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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Briefly


Wells
 (The Spokesman-Review)
Compiled from wire reports The Spokesman-Review

NBA free agents will be able to sign their new contracts next Thursday, six days later than originally planned.

The league announced the new signing date Friday, on what was supposed to be the day the logjam was broken on several pending deals.

The six-day delay will allow attorneys for the league and players’ union to finish drafting a written version of the new six-year collective bargaining agreement.

Signings will begin at 3 p.m. PDT on July 28.

Teams have been negotiating with free agents for more than three weeks, and many of the most prominent players have already reached tentative agreements on new contracts.

Under one provision of the new collective bargaining agreement, teams will have a one-time chance ending in October to waive a player under contract and be relieved of any luxury tax liability for that player.

•Cases against five Indiana Pacers players charged in last November’s brawl with the Detroit Pistons have been reassigned among several judges.

The players and several fans awaiting trial are charged with misdemeanor assault and battery. They face a maximum penalty of 93 days in jail and a fine of up to $500.

•The Memphis Grizzlies agreed to trade guard Bonzi Wells to the Sacramento Kings for guard Bobby Jackson in a three-team deal also involving the Utah Jazz, according to media reports.

The trade, which cannot be finalized until Thursday, also would send Greg Ostertag from Sacramento back to Utah, where he spent nine of his first 10 NBA seasons.

The Jazz would send forward Curtis Borchardt and guards Kirk Snyder and Raul Lopez to Memphis, according to stories posted on the Web sites of the Memphis Commercial Appeal and Sacramento Bee.

•Tennessee Tech men’s basketball coach Mike Sutton, fighting a rare illness that attacks the immune system, has been taken off a respirator, his wife said.

Sutton had been on a ventilator since early April when he became ill with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, an inflammatory disorder of the peripheral nerves that causes paralysis. He stopped using the ventilator Monday.

College football

Cottrell gets $30 million in lawsuit

A jury in Tuscaloosa, Ala., awarded $30 million to former Alabama assistant coach Ronnie Cottrell in his defamation lawsuit against former recruiting analyst Tom Culpepper.

Jurors awarded Cottrell $6 million in compensatory damages and $24 million in punitive damages.

Cottrell’s suit claimed Culpepper defamed him by saying he stole money from the Shaun Alexander Foundation, that he stole videotapes from the University of Alabama after his dismissal, and that he abandoned his first wife and family in Tallahassee.

Tennis

Nadal wins 32nd straight on clay

Top-seeded Rafael Nadal ran his clay-court winning streak to 32 matches, beating the Czech Republic’s Tomas Zib 6-2, 6-1 to advance to the semifinals at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, Germany.

•Robby Ginepri got the advantage of disputed line call and fought off two match points to rally for a 4-6, 7-6 (2), 7-5 victory over top-seeded Andy Roddick in the RCA Championships in Indianapolis.

•Roddick has withdrawn from next week’s Mercedes-Benz Cup in Los Angeles, a U.S. Open tuneup, because of soreness in his right knee.

•World No. 1 Roger Federer pulled out of next month’s Rogers Cup in Montreal because of a foot injury that has bothered him for several months.

Miscellany

U.S. U-21 women’s soccer wins

Carli Lloyd scored twice as the U.S. Under-21 women’s team rolled to its second straight 4-0 win at the Nordic Cup in Saffle, Sweden, beating Denmark.

Also scoring for the Americans were substitute forwards Megan Rapinoe and Lauren Cheney.

•Cesario, winner of the American and Japanese Oaks horse races, has been sidelined with an injury to her right foreleg. Her trainers do not expect her to race for about three months.

Sports people

Mayweather sued by jewelers

WBC super lightweight champion Floyd Mayweather has been sued by Jewelers of Las Vegas over a bill of $124,000 for more than 20 pieces purchased since June 2004.… The New Jersey Nets have agreed to terms with forwards Shareef Abdur-Rahim, possibly in a sign-and-trade deal with Portland, and Clifford Robinson. … Guard Keyon Dooling has agreed to terms with the Orlando Magic. … University of Pittsburgh point guard Carl Krauser will return for his senior season. … Temple University senior center Keith Butler has withdrawn from the university. … Guo Jingjing won her third consecutive world title in 3-meter springboard diving at the World Swimming Championships in Montreal.