PHOENIX, Aug. 1 -- In Sports from United Press International
Suns grab free agent Tony Belk The Phoenix Suns wasted no time digging into the free agent market Tuesday as they agreed to terms with guard Tony Delk.
Delk opted out of his contract with the Sacramento Kings and will sign with Suns on Wednesday for the mid-level exception, which begins at $2.25 million.
Delk, 26, increased his stock during last seasons playoffs. He finished second on the club, averaging 11.2 points per contest in the Kings' five-game loss to the eventual NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers. In 46 regular-season games, Delk averaged 6.4 points and 1.2 assists.
In his career, the 6-2 Delk has seen playing time at both guard positions. He enjoyed his best season in 1997-98 with Golden State, averaging 10.1 points.
Entering his fifth season, Delk also has played with the Warriors and Charlotte in his career. He was selected 16th overall by the Hornets in 1996. In his career, Delk has averaged 7.5 points and 1.9 assists over 220 games.
As a college senior at Kentucky, Delk led the Wildcats to the 1996 NCAA championship.
0-
Castilla back on disabled list Tampa Bay Devil Rays third baseman Vinny Castilla is back on the disabled list for the third time this season as he was placed on the 15-day DL Tuesday with lower back inflammation.
Acquired from the Colorado Rockies in a four-team offseason trade, Castilla has struggled with his new team, batting just .223 with six homers and 39 RBI in 71 games.
A two-time All Star, the 32-year-old Castilla has five consecutive seasons of 30 or more homers and has knocked in at least 100 runs in each of the last four years. Castilla, who began his career in Atlanta, entered the season as a .298 lifetime hitter.
0-
Report: Duncan likely out of Olympics The knee injury that kept San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan out of the NBA playoffs last spring apparently will also keep him on the sidelines for the upcoming Summer Games in Sydney, Australia, according to a report Tuesday in the San Antonio Express-News.
The paper cited a league source as saying Duncan has notified officials in the NBA offices in New York that he will be unavailable. He had knee surgery in late May but has only been in full rehabilitation for two weeks. In addition, the date the Olympic basketball competition ends if Oct. 1 and most NBA teams will open training camps on or shortly after that date.
The Express News also reported the unrestricted free agent runs the risk of being thousands of miles away from his father, who recently was hospitalized.
If is not able to play, he will be the third original member of this year's U.S. Olympic team to withdraw because of injury. Duncan would join Tom Gugliotta of Phoenix, who is rehabbing a severe knee injury, and Detroit's Grant Hill, who is recovering from a broken ankle.
Craig Miller, the Assistant Executive Director of USA Basketball, told the paper he had not been informed about Duncan's status, and that there is no formal list of candidates from which a replacement could be drawn.
Duncan, who made the All-NBA Defensive Team in two of his three seasons, tore the lateral meniscus in his left knee in a game April 11 and underwent surgery on May 24.
0-
Knicks re-sign Kurt Thomas The New York Knicks, who have been rumored to be pursuing Portland's Brian Grant and Sacramento's Chris Webber, have signed free agent Kurt Thomas, who started 21 games for the team last season.
Thomas, 27, averaged 8.0 points and 6.3 rebounds while shooting a career-high 51 percent from the field in 23.6 minutes per game last season. He established career highs in games (80), minutes (1,971), rebounds (505), assists (82), blocks (42) and steals (51).
Thomas has career averages of 8.2 points and 6.0 rebounds over five NBA seasons with the Knicks, Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks. The former Texas Christian star is one of only three players to lead the nation in scoring and rebounding in one season while in college.
0-
Nets waive Jayson Williams Just over a month after he announced his retirement, veteran center Jayson Williams officially was waived by the New Jersey Nets.
Williams, who missed the entire 1999-2000 season, elected to give up his latest comeback and announced his retirement on June 28.
Acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers in 1992, Williams is the Nets' fourth all-time leading rebounder (3,328) and holds the team's single-game record for offensive rebounds with 17.
Williams, 32, shattered his right leg and suffered partially-torn cartilage in the knee in an on-court collision with teammate Stephon Marbury on April 1, 1999 in a game against Atlanta. The following day, Williams had surgery for a displaced tibial plateau fracture that required the insertion of a metal plate and five screws in his leg.
One of the NBA's best rebounders, Williams was through two years of a six-year, $85 million contract and will receive full payment for the remaining four years. He was waived after the Nets should were denied a $3.8 million salary cap exemption.
0-
Scam leads to seven suspensions at Georgia The University of Georgia has suspended seven football players for one game after they violated NCAA rules involving the use of a long-distance telephone access code.
Freshman running back Kenny Bailey, senior linebacker Kendrell Bell, freshman tight end Robert Brannon, freshman cornerback Decory Bryant, sophomore linebacker Tony Gilbert, sophomore defensive lineman Charles Grant and senior defensive tackle Richard Seymour all will miss one game.
The Bulldogs open their season Sept. 2 against Georgia Southern and begin their Southeastern Conference schedule the following week at South Carolina.
