Milwaukee Bucks hire Terry Slotts
MILWAUKEE, July 8 (UPI) -- Terry Slotts was named head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks Friday succeeding Terry Porter who resigned unexpectedly last month.
Slotts, a former Bucks' assistant coach under George Karl, will be the ninth head coach in the history of the franchise. He was an assistant with the Golden State Warriors last season.
Slotts, 47, spent four years as an assistant with the Bucks from 1998-2002.
"I'm confident in the direction that Terry will take our franchise both on the court and in the community," Bucks president and U.S. Senator Herb Kohl said. "He is a fine coach and leader who is well-respected in NBA circles. His work ethic and his desire to succeed will help our players excel and our organization flourish."
A former player, Stotts was a second-round choice of the Houston Rockets in the 1980 NBA draft.
"I'm extremely excited to return to Milwaukee as head coach of the Bucks," Stotts said.
McEwen wins 7th stage of Tour de France
KARLSRUHE, Germany, July 8 (UPI) -- Australia's Robbie McEwen won the seventh stage of the Tour de France Friday while American Lance Armstrong maintained his overall lead.
McEwen, who sprinted to a win in Wednesday's fifth stage, outraced Magnus Backstedt of Sweden at the rainy finish of the 142-mile seventh stage in Karlsruhe, Germany. The stage began in Lunaville, France.
Meanwhile, six-time defending champion Armstrong, 33, continued his bid for a seventh Tour de France victory by staying with the pack to finish 53rd and maintain a 55-second overall lead over Discovery Channel teammate and fellow American George Hincapie.
There were no changes in the top overall spots.
Alexandre Vinokourov of Kazakhstan trailed Armstrong by 1 minute and 4 seconds, while Germany's Jens Voigt was 2 seconds slower than Vinokourov.
Saturday's 143.8-mile eighth stage begins in Pforzheim, Germany, heads into the Vosges Mountains and ends in Gerardmer, France.
Red Wings to let Lewis go
DETROIT, July 8 (UPI) -- The Detroit Red Wings have decided to make a coaching change and did not renew Dave Lewis's contract when it expired June 30.
Lewis, 52, has been with the Red Wings for 18 seasons as a player, assistant coach and head coach. He succeeded legendary coach Scotty Bowman who retired. The team announced Lewis would be officially relieved of his duties and not return after the lockout ends amid published reports the Wings were considering offering the head coaching position to Mike Babcock.
Babcock recently turned down a one-year contract with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, who reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 2003, according to The Sports Network.
Lewis won 48 games each in back-to-back seasons but had little success in the playoffs, losing in the first and second rounds in 2003 and 2004.
NHL owners, players agreement said close
NEW YORK, July 8 (UPI) -- National Hockey League owners and players were reported close Friday to reaching a lockout-ending collective bargaining agreement.
The New York Daily News said it was only a matter of days, followed by perhaps two weeks of waiting for ratification votes by the 30 owners and player's association rank and file, before the lockout may end.
The report said owners would be expected to quickly accept the agreement as it will reflect what NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman wanted all along -- a new economic model that caps team payrolls and ties that cap to a percentage of league-wide revenues.
Desperate to resume playing and stop losing money they'll never recoup after missing the entire 2004-2005 season, players are expected to ratify the deal as well.
Baseball, softball out of 2012 Olympics
SINGAPORE, July 8 (UPI) -- The International Olympics Committee has decided to drop baseball and softball from the 2012 Summer Games awarded this week to London.
However, the two sports will remain on the list for possible inclusion in 2016.
Another 26 athletic events were voted in for the 2012 games.
The IOC executive board was to decide later whether to take action on five new sport candidates, namely golf, roller sports, world squash, karate and rugby.
