Beating and robbery knock Allenby out of tournament

LA QUINTA, Calif. – Robert Allenby withdrew from the Humana Challenge while he recovers from a beating and robbery last week in Honolulu.

Allenby said Tuesday he is skipping the tournament on the advice of his doctor. He wants to make sure he fully is recovered before returning to competition.

Allenby said he was beaten and robbed Friday night. He doesn’t recall many details except being thrown out of a car in a downtown park in Honolulu. He posted photos of his face with a bloodied scrape on the forehead and nose, and a left eye that was swollen and badly bruised.

Dustin Johnson: Cocaine wasn’t cause of break

NEW YORK – Golfer Dustin Johnson said in a magazine interview that cocaine is not the reason he chose to sit out the last six months to get his life in order.

“I did not have a problem,” Johnson told Sports Illustrated when asked about cocaine. “It’s just something I’m not going to get into. I have issues. But that’s not the issue.”

Johnson said in August that he was taking a leave of absence from the PGA Tour to seek professional help for what he called “personal challenges.” Golf.com reported that he had failed a drug test for the third time and had been suspended.

Johnson became a father for the first time Tuesday.

Iditarod

Dangerous trail conditions could move race start

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A lack of snow in south-central Alaska has organizers of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race pondering whether to move the start of the grueling 1,000-mile competition from Willow to Fairbanks.

The event begins with a ceremonial start March 7 in Anchorage. Dog teams carrying passengers make a leisurely 11-mile run from downtown to an airstrip on the city’s east side.

Actual racing begins a day later and usually starts in Willow. The trail takes dogs and mushers through the Alaska Range, down the Yukon River and along the Bering Sea coast to the gold rush town of Nome.

NFL

ESPN reports Patriots used under-inflated balls vs. Colts

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The NFL said its investigation into whether the New England Patriots used under-inflated footballs in the AFC championship game is ongoing after a report Tuesday night claimed the league found 11 balls were not properly inflated.

Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president for football operations, told The Associated Press that the “investigation is currently underway and we’re still awaiting findings.”

Vincent was responding to an ESPN report that cited anonymous league sources saying 11 of the Patriots’ 12 allotted game footballs were under-inflated by 2 pounds of air. ESPN did not say how that occurred.

WNBA

Seattle turns to eye of the Storm for head coach

SEATTLE – Jenny Boucek was promoted to head coach of the Seattle Storm.

The WNBA team announced the move Tuesday.

Boucek succeeds Brian Agler, who left this month to coach the Los Angeles Sparks. Boucek was an assistant for the Storm’s first title in 2004 before helping them another in 2010.

Seattle has been one of the most stable franchises in the league the past decade. The Storm reached the playoffs every year since 2003 until this past season while winning two WNBA titles.

A key question for the Storm is whether Lauren Jackson returns. The three-time WNBA MVP has missed the past few seasons because of injuries. The Storm own the No. 1 pick in the upcoming WNBA draft

ASSociated Press