Sports Briefs: Defending champ leading Iditarod

Tuesday, March 4, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

Bitter cold kept the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race leaders on a quick pace early today, with nearly two dozen teams into or through the Rohn checkpoint and headed for Nikolai, Alaska.

Defending champion Jeff King of Denali Park pulled ahead late Monday when he breezed through Rohn, stopping for just eight minutes and leaving at 8:57 p.m. Temperatures were well below zero, making the trail icy and fast.

Martin Buser of Big Lake; Doug Swingley of Lincoln, Mont.; and Mitch Seavey of Seward elected to rest in Rohn before setting out across the sometimes treacherous Farewell Burn.

As the race entered its third day, the leaders already had covered more than 250 miles, nearly one quarter of the 1,100-mile race to Nome.

Falcons sign free agent Buchanon

The Atlanta Falcons signed cornerback Ray Buchanan to a four-year, $13 million contract. The Indianapolis Colts had a week to match the proposal for their transition player, but decided to allow Buchanan to join the Falcons without compensation.

In other NFL news:

* Pepper Johnson, a linebacker on Bill Parcells' two Super Bowl teams with the New York Giants, was reunited with former coach, signing a two-year contract with the New York Jets. Johnson, 33, who spent last season with Detroit, is expected to receive a little more than $1 million for the two years. To make room, the Jets cut Frank Reich, their backup quarterback last season.

* Jeff Wilkins, who made 30 of 34 field goals for San Francisco last season, agreed to a four-year, $2.1 million deal with the St. Louis Rams.

IOC puts Jones on hold

U.S. boxer Roy Jones Jr. will have to wait at least another two months to find out whether he will get an Olympic gold medal eight years after he was denied one. The IOC said it needs more time to complete its investigation into the disputed decision that cost Jones the gold medal in the 1988 Seoul Games. Jones lost the 156-pound final in a 3-2 decision to South Korea's Park Si-Hun. U.S. boxing and Olympic officials have lobbied for Jones on grounds that there is evidence that judges were paid to vote for Korean boxers.

Injury jeopardizes Graf's ranking

German star Steffi Graf's knee injury will sideline her until at least late April, meaning she could lose her No. 1 ranking to Swiss teen-ager Martina Hingis. Hingis has won four tournaments in a row, including the Australian Open, and could assume the No. 1 spot at the end of March. Graf withdrew from the Pan Pacific Open on Feb. 2, when she was to have faced Hingis in the final.

Quickies

Cal Ripken, who has played in a record 2,316 consecutive regular-season games, was scratched from the Baltimore Orioles' lineup for an exhibition game because of an injury. Ripken, 36, strained his left groin, hours before the Orioles' 16-2 victory over Atlanta. He aggravated the injury during infield practice. ... The Chicago Bulls put Toni Kukoc on the injured list because of a right foot problem that could hamper him through the rest of the season and the playoffs. ... Clyde Drexler is off the injured list, but the Houston Rockets said Monday he is not expected to play for a few more days. Also, the Rockets placed guard Brent Price on the injured list and signed guard Eddie Johnson for the rest of the season. ... Italian goalkeeper Walter Zenga, 37, former star of first-division Internazionale of Milan and longtime national team player, will join the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer. ... The wife of slain Olympic wrestler David Schultz filed a civil lawsuit against John E. du Pont, who was convicted of the murder. Nancy Schultz's wrongful-death lawsuit, filed in Delaware County (Pa.) Court, seeks compensatory and punitive damages from du Pont, who last week was found guilty of third-degree murder but mentally ill.