Allenby, Wi share lead at Honda Classic

Robert Allenby shot a two-under-par 68 Friday, getting him to five-under 135 after two rounds of the Honda Classic at Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and into a tie atop the leaderboard with first-round leader Charlie Wi -- who shot a wild round of 70.

While the wind died down a bit from Thursday, the breezes did pick up as the second round went along -- and par remained a solid score. The cut was four over and only 30 broke par, with 71.9 being the average score for the round.

Will MacKenzie and Steve Stricker were tied for third at three under after 69s. Wi fell out of the lead by making triple bogey on No. 11, his second hole. A run of three consecutive birdies -- starting with a chip-in from just off the green at No. 12 -- quickly undid the damage caused by the triple.

TENNIS

ATP removes Blake from tournament

Top-seeded James Blake was removed from the quarterfinals of the Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas after ATP Tour officials reversed a ruling that had allowed him to advance because of a competitor’s withdrawal during round-robin play.

Evgeny Korolev took Blake’s place in the quarterfinals and defeated Sam Querrey, 6-4, 6-4. ATP officials released a statement blaming the confusion on “an incorrect variation of ATP rules.”

Blake had been awarded a quarterfinal spot after Juan Martin del Potro withdrew Thursday because of respiratory problems during a match that Blake led, 6-3, 3-1. A review of the rules found that an incomplete match can’t count as a match played for the retiring player. That eliminated Del Potro based on a tiebreaker procedure and moved Korolev ahead based on his round-robin win over Blake.

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Top-ranked Roger Federer defeated fifth-seeded Tommy Haas, 6-4, 7-5, to reach his fifth consecutive Dubai Open final. He will play Mikhail Youzhny, who beat Robin Soderling, 7-5, 6-2.

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Top-seeded Justine Henin beat fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4, to advance to the final of the Qatar Open at Doha. She will play second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova, who beat sixth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova, 6-4, 6-2.

WINTER SPORTS

Mancuso second in World Cup race

Skier Julia Mancuso of Olympic Valley, Calif., finished second in a World Cup super-combined event at Tarvisio, Italy, for her eighth top-three result of the season. Nicole Hosp won the race, and Austrian teammate Marlies Schild clinched the season’s super-combined title.

Hosp skied one shortened downhill leg and one slalom run in a combined time of 2 minutes 10.15 seconds. Mancuso was next, 0.32 of a second behind. Schild was 0.33 behind in third.

PRO FOOTBALL

Dillon is released by Patriots

The New England Patriots released running back Corey Dillon, cutting ties with the top active runner in the NFL on the first day of free agency.

Dillon, 32, split duties with rookie Laurence Maroney last season and has said he was considering retirement. Dillon, who spent his first seven NFL seasons with Cincinnati, is the top active runner in the league with 11,241 yards in 10 seasons. He was scheduled to count $4.4 million against the salary cap this season.

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Denver Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer, who lost his starting job to rookie Jay Cutler during the 2006 season, reportedly would rather retire than accept a trade to Tampa Bay, the NFL Network and other media sources reported.

The Broncos and Tampa Bay had reportedly worked out an agreement that would send Plummer to the Buccaneers in exchange for a middle-round draft choice.

MISCELLANY

Perry wins twice at Melbourne meet

Michelle Perry won the 110-meter hurdles in 12.82 seconds at the Melbourne Track Classic, the first leg of the IAAF World Athletics Tour. Perry also won the 100 meters in a personal best of 11.34. Olympic champion Shawn Crawford won the men’s 200 meters in 20.32.

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The Iditarod, the longest sled dog race in the world -- 1,100 miles from Anchorage to Nome -- starts today with 83 teams.

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Chase Carey, president and chief executive of DirecTV, responded to an Federal Communications Commission inquiry into a pending deal that would give the satellite television distributor Major League Baseball’s “Extra Innings” out-of-market pay package exclusively.

In a letter addressed to Monica Shah Desai, the FCC’s media bureau chief, Carey said that “consumers will receive a better product, with more content and more features” and that “no one will be denied access.”

However, cable and Dish Network customers who have previously subscribed to the package will either have to switch to DirecTV or rely on video-streamed telecasts on MLB.com. A date to announce the deal has still not been set.

-- Larry Stewart