Figure skater Johnny Weir drops fur from costume | Briefs

Olympics

Weir changes mind about wearing fur: Animal-rights groups can leave Johnny Weir alone now.

Weir will replace the fox on his costume with faux fur after receiving "hate mail and death threats" from animal-rights activists, agent Tara Modlin said Thursday.

"He's changing it because he needs to focus on skating," she said.

Friends of Animals posted an open letter to Weir after he added white fox fur to the left shoulder of his free-skate costume for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Spokane.

"I do not want something as silly as my costume disrupting my second Olympic experience and my chance at a medal," Weir said.

Cypress Mountain will host despite little snow: Crews are working around the clock using natural and man-made snow to ensure courses are ready at Cypress Mountain for freestyle skiing and snowboard events at the Vancouver Olympics, said Tim Gayda, vice president of sport for the Winter Games.

College football

Police make arrest in Oregon kicker assault: Eugene police have arrested two men in connection with an assault on Oregon kicker Rob Beard.

Maurice Dion Peterson, 20, of Eugene, was taken into custody on second-degree assault charges. Kirby Taylor Hawkins, 19, of Portland, was also arrested.

Beard was battered to unconsciousness early Sunday after intervening in a fight to help fellow kicker Mike Bowlin.

USC hires linebackers coach: Joe Barry is USC's new linebackers coach, leaving the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to rejoin former boss Monte Kiffin.

Seahawks QB coach hired at Virginia: Seahawks quarterbacks coach Bill Lazor has been hired as Virginia's offensive coordinator.

Two Michigan State WRs plead guilty: Two more Michigan State players — receivers B.J. Cunningham and Mark Dell — have pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault-and-battery charges stemming from a Nov. 22 campus fight.

Savannah State coach resigns: Savannah State coach Robby Wells has resigned, citing personal reasons.

Auto racing

NASCAR champ Johnson crashes in practice: Four-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson crashed during practice for this weekend's 24-hour race at Daytona International Speedway. Johnson is feeling fine and hoping to get back behind the wheel for another practice Friday.

Max Angelelli won a tight qualifying race to capture the pole for the race.

Patrick to run at least 12-race NASCAR schedule: IndyCar star Danica Patrick will compete in at least 12 NASCAR races this season and could make her debut in the season opener.

George's team shuts down: Tony George, who spent 20 years as president of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and founded the Indy Racing League, told his Vision Racing team he was suspending operations because he lacked enough sponsors.

Soccer

Egypt, Ghana advance to final: Two-time defending champion Egypt and Ghana advanced to Sunday's final of the African Cup of Nations.

In a rematch of November's tense tiebreaker playoff for a World Cup berth, Egypt routed Algeria 4-0 in Benguela, Angola. At Luanda, Ghana advanced to the final for the first time in 18 years, defeating Nigeria 1-0.

Los Angeles Sol of WPS folds: The Los Angeles Sol of Women's Professional Soccer folded after one season, despite the star power of world player of the year Marta and a successful campaign that ended in the championship game.

U.S. U-20 women qualify for World Cup: The United States qualified for the women's Under-20 World Cup by beating Costa Rica 2-1 in the first semifinal of the regional championships for North America, Central America and the Caribbean in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

Sailing

Swiss may forfeit American's Cup: Defending America's Cup champion Alinghi of Switzerland said it will forfeit the oldest trophy in international sports if American challenger BMW Oracle Racing succeeds in getting a New York court to disqualify the sails on its giant catamaran.

Their powerhouse sailing teams are scheduled to begin a rare best-of-three showdown Feb. 8 in massive multihulls in Valencia, Spain, for the silver trophy the Swiss have held since 2003.

Boxing

Holyfield-Botha fight in Uganda called off: Evander Holyfield's manager, Ken Sanders, said a fight against Francois Botha scheduled for Feb. 20 in Uganda was called off when promoters were unable to deliver a promised prefight payment. Sanders said Holyfield will instead fight Botha on March 6, possibly in Miami.

Roger Mayweather pleads not guilty: Trainer Roger Mayweather pleaded not guilty to felony charges that he beat and choked a female boxer last August at a Las Vegas apartment he owned.

Figure skating

Suzuki, Asada face off at Four Continents: Akiko Suzuki of Japan is the surprise leader at the Four Continents ahead of favorite Mao Asada going into Friday's women's free skate at the Four Continents in Jeonju, South Korea.

Chinese pairs skaters Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao notched their highest score of the season as they grabbed the gold.

Seattle Times news services