Iditarod Belongs to Swingley Again

Doug Swingley won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Wednesday for the third consecutive year, completing an 1,100-mile trip through the harsh Alaska wilderness.

The musher from Lincoln, Mont., arrived at the finish in Nome at 6:55 a.m., ending his trek in nine days 19 hours 55 minutes. His closest rival, Linwood Fiedler, reached Nome eight hours later to claim second place.

Swingley, who finished first in 1995, equaled Susan Butcher’s total of four victories.

Swingley won $62,857 and a new pickup truck.

Pro Football

Tackle Todd Steussie, one of the anchors of Minnesota’s offensive line since 1994, was released by the Vikings to make room under the salary cap. . . . The New York Giants added to their already imposing defense by signing defensive end Kenny Holmes from the Tennessee Titans. Holmes’ five-year deal will pay him $20 million with a $5-million signing bonus. . . . The Detroit Lions released offensive tackle Ray Roberts. . . . Mike Sellers of the Washington Redskins was signed to a contract offer sheet by the Cleveland Browns. . . . The Miami Dolphins re-signed quarterback Mike Quinn to a two-year contract and waived tight end Hunter Goodwin.

Jurisprudence

A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va., indicted former Washington Redskin tight end Terry Orr on charges of wire fraud and money laundering. . . . St. Louis Ram cornerback Dre Bly was convicted of reckless driving in Virginia Beach, Va., for going more than 100 mph in a 55-mph zone last July 4. . . . A golfer will receive $1.2 million for the vision she lost in one eye after a fellow golfer’s shot struck her as she stood on a green, her lawyer said in Merrillville, Ind. Terri Deeb will receive $925,000 from Elks Lodge Golf Course near Rochester and $275,000 from the golfer who hit the errant shot, Sonney Mosley. . . . Police ended an investigation of Detroit Murray-Wright High football Coach Joel Blankenship, who had been accused of paddling students who received poor grades, after a prosecutor declined to issue a warrant.

Track and Field

Stacy Dragila, winner of the first Olympic women’s pole vault competition and world-record holder, was upset by Svetlana Feofanova of Russia at the Jose Maria Cagigal Memorial track and field meet at Madrid. Feofanova won by clearing 15 feet 1 1/2 inches. . . . Olympic 400-meter champion Cathy Freeman of Australia is taking a year off from competition to rest.

Miscellany

Hawaii football Coach June Jones has been released from a Honolulu hospital after suffering serious head and internal injuries in an auto accident last month. Jones was released Tuesday and was resting at home, according to the Queen’s Medical Center.

Anna Kournikova, out because of a stress fracture in her foot, withdrew from next week’s Ericsson Open at Key Biscayne, Fla.

Patty Sheehan was appointed captain of the U.S. team that will try to win back golf’s Solheim Cup next year against Europe at Interlachen Country Club in Edina, Minn.

Twenty-one people received hospital treatment after being injured in crowd violence that erupted at a Champions Cup soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Turkish club Galatasaray at Paris, French police said. . . . UEFA lifted a one-match ban and $12,000 fine imposed on Real Madrid striker Raul Gonzalez for scoring with a hand ball in a March 6 Champions League match against Leeds United. . . . Galaxy defender Greg Vanney is expected to be out about a month after hernia surgery.

The Tacoma SaberCats won a shootout and defeated the Ice Dogs, 3-2, in a West Coast Hockey League game at Tacoma, Wash.

The U.S. lost for the first time in the Americas Cup field hockey tournament, 4-1, to top-seeded Argentina at Kingston, Jamaica.

The Los Angeles Sports Council and the City of Long Beach submitted a joint proposal to USA Swimming to host the 2004 U.S. Olympic trials at an aquatic compound to be built inside the Long Beach Arena and the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center.