Artest bound for Houston in trade

The Rockets will acquire Ron Artest from the Kings for guard Bobby Jackson, rookie forward Donte Greene and a 2009 first-round pick, multiple news outlets reported Tuesday.

Artest's long-anticipated move out of Sacramento probably can't be announced yet because Greene, acquired by the Rockets on draft night last month, signed a contract with Houston on July 14. A player can't be traded within 30 days of signing a contract, according to league rules.

Artest bound for Houston in trade....

Donaghy Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison for Betting Scandal

By Robin Shulman and Michael Lee
Washington Post Staff Writers

Tim Donaghy the former NBA referee who was in the middle of a betting scandal was sentenced to 15 months in prison today. U.S. District Judge Carol Bagley Amon of the Eastern District of New York said she took Donaghy's gambling addiction into account, as well as his cooperation with the government's investigation. Donaghy, 41, was expected to receive between 27 and 33 months in prison for his role in a betting scandal that rocked the NBA last summer and continues to reverberate.

"I'm very sorry for the acts that have brought me before you, your honor," Donaghy said. He added, voice shaking, "I've brought shame on myself, my family and the profession I love."

Donaghy Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison for Betting Scandal....

Bobcats, Okafor agree on 6-year, $72 million deal

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Charlotte Bobcats are paying big money to keep top rebounder and shot blocker Emeka Okafor.

The Bobcats have come to terms with the restricted free agent on a six-year, $72 million deal, ending a month of negotiations.

General manager Rod Higgins confirmed the deal Tuesday, which marks the biggest contract the Bobcats have given a player since they entered the league in the 2004-05 season.

ESPN.com first reported late Monday that the two sides were close to an agreement.

Okafor was the second overall pick in 2004 and Charlotte's first draft pick. He turned down Charlotte's offer of $12 million a year last year, but settled on the same figure a year later.

Okafor averaged 13.7 points and 10.7 rebounds a game last season.

Bobcats, Okafor agree on 6-year, $72 million deal....

Disgraced NBA ref described as compulsive gambler

By TOM HAYS

NEW YORK (AP) — Disgraced NBA referee Tim Donaghy was a compulsive gambler whose road to professional and personal ruin began on the golf course, where he bet up to $500 a hole, according to an evaluation filed on the eve of his sentencing.

"In short, he could not stop himself from gambling," wrote Stephen Block, a longtime New York-based gambling treatment counselor.

Donaghy, 41, faces up to 33 months in prison at his sentencing Tuesday in federal court in Brooklyn after pleading guilty last year to taking thousands of dollars in payoffs from a professional gambler for inside betting tips. The evaluation was filed by his defense attorney, John Lauro, in a bid for leniency.

"In my professional opinion, Mr. Donaghy would never have committed these offenses if he was not a pathological gambler," Block concluded.

Block, who interviewed Donaghy in January, traced his problem to 1994, when he started betting up to $500 a hole and playing card games at various golf clubs in his home state of Pennsylvania. He was introduced to the world of professional sports gambling, where he bet on football and baseball before becoming embroiled in the NBA scheme.

Disgraced NBA ref described as compulsive gambler....

Jilted by U.S., 2 Olympians turn to Russia

By Alex Rodriguez | Chicago Tribune correspondent

MOSCOW — The cheering throngs in J.R. Holden's boyhood hoop dreams always roared in an NBA arena, not an Olympic venue.

Now 31, Holden never got that chance to don an NBA jersey, but in less than three weeks, the nimble-footed point guard from Pittsburgh will stride into Beijing's National Stadium to compete for Olympic gold.

That he will wear the colors of Mother Russia instead of red, white and blue won't trouble him a bit. Moreover, he says, it shouldn't trouble Americans back home.

"Whether you do it for the United States or another country, it's an honor and a privilege just to be at the Olympics, and I don't think people understand that," Holden said between swigs of water after a recent practice with his Team Russia teammates. "Some people get caught up with the patriotism aspect of it ... but I'm going to enjoy it and do the best I can to represent Russia."

The Summer Games in Beijing will mark the first time American citizens have competed for Russia in the Olympics, Russian Olympic Committee officials say. While Holden leads the Russian men's squad, WNBA standout Becky Hammon from South Dakota will play for the Russian women's basketball team. Authorities fast-tracked both of them for Russian citizenship.

Both athletes say their motivation is pure and uncomplicated: The Olympic experience has no peer as the ultimate crucible for athletic achievement—and as the world's greatest sports spectacle. A chance to take part can be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Back home, however, competing for a former Cold War foe may constitute a line in the sand for some Americans.

Jilted by U.S., 2 Olympians turn to Russia....

WNBA suspends 10 players and Mahorn for skirmish

NEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA swiftly suspended the Detroit and Los Angeles players and Shock assistant coach Rick Mahorn for their role in a skirmish at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Shock forward Plenette Pierson was suspended Thursday for four games, the harshest penalty, for initiating and escalating the altercation.

