In Brief

COLLEGE ATHLETICS

Ohio State gets prep lineman
cleared of sexual misconduct

Chris Carter, the offensive lineman who was arrested the night before national signing day, has signed a national letter of intent to attend Ohio State.

The university confirmed the signing Thursday.

Carter was arrested Feb. 1, and officials later said he would not face criminal charges stemming from an allegation that he fondled a girl while pretending to measure her for an ROTC uniform. Police said there wasn't enough evidence of sexual contact or conduct.

A 6-foot-6-inch, 350-pound guard, Carter was a special-mention All-Ohio selection.

Also: UNLV football coach Bobby Hauck completed his second-season coaching staff with the hiring of Robin Ross as linebackers coach.

Ross was a graduate assistant at Oregon State the past two seasons, but has a coaching history dating to 1977 that includes stints as defensive coordinator at Cincinnati, Iowa State and Fresno State.

Ross replaces Brent Guy, who left to become Tulsa's defensive coordinator.

John O'Connor resigned as basketball coach at Division II Holy Family after his videotaped conflict with former player Matt Kravchuk.

The decision came after O'Connor learned he will not face criminal charges from the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office.

According to a police report filed Feb. 11, Kravchuk said he was grabbed and elbowed in the face by O'Connor, a move that allegedly resulted in a bloody nose and a bruised lip. The office's Private Criminal Complaints Unit reviewed the matter and determined the event does not constitute a prosecutable criminal offense.

The UNLV men's swim team claimed seven of eight spots in the 50-yard freestyle, led by Cody Roberts' winning time of 19.86 seconds, as the Rebels moved from fifth to second place in the Mountain West Conference Championships in Oklahoma City.

Kier Maitland claimed his third straight 500-yard freestyle title (4:22.49), and the team of David Seiler, David Szele, Roberts and Calan Eldridge won the 400 medley relay (3:10.14) for the program's ninth straight year as the Rebels (278 points) trailed Brigham Young (297) after two days of the four-day meet.

The UNLV women (141) were seventh in the nine-team field, behind leader BYU (207).

HOCKEY

Wranglers fall behind early
in Alaska, drop 4-3 decision

The Wranglers fell behind by three goals in the second period and came up short in their comeback, losing to the Alaska Aces 4-3 in an ECHL game at Anchorage.

Alaska took a 4-1 lead at 19:05 in the second. Las Vegas cut the deficit to 4-2 on Nick Ross' goal at 19:52 in the period, and Josh Lunden scored at 11:19 in the third period for the Wranglers.

Chris Francis scored Las Vegas' first goal.

The teams will meet at 8:15 p.m. today and 6:05 p.m Sunday.

Also: Forward Alex Kovalev returned to the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins on a day the team couldn't escape losing yet another regular to an ever-growing injury list.

The Penguins acquired Kovalev for a conditional draft pick with the Ottawa Senators.

The trade for Kovalev was announced shortly after coach Dan Bylsma said defenseman Brooks Orpik will miss four to six weeks with a broken finger on his right hand. He was hurt when he was struck by Patrick Marleau's shot late in the first period of an overtime loss to San Jose on Wednesday.

TENNIS

Past Dubai champions Federer,
Djokovic on collision course

Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, winners of six of the past eight Dubai Championships, remained on course to play for the title by winning quarterfinal matches in straight sets.

Federer was broken for the first time in three matches of the United Arabs Emirate tournament but defeated Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine, 6-3, 6-4. Novak Djokovic, the two-time defending champion, beat Florian Mayer of Germany, 7-5, 6-4.

Federer will play Richard Gasquet, who downed Gilles Simon 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 in an all-French match. Djokovic will play Tomas Berdych, who beat big-serving Phillip Petzschner of Germany, 7-5, 6-4.

Also: Vera Zvonareva rallied from 5-3 down in the deciding set to defeat Daniela Hantuchova 7-5, 6-7 (5), 7-5 in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Ladies Open in Doha.

Zvonareva reached a semifinal against familiar foe Jelena Jankovic, who defeated Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-4. Zvonareva leads Jankovic 7-6 in matchups and has won the last four.

Top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki won 12 straight games to beat Flavia Pennetta of Italy 6-2, 6-0 and set up a semifinal with Marion Bartoli of France. Bartoli defeated Peng Shuai of China, 6-2, 6-2.

MISCELLANEOUS

Federal prosecutors outline
evidence in Bonds' perjury trial

Federal prosecutors filed a court document in San Francisco outlining evidence they plan to submit during Barry Bonds' perjury trial next month.

The document contains no new details in a case that has dragged on for more than three years but does provide a glimpse at the prosecutors' legal strategy.

The prosecutors say they will show the jury a urine sample positive for steroids they allege belongs to Bonds. They also will introduce a recorded conversation between his business partner and personal trainer at the time allegedly discussing injecting Bonds with steroids.

Two experts will also testify about the side effects of steroids such as male pattern baldness and violent outbursts that Bonds is alleged to have experienced.

Bonds has pleaded not guilty to charges he lied about his steroid use.

Also: Nick Johnson scored 26 points to lead Findlay Prep to a 104-59 victory over Impact Academy at Henderson International. Myck Kabongo added 22 points and Anthony Bennett 15.

Tony Kanaan does not have enough sponsorship to join de Ferran Dragon Racing this season, and the lack of funding probably means the team won't run in the IndyCar season.

The 2004 IndyCar champion lost his ride with Andretti Autosport at the end of last season because of a lack of sponsorship, and he didn't secure the corporate backing to make it to the March 27 season opener in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Antron Brown raced to the provisional qualifying lead in Top Fuel at the season-opening NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Calif.

Brown powered his dragster to a leading run of 3.804 at 319.98 mph, just in front of teammates Spencer Massey and Tony Schumacher, who posted identical 3.804-second runs. Brown claimed the top spot by virtue of his faster speed.

Other first-day qualifiers: Johnny Gray in Funny Car (4.079 seconds at 306.33 mph) and Erica Enders in Pro Stock (6.553 seconds at a track-record speed of 211.69 mph).

Soccer star David Beckham reported to the Los Angeles Galaxy's training camp in Carson, Calif., two weeks late after an extended stay to train with Tottenham of Europe's Premier League.