In-Kyung Kim shot a 5-under 67 yesterday to take a three-stroke lead, while Honolulu's Michelle Wie dropped into a tie for fourth after three rounds of the Dubai Ladies Masters.

Kim, who stands at 202 overall, leads Anna Nordqvist (65) by three shots and Maria Hjorth (67) by four at the Emirates Golf Club. Wie, a Punahou alum and Stanford student who was in second place after Thursday's round, had a 71 and is six shots behind the leader.

Wie three-putted the par-5 10th hole for her only bogey.

"I did not get any putts in," said Wie, who had two birdies. "Hopefully, they will all go in tomorrow."

Wie is tied with France's Gwladys Nocera, Korea's Amy Yang and Spain's Tania Elosegui.

SOCCER

AKRON, VIRGINIA FOR TITLE

Top-seeded Akron eliminated North Carolina on penalty kicks last night in the semifinals of the men's College Cup at Cary, N.C.

Blair Gavin sent a shot into the lower left-hand corner of the net to give the Zips a 5-4 winning margin after neither team scored in regulation or the two 10-minute overtime periods.

Akron (23-0-1) will play Virginia (18-3-3) for the championship tomorrow, after the Cavaliers defeated Wake Forest 2-1 in overtime.

The result for Akron goes down as a tie, leaving the school tied with Indiana's 1997 team for the NCAA record for most consecutive wins in a season.

NFL

BRADY BACK AT PRACTICE

Tom Brady is back on the practice field.

The New England Patriots quarterback returned to practice yesterday after missing the previous two sessions with right finger, right shoulder and rib injuries. Brady was listed as questionable on Thursday's injury report.

Brady went to the locker room with an arm injury early in last week's loss to the Miami Dolphins, but didn't miss a play and finished 19 for 29 for 352 yards and two touchdowns. The 7-5 Patriots hold a one-game lead over the Dolphins and New York Jets in the AFC East.

49ERS' ULBRICH TO RETIRE

Linebacker Jeff Ulbrich is retiring after 10 seasons with the San Francisco 49ers.

Ulbrich, a University of Hawai'i alum, has been contemplating retirement since sustaining a severe concussion during an Oct. 11 game against the Atlanta Falcons. He was placed on injured reserve eight days later.

Ulbrich said yesterday that the time had come to make the decision. He plans to pursue a career in coaching, perhaps even with the 49ers.

Ulbrich, 32, played in 121 games for the 49ers with 75 starts. He finished his career with 653 tackles, including a career-high 167 in 2004. He also had 5.5 sacks, five forced fumbles and two interceptions.

MLB

KENDALL, PUTZ ON MOVE

Jason Kendall got a $6 million, two-year contract from the Kansas City Royals and J.J. Putz agreed to a $3 million, one-year deal with the Chicago White Sox yesterday as players and teams kept making moves following the winter meetings.

Kendall is a .290 hitter over his 14-year career. The 35-year-old made three All-Star teams from 1996-00 but hit just .241 with two homers and 43 RBIs last season with Milwaukee.

Putz is 23-19 with a 3.24 ERA and 103 saves in 337 relief appearances over seven major league seasons with Seattle and the New York Mets. An All-Star in 2007, Putz was 1-4 with a 5.22 ERA in 29 games for the Mets last season before undergoing season-ending arthroscopic surgery June 9 to remove a bone spur in his right elbow.

AND WHAT'S MORE

Jerry Kelly and Steve Stricker were tied with Justin Leonard and Scott Verplank at 6-under 66 after the first round of the Shark Shootout yesterday at Naples, Fla. ... Pablo Martin shot 9-under 63 to build a four-shot lead over Ernie Els (67) and Edoardo Molinari (69) after two rounds at the Alfred Dunhill Championship yesterday at Malelane, South Africa.