Newsmakers
Signed Guard Tracy McGrady is getting a chance to rejuvenate his career with a team hoping for a rebound of its own. McGrady and the Detroit Pistons have agreed to a $1.3 million, one-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told the Associated Press. McGrady, a seven-time All-Star and two-time scoring champion, has played just 65 games the past two seasons with Houston and New York because he had major surgery on his left knee in the middle of the 2008-09 season.
• The New York Knicks have signed free-agent guard Roger Mason Jr. Mason – the latest addition to the Knicks, joining a list of newcomers that includes Amare Stoudemire, former Gonzaga Bulldog Ronny Turiaf, Anthony Randolph, Raymond Felton and Kelenna Azubuike. Mason has averaged 7.2 points 1.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 346 career games with Chicago, Toronto, Washington and San Antonio.
Withdrew Cycling star Lance Armstrong has pulled out of the Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race in Colorado, a high-altitude race he won in record time last year. Armstrong spokesman Mark Higgins said that the cyclist is still feeling lingering effects of a hip injury suffered in a crash early in the Tour de France. Higgins said Armstrong also wants to spend time with his family before his children begin school.
Hired The Portland Timbers announced that John Spencer will be their head coach when the team debuts in Major League Soccer next year. Spencer played soccer professionally for 18 seasons and has spent the past five years as an assistant coach with the Houston Dynamo. The 39-year-old Spencer will be introduced at a news conference today in Portland. The Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps join MLS in 2011, increasing the league to 18 teams.
Died Former Olympian Antonio Pettigrew, a sprinter stripped of a gold medal after admitting to doping, was found dead in the backseat of his locked car. Authorities said they are unsure if his death was accidental or a suicide. Pettigrew’s car was found parked to the side of a bridge, and there was no sign of foul play.