this season after the Dallas Stars forward collapsed on the bench during a game. One of Peverley’s doctors said at a news conference Wednesday that the 31-year-old will undergo a procedure that was originally planned for after the season. He was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat in training camp. Dr. Robert Dimeff said Peverley’s playing status beyond this season is unknown. Peverley missed a game last week before going down in the first period Monday against Columbus, stunning players and fans. Peverley was stabilized by doctors at American Airlines Center and taken to a Dallas hospital, where was in stable condition and undergoing tests. The game was postponed.

Faceoff tweaks suggested at NHL GM meetings — The NHL may make two small changes to how it handles faceoffs. The league’s general managers ended three days of meetings on Wednesday with recommendations for a few minor tweaks to be taken to the competition committee in June for consideration. Players who would have been ejected for a faceoff violation now may just have to take a step back. And the league may move hashmarks out to five feet to prevent fighting on the sides of the circle. In overtime, the GMs suggested making teams defended the net that is farther away from their bench.

— From wire reports