Off the wire

IDITAROD Norwegian wins race

Joar Ulsom of Norway has won the world’s most famous sled dog race after a grueling dash across Alaska’s rough terrain. After nearly 1,000 miles, Ulsom came off the Bering Sea ice just outside Nome and ran the last few blocks as a crowd cheered him on. He becomes the third person born outside the U. S. to claim the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. He picks up about $50,000, a drop from the 2017 winner’s earnings of more than $71,000. The race is suffering financially and has lost a major sponsor in the last year. Organizers have blamed animal rights activists for putting pressure on sponsors. The Iditarod also has been marked by fallout from its first-ever dog doping scandal. New rules this year made mushers responsible for any positive drug test.

GOLF

Els, Furyk in U.S. Open

Ernie Els and Jim Furyk have received a special exemption to play in the U.S. Open this year at Shinnecock Hills on Long Island, N.Y. Els is a two-time U.S. Open champion who would have faced qualifying because his five-year exemption from winning the 2012 British Open ran out last year. Els won the U.S. Open at Oakmont in 1994 and at Congressional in 1997. This will be his 29th consecutive U.S. Open. Furyk won the 2003 U.S. Open at Olympia Fields. They received the first U.S. Open exemptions since Retief Goosen in 2016. Goosen is a two-time Open champion, including 2004 when it was last held at Shinnecock Hills.

BASKETBALL Vanderbilt releases pair

Vanderbilt has granted releases to reserve guards Payton Willis (Fayetteville) and Larry Austin Jr., freeing up two scholarships for Coach Bryce Drew. Basketball spokesman Andy Boggs confirmed a report Wednesday that both players had been granted releases. A sophomore, Willis started 16 of his 66 games with the Commodores, and he averaged 5.1 points and 1.4 assists this season. Austin averaged 2.5 points and 1 assist in 23 games this season for Vanderbilt after

transferring from Xavier. Austin is on track to graduate in May, making him eligible to play elsewhere immediately as a graduate transfer.

Matta withdraws

Former Ohio State coach Thad Matta has withdrawn from the Georgia coach search after becoming the first known candidate to interview for the job. Matta told ESPN that “I just don’t feel that I am completely ready at this point” to take the job. Georgia fired Mark Fox on Saturday, and Matta was in Athens only two days later. Lingering back problems were an issue in Matta’s 13 years at Ohio State. His $9 million buyout includes a stipulation he must make “reasonable and diligent efforts” to find another coaching job.

He also reportedly interviewed at Mississippi. Georgia Athletic Director Greg McGarity did not respond to an interview request from The Associated Press on Wednesday.

TENNIS Halep advances

Simona Halep fought the wind and a pesky opponent to reach the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, Calif. The world’s top-ranked woman outlasted Petra Martic of Croatia 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-3 on Wednesday and improved to 18-1 in matches this year. Winds gusting to 15 mph made shots tricky. Trailing 4-2 in the first set, Martic closed to 5-4 before Halep served it out. Martic controlled the second set, taking a 5-2 lead before Halep forced the tiebreaker. The Romanian tied it 5-all before Martic won the final two points to force a third set. Halep rallied from a 2-1 deficit to tie it 3-3 before winning the last three games. Halep will play the winner of a quarterfinal between No. 5 seed Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic and Naomi Osaka of Japan. In a fourth-round men’s match, Borna Coric of Croatia outlasted American Taylor Fritz 6-2, 6-7 (8), 6-4 and No. 31 Phillipp Kohlschreiber of Germany beat Pierre-Hughes Herbert of France 6-4, 7-6 (7). No. 23 Chung Hyeon of South Korea beat 30th-seeded Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay 6-1, 6-3.

HOCKEY Spurgeon out four weeks

Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon will miss a minimum of four weeks due to a partial tear of his right hamstring, a big blow to a team trying to maintain control of a playoff spot. The Wild announced the news Wednesday, after Spurgeon was hurt against Colorado on Tuesday. They recalled forward Zack Mitchell and defenseman Ryan Murphy from the AHL, in advance of their game on Friday against Vegas.

BASEBALL Schwarber’s pay revealed

Kyle Schwarber has a $604,500 salary in the major leagues as part of the one-year contract the Chicago Cubs announced last weekend. The outfielder’s salary would drop to $271,150 while in the minor leagues as part of the split contract. It represents a slight raise from last year, when his contract was for $565,500 in the majors and $261,000 in the minors. Schwarber is on track to be eligible for salary arbitration next winter. He missed most of the 2016 season after tearing his left anterior cruciate ligament during an outfield collision with teammate Dexter Fowler. Schwarber returned for the World Series and helped the Cubs win their first title since 1908. Schwarber slumped to a .211 average with 30 home runs and 59 RBI last year and was demoted to the minors for 11 games in late June and early July. He earned $542,205.