in brief

HORSE RACING

Buddy's Saint featured
in Fountain of Youth

Before winter dug in at Aqueduct and the snow started falling in New York, Buddy's Saint declared himself a Kentucky Derby prospect in November with two graded-stakes victories totaling 16 lengths.

The racing world was impressed, and veteran trainer Bruce Levine announced he "wouldn't trade places with anyone in America."

Three months later, and 10 weeks from the Kentucky Derby, Buddy's Saint returns to the races today in the $250,000 Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla. A strong showing would solidify his reputation and live up to Levine's lofty expectations.

The 1 1/8th-mile Fountain of Youth, one of several Derby preps across the country, drew a field of 10, including Holy Bull runner-up Jackson Bend, Breeders' Futurity runner-up Aikenite and Pilgram winner Eskendereya.

In other Derby preps today:

■ Ron the Greek, winner of the Lecomte Stakes, is the 3-1 morning-line favorite against 11 others in the $300,000 Risen Star at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans.

■ Dublin, a Grade 1 winner last summer for trainer D. Wayne Lukas, leads a field of 10 in the $250,000 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark. The Bob Baffert-trained Conveyance, winner of the San Rafael at Santa Anita, also is entered.

■ Saratoga Special and Belmont Futurity winner D'Funnybone makes his 3-year-old debut in the $150,000 Hutcheson at Gulfstream against seven others, including Radiohead, a stakes winner last year in Great Britain.

LOCAL COLLEGES

UNLV men's golf team
claims Hawaii tourney

The 23rd-ranked UNLV men's golf team claimed its third title of the season, capturing the 15-team John A. Burns Intercollegiate in Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, in a playoff over Texas A&M.

The Rebels carded the low final round of the tournament with a 14-under-par 274, forging a tie with the Aggies at 28-under 836. UNLV won on the first playoff hole.

The Aggies' Andrea Pavan took medalist honors with a 12-under 204 total, but UNLV placed three individuals in the top five: Derek Ernst, second, 206; Brett Kanda, tied for third, 207; and Kevin Penner, fifth, 208.

Also: The UNLV baseball team dropped its season opener to Sacramento State 10-8 in 11 innings at Wilson Stadium.

Tied 6-all after nine innings and 8-all after 10, the Hornets won it in the 11th on a two-out, two-run single by pinch hitter Trevor Paine off Rebels reliever Jared Lee.

Travis Feiner went 3-for-4 for UNLV, including a two-run home run in the bottom of the 10th.

Kendall Fearn, Jaci Hull and Marissa Nichols hit home runs as the UNLV softball team beat San Diego 11-3 on the second day of the Desert Classic at Eller Media Stadium, but the Rebels saw their six-game winning streak snapped by Hawaii 11-0 in a night game.

Nichols delivered a grand slam, Hull had a three-run shot, and Fearn hit a solo shot in the opener for UNLV.

But the Rebels (6-2) couldn't generate the same offense against Hawaii, managing only four hits against pitcher Kaia Parnaby before the game was called after five innings.

Kristina Nedeltcheva upset sixth-ranked Anastasia Petukhova 6-2, 6-3 as the UNLV women's tennis team beat Fresno State 6-1 at the Fertitta Tennis Complex.

Nedeltcheva also teamed with Jana Albers to win in doubles, helping the Rebels improve to 6-2 on the season. It was Nedeltcheva's school-record 86th career win in doubles.

The UNLV men's tennis team dropped a 4-3 decision to UC Irvine in Irvine, Calif.

The Rebels (5-4) got singles victories from Mehdi Bouras, Johnannes Markel and Attila Toth.

The No. 1-ranked College of Southern Nevada baseball team split two games in the Coyote Slugout at Morse Stadium, beating third-ranked Chipola (Fla.) College 9-7 and losing to Cypress (Calif.) College, 12-7.

Bryan Harper and Kiel Harmon combined on a three-hitter over seven innings for the Coyotes in the first game, with Marvin Campbell going 2-for-3 with a home run.

Cypress College roughed up four CSN pitchers for 18 hits in the second game, as the Coyotes dropped to 12-3.

Bryce Harper hit his fourth homer of the season for CSN.

The College of Southern Nevada's softball team dropped a doubleheader to 13th-ranked Salt Lake Community College, 13-1 and 9-1, in Salt Lake City.

The Coyotes dropped to 7-5 overall and 3-3 in Scenic West Athletic Conference play.

MISCELLANEOUS

Wranglers struggle late,
fall to Aces in overtime

T.J. Fast scored 3:59 into overtime as the Alaska Aces beat the Wranglers 4-3 to open a three-game ECHL series in Anchorage.

The Wranglers (21-23-4-2, 48 points) led 3-1 after two periods, but the Aces forced overtime on Bryan Miller's goal at 13:59 of the third period.

Chris Neiszner, Ned Lukacevic and Adam Miller scored for the Wranglers.

Also: Washington Redskins cornerback Byron Westbrook was charged with driving under the influence after an early-morning traffic stop in Waldorf, Md.

Charles County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Diane Richardson said a deputy saw a Mercedes cross the center line several times. Richardson said after pulling over the 25-year-old Westbrook, the deputy smelled alcohol and administered field sobriety tests. Westbrook failed the tests and was arrested, the spokeswoman said.

Westbrook was charged with DUI, negligent driving and failure to drive right of center. He was released on personal recognizance.

Minnesota Vikings left tackle Bryant McKinnie must pay back the NFL for his non-participation in the Pro Bowl.

The NFL said it will require a $4,285 reimbursement from McKinnie for expenses incurred that week in Miami. McKinnie skipped most of the team practices and obligations and then was dismissed from the NFC all-star squad.

NFL spokesman Randall Liu also said McKinnie forfeited his $22,500 game check.

Venus Williams ended the stirring run of Israel's Shahar Peer 6-1, 6-4 in the semifinals of the Dubai Championships in the United Arab Emirates.

Victoria Azarenka ousted Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 6-4 in the other semifinal and today will face Williams, who is going for her second straight Dubai title.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will team with retired stars Pete Sampas and Andre Agassi in a charity tennis exhibition to raise money for Haiti.

The "Hit For Haiti" match will be played March 12 during the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif.

Tournament director Steve Simon said he expects a minimum of $1 million to be raised for Haiti earthquake relief efforts. A similar event held during the Australian Open raised more than $600,000.

Federer and Sampas will team for the doubles match against Nadal and Agassi.

North Carolina basketball coach Roy Williams said 7-foot sophomore Tyler Zeller will return to the lineup today at Boston College after missing a month with a foot injury.

Zeller, who was diagnosed with a stress fracture of the right foot, averaged nearly 10 points and five rebounds in 16 minutes per game off the bench.

Boxing is one step closer to returning to Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees said they've reached an accommodation with a family that scheduled a bar mitzvah for June 5, clearing the way for a proposed fight between junior middleweight champ Yuri Foreman and Miguel Cotto at the opulent ballpark.

The bar mitzvah is for Scott Ballan, the son of the lead bond lawyer for the financing of Yankee Stadium. It wasn't clear what accommodations were made.