Mahorn was suspended for two games as were Shannon Bobbitt and Murriel Page of the Sparks.

"As a team, we're incensed that Rick Mahorn was suspended," Detroit coach Bill Laimbeer said in a telephone interview from Houston, where the Shock were scheduled to play the Comets. "He was trying to be a peacemaker and now he's being thrown under the bus."

WNBA suspends 10 players and Mahorn for skirmish....

Leslie, Parker involved in melee with Shock

By VIN A. CHERWOO

Lisa Leslie and Candace Parker are the only players to have dunked in a WNBA game.

On Tuesday night, they were involved in a skirmish — another occurrence more frequently connected with the men's game — at, of all places, The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Parker was one of three players ejected, along with Detroit assistant coach Rick Mahorn, after the scuffle with 4.6 seconds left in the Los Angeles Sparks' 84-81 victory over the Shock.

In case you missed the melee, which was late in a nationally televised game on ESPN2, it started moments after Parker and Detroit's Cheryl Ford had to be separated after Ford fouled Parker.

On the next possession, Parker got tangled up with Detroit's Plenette Pierson and fell to the ground. As Parker was getting up, Pierson hovered over the Sparks' rookie, who pulled her to the ground.

Leslie, Parker involved in melee with Shock....

Outdoor basketball game makes history

PA SportsTicker

FLUSHING, N.Y. (Ticker) --- History will be made today when the New York Liberty host the Indiana Fever in a WNBA game that will be played at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the home of the United States Tennis Open.

The contest, called the Liberty Outdoor Classic, will be the first regular-season outdoor game in pro basketball history. It also will be the first non-tennis sporting event to take place at the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center.

"I'm excited because I haven't played outdoors since high school," New York guard Loree Moore said. "It's going to a little different because I haven't done it in a very long time.

Outdoor basketball game makes history....

Report: Jazz, Williams agree to $70M extension

by FOXSports.com

Young guards Deron Williams of the Jazz and Chris Paul of the Hornets are often mentioned in the same sentence by basketball fans admiring their skills.

And now they're linked by money. Less than two weeks after New Orleans gave Paul a contract extension, Utah has called a news conference for today to announce that Williams has agreed to an extension, The Salt Lake Tribune reported Friday.

The deal is for three years plus an option, the paper reported, and could reach a value of approximately $70 million, the maximum allowed by the NBA's collective bargaining agreement, with the option. Paul's similarly fashioned deal is valued at about $68 million.

Jazz GM Kevin O'Connor declined comment on the report.

Report: Jazz, Williams agree to $70M extension....

Philadelphia's Spectrum to be demolished

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A longtime sports arena in Philadelphia is shutting down.

Comcast-Spectacor chairman Ed Snider says the 42-year-old Spectrum will close at the end of the 2008-09 hockey and soccer seasons and be demolished.

The arena had been used for Philadelphia Flyers and 76ers games until 1996. The Wachovia Center now is home to the pro hockey and basketball teams.

The Spectrum is currently used for a minor-league hockey team, the Philadelphia Phantoms, and an indoor soccer team, the Philadelphia Kixx. It is also home to an Arena Football League team, the Philadelphia Soul.

Philadelphia's Spectrum to be demolished....

Parker's career-high 40 points, 16 boards lead Sparks past Comets in OT

CBSSports.com wire reports

LOS ANGELES -- Candace Parker scored a career-high 40 points and had 16 rebounds, six assists and five blocks to help the Los Angeles Sparks rally for an 82-74 overtime victory against the Houston Comets on Wednesday.

"She's only getting better," Sparks coach Michael Cooper said of Parker, the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft. "I think she's starting to figure this league out, and she's starting to figure out how our team can function and evolve with her -- not around her, but with her.

"The reason why she's able to do what she does is because 'Smooth' is still a force in this league."

"Smooth" is Lisa Leslie, who had 13 points for the Sparks (12-6), who moved within a half-game of first-place San Antonio in the WNBA's Western Conference.

"Our coaches really emphasize Smooth and I establishing the inside game," Parker said. "When you start hitting inside then crazy, fall-away, off-balance 3-pointers will bank in.

"We have great shooters so it's hard for opponents to come at us."

Parker's career-high 40 points....

NBA free agents: Sixers to sign Elton Brand, Warriors will get Corey Maggette

Kyle Hightower

Just before the clock passed midnight this morning to begin the free-agents signing, a trio of the NBA's most prized free agents all found new homes.

L.A. Clippers teammates Corey Maggette and Elton Brand have been on several clubs' wish list over the past two weeks and in the end both wound up in different conferences. After opting out of the final year of his deal with the Clippers, Fox Sports reported late Tuesday that Maggette would officially accept a five-year $50 million deal but stay in-state with Golden State.

