in brief

baseball

A-Rod, feds postpone
meeting in drug probe

Alex Rodriguez's meeting Friday with federal investigators probing a Canadian doctor was delayed, and the third baseman remained at spring training with the New York Yankees rather than traveling to Buffalo, N.Y.

The meeting was postponed by mutual consent, a person familiar with the delay said, and has not been rescheduled.

Rodriguez said March 1 he had been contacted by investigators who wanted to interview him about his treatment from Dr. Anthony Galea after hip surgery last year. Galea faces four charges in Canada related to human growth hormone and Actovegin. The physician said he prescribed anti-inflammatories for the slugger, not HGH.

Also: San Francisco Giants star pitcher Tim Lincecum left Friday's game in Scottsdale, Ariz., against the Los Angeles Angels after throwing 84 pitches in four innings because of a cut on the middle finger of his pitching hand. He is expected to make his final spring start Wednesday.

Minnesota Twins closer Joe Nathan had Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. Doctors removed a tendon from his left wrist and placed it in Nathan's right elbow to replace the ulnar collateral ligament that was torn in an exhibition game March 6. He will miss the entire season.

Astros ace Roy Oswalt was headed back to Houston to be examined by a team doctor after the right-hander left his start against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Kissimmee, Fla., with a slight left hamstring strain.

Texas Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler had targeted a Monday return from a high right ankle sprain, but now it appears questionable whether he will be ready for the regular-season opener April 5. Kinsler, who rolled his ankle in a March 12 workout, received an anti-inflammatory injection Friday. A MRI exam also revealed a bone bruise.

Seattle Mariners pitcher Cliff Lee won't throw again until Wednesday because of a strained abdomen, making it likely he will begin the season on the disabled list.

football

Florida players applaud
Meyer after outburst

Florida quarterback John Brantley and several teammates applauded coach Urban Meyer's recent outburst, saying it's nice to see him come to receiver Deonte Thompson's defense.

"Coach has our back," Brantley said.

Meyer lashed out at Orlando Sentinel reporter Jeremy Fowler on Wednesday, calling him a "bad guy" for publishing a quote from Thompson about Brantley and former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow. When asked what the difference was between Brantley and Tebow, Thompson called Brantley a "real quarterback." Anyone listening knew Thompson meant Brantley was a more traditional, conventional or prototypical passer than Tebow.

Thompson's quote spread across the country thanks to Twitter and the Internet, and he was crushed when friends and teammates asked him why he ripped Tebow.

Also: Miami-Dade police arrested the man they say stabbed and killed Florida International running back Kendall Berry late Thursday.

Quentin Rashad Wyche, 22, turned himself in Friday night. Investigators say the two got into an argument just outside the front doors of the campus recreation center.

Charlie Batch, 35, signed a two-year contract to remain with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a backup quarterback.

golf

Four share second-round
lead in Palmer tourney

Ernie Els, Davis Love III, Ben Curtis and D.J. Trahan were tied for the second-round lead of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Orlando, Fla. They were at 7-under 137, one-stroke ahead of Retief Goosen, Phil Mickelson and Kevin Na.

Also: Hee Kyung Seo, playing on a sponsor's exemption, shot a bogey-free 5-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead after two rounds of the inaugural Kia Classic in Carlsbad, Calif. She was at 7-under 137.

Chip Beck and Nick Price each had seven birdies and shot 6-under 66s to share the first-round lead in the Champions Tour's Cap Cana Championship in the Dominican Republic.

Louis Oosthuizen and Sam Hutsby shot 7-under 63s in the second round to lead the European Tour's Andalucia Open in Malaga, Spain. They are at 10-under 130.

local colleges

Rebels baseball team
loses again at BYU, 8-4

UNLV lost for the second straight day to Brigham Young, falling 8-4, in a Mountain West Conference baseball game at Provo, Utah.

The Rebels (14-10, 0-2) loaded the bases with two out in the ninth inning, but Richie Jimenez grounded out. UNLV's Drew Beuerlein's 17-game hitting streak was ended by the Cougars (10-11, 3-2).

Also: UNLV scored six points and is 27th after the first day of the NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships in Columbus, Ohio. Texas leads with 145 points.

The Rebels' 200-yard freestyle relay team of Steven Nelms, Cody Roberts, David Seiler and Andrew Morrell posted a time of 1:19.50 to place 14th.

UNLV women's golfer Kristen Schelling shot rounds of 2-over-par 74 and par 72 to take the first-day lead in the MountainView Collegiate at Tucson, Ariz. The Rebels are tied for third at 21-over 597 entering today's final round, two strokes behind leader Texas Tech.

The UNLV women's tennis team defeated UC Irvine 5-2 at the Fertitta Tennis Complex for its 10th straight victory. Kristina Nedeltcheva won at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles for the Rebels (13-2). The doubles victory was Nedeltcheva's school-record 91st.

The UNLV softball team lost to Loyola Marymount 7-1 in Los Angeles. Tara Bendt had two of the Rebels' eight hits and drove in their run, but UNLV (20-12) stranded nine.

The College of Southern Nevada baseball team hit eight home runs and defeated Eastern Utah 12-5 and 13-4 in Price, Utah.

Marvin Campbell hit three homers for third-ranked CSN (25-5, 12-2 Scenic West Athletic Conference). Gabe Weidenaar homered twice, and Bryce Harper was 3-for-5 with one RBI and four walks in the two games.

The CSN softball team swept 20th-ranked North Idaho 1-0 and 7-5 in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho. Shelbie Medrano drove in the only run in the first game and tossed a five-hitter, then had a two-run single in the sixth inning of the second game to give the Coyotes (19-12, 15-10 SWAC) the lead for good.

miscellaneous

Harvick gets Cup pole
after qualifying halted

Qualifying for the spring NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Va., was rained out for the third straight year, and the field was set by point standings.

Pole sitter Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth will start on the front row in Sunday's race.

Rain also washed out qualifying for today's truck race, giving Harvick the pole.

Also: Cory McClenathan (Top Fuel), Robert Hight (Funny Car), Jason Line (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) led their divisions at the first NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C.

Wayne Odesnik, an American tennis player ranked No. 98, pleaded guilty to importing human growth hormone into Australia before a tournament leading to the Australian Open. He was fined $7,280 plus $1,040 in court costs and could be banned from tennis for two years.

Second-ranked Novak Djokovic lost his first match at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla., to 59th-ranked Olivier Rochus, 6-2, 6-7 (7), 6-4.

Boise State hired Leon Rice, an 11-year assistant and the top recruiter at Gonzaga, as its head basketball coach. Rice, 46, signed a five-year deal that will pay him an annual base salary of $400,000.

The Las Vegas Wranglers rallied from a two-goal deficit before losing 3-2 in a shootout to the Stockton Thunder in an ECHL game in Stockton, Calif.