BUXTON, N.C. - Hurricane Earl kicked up dangerous waves and rip currents along the East Coast as it blew over open water Friday toward Cape Cod after brushing North Carolina's Outer Banks, leaving flooding but no injuries on the narrow vacation islands.

When Earl sideswiped North Carolina, its winds had dropped to 105 mph from 145 mph a day before.

FEMA prepared for the worst, stocking water and prepared meals in staging areas near the North Carolina and Massachusetts coasts.

NEW YORK - They all want to be like Maria.

Maria Sharapova's next match at the U.S. Open will come against yet another teenager who looks up to her - 18-year-old Beatrice Capra, the 371st-ranked American who, with a win in that third-round match, would be one step closer to becoming the 2010 version of Melanie Oudin.

As a 17-year-old underdog last year, Oudin's magical run to the U.S. Open quarterfinals started getting serious when she beat her third-round opponent - none other than Sharapova, she of the killer clothes, the high-pitched shrieks, the oversized serves.