Oregon's LaMichael James, Jeremiah Masoli have court dates Friday | Briefs

College football

High-profile Ducks players to appear separately in court Friday: Running back LaMichael James and quarterback Jeremiah Masoli are to appear separately in court Friday, the latest turn in a tumultuous winter for the Oregon Ducks.

Beyond the eventual outcome in either case, another issue looms: How will Ducks coach Chip Kelly handle the standout players in terms of disciplinary action?

James, who set a Pac-10 freshman record with 1,546 yards rushing last season, will appear in Lane County Circuit Court on misdemeanor charges of menacing, strangulation and assault.

A woman who says she was James' girlfriend claims he grabbed her neck and pushed her to the ground during an argument outside his apartment Feb. 15.

James had previously pleaded not guilty, but has told the court he is changing his plea.

Meanwhile, Masoli will be in the same courtroom later in the day for an arraignment on a second-degree burglary charge, a felony. The count involves the theft of two laptops and a guitar from a campus fraternity house in late January.

Also charged in the alleged theft was former receiver Garrett Embry, whom Kelly dismissed from the team earlier in January for an unrelated violation of team rules.

Masoli passed for 2,147 yards and 15 touchdowns last season. He rushed for 668 yards and 13 touchdowns.

In a statement, Kelly said he is "carefully considering the latest news concerning" Masoli and James and will make a decision regarding disciplinary action Friday.

Iditarod

Fine dining: Mushers in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska take care of their dogs first when they stop to rest, massaging paws and serving up stews of hearty grub for their teams.

Then it is their turn — and for some people there is no skimping on the food along the lonely stretches of the 1,100-mile race or at the checkpoints. Chicken tetrazzini and Thai noodles. Caribou stroganoff, linguine, turkey dinners with stuffing and moose breakfast burritos. Calorie-laden food for calorie-torching work.

Some contenders are more health conscious with precooked meals flown to the checkpoints, while others go the McDonald's route.

Dallas Seavey, 23, was the first to reach the Cripple checkpoint. For that feat, he won $3,000 in placer gold nuggets. Jeff King, a four-time winner, was the first to leave the Cripple checkpoint and Lance Mackey, seeking his fourth consecutive victory, was next.

Scott White of Woodinville was in 55th place.

Soccer

Dempsey injured his knee in January: American midfielder Clint Dempsey returned from a 7 ½-week layoff, entering as a second-half substitute as Fulham of England lost at Juventus of Italy 3-1 in the first leg of the Europa League's third round.

Dempsey, 27, hadn't played since injuring his right knee in an English Premier League match against Blackburn on Jan. 17. It was initially feared the injury might cause him to miss this year's World Cup in South Africa.

Dempsey has 17 goals in 60 international appearances for the United States.

Drogba is honored: Ivory Coast's Didier Drogba has been selected Africa's player of the year for the second time. Drogba, who plays for Chelsea of the English Premier League, also won the award in 2006.

Cycling

Contador wins fourth stage of Paris-Nice race, takes overall lead: Astana rider Alberto Contador, a two-time Tour de France champion from Spain, won the fourth stage of the Paris-Nice race in France and took the overall lead.

Saxo Bank rider Jens Voigt of Germany previously had the overall lead but dropped to sixth place. The race ends Sunday in Nice.

Skiing

Hoelzl wins World Cup women's giant-slalom title: Olympic silver medalist Tina Maze of Slovenia won the final giant-slalom race of the season and Kathrin Hoelzl of Germany clinched the World Cup title in the event by finishing second in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

Maria Riesch of Germany placed third to cut American Lindsey Vonn's overall World Cup lead to 165 points with two races remaining.

Vonn, seeking her third overall title in a row, fell in the first run of the giant slalom and didn't earn points.

Vonn has a small bone bruise on the outside of her right knee but said she will race in the super-giant slalom Friday.

Guay wins World Cup men's Super-G title: Erik Guay of Canada won the final Super-G race of the season and secured a World Cup Super-G title in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

Guay became the first Canadian to win a crystal globe since Steve Podborski in 1982. Guay was third in the standings entering the race. Previous leader Michael Walchhofer of Austria was 15th and dropped to second in the standings.

Horse racing

New York governor drops support for Aqueduct "racino" group: Gov. David Paterson's administration dropped its support for a consortium chosen to build and operate up to 4,500 video slot machines at Aqueduct racetrack in Jamaica, N.Y., which will further delay the 8-year-old plan to put a possibly lucrative "racino" at the site.

The governor's office wants a quick, transparent process to choose another operator after the Lottery Division concluded it can't issue a gaming license to Aqueduct Entertainment Group.

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