AP - Michael Roll scored 19 points, Reeves Nelson added 18 and UCLA held off Arizona 75-69 Thursday in a Pac-10 Conference tournament quarterfinal between two powerhouses that once ruled the league but have struggled this season.

AP - Hall of Famer Merlin Olsen, who helped form one of the NFL's greatest defensive lines before embarking on a successful career in television, died Thursday after a battle with cancer. He was 69.

AP - An NFL executive says the league's independent drug testing administrator should not have exempted players who tested positive for a banned substance before two Minnesota Vikings tested positive two years ago.

All Black utility back Tamati Ellison has turned his back on next year's Rugby World Cup to take up a lucrative contract in Japan, a report said Friday.

The 26-year-old, who plays for the Wellington Hurricanes in the Super 14, will leave for Japan when the competition ends in late May, the Dominion Post newspaper said.

Ellison's agent Bruce Sharrock confirmed the move, saying he had made the decision for the right reasons, the newspaper said.

A group of US lawmakers Thursday urged the US administration to save NASA's Constellation project aimed at returning Americans to the moon in the next generation of space travel.

"Space exploration has been the guiding star of American innovation," the lawmakers -- 10 Republicans and five Democrats -- said in a letter to the NASA administrator Charles Bolden.

"It is imperative that the United States remain the world's leading spacefaring nation," they added.

The United States said Thursday that the battle for human rights is increasingly being fought on the Internet as China, Iran and other states try to block access by political activists and others.

In its 2009 report on human rights abuses worldwide, the State Department highlighted how the Internet has become a battleground for supporters and opponents of fundamental rights like freedom of expression and assembly.

AP - Five birdies were enough to put Charl Schwartzel among the leaders at the CA Championship. He wound up alone at the top because he was the one player who managed to avoid a bogey.

AP - Tiger Woods intends to remain out of golf at least until the Masters, two people with knowledge of his plans have told The Associated Press.

American household wealth jumped in 2009 for the first time since a brutal recession struck the country, underscoring the impact of an economic recovery, data from the central bank showed Thursday.

The net worth of US households -- the difference between their assets and liabilities -- stood at 54.18 trillion dollars at the end of last year, a 5.4 percent increase from the previous year, the Federal Reserve said.

A New Zealand anti-whaling activist held on a Japanese harpoon ship he boarded in Antarctic waters last month was expected to arrive in Tokyo harbour on Friday and likely face arrest.

Peter Bethune is a member of the militant Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and was the captain of a high-tech powerboat that was sliced in two in a collision with the whaling ship Shonan Maru II in January.

AFP - Juventus assumed command of their Europa League last-16 tie against Fulham with a 3-1 first-leg win on Thursday, after beleaguered English giants Liverpool were beaten at Lille.

AP - Lazar Hayward gave Marquette the lead for good with a 3-pointer with 1:51 to play, then added the clinching free throws with 3.2 seconds left, and the Golden Eagles went on to another close win, 80-76 over No. 10 Villanova on Thursday in the Big East tournament quarterfinals.

AP - Suspected gang member Willie Clark was found guilty of murder Thursday in the drive-by shooting death of Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams after a New Year's Eve outing three years ago.