In brief: FIU close to naming Thomas as coach
Isiah Thomas is on the verge of starting his coaching career over at Florida International.
The former New York Knicks coach is deliberating whether to take over FIU’s men’s basketball program, a person with knowledge of the school’s search told the Associated Press on Monday night.
The person, speaking on condition of anonymity because university officials have not authorized anyone to reveal search details, said FIU was “very hopeful” that a deal could be closed with Thomas today. He would replace Sergio Rouco, who was ousted after five consecutive losing seasons.
If Thomas accepts, he would be introduced in Miami on Wednesday.
•Kansas stars staying put: Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich are staying at Kansas, passing up a chance to play in the NBA for the opportunity to make the Jayhawks a leading national title contender in 2010.
The Jayhawks will return every major contributor from this year’s Big 12 championship team and will be joined by one of the best recruiting classes coach Bill Self has brought to Kansas.
•Bolla suing University of Hawaii: Recently fired Hawaii women’s coach Jim Bolla is suing for wrongful termination.
Named in the lawsuit filed in Honolulu were the University of Hawaii’s board of regents, president David McClain, chancellor Virginia Hinshaw, athletic director Jim Donovan and assistant athletic director Carl Clapp.
Bolla alleges he was fired in retaliation for complaining about Title IX violations.
Soccer
Clemson coach arrested
Clemson men’s coach Trevor Adair has been arrested after police say he attacked his two teenage daughters over the weekend in Clemson, S.C.
Clemson Police Chief Jimmy Dixon says that 48-year-old Adair was released on a $10,000 bond. Adair is charged with two counts of assault and battery.
Adair’s attorney, Ryan Beasley, says the Saturday charge involves a personal and difficult matter for the family. He declined to comment further on Adair’s case.
NBA
Cavs clinch home court
The Cleveland Cavaliers clinched the NBA’s best record and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs behind LeBron James’ 37 points in a 117-109 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis.
Getting the home-court edge was especially important because Cleveland has a 39-1 record at home, the best in the league.
Delonte West scored 20 points, Mo Williams had 18 and Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 16 points and 10 rebounds for Cleveland, which won its fifth straight.
•Bulls burn Pistons: Ben Gordon made a tiebreaking layup with 15 seconds left, and the Chicago Bulls beat Detroit 91-88 at Auburn Hills, Mich., to lock the Pistons in the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.
The loss means the Pistons (39-42) will face Cleveland in the first round of the playoffs. Chicago (41-40) leads Philadelphia by a half-game for sixth.
•Rockets rout Hornets: Yao Ming scored 22 points, Luis Scola grabbed 15 rebounds and the Rockets moved within one win of the Southwest Division title with an 86-66 victory over the New Orleans Hornets in Houston.
If the Rockets win their regular-season finale in Dallas on Wednesday, they’ll secure their first division championship since 1993-94.
David West scored 14 and Chris Paul had nine points and seven assists for the Hornets.
•Mavs rally over T-Wolves: Dirk Nowitzki keyed a late fourth-quarter rally with great plays on both ends of the court, and then Jason Terry hit an 18-foot jumper from the right side with 0.2 seconds left, giving the Mavericks a 96-94 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Dallas.
•Nuggets take division title: J.R. Smith’s career-high 45 points and franchise-best 11 3-pointers helped the Nuggets clinch the Northwest Division title and home-court edge in a playoff series for the first time in 21 years with a 118-98 win over the Sacramento Kings in Denver.
With chants of “J.R.” cascading from the rafters, Smith sank half of his 3s in the fourth quarter, when he scored 23 points.
•Blazers cut down Thunder: Travis Outlaw contributed 21 points as a last-minute starter and the Trail Blazers built a 35-point lead before defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder 113-83 in Portland.
Brandon Roy had 20 points in Portland’s fifth straight victory. Greg Oden had 16 points and nine rebounds.
The Blazers remain a game back of Denver in the Northwest Division, and Portland hosts the Nuggets in the season finale on Wednesday night.
•Garnett to be held out: Kevin Garnett will not play in the Celtics’ two final regular season games, but remains on track for the start of the playoffs.
Garnett has missed 21 of the team’s last 25 games due to a strained right knee.
Spokesman Jeff Twiss said that Boston coach Doc Rivers decided there was no point to bring back Garnett for two essentially meaningless games.
The Celtics are in Philadelphia, where they will play the 76ers tonight. They return to Boston on Wednesday to close out the regular season against the Washington Wizards.
Motorsports
Stoner wins opener
Casey Stoner led from the start and won the MotoGP season opener in Doha, Qatar.
The Ducati rider produced a near-perfect race under the lights to win the 22-lap race with a time of 42 minutes, 53.984 seconds at the 3.34 mile Losail International Circuit.
The 23-year-old Australian finished ahead of defending world champion Valentino Rossi of Italy and Jorge Lorenzo of Spain. Yamaha rider Rossi crossed the finish line 7.771 seconds behind Stoner.