Sunday, June 8, 2008
Terry Porter will be the Phoenix Suns' next coach, ending the club's month-long search for a successor to Mike D'Antoni.
Phoenix General Manager Steve Kerr said yesterday he had agreed to terms with Porter, who was an assistant with the Detroit Pistons.
Porter, 45, played in the NBA for 17 seasons and teamed with Kerr in San Antonio.
"He's got a great combination of leadership skills," Kerr said. "He's a great communicator. And his coaching experience, two years as a head coach, is important to me. The fact that he's sat in that chair, that was a key factor. He's very tough-minded."
Porter is expected to sign a three-year deal worth about $7 million, and he likely will be introduced at a news conference early this week. . . .
Denver Nuggets forward Nene will not play for Brazil in Olympic qualifying next month. Nuggets team doctor Steven Traina sent a letter Friday to the Brazilian Basketball Confederation saying Nene required more time to recover after treatment for testicular cancer and other injuries.
Nene's absence is another blow to the Brazilians, already without injured Cleveland Cavaliers forward Anderson Varejao.
· FOOTBALL : Cedric Benson's rocky relationship with the Chicago Bears got murkier after the running back's arrest on a drunken driving charge in Austin, his second arrest in little more than a month.
Bears officials said they would treat the matter seriously. Benson's attorney said that the former Texas star had a few drinks with dinner but didn't think he was intoxicated, and that he cooperated with police.
Still, attorney Sam Bassett said, "He's probably in trouble with his team for breaking curfew and having anything to drink under the circumstances."
Authorities said Benson was arrested early yesterday after he failed a field sobriety test. The former first-round draft pick was charged with driving while intoxicated and released on bond. . . .
Former Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Odell Thurman has been suspended indefinitely by the NFL for violating its substance-abuse policy and will miss the 2008 season.
The free agent will not be considered for reinstatement until after the season, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said. It's the third consecutive season Thurman will miss.
· BOXING: Sergio Mora, the winner of the inaugural season of "The Contender" boxing show, won the World Boxing Council super welterweight title, outpointing Vernon Forrest in Uncasville, Conn. . . .
Kelly Pavlik is both the middleweight king and the new chairman of the Atlantic City boardwalk. Pavlik got back on the knockout path, stopping unheralded Welshman Gary Lockett with a punishing assault in the third round of his first title defense.
Nearly everyone considered Lockett a mere tuneup for the hard-punching Pavlik, who captured the WBC and WBO versions of the middleweight championship when he stopped previously unbeaten Jermain Taylor in the same building last September.
· AUTO RACING: Scott Dixon regained the lead a lap before a crash between his closest competitors and crossed the finish line under caution to win the IndyCar Series race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.
On the 222nd lap, Dixon drove under Marco Andretti coming out of the third turn to get in front.
Near the same spot a lap later, Ryan Hunter-Reay was on the bottom of the 1 1/2 -mile, high-banked track trying to get past Andretti. But Hunter-Reay's car suddenly darted up into Andretti, sending both of them into the wall.
· SWIMMING: Erik Vendt is rethinking his plans for the U.S. Olympic trials after swimming a strong 400-meter individual medley at the Mutual of Omaha Swimvitational.
Vendt was the Olympic silver medalist in the event in 2000 and 2004, but he's been mulling the possibility of skipping it in favor of the 400 freestyle at the trials here in three weeks.
A time of 4 minutes 14.99 seconds will make his decision a lot harder, he said.
"I think the chances of making the team in the 400 IM and 400 free are about equal," he said. "The only reason I'm so focused on the 400 free is that it helps my 1,500 [free] quite a bit."
Vendt finished almost seven seconds faster than his Club Wolverine teammate, Alex Vanderkaay, with a time that was sixth-fastest in the world this year.
Six-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps finished his warmup for the trials by swimming the 100 backstroke in 53.42 seconds, 0.41 of a second off his personal best.
· SOFTBALL: Crystl Bustos hit a three-run home run and Andrea Duran had the go-ahead sacrifice fly in the sixth inning to help the United States beat Canada, 9-5, in Oklahoma City in its first exhibition game against an Olympic opponent this year.
The United States had trailed only four times in 39 games before pulling out a 10-8 victory against a team of pro softball all-stars the previous night.
Natasha Watley scored on a Dione Meier's wild pitch to tie it at 5, and Duran followed with a sacrifice fly to center field to put the United States back on top. Bustos cleared the bases with her 20th home run in 41 games this season. It landed about a dozen rows up in the left field stands. Kelly Kretschman drove in three runs.
-- From News Services
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