In Brief
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Unnamed Washington player
under investigation by police
Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said Tuesday the school is aware of a police investigation "about an allegation in regards to one of our student-athletes."
Romar declined to go into many details. He repeated the allegation is being taken seriously, but "there is not nearly enough information at this point to determine what is going to be done here."
"Right now, we just have to give it a little more time to decide what is going to come of this," he said.
Seattle TV station KIRO reported that the student-athlete is under investigation for the alleged sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl.
The university issued a statement Monday night confirming it had learned of a police investigation based on allegations surrounding a current student-athlete at the school.
The 17th-ranked Huskies, the only ranked team from the Pac-10, are off to a 4-0 start in conference play, their best since starting 6-0 during the 1983-84 season. Romar said all healthy players will practice and travel to the Bay Area for games at Stanford on Thursday and California on Sunday.
Also: Minnesota is sticking with star forward Trevor Mbakwe despite his arrest for allegedly violating a restraining order filed against him.
The university released a statement from coach Tubby Smith confirming that Mbakwe is still with the team, describing the action as "a lapse in judgment" and announcing no punishment.
Mbakwe was taken to jail Monday night on a misdemeanor charge after authorities said he sent a message on Facebook to a former girlfriend who had filed the no-harassment order in August 2009.
Smith said he thinks Mbakwe's actions were "well-intended but misguided."
Mbakwe leads Minnesota with 13.4 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.
Mario Little, the senior forward for No. 3 Kansas who missed six games after being charged in a fight, has been cleared to play.
Coach Bill Self announced the decision. The 22-year-old Little was arrested Dec. 16 after a fight involving his girlfriend and others. He was charged with seven misdemeanors.
Self said Little received a diversion agreement from Lawrence Municipal Court for two battery charges and will receive weekly counseling through the end of the season.
North Carolina senior Italee Lucas, a former Centennial High School standout, is a midseason top-20 finalist for the John R. Wooden Award for excellence in women's college basketball. Lucas is averaging 18.2 points per game for the eighth-ranked Tar Heels (15-1).
MISCELLANEOUS
Wranglers' offensive outburst
fuels win over Salmon Kings
The Wranglers got two goals in the final 11 minutes, fending off the Victoria Salmon Kings 6-4 in an ECHL game at Victoria, British Columbia.
Victoria erased a 4-2 deficit with two goals early in the third period, but Jamie Fritsch put Las Vegas up 5-4 with 10:45 remaining. Geoff Paukovich sealed the victory on a goal with three minutes left.
Jamie Bates had two goals for the Wranglers, and Craig Switzer and Justin Bernhardt also scored. Las Vegas was outshot 41-22, but goaltender Joe Fallon had 37 saves.
Also: The Detroit Red Wings said goalie Chris Osgood had successful surgery for a hernia.
The team said his recovery is expected to take six to eight weeks. Osgood, 38, missed all of November because of the injury.
Osgood has won three Stanley Cup titles with Detroit and has backed up Jimmy Howard for most of the last two seasons. Last month, he became the 10th goalie to win 400 NHL games.
British boxing authorities will allow Audley Harrison to keep his purse following his weak performance in a heavyweight title loss to David Haye.
Harrison landed just one meaningful punch in the WBA title fight in Manchester, England, on Nov. 13. The bout was stopped in the third round, sparking anger among fans and pay-per-view customers.
The British Boxing Board of Control investigated and said it accepts Harrison's explanation and "will not be taking the matter any further."
UNLV's Kyle Virva was named Mountain West Conference men's swimmer of the week for the second time this season. Virva led the 16th-ranked Rebels past Texas Christian by winning the 100- and 200-yard freestyle and helping UNLV win the 400 freestyle relay.
Germany's Maria Riesch and Finland's Tanja Poutiainen shared a victory in a World Cup women's slalom held at night in Flachau, Austria.
American Lindsey Vonn, the three-time overall champion, straddled a gate and failed to finish her first run for the fourth straight race. Riesch extended her lead over Vonn in the overall standings to 196 points.
