Hawks’ Childress signs with Greek club
Josh Childress is leaving the Atlanta Hawks for Greek club Olympiakos, reversing the course of the many international stars who have signed with the NBA.
Heading overseas allows Childress to make more money than he could have as a restricted free agent in the United States. The Hawks had the right to match an offer from another NBA team, but not from an international club.
Agent Jim Tanner said Wednesday the three-year deal was worth about $20 million after taxes. The money is guaranteed, and Childress can opt out of the contract after each year.
The 6-foot-8, 210-pound guard/forward averaged 11.8 points and 4.9 rebounds as the Hawks’ top reserve last season.
•James Posey, a key reserve on Boston’s championship team last season and Miami’s two seasons before that, officially became a New Orleans Hornet after signing a four-year, $25 million contract.
■The Los Angeles Clippers acquired Jason Hart from the Utah Jazz in exchange for Brevin Knight in a swap of point guards.
•Former Missouri basketball coach Norm Stewart, 73, is recovering from open-heart surgery in which an aortic valve was replaced on Friday. He is recuperating at Boone Hospital Center in Columbia, Mo.
Football
Rams’ Wroten suspended for season
St. Louis Rams defensive end Claude Wroten was suspended without pay for the season for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
Wroten, entering his third season with the Rams, was suspended for four games last season. His draft stock fell in 2006 when he was stopped for speeding and police discovered marijuana in the vehicle.
The charge of possession with intent to distribute was dropped, but he also failed a drug test at the NFL combine.
Wroten had been projected as a potential first-round pick in the 2006 draft but the Rams ended up taking him in the third round.
•Wide receiver Marques Colston got his reward for playing far beyond the expectations for a seventh-round pick.
Colston, whose 168 catches are more than any NFL receiver through his first two seasons, agreed to a three-year extension that could keep him in New Orleans through the 2011 season, Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said.
•The Chargers released wide receiver Eric Parker two days before their first full-squad practice.
•Broncos receiver Rod Smith is planning to hold a news conference today amid published reports that he will retire.
•Caleb Campbell will not get a chance to play for the Detroit Lions because of a change in military policy.
Campbell was a seventh-round draft pick for the Lions in April. At the time, Army policy would have allowed the West Point graduate to serve as a recruiter if he made the team.
But a subsequent Department of Defense policy has superseded the 2005 Army policy.
Miscellany
Injured Gay withdraws
Sprinter Tyson Gay withdrew from Friday’s London Grand Prix while he continues to recover from the hamstring injury he sustained at the U.S. Olympic trials.
•Swimmer Jessica Hardy’s trip to Beijing could be in jeopardy after she tested positive for a banned substance, according to a source.
Hardy’s “A” sample from the recent U.S. trials tested positive, someone familiar with the results who is not authorized to speak publicly told The Associated Press.
•Unbeaten middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik has finalized a deal to fight longtime titlist Bernard Hopkins on Oct. 18 in Atlantic City, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said.
•Randy Carlyle, who coached the Anaheim Ducks to the Stanley Cup championship in 2007, signed a two-year extension.
•Michelle Kwan, a two-time figure skating medalist at the Winter Olympics, will be among seven members of the presidential delegation to the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.