Newsmakers: 76ers veteran Elton Brand announces retirement

Retired Philadelphia 76ers forward Elton Brand announced his retirement. Brand was the first overall pick out of Duke in the 1999 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls and was named rookie of the year. Brand played 17 seasons in the NBA and was in his second stint with the Sixers.

He averaged 15.9 points and 8.5 rebounds in 1,058 games with the Bulls, Los Angeles Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, Atlanta Hawks and Sixers.

Brand was a two-time All-Star when he spurned better offers and signed an $82 million, five-year free-agent contract in 2008 with Philadelphia.

He made the announcement Thursday at the Sixers training complex in Camden, New Jersey. Brand says playing in the NBA has been “a wonderful journey. It’s been an honor and a privilege.”

Brand had not played in the preseason and will still collect $1 million.

Arrested University of Connecticut football players LB Nazir Williams and DL Felton Blackwellhave were arrested on drug and weapons charges and suspended from the team. The 19-year-olds were pulled over Wednesday after officers saw their vehicle had only one working headlight and had drifted over the center line. Police found four grams of marijuana, a BB gun, and an open container of vodka in the car.

Both players are charged with having the gun in a vehicle, and Williams is also charged with possession of drugs and alcohol. Both are due in court on Nov. 1.

The players, both redshirt freshmen, did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment and it was not immediately clear if either had hired an attorney.

Sidelined Tennis star Rafael Nadal says he will not play again in 2016 so he can fully recover from a left wrist injury that kept him out of action for more than two months this season.

Nadal said in a statement that now it’s “time to rest and start preparing intensively” for next season.

He said he will not play next week in Basel or in Paris next month. He is also ruled out of the ATP Finals in London.

Nadal admitted he forced his recovery to be able to play in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and that caused him to be in pain in every tournament since then.

Reported University of Virginia football player Aidan Howard was bullied and harassed by teammates because of his learning disability and suffered a broken eye socket after being forced to fight another athlete in order to prove his “manliness,” according to a federal lawsuit filed against the school this month. Howard, who has since left the school, said in the complaint filed in a Pennsylvania federal court that his teammates called him “slow” and “retarded” in front of coaches when he couldn’t quickly comprehend plays. Howard also suffered a broken eye socket when he was forced to fight another first-year player in August as part of his “initiation” onto the team, according to the complaint. A university spokesman said the school is investigating, but couldn’t comment further on the lawsuit.

“The university is aware of Mr. Howard’s allegations and has made all of the required external notifications in accordance with state law,” Anthony de Bruyn said in an email. “The university has been actively investigating these reports consistent with its obligations under the law and University policy,” he said.

The complaint says the hazing was done primarily by two wide receivers: Doni Dowling and David Eldridge. In addition to making fun of Howard for his learning disability, it says the two would make him eat his lunch and dinner alone “because he was not as tough and manly as others within the football program.”

De Bruyn did not immediately respond to an email seeking information about whether the players have obtained attorneys.

The lawsuit states Dowling and Eldridge orchestrated a locker room fight between Howard and another player after a team practice that was witnessed by more than 100 people, including Famika Anae, a graduate assistant for the team. The lawsuit also says Dowling and Eldridge forced Howard and the other student to “‘enter the ring’ to flashing lights, loud music and announcements to simulate a prize fight.”

Extended Sixth-year California coach Lindsay Gottlieb received a contract extension through the 2020-21 season, adding three additional years to her deal.

The school announced the extension Thursday, when Gottlieb was in attendance at Pac-12 media day.

From the moment she returned to Cal as head coach in April 2011, Gottlieb spoke of building a program over the long haul – and this move provides her program with stability going forward and benefits on the recruiting trail.

The 39-year-old Gottlieb, the 2012-13 Pac-12 Coach of the Year, is 118-51 at Cal. She was previously a top assistant at the school, then spent three years as head coach at Santa Barbara before returning to Berkeley.

The Golden Bears are picked sixth in the preseason poll by the conference coaches.

Reported Florida businessman Aaron Davidson pleaded guilty in New York to conspiracy charges in a scheme to pay bribes to high-ranking soccer officials in exchange for media and marketing rights to international soccer tournaments and matches. Davidson could face decades in prison at an April 24 sentencing. As part of his plea he agreed to forfeit more than a half-million dollars.

The 45-year-old Davidson was arrested last year in the FIFA probe after prosecutors said soccer officials accepted $150 million in bribes over a 24-year period in exchange for rigging bids for lucrative marketing rights. Davidson ran a Miami-based marketing firm. He was arrested along with more than a dozen other people.

Prosecutors say Davidson agreed to make bribe payments totaling more than $14 million.

Agreed The Detroit Pistons exercised their team option on forward Stanley Johnson through the 2017-18 season. Johnson averaged 8.1 points and 4.2 rebounds as a rookie in 2015-16. Detroit drafted him with the No. 8 pick in 2015. He made six starts last season.

Johnson can provide extra athleticism on the wing for a Detroit team built around center Andre Drummond and point guard Reggie Jackson. The Pistons made the playoffs last season for the first time since 2009.

Died Former Florida men’s basketball coach Tommy Bartlett has died. He was 88. Bartlett had a 95-85 record at Florida from 1966-73. He also coached Chattanooga from 1958-62 and was 56-38.

Before coaching, Bartlett lettered at Tennessee from 1949-52. He also played tennis at Tennessee, where he won six Southeastern Conference individual titles and led the Volunteers to an SEC team championship in 1951.

Bartlett coached men’s tennis at Tennessee from 1963-66. He later coached men’s and women’s tennis at Chattanooga. Bartlett led the Chattanooga women to three straight Division II national titles from 1983-85.

He was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1986.

Announced Olympic and world downhill champion Tina Maze says she will retire after competing in the giant slalom in Maribor on Jan. 7.

Maze says “I am really happy with what I’ve achieved. I don’t feel the need to compete at such a high level anymore.”

Having set the record for most World Cup points in a single season while taking the overall title in 2013, Maze took a year off from racing last season, prompting speculation about her career.

The four-time Olympian won 26 World Cup races and 13 medals at major championships, including two golds at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

Committed Power forward Ira Lee committed to Arizona. Lee announced he is committing to Arizona via Twitter. Lee lived in the Phoenix area until he was 12 and currently plays for Crossroads School in Santa Monica, California. He is the son of former NFL player Zeph Lee.

Arizona was widely considered to have the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class before Lee committed, a group that includes 7-footer Deandre Ayton, ranked by some services as the top overall recruit.

The 2017 class also includes guards Brandon Randolph and Alex Barcello.