The calls, which were made between July and December 1999, were discovered during monthly telephone auditing procedures by Georgia athletic association personnel. The call charges against each player range from $58.87 to $115.98.
In addition to the one-game suspension, the players must repay the charges.
Nine others also participated in the use of the access code, but only ones with charges over $50 were being suspended from game action.
0-
Beeten named Albany coach Scott Beeten, who spent the past three seasons as associate coach at California, Tuesday was named coach at Albany.
The 53-year-old Beeten replaces Scott Hicks, who resigned June 6 to become to take a similar post at Loyola of Maryland.
Beeten has coached on either the high school or college level since 1970, also spending time as an assistant at Temple, Pennsylvania and George Washington. For seven years at California, he handled the Bears' game preparation, recruiting and travel while serving as the director of the schools' summer camp.
0-
Hand injury sidelines Jays' Bush The Toronto Blue Jays will be without second baseman Homer Bush from 4-6 weeks after doctors Monday found a broken bone in his left hand.
The 27-year-old Bush was scratched from the lineup in Oakland Monday night and had X-rays, which were negative. But he was examined by A's team orthopedist Dr. Jerrald Goldman, who diagnosed a non-displaced fracture of the fourth metacarpal in the back of Bush's hand.
He suffered the injury in Sunday's 10-6 loss at Seattle when he was hit by a pitch from Mariners righthander Jose Paniagua.
Bush, who signed a three-year, $7.375 million contract in January, is having a disappointing season, batting just .215 with one home run, 18 RBI and nine stolen bases in 76 games.
Last year, he made the most of his first chance to play on a regular basis by hitting .327 with five homers, 55 RBI and 32 steals. He was acquired with ace lefthander David Wells and reliever Graeme Lloyd in the deal that sent five-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens to the New York Yankees.
0-
Pirates activate Enrique Wilson The Pittsburgh Pirates Tuesday activated newly acquired infielder Enrique Wilson from the 15-day disabled list.
Wilson, who has been sidelined since July 14 with a sprained right wrist, was traded to the Pirates by the Cleveland Indians last Friday in exchange for outfielder Wil Cordero.
In two rehab games for Class AAA Nashville of the Pacific Coast League, Wilson went 2-for-7 while playing second base and shortstop.
Wilson, who will turn 25 on Thursday, had been the subject of trade rumors each of the past three seasons. This season for Cleveland, he batted .325 with two homers and 12 RBI in 117 at-bats.
, and Tampa Bay's Gerald Williams, as well as Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Carlos Delgado.
0-
Flames hire Hay as coach Don Hay, who served as an assistant with the Calgary Flames five years ago, Tuesday was named the team's head coach.
According to CHQR Radio in Calgary, Hay got the nod over Colorado assistant Bryan Trottier and Brian Sutter, who was dismissed by the Flames at the end of the season.
The 46-year-old Hay coached the Phoenix Coyotes for one season, compiling a 38-37-7 record in 1996-97 before he was replaced by Jim Schoenfeld after a first-round playoff loss to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The previous season, he was an assistant with Calgary under Pierre Page.
Hay posted a sparking 144-58-14 record in three seasons with the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League from 1992-95, winning back-to-back Memorial Cup championships. In 1995, he coached Canada to the gold medal at the World Junior Championship.
The Flames have missed the playoffs each of the last four seasons and have not won a postseason series since winning the Stanley Cup in 1989. Last season, beset by injuries to several defensemen, they finished last in the Northwest Division with a 1-41-10 record.
0-
Neilson becomes Senators assistant Roger Neilson, unwanted in Philadelphia after he got sick, Tuesday was hired as an assistant coach by the Ottawa Senators.
Neilson began last season as coach of the Flyers but was forced to leave the team in late February for treatment of a form of bone cancer. Craig Ramsey replaced Neilson and took the Flyers to the Eastern Conference finals.
Impressed with the performance, Flyers General Manager Bob Clarke elected to retain Ramsey as coach. Neilson was offered a position in the Flyers' organization, but elected to seek a coaching job elsewhere.
He found that job Tuesday in Ottawa, where he will work under Jacques Martin and replace Andre Savard, who left to become Director of Player Personnel for the Montreal Canadiens.
Diagnosed with multiple myeloma on Dec. 9, Neilson underwent stem cell transplant surgery on March 10.
0-
Dinardo to coach Birmingham in XFL The Birmingham entry into the newly formed XFL hired former LSU coach Gerry DiNardo Tuesday as its first coach.
DiNardo was the coach at Louisiana State from 1995-98 before being fired on November 15. He did not coach the final game of the season against Arkansas and posted a record of 28-16-1 at the school before his dismissal.
The 47-year-old DiNardo went to LSU after four seasons as head coach at Vanderbilt. His career record is 51-49-1.
DiNardo was a guard at Notre Dame from 1972-74 and spent eight years as an assistant coach on the collegiate level. He was an assistant at Colorado from 1982-90 before taking over as coach at Vanderbilt in 1991.NEWLN:
