SuperSonics’ belongings unloaded in Oklahoma

NBA fans in Seattle now have their Mayflower moment.
Three moving trucks arrived in downtown Oklahoma City on Friday morning to unload the former SuperSonics’ belongings at the NBA franchise’s office headquarters. Two box trucks and a tractor-trailer arrived at 10:21 a.m., and the first thing to roll off the truck was a basketball.
As soon as the back door to the first box truck was lifted, the ball – stamped with an NBA logo – came rolling out.
“It was a nice touch, wasn’t it?” said Pete Winemiller, a team vice president for guest relations who’s helped oversee the move.
The lasting image when the NFL’s Baltimore Colts relocated to Indianapolis in 1984 was the sight of Mayflower moving trucks loading up the team’s belongings in the middle of the night.
While the three trucks making a sharp right turn onto Park Avenue might not rank up there with the Colts’ infamous departure, it’s another sign that the NBA is moving to Oklahoma City for real.
•Schultz drops lawsuit: Former Seattle SuperSonics owner Howard Schultz says he’s dropping his lawsuit against new team owner Clay Bennett, ending an attempt to regain ownership of the team that’s now in Oklahoma City.
The city of Seattle spent nearly $3 million on the lawsuit trying to prevent the Sonics from moving to Oklahoma City.
•Knicks land Ewing Jr.: Talk about pressure. Patrick Ewing Jr. is following in the footsteps of his famous father again.
The New York Knicks acquired the younger Ewing from the Houston Rockets in exchange for the draft rights to center Frederic Weis, one of the most widely panned picks in franchise history.
•Ginobili will have surgery: San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, who helped lead Argentina to a bronze medal in the Beijing Olympics, will need surgery to repair a ligament injury in his left ankle.
The team will announce a timeline for his return after the surgery.
•Agent suspended: The National Basketball Players Association suspended player agent Calvin Andrews for one year for alleged recruiting improprieties regarding former Southern California star O.J. Mayo.
Football
Gustav prevents game
With Hurricane Gustav projected to strike land around the Thibodaux area, Nicholls State and New Mexico State University agreed to cancel next week’s road football game in Thibodaux, La.
School president Stephen T. Hulbert said the schools agreed it was not in the best interest of the students, coaches and support staff to send them away from their families for the Thursday matchup.
Nicholls State athletic director Rob Bernardi said he will discuss rescheduling the game next week with New Mexico State’s McKinley Boston.
•Tressel’s contract revised: Ohio State coach Jim Tressel has agreed to contract revisions that will make him the highest-paid football coach in the Big Ten Conference.
Tressel’s compensation beginning in February will be $3.5 million, a $1 million increase, the school said.
•Vols linebacker cleared to play: The Southeastern Conference has cleared Tennessee linebacker Gerald Williams to play this season.
Williams signed with the Vols in 2005, but was denied eligibility by the NCAA after problems with some of his high school credits.
Auto racing
Johnson earns pole
Aiming to build some momentum heading into NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, Jimmie Johnson got off to a good start, winning the pole at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.
The two-time reigning Cup champion was easily the fastest driver on the 2-mile oval in qualifying for Sunday’s Pepsi 500, turning a fast lap of 180.397 mph.
For much of the session, it appeared that the front row would be all Hendrick Motorsports, with Jeff Gordon sitting in the second spot with a lap of 179.565. But A.J. Allmendinger elbowed his way between the teammates with a lap of 179.659.
Kasey Kahne was fourth at 179.158.
Golf
Weir has career round
Mike Weir birdied the first four holes and one-putted his final nine greens in the Deutsche Bank Championship to tie the course record at TPC Boston in Norton, Mass., with a 10-under-par 61, the lowest round of his PGA Tour career.
Weir had a three-shot lead over a group of four players that included Vijay Singh, whose victory last week at The Barclays put him atop the standings in the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedEx Cup.
John Merrick, Heath Slocum and Briny Baird joined Singh at 64, while Ben Curtis had a 65.
•Irwin leads: Hale Irwin shot a 6-under 66 for a share of the lead in the suspended first round of the Champions Tour Wal-Mart First Tee Open in Pebble Beach, Calif.
Fuzzy Zoeller, Loren Roberts and Chip Beck also opened with 66s, and Andy Bean had a 66. After three fog delays at Pebble Beach, tournament officials stopped the first round with 19 players still on the course.
•Golfer pleads no contest: Pro golfer Tripp Isenhour has pleaded no contest to charges he faced for killing a protected hawk.
Isenhour was charged with animal cruelty and killing a migratory bird after hitting the bird with a golf shot when its loud chirps interrupted the filming of an instructional video in Orlando.
Boxing
Ruiz faces tall task
John Ruiz is counting on the size of his heart to make up for the 10 inches and 79 pounds he’ll be giving up to Nikolai Valuev in their WBA heavyweight title bout today.
“Only the size of a boxer’s heart wins on the canvas,” Ruiz said following the fighters’ weigh-in in Berlin. “And I am sure mine’s bigger.”
The 7-foot Valuev weighed in at 318 pounds, while the 6-2 Ruiz was 239 pounds.