Sports briefs

Iditarod

KING KEEPS LEAD: Defending champion Jeff King kept the lead Sunday in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, with three other teams close behind entering the final leg of the longest sled dog race in the world.

More than 100 people, many of them bundled in bulky parkas with large fur ruffs, stood in below-zero weather with icy wind whipping the coastal village of Unalakleet to await the first musher into the checkpoint 261 miles from the finish line in Nome.

Football

NEW PATRIOT: Donte' Stallworth will be catching passes from Tom Brady instead of Donovan McNabb next year.

Stallworth and the New England Patriots agreed Sunday on a multiyear contract. ESPN.com reported Stallworth's contract could be worth $33.1 million over six years, including a guaranteed $3.6 million for 2007.

Hockey

UNION LEADER ON LEAVE: NHL Players' Association executive director Ted Saskin and senior director Ken Kim, accused of monitoring player e-mails, were placed on paid leaves Sunday night following a vote by the 30 players representatives.

The players also voted to seek independent counsel to help guide them through an internal review.

Colleges

SLCC: The Bruins softball team ended their four-game SWAC weekend at Snow College with three wins and one loss against the Badgers. The Bruins improve their overall record to 13-10-2 and their 6-6 SWAC record has them currently third in the conference race. The women will host the Community College of Southern Nevada next weekend on Bruin Field with doubleheaders both days.

The SLCC baseball team went 1-3 at 24th-ranked Western Nevada.

UTAH VALLEY STATE: UVSC freshman Dick Bargewell connected on his first collegiate home run, but New Mexico State won Sunday's series finale, 7-5, to take two out of three from the Wolverines (5-10).