Roddick, Nadal headed for showdown in Dubai

Sixth-seeded Andy Roddick will face second-seeded Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships in the United Arab Emirates.

Roddick had 13 aces in his 6-3, 6-4 win over Paul-Henri Mathieu, and Nadal beat Mikhail Ledovskikh, 6-4, 6-0, on Wednesday.

Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray also reached the quarterfinals.

Djokovic beat Fabrice Santoro, 6-3, 7-6 (3), and Murray beat Fernando Verdasco, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5).

France’s Julien Benneteau upset second-seeded Australian star Lleyton Hewitt, 6-3, 7-5, to advance to the quarterfinals at Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas.

Benneteau will face Sam Querrey in the quarterfinals. Querrey , beat eighth-seeded Nicolas Kiefer, 6-3, 6-1, in windy conditions.

Fourth-seeded Guillermo Canas advanced with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Chris Guccione and will face qualifier Amer Delic.

BASKETBALL

NCAA to announce findings against 49ers

The NCAA Committee on Infractions is expected to make public today the findings of its 17-month investigation into the Long Beach State men’s basketball program and possible sanctions against the team for rules violations during the 2005-06 season.

Last season, in a move that is thought to be related to the investigation, the team suspended players Kejuan Johnson and Mark Dawson for three games for violations regarding their transfers from community colleges. Assistant coach Reggie Howard was also suspended and did not return to the team.

-- Peter Yoon

Perry Watson, 57, resigned as coach at Detroit after 15 seasons. He had been on an indefinite leave of absence since Jan. 7 for an undisclosed medical condition.

The Ivy League and Harvard will review whether recruiting violations were made by the Crimson program after a story in the New York Times chronicled possible violations.

PRO FOOTBALL

Walker and Harris sign with the Raiders

The Oakland Raiders signed former Pro Bowl wide receiver Javon Walker and free agent offensive tackle Kwame Harris.

Walker will receive a $6-million signing bonus and $5 million in salary in each of the first two years. Harris is guaranteed $3 million in the first year of his deal that would pay him $16 million over three years.

The Atlanta Falcons released quarterback Joey Harrington, leaving the team with only two quarterbacks as it prepares to address the position in the NFL draft.

The Falcons cut veteran quarterback Byron Leftwich last month.

The New England Patriots re-signed veteran wide receiver Jabar Gaffney. Last season, he played in 16 games with seven starts and caught 36 passes for 449 yards and a career-high five touchdowns.

Former St. Louis wide receiver Isaac Bruce, 35, formally signed his two-year contract with the San Francisco 49ers after agreeing to continue his 14-year career with the Rams’ longtime division rival.

MISCELLANY

Gebhardt has lead in the Iditarod

Paul Gebhardt, who was second in last year’s Iditarod, was the first musher out of Ophir, which is 609 miles from the finish in Nome, Alaska.

Gebhardt left the ghost town checkpoint at 12:52 p.m., hours before Hugh Neff, who departed at 4:18 p.m.

Others arriving at Ophir included four-time champion Martin Buser and 2004 winner Mitch Seavey.

The sixth-ranked UCLA men’s tennis team plays host today to No. 10 USC beginning at 1:30 p.m. at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. Admission is free. The Bruins defeated the Trojans, 4-3, in last year’s meeting at UCLA to win the 2007 Pac-10 championship.

Penn State tight end Andrew Quarless was suspended indefinitely for an unspecified violation of team rules, the sixth player suspended in the off-season.

Washington football Coach Tyrone Willingham hired Steve Gervais, coach at nearby Skyline High, as the Huskies’ running backs coach.

Jackie Robinson, who played baseball for UCLA in 1940, has earned induction into the College Baseball Hall of Fame.

Mike Gilleran announced that he would step down as West Coast Conference commissioner.