Briefly
Iditarod champion Susan Butcher is taking orders from her doctors these days in her fight with leukemia, but there’s no doubt who is in charge – the same woman who used an ax to fend off a crazed moose on the Iditarod Trail.
This was supposed to be a sort of comeback year for Butcher. She had planned to compete in a 300-mile race this winter, but that plan changed when she was diagnosed with leukemia in early December.
“Now my goal is to try and stay alive and fight leukemia,” she said. “No questions asked, that’s what I am going to do.”
Back in 1985, the moose killed two of her dogs and injured 13, and likely cost her the win. She was leading when the moose attacked.
But she got her revenge. She came back in 1986 to win the 1,100-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, the first of three consecutive wins. Butcher’s fourth win came in 1990.
Butcher, 51, is in a different race today. She was diagnosed in early December with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), a form of cancer that affects roughly 12,000 people each year.
Butcher was hospitalized Dec. 6 at the University of Washington Medical Center and recently completed her first round of chemotherapy to kill off the leukemia cells.
After more chemo, she will need a bone marrow transplant, if a donor can be found.
College football
Clarett turns self in
Former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett turned himself in in Columbus, Ohio, on charges of robbing two people at gunpoint in an alley behind a bar.
His lawyer, Percy Squire, said his client would be jailed overnight and was set to appear in court today, where he planned to enter a plea of not guilty.
Clarett, 22, was sought on two counts of aggravated robbery since early Sunday, when police said he flashed a gun and demanded property from a man and a woman behind the Opium Lounge in downtown Columbus.
College basketball
Pitt, Arizona back in
Another great start by Pittsburgh has the Panthers in the Top 25. A great weekend by Arizona has the Wildcats ranked again.
Pittsburgh, off to a third undefeated run in as many seasons under coach Jamie Dixon, moved into the Associated Press’ men’s basketball poll at No. 22.
Arizona, which swept its Pac-10 weekend in Washington, returned to the rankings at No. 21 after a two-week absence that broke the longest regular-season run ever.
Duke stayed No. 1 for the ninth straight week with Connecticut and Villanova remaining second. Memphis, Florida and Illinois held the fourth through sixth spots, with Michigan State, Gonzaga, Louisville and Washington rounding out the top ten.
•Tennessee led the Associated Press poll for the fifth straight week after defeating two more ranked opponents – the 101st time Tennessee has been No. 1.
No. 2 Duke had nine first-place votes and No. 3 LSU received the other two. Defending national champion Baylor remained fourth and was followed by North Carolina.
Miscellany
French coach killed
French men’s giant slalom coach Severino Bottero was killed in an auto accident in the Alps.
The 47-year-old Bottero died after his car went off a road and into a ditch between the towns of Sallanches and Cluses (France), according to regional highway operator AMTB.
•Peter Wessels beat former Gaston Gaudio of Argentina 6-2, 7-6 (5) to give the Netherlands a 2-1 victory in the Hopman Cup matches in Perth, Australia.
•Tuuka Rask made 53 saves and Teemo Laakso scored on a power play at 9:26 of overtime to give Finland a 1-0 victory over Sweden in Vancouver, B.C., in the quarterfinals of the world junior hockey championship.