Utah's basketball coach won't return

University of Utah men's basketball coach Ray Giacoletti will leave at the end of the season, the school announced Friday.

The Utes (11-17) are mired in their worst season in decades and are only 6-9 in the Mountain West Conference.

"Obviously, our vision three years ago was not the way it has gone - especially this year,"

Giacoletti said.

Giacoletti is 54-38 in three seasons at Utah but only 25-32 since he took the Utes to the NCAA Tournament round of 16 in 2005. Andrew Bogut, the NBA's No. 1 draft pick that year, was his top player.

TROUBLED ZAGS Gonzaga reserve player Theo Davis has been charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana stemming from his arrest with starting center Josh Heytvelt after a traffic stop last month in Cheney, Wash.

The 21-year-old Davis, from Brampton, Ontario, will be mailed a citation and court summons.

Davis, a freshman who did not play this season because of shoulder surgery, was a passenger in a sport utility vehicle Heytvelt was driving Feb. 9. Officers found part of a marijuana cigarette in Davis' pocket.

BIG 12 LOVES PARIS Oklahoma center Courtney Paris was named the Big 12 Conference women's basketball player of the year.

Paris, the league leader in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots, led No. 12 Oklahoma (23-4, 13-3) to a share of the Big 12 title with No. 14 Texas A&M (23-5, 13-3).

RAZORBACKS COACH QUITS Arkansas women's basketball coach Susie Gardner resigned after her team faltered down the stretch for the second straight season.

Gardner took over as Razorbacks coach before the 2003-04 season and went 64-54.

SULLIVAN FINALISTS Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith and fellow former college quarterbacks Chris Leak and Brady Quinn are among the finalists for the 2006 AAU Sullivan Award honoring the top U.S. amateur athlete.

Florida basketball center Joakim Noah also made the final 15, along with swimmer Michael Phelps, diver Troy Dumais, figure skater Sasha Cohen, speedskaters Joey Cheek and Apolo Ohno, basketball player Candace Parker, hockey player Angela Ruggiero, snowboarder Hannah Teter, wrestlers Joe Warren and Bill Zadick and Paralympic swimmer Jessica Long.

COWBOY INSURANCE Using an idea from billionaire donor Boone Pickens, Oklahoma State will purchase $10 million life insurance policies for 25 of its supporters in a unique fundraising program for the athletic department.

The university will pay the insurance premiums for the selected donors, with the athletic department being listed as the beneficiary.

BLAKE REPLACED Top-seeded James Blake was removed from the quarterfinals of the Tennis Channel Open after ATP Tour officials reversed a ruling that had allowed him to advance due to a competitor's withdrawal during round-robin play.

Evgeny Korolev took Blake's place in the quarterfinals and won 6-4, 6-4 against Sam Querrey in Las Vegas, and ATP officials released a statement blaming the confusion on "an incorrect variation of ATP rules."

Blake had been awarded a quarterfinal spot after Argentine player Juan Martin del Potro withdrew Thursday because of respiratory problems during a match with Blake while leading 6-3, 3-1.

FEDERER ROMPS Roger Federer beat Tommy Haas in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5, to reach his fifth straight Dubai Open final in the United Arab Emirates.

It was the Swiss player's 40th straight victory. He is six wins away from Guillermo Vilas' all- time record of 46 consecutive wins, set in 1977.

HENIN ADVANCES Top-seeded Justine Henin rallied to beat fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 6-4 to advance to the final of the Qatar Open.

Henin will play today against second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova, who beat sixth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova 6-4, 6-2 in the other semifinal.

MATERNITY LEAVE Phoenix Mercury center Kamila Vodichkova will miss the 2007 WNBA season because she is pregnant.

MUSH TO PROVE Defending champion Jeff King shot back with one word when asked to describe his team for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race set to start today.

"Fast," said the 51-year-old musher, who will find himself in fleet company again when 83 teams, and some familiar faces, line up for the ceremonial start of the 1,101-mile race from Anchorage, Alaska, to Nome, Alaska.

The restart, where the mushers get serious about getting a piece of this year's approximately $795,000 purse, begins Sunday in Willow, Alaska. It was moved 30 miles up the trail because there was not enough hard-packed snow near Anchorage.

WORLD CUP BIDS Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Peru and Switzerland are bidding to host the 2011 women's soccer World Cup tournament.

The World Cup tournament this year is in China, from Sept. 10-30.

DERBY PREP Nobiz Like Shobiz has the No. 5 post position in the Fountain of Youth Stakes today, a Kentucky Derby prep race at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

Nobiz Like Shobiz is expected to get competition from Adore the Gold and Scat Daddy in the 1 1/8-mile race.

AMERICAN SWEEP Carolina Zhang led a U.S. sweep of the top three spots in the women's short program at the Junior World Figure Skating Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany.

Zhang's 59.17 points put her in front of Mirai Nagasu (57.22) and Ashley Wagner (51.67) heading into today's free skate.

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