HIGH SCHOOLS

WMC, SMAA all-star games are scheduled this week

The Western Maine Conference senior all-star basketball games will be held tonight at Southern Maine Community College in South Portland. The girls’ game is at 6 p.m., followed by the boys’ game at 8.

The SMAA senior all-star basketball games are scheduled for Wednesday night at Deering High. The girls’ game will start at 5:30 p.m., with the boys’ to follow at 7. There will also be a dunk contest and a 3-point shooting contest.

LUGE

CLUKEY SIDELINED: Olympic and World Cup luger Julia Clukey of Augusta is putting her career on hold for three months to receive treatment for a congenital condition known as Arnold-Chiari Syndrome, a defect in the lower portion of the brain that limits blood flow to the spinal column.

She will have corrective surgery Friday in Los Angeles, recuperate there for a few weeks before returning home to rest for about six weeks.

Clukey, who turns 26 next month, expects to resume training again by June for the 2011-2012 World Cup.

SOCCER

PREMIER LEAGUE: Frank Lampard scored twice in a four-minute span, John Terry had a goal and Chelsea won 3-1 at Blackpool to rejuvenate its faint hopes of retaining the Premier League title.

Chelsea (15-7-6) has 51 points, nine behind first-place Manchester United (17-9-3). The Blues are fourth and three points ahead of Tottenham (13-6-9) for the final Champions League berth.

U.S. WOMEN: Alex Morgan scored two goals, Shannon Boxx and Carli Lloyd had one apiece and the Americans beat Finland 4-0 in a semifinal of the Algrave Cup in Quarteira, Portugal. The U.S. plays Iceland on Wednesday in the final.

SLED DOG RACING

IDITAROD: Four-time defending champion Lance Mackey has the lead in the 2011 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Mackey was the first musher to reach the Rainy Pass checkpoint, about 190 miles into the 1,100-mile race.

Mackey arrived with 16 dogs at 8:08 a.m. Alaska time, followed by Ray Redington Jr. at 8:32 a.m.

CAN-AM CROWN: Rene Marchildon and his team completed a grueling slog in Fort Kent that included rain followed by near-blizzard conditions to win the 250-mile Can-Am Crown across northern Maine.

He finished less than a minute ahead of Andre Longchamps of Quebec, followed by Jamie Nelson of Togo, Minn. Martin Massicotte of St. Tite, Quebec, took fourth.

Rain and blizzard conditions forced more than half of the 23 starters out of the race, which began Saturday in Fort Kent.

MISCELLANEA

IN OTHER NEWS: The Boston Marathon is adding another wave. The race, which expects 27,000 entrants for its 115th edition April 18, will send the runners off in three separate starts. The groups will leave the starting line in Hopkinton about 20 minutes apart, which officials hope will lead to a more orderly race. … Rachel Alexandra, the 2009 Horse of the Year, is in foal with an expected due date of Feb. 1, 2012.