IN BRIEF

BASKETBALL

Air Force's Reynolds reprimanded by MWC

The Mountain West Conference reprimanded Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds on Wednesday for criticizing the officials in the Falcons' 59-57 loss to Montana during a weekend tournament in Spokane, Wash.

The reprimand said Reynolds broke the conference sportsmanship rules with comments published by The Gazette of Colorado Springs.

Reynolds was upset that one official overruled another, denying the Falcons a turnover that could have given them the ball and a chance to tie the game in the final seconds.

"The fact that the official was right there, and he made the call, and this guy runs over from out of his territory to overrule him, you know, that's questionable," Reynolds told the newspaper.

Also: Seattle SuperSonics forward Nick Collison will miss at least the next two games after breaking his nose against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Collison will miss Friday's game against Indiana and Sunday's game against Golden State. He will be re-examined early next week.

Collison was injured in the third quarter of Tuesday night's loss at Los Angeles. He was hit in the face as Kobe Bryant made a swipe at the ball.

Alando Tucker, the 29th overall pick in the first round of the 2007 NBA Draft, was assigned to the Albuquerque Thunderbirds of the NBA Development League by the Phoenix Suns.

Tucker, the Big Ten player of the year last season at Wisconsin, played in two of Phoenix's first 14 games and averaged six points and eight minutes.

HOCKEY

Lidstrom, Zetterberg lead in All-Star voting

Detroit Red Wings teammates Nicklas Lidstrom and Henrik Zetterberg lead all Western Conference players in fan voting for the Jan. 27 NHL All-Star Game.

Lidstrom has received 158,349 votes through Monday, the league announced. The Red Wings defenseman and captain was well ahead of Zetterberg, who leads all forwards with 115,543 votes. Calgary Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf was third overall with 111,940 votes.

Zetterberg, Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames and Pavel Datsyuk of the Red Wings were the leading vote-getters at forward. Lidstrom and Phaneuf were the top defensemen, and Pascal Leclaire of the Columbus Blue Jackets was the top goaltender.

Also: New York Rangers forward Sean Avery will undergo surgery today on his left wrist to repair injuries sustained in a fight and when he was struck by a puck.

There was no immediate announcement on how much time Avery will miss.

MISCELLANEOUS

Santa Anita to close main track to training

Santa Anita will close its main track to training from Monday to Dec. 10 to ensure the new artificial surface is draining properly ahead of anticipated winter rain.

Santa Anita's winter meeting opens Dec. 26, but the track is used heavily for training as racing is held at Hollywood Park.

The Cushion Track surface, installed last summer, was well received by jockeys and trainers during the Oak Tree meeting that ended Nov. 4. But there have been concerns about drainage.

Also: World Cup skiing overall champion Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway will be out for months following a crash in Beaver Creek, Colo., that left him with broken facial bones and a deep wound in his buttocks and groin.

Svindal broke his nose and his cheek bones in two places when he crashed during downhill training Tuesday. He also chipped a front tooth.