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Kansas still tops coaches' poll

MCLEAN, Va., Feb. 8 (UPI) -- The Kansas Jayhawks solidified their hold on the No. 1 position of the USA Today/ESPN men's college coaches' basketball poll released Monday.

Kansas (22-1), which has a key Big 12 match-up Monday against No. 14 Texas, pulled in 29 of the poll's 31 first-place votes. Kentucky (22-1) and Syracuse (23-1) split the other two first-place votes and each moved up one spot this week to second and third, respectively.

West Virginia (19-3) improved two spots to No. 4 while Villanova (20-2) dropped from second to No. 5 after suffering its second loss of the season. Purdue (19-3) slipped one place to sixth but Duke (19-4) went up two and was seventh.

Georgetown (17-5) handed Villanova that loss but lost itself to South Florida so held steady at No. 8. Kansas State (19-4) re-entered the Top 10 at No. 9 and Michigan State (19-5), fifth a week ago, came in at 10th.

Gonzaga (19-4) and Tennessee (18-4) each jumped two places and were the Nos. 11 and 12. Wisconsin (18-5) moved to 13th, ahead of Texas (19-4) and No. 15 Butler (20-4).

Ohio State (18-6) was this week's No. 16 team, with Brigham Young (22-3) at 17, Northern Iowa (21-2) coming in at 18, New Mexico (21-3) the new No. 19 and Georgia Tech (17-6) at 20th.

Temple (19-5) took the No. 21 spot with, in order, Cornell (20-3), Pittsburgh (17-6), Vanderbilt (17-5) and Nevada-Las Vegas (19-4) completing the Top 25.

UNLV wasn't ranked last week and Baylor fell off this week's list.

Stricker No. 2 in world golf rankings

VIRGINIA WATER, England, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Steve Stricker's victory at the PGA's Northern Trust Open in California boosted him to the world No. 2 ranking.

Stricker opened Sunday's play with a 6-stroke lead and was able to hold off a challenge from Luke Donald to collect his eighth PGA title. Four of those have come since last May.

He improved his world ranking to No. 2, matching his career best. He was second in the rankings for three weeks last September.

His move pushed Phil Mickelson from second to third on the rankings list released Monday. Mickelson was a two-time defending Northern Trust Open champion but finished tied for 45th this year.

Tiger Woods remains ensconced in the world No. 1 position, as he has been for the last 244 weeks and 586 weeks overall. After Stricker and Mickelson are, in order, Lee Westwood, Jim Furyk and Martin Kaymer.

Rory McIlroy, who tied for sixth at the European PGA Tour's Omega Dubai Desert Classic, improved from ninth to seventh in the ratings. Paul Casey slipped from seventh to eighth while Henrik Stenson went from 10th to ninth, bumping Padraig Harrington from eighth to No. 10.

Dolphins' McDaniel jailed after dispute

DAVIE, Fla., Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Tony McDaniel has been charged with domestic violence, police records indicate.

Police and court records show McDaniel, 25, appeared in a Broward County courtroom Sunday morning, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Monday.

The newspaper said McDaniel's arrest report indicated he and his girlfriend, Alaina Smith, got into a shoving match outside their Davie, Fla., home Saturday while arguing over unanswered phone calls and a late night of partying.

Officers said Smith asserted she had just returned from buying breakfast for houseguests when McDaniel confronted her after returning from a night out with friends. She alleged that McDaniel grabbed her purse and pushed her to the pavement, where she hit her head as they struggled over the bag.

The Sentinel quoted the police report as saying Smith ran into the house, told the guests to call 911 and then ran back outside, where he threw her phone to the ground.

McDaniel, however, reportedly told police that Smith attacked him and he used his forearms to block her.

The Sentinel said Davie Police arrested McDaniel on a misdemeanor battery charge and he was released from the Broward County jail on $3,500 bond.

America's Cup opener postponed

VALENCIA, Spain, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- The first race of the 2010 America's Cup competition was postponed because of unsettled winds Monday off the coast of Spain.

The Swiss boat Alinghi was set to race against the U.S.-owned BWM Oracle in a best-of-three series near Valencia, Spain. Alinghi has won the last two America's Cup competitions.

Officials waited four hours before calling off Monday's race. They said winds varied as much as 100 degrees from the start line to the turning buoy. The first race was rescheduled for Wednesday.

Alinghi won its first America's Cup in 2003, defeating a New Zealand boat in races off Auckland, New Zealand. It defended the cup in 2007 by again beating a New Zealand entry this time off Valencia.

The last American winner of the America's Cup races was America3 in 1992.