Fast Break

NBA

Anthony takes a hit

Northwest Airlines pulled the December issue of its in-flight magazine featuring Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony after his participation in an NBA brawl last week.

Anthony was suspended for 15 games Monday for his part in Saturday’s brawl between against the New York Knicks.

“Northwest does not want to appear to condone in any way the behavior of some of the players during Saturday’s game,” the airline said in a statement.

College football

Wake’s Grobe honored

Wake Forest football coach Jim Grobe turned the perennially downtrodden Demon Deacons into champions.

For orchestrating one of the most surprising turnarounds in college football – and the best season in Wake Forest’s 105-year football history – Grobe was honored Wednesday as The Associated Press Coach of the Year.

In his sixth season at Wake Forest, Grobe took the Demon Deacons (11-2) from worst to first in the Atlantic Coast Conference without their starting quarterback and top tailback.

Baseball

He signs for Peanuts

Two years after he was fired by the Arizona Diamondbacks just four days following his hiring, Wally Backman was announced as manager of the South Georgia Peanuts of Albany, Ga., in the independent South Coast League.

Backman was hired by Arizona on Nov. 1, 2004, then was dismissed after reports he had been arrested twice and struggled with financial problems. He was sentenced to 10 days in jail on Dec. 2, 2004, in Kennewick, for violating his probation following a driving under the influence charge in 2000 when he was manager of the Tri-City Posse.

The probation violation stemmed from his arrest in 2001 after a fight at his home involving his wife in Prineville, Ore.

Backman’s son, Wally Jr., played the past two seasons for the Spokane Indians.