Briefly

Tourism officials have approved a $4.5 million bid to host the NBA All-Star game in 2007, hoping to persuade the league to make Las Vegas the first city without a team to hold the event.

The board of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority authorized the bid during a meeting Tuesday.

Memphis, Tenn., is the only other city with a confirmed interest in hosting the All-Star weekend in 2007 or 2008. New Orleans and Charlotte, N.C., have been mentioned as possible bidders.

League officials have made two trips to Las Vegas to scout possible locations, including the Thomas & Mack Center on the UNLV campus.

Last month, state gambling regulators approved a league request blocking Nevada sports books from accepting wagers on All-Star events held in the state.

Such bans are not unprecedented. The Palms hotel-casino does not accept bets on professional basketball games because it is owned by the Maloof family, which also owns the Sacramento Kings. Mayor Oscar Goodman praised George Maloof, who attended Tuesday’s visitors authority meeting, for suggesting Las Vegas host the NBA All-Star game.

Next year’s NBA All-Star game will be in Houston.

•Detroit Pistons owner Bill Davidson, president Joe Dumars and coach Larry Brown are expected to meet today for the first time since draft night June 28.

The purpose of the meeting, according to Dumars, is to achieve some clarity in Brown’s status for next season and try to determine what steps to take next.

Brown, who is recovering from minor bladder surgery, has said repeatedly that he plans to coach the Pistons next season if his health allows. Bladder specialists at the Mayo Clinic advised Brown to rest for at least a month before making any plans.

•Lingering soreness from an old knee injury will keep first-round pick Danny Granger from playing with the Indiana Pacers in the Minnesota summer league.

•Washington Wizards owner Abe Pollin had heart bypass surgery last week and is recovering at a Cleveland hospital, a team spokesman said.

Pollin is the NBA’s longest-tenured owner, having bought the then-Baltimore Bullets in 1964.

•Dan Gadzuric’s agent, Bob Myers, said the 6-foot-11 center will sign a six-year, $36 million contract to stay with the Milwaukee Bucks once the league-wide moratorium on player movement ends later this month.

Olympics

Paris mayor rules out 2016 bid

The mayor of Paris, still bitter about his city’s loss to London to host the 2012 Olympics, ruled out a bid for the 2016 Games.

Paris “will not be a candidate … and if I can support a South American or an African bid, I will do it gladly,” Mayor Bertrand Delanoe told radio network Europe 1.

The Olympics have never been held in Africa or South America. With the 2012 games in London, it’s unlikely the 2016 games will be held in Europe.

Football

Chiefs’ Warfield suspended

Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Eric Warfield has been suspended for the first four games of the 2005 season for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.

The 29-year-old was arrested Sept. 20, 2004, in the Kansas City (Mo.) suburb of Overland Park, Kan. Police said Warfield had a blood alcohol level of .189 percent, more than double the state’s .08 percent legal limit.

He pleaded no contest in January to a felony charge of driving under the influence, his third DUI in as many years. He was sentenced to 10 days in jail and 80 days of house arrest.

•University of Missouri linebacker Aaron O’Neal died in Columbia, Mo., after collapsing during a voluntary workout with teammates, a hospital official said.

University Hospital spokeswoman Mary Jenkins confirmed the death of O’Neal, a 19-year-old redshirt freshman from the St. Louis suburb of Creve Coeur.

The cause of death was not immediately available.

Miscellany

Klitschko loses lawsuit

A federal judge in Atlantic City, N.J., has turned down heavyweight Vladimir Klitschko’s bid to be named mandatory challenger to IBF champion Chris Byrd.

Klitschko sued for breach of contract after the IBF demoted him to No. 4 in its May rankings, replacing him at No. 3 with DaVarryl Williamson. He blamed Williamson promoter Don King, saying King improperly influenced the IBF to get the higher ranking for Williamson.

•Greg Andrulis was fired as coach of the Columbus Crew, who have the worst record in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference a year after winning the conference title.

Assistant Robert Warzycha will lead the team on an interim basis. The Crew are 4-10-2 and have scored just 13 goals.