Former All-Star Smith dies at 60

Basketball: Randy Smith, a blindingly fast All-Star with the Buffalo Braves in the 1970s who once held the NBA record for consecutive games played, died while working out on a treadmill in Hartford, Conn. He was 60.

He had a massive heart attack Thursday while exercising at the Connecticut casino where he worked, son-in-law Lekan Bashua told the Associated Press on Friday.

Smith was pronounced dead at William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich. The Mohegan Sun Casino declined to comment on circumstances surrounding the death, citing medical confidentiality laws.

Jack Ramsay, Smith’s coach in Buffalo, called the 6-foot-3 guard the best athlete he coached.

“He had stamina, great speed and developed into a very good player,” Ramsay said from the NBA Finals in Los Angeles. “And was so fun to be around. There was not a bad day in Randy’s life.”

Smith was drafted by the Braves in the seventh round in 1971 and averaged more than 13 points in his rookie season. He went on to play 13 years in the NBA and appeared in 906 consecutive games from 1972-83. His mark was broken by A.C. Green in 1997.

Associated Press

Sacramento fetes Fontaine

Basketball: Isaac Fontaine, Washington State University’s all-time leading scorer, was honored by the city of Sacramento, Calif., and Mayor Kevin Johnson at the Reznick Group’s Capitol Mall offices.

In a proclamation signed by Johnson, Fontaine, a Sacramento businessman, was recognized for his achievements that led to his induction into the Pacific-10 Conference Basketball Hall of Honor last March.

Fontaine scored 2,003 points during his career (1993-97) with WSU.

NASCAR files against Mayfield

Auto racing: NASCAR accused suspended driver Jeremy Mayfield of willfully violating its substance abuse policy in a court filing, arguing his failed drug test shouldn’t be overturned.

In federal court papers, NASCAR accused Mayfield of breaching his contract and of defrauding NASCAR and its competitors of earnings.

“He competed in a number of races that, had we known that he’d been on the medication he was on, and certainly known there was an illegal substance involved, we wouldn’t have allowed him to compete,” NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said in Long Pond, Pa.

Mayfield was suspended May 9 for failing a random drug test conducted eight days earlier at Richmond International Raceway.

Associated Press