Newsmakers

Failed UFC welterweight Nick Diaz failed a drug test – testing positive for marijuana after his loss to Carlos Condit on Saturday night – and faces disciplinary action, including a possible suspension and fine, the head of the Nevada Athletic Commission said Thursday. Keith Kizer, the commission’s executive director, said Diaz’s license was temporarily suspended and he will have 20 days to respond to allegations that a urine sample submitted after the fight tested positive for marijuana metabolites.

Signed Veteran guard Sue Bird is returning to the Seattle Storm for an 11th season and likely beyond after agreeing to a multiyear deal with the only WNBA franchise she’s ever played for. The re-signing of Bird and backcourt mate Tanisha Wright was announced by the club. The two make up the longest-tenured starting backcourt in the WNBA.

• The San Jose Earthquakes signed two-time MLS leading goal scorer Chris Wondolowski to a new contract. Terms were not disclosed.

• Landon Cassill has a job for the Daytona 500 for the first time in his career. Cassill says he’s been hired to drive for a team that purchased assets and last year’s points from the now defunct Red Bull Racing team. Those points guarantee Cassill a spot in the first five races of the season, and Cassill says he has a deal with the new team to drive all year. Cassill says the owners will announce the team name and sponsorship in the coming days.

Released The Oakland Raiders released cornerback Stanford Routt less than one year after signing him to a blockbuster contract. Routt signed a three-year, $31.5 million contract last February. The Raiders restructured the deal in August by adding two years, making it a $54.5 million, five-year contract.

Banned Sport’s highest court banned 1997 Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich for two years and stripped him of his third-place finish in the 2005 race for blood doping. The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the 38-year-old German, who retired in 2007, was “fully engaged” in the doping program of Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes that was exposed in the 2006 Operation Puerto probe.

Retired Chilean tennis star Fernando Gonzalez says he will retire next month because injuries no longer allow him to play at a top level. The 31-year-old will leave after the Sony Ericsson Open, which begins March 21 in Key Biscayne, Fla.

Announced Light welterweight boxers Amir Khan and Lamont Peterson will meet again in Las Vegas in May in another WBA title fight. Peterson beat Khan on points to lift the WBA and IBF titles in Washington on Dec. 10.