Briefly

Chicago sends Mutombo off to Houston in 3-for-1 trade

Hoping to find the rugged low post presence they’ve been sorely lacking, the Houston Rockets acquired veteran center Dikembe Mutombo in a trade with the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.

The Rockets sent reserve guards Adrian Griffin, Eric Piatkowski and Mike Wilks to the Bulls.

“With the addition of Dikembe, we have bolstered our interior defense and rebounding,” Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson said. “Dikembe has had a long distinguished career, but can still contribute on a nightly basis.”

“The New York Knicks signed 7-foot-2 center Bruno Sundov.

“Greg Buckner was waived by the Philadelphia 76ers.

College football

Big Ten urges sensible replays

The Big Ten is telling its technical advisers to use common sense with instant replay after a five-minute delay in Wisconsin’s season opener against Central Florida riled coaches on both sides.

The holdup resulted in a 21-yard gain for Badgers running back Anthony Davis instead of a 22-yard gain.

“It is within the context of this play that the conference office directed its technical advisers to use ‘common sense’ when deciding when to implement instant replay,” the Big Ten announced. “Specifically, a replay should be triggered when the technical adviser concludes there is reasonable video evidence that an error may have occurred in a reviewable play.”

The league said it also “reminded the technical advisers to be mindful of game interruptions associated with video reviews. Good judgment entails protecting the flow of the game against unnecessary interruptions unless it appears that an officiating call may be in error, and that the call has a discernible competitive impact on the game.”

College athletics

BYU replaces both ADs

BYU fired its men’s and women’s athletic directors in Provo, Utah, and merged the two departments, the result of an internal review commissioned in May.

The school didn’t renew the contracts of Val Hale, the men’s athletic director, and Elaine Michaelis, the women’s AD. They were immediately replaced by a team of department officials, including former California football coach Tom Holmoe. K. Fred Skousen, the school’s advancement vice president, said a formal search for a new athletic director would not begin for three to six months.

Skousen said the changes were not related to an ongoing investigation by the Utah County Attorney’s office into a 17-year-old girl’s claim that she was raped by several people she believed to be BYU football players.

Soccer

U.S. ties Panama

Cobi Jones scored two minutes into second-half injury time, and the United States escaped with a 1-1 tie against Panama in a World Cup qualifier at Panama City, Panama.

Roberto Brown’s goal in the 69th minute had put 106th-ranked Panama on track for a huge upset against the 10th-ranked Americans.

After three minutes of injury time had been signaled, Eddie Lewis lofted the ball and it bounced off a Panamanian player who had challenged Brian McBride. On the soggy turf, Landon Donovan turned and misshit the ball, which sliced to Jones. Jones, who may have been in an offside position, then beat goalkeeper Donaldo Gonzalez from 8 yards out for his 15th goal in 163 international appearances.

High school sports

High school football player dies

A 15-year-old Washington boy has died from head injuries he suffered in a high school football game.

DeShawn Smith died Tuesday night at Harborview Medical Center, nursing supervisor Pamela Herrell said.

Smith, who attended Tyee High School in suburban SeaTac, was injured Saturday night in a helmet-to-helmet collision during a game at Foster High School in Tukwila.

Sports people

Iranian rewarded for snub

Iran has paid Arash Miresmaeli, a judo champion who avoided an Olympic match against an Israeli, the same $125,000 prize money it awarded its gold medal winners, the official Islamic Republic News Agency said. … Former road cycling world champion Oscar Camenzind was banned for two years after a positive drugs test even though he has retired, the Swiss Olympic Committee said. … … Ryan Harvey hit his third home run of the series Tuesday to propel host Boise to a 9-7 win over Vancouver and a 2-0 lead in the best-of-5 Northwest League baseball championship series. The series shifts from Hawks Memorial Stadium and continues tonight in Vancouver.