Newsmakers

Injured U.S. forward Brian Ching, a former Gonzaga Bulldog, will miss today’s World Cup qualifier against Honduras because of a strained hamstring. Ching aggravated the injury this week and missed Wednesday’s 3-1 loss at Costa Rica. He was replaced on the roster by Colorado forward Conor Casey, who has made nine international appearances. The U.S. is 2-1-1 in the final round of North and Central American and Caribbean qualifying. It trails Costa Rica (3-1). Honduras is third at 1-1-1. The top three nations in the six-team group qualify for next year’s tournament in South Africa, and the No. 4 team goes to a playoff.

Fired After leading the Knights to 407 wins and four NCAA tournament appearances in a 26-year tenure, Tom Green has been fired as the basketball coach at Fairleigh Dickinson. He guided the Knights to 17 winning seasons, but they won just 15 games over the past two seasons and had three straight losing seasons. Green said his former assistants were all interviewed for the interim coaching position.

Resigned Tennessee-Martin says head basketball coach Bret Campbell has resigned after an internal audit found he violated school policies by cashing checks for summer basketball camps. The university audit said Campbell cashed or deposited a total of $21,145 into his personal account, which should have been deposited into university accounts. The audit said he paid for the camp’s expenses and officials in cash from the deposited checks.

Arrested Former Arkansas defensive tackle Keith Jackson Jr. was arrested on suspicion of felony drug charges after being found in an apartment in Little Rock, Ark., with marijuana, cocaine and Ecstasy. Prosecutors in Little Rock District Court said that 2 pounds of marijuana, 1 gram of cocaine and about 50 tablets of Ecstasy were found in the apartment. He is the son of Keith Jackson, who played for the Eagles, Dolphins and Packers in the 1980s and ’90s.

Suspended Detroit Shock center Kara Braxton will be suspended for six games after pleading guilty to a drunk-driving charge during the offseason. The league announced the suspension one day before the defending champions face the Los Angeles Sparks in the first game of the 2009 WNBA season