Meanwhile, according to theLos Angelese Times, Brand will travel east for a five-year $80 million offering from Philadelphia.

Maggette reportedly drew attention from Boston, San Antonio, Detroit, Utah and Orlando. Golden State apparently offered more money and a longer term than most of Maggette's suitors, who mostly couched their offers at the mid-level salary-cap exception.

NBA free agents: Sixers to sign Elton Brand, Warriors will get Corey Maggette....

Beasley, Rose set for first meeting as professionals

MIAMI — Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley will be forever linked. That's an inevitability for players who get chosen No. 1 and No. 2 in an NBA draft.

So on some level, it's fitting their first pro game - one that won't have fans, won't count in standings and will likely be long forgotten in a few days - will pit them against one another. Rose's Chicago Bulls face Beasley's Miami Heat on Monday, one of three games that will open the Orlando summer league's weeklong schedule.

For a meaningless matchup, there's an abundance of big-game hype.

And it almost seems like neither 19-year-old can truly understand why.

"I didn't even know we're playing Miami first," Rose said. "I'm not going to be checking him."

"If you want to make it a Mike Beasley and Derrick Rose show, go ahead," Beasley said. "But that's not how it's going to be."

Fair enough.

Beasley, Rose set for first meeting as professionals....

Sonics are Oklahoma City-bound

By GREG JOHNS AND ANGELA GALLOWAY

Nothing can stop Clay Bennett from taking his basketball franchise to Oklahoma City next season.

Not unhappy Sonics fans, who never did have a voice in this matter. Not Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, who stepped aside with Wednesday's stunning final-hour settlement of the city's legal battle with Bennett.

Not even former Sonics owner Howard Schultz, who still has his own lawsuit pending against Bennett and his partners even in the wake of the city's $45 million settlement that leaves Seattle with the Sonics' name and history, but no team for the immediate future.

Sonics are Oklahoma City-bound....

Baron Davis leaving Warriors for Clippers

By Geoff Lepper
Bay Area News Group

In 14 months, the Warriors have gone from being the toast of the league to just another NBA club in search of an identity.

Point guard Baron Davis - the heart and soul of a squad that in May 2007 became the first No. 8 playoff seed to knock off a No. 1 in a seven-game series - agreed in principle to a five-year contract worth a reported $65 million with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Davis will leave the Warriors after 3 1/2 seasons in which he helped return them to relevance and led that stunning playoff victory over the Dallas Mavericks but was unable to push Golden State into the Western Conference's upper echelon.

"It's tough, but you have to do what's best," Davis said Tuesday evening at a San Francisco screening of "Made in America," a documentary he produced about gang life in Los Angeles. "You just have to do what's fair. I'm happy with where I'm going."

Baron Davis leaving Warriors for Clippers....

NBA hires Army Maj. Gen. Johnson to oversee refs

The Associated Press

NEW YORK: The NBA hired Army Maj. Gen. Ronald L. Johnson on Tuesday as senior vice president of referee operations, a newly created position to help strengthen the league's officiating programs following the Tim Donaghy scandal.

The move splits executive vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson's role into two positions, a plan commissioner David Stern announced last fall. Johnson will oversee all aspects of officiating, while Jackson will continue to handle all other domestic and international basketball matters.

Johnson recently retired after 32 years of service as a combat engineer. He was commanding general of the Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region division, from 2003-04, responsible for overseeing $18 billion of reconstruction in Iraq.

NBA hires Army Maj. Gen. Johnson to oversee refs....

Wizards lock up Antwan Jamison

By Herald wire services

Two-time All-Star forward Antawn Jamison re-signed with the Washington Wizards yesterday, agreeing to a four-year, $50 million deal.

“I just signed. We got it out of the way,” Jamison told The Associated Press.

The contract clears the way for the team to focus on its other major free agent: three-time All-Star Gilbert Arenas. Arenas has said he would not return unless the team also re-signed Jamison.

“He said he’d take less money if they got me, and they got him,” Jamison said. “So I think everything will get worked out with Gilbert.”

Wizards lock up Antwan Jamison....

Artest stays; Davis opts out

By BEE NEWS SERVICES

Ron Artest will remain in Sacramento, but Baron Davis may be history in Oakland.

Artest remained with the Kings on Monday, when the deadline passed for the small forward to opt out of the final season of his contract and take his skills to free agency.

Davis, meanwhile, elected to become a free agent, opting out of the final year of his contract with the Warriors in a surprise move.

The Warriors didn't expect Davis to opt out of the $17.8 million deal in the final year of a six-year contract, despite little progress in the parties' long-term negotiation, but club spokesman Raymond Ridder said they received a letter from Davis' agent, Todd Ramasar, late Monday indicating his intention.

Artest stays; Davis opts out....