Sports briefs for March 16, 2005

Wednesday, March 16, 2005 | 11:01 a.m.

Norwegian firefighter reaches the finish line

Robert Sorlie won the Iditarod today, overcoming insomnia and a dwindling dog team for his second victory in only three tries.

Sorlie, a 47-year-old firefighter from Norway, crossed under the arch in Nome that serves as the finish line at 8:39 a.m. local time, winning the 1,100-mile race in nine days, 18 hours, 39 minutes and 31 seconds.

"It feels good," Sorlie said. "I am ready for breakfast."

Sorlie finished the race with eight dogs -- half the number he started the race with, but the same number that took him to victory two years ago.

This year's run was only the third time Sorlie had made the 1,100-mile trip from Anchorage to Nome, a town of 3,500 at the edge of the frozen Bering Sea. In his first showing, in 2002, he finished ninth, setting a rookie record. He won the race in 2003.

Rebels continue surge

UNLV blew open a tight game with five runs in the seventh inning and beat No. 10 Arizona 8-4 at Frank Sancet Field in Tucson. It was the third consecutive victory for the Rebels (6-14). Chris Bonnell had a home run and an RBI single for UNLV and starter Eric Brock worked 5 2/3 innings, giving up three runs on six hits to even his record at 2-2.

Earlier Tuesday, junior Matt Luca was named the Mountain West Conference pitcher of the week.

SI ranks UNLV ninth

The UNLV men's golf team has been ranked the ninth-best college golf program over the past 20 years by Sports Illustrated in a feature that appeared on the internet at SI.com.

Oklahoma State took the top spot on the list, followed by Arizona State, Georgia Tech, Clemson and Texas rounded out the top five.

Rebels vault 24 spots

The UNLV men's tennis team broke a school record with a 24-spot jump in this week's national rankings released by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. The Rebels (9-3) are No. 47 following upsets of then-10th-ranked Oklahoma State and then-60th Ball State.

Temple out of NIT

Virginia Tech spoiled John Chaney's return to the Temple bench, using an 8-0 run in the second half to pull away and beat the Owls 60-50 in the first round of the NIT. Chaney was coaching his first game after a three-week suspension.