Jerry West may be going Memphis
MEMPHIS, Tenn., April 29 (UPI) -- Jerry West, the former player and executive most synonymous with the success of the Los Angeles Lakers, has apparently decided to take on the challenge of turning around the Memphis Grizzlies, who have never won more than 23 games in a season during their seven-year existence.
The Grizzlies have scheduled a news conference for Tuesday at 3:30 pm EDT to make a "significant announcement." It is expected that West, who turns 64 in June, will be named the team's president of basketball operations.
Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley has confirmed his interest in West, who was generally regarded as the best team executive in the NBA when he resigned as vice president of basketball operations for the Lakers in August 2000, ending four decades with one of the most successful franchises in sports history.
West remains as a consultant to Lakers owner Jerry Buss.
Corson suspended for Game Seven
NEW YORK, April 29 (UPI) -- Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Shayne Corson was suspended for the decisive seventh game of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals by the NHL on Monday for a kicking incident late in the third period of Game Six.
The incident occurred with 1:50 remaining during a scuffle with New York Islanders defenseman Eric Cairns that resulted in fighting majors for both players.
After reviewing videotapes, NHL executive vice president and director of hockey operations Colin Campbell described Corson's kicking action as "deliberate and dangerous."
Corson will not be in the lineup Tuesday when the Maple Leafs host the Islanders in the finale of their bitterly contested best-of-seven series.
Rockies coach Donnelly resigns
DENVER, April 29 (UPI) -- The Colorado Rockies announced on Monday that third base coach Rich Donnelly has resigned, effective immediately.
Donnelly has served as third base coach for Colorado since joining the club in 1999. He previously held the same position with the Florida Marlins under Jim Leyland.
The Rockies also announced that Alan Cockrell has been named hitting coach, filling the vacancy created when Clint Hurdle became manager.
The 55-year old Donnelly has spent 36 years in professional baseball, including the last 21 as a major league coach. Cockrell has been a member of the Rockies organization since 1998. The 39-year old has served as a professional scount, minor league manager and, most recently, the minor league roving hitting instructor.
Alabama star declares for NBA draft
TUSCALOOSA, Ala., April 29 (UPI) -- Alabama junior forward Rod Grizzard announced Monday he will enter the NBA Draft.
The 6-8 Grizzard is a probable first-round draft pick, but has to make an impression in the Chicago pre-draft camp on June 6-8 to escalate to a possible lottery selection.
An athletic wing player, Grizzard averaged 14.3 points and 6.0 rebounds, but shot just 28 percent from 3-point range last season for the Crimson Tide.
The loss of Grizzard is a blow, but Alabama is expected to have junior forward Erwin Dudley, the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, return for his senior year.
Forward Gerald Wallace left Alabama after his freshman year in 2001 to enter the NBA Draft and was a first-round pick of the Sacramento Kings.
Showdown time in NHL playoffs
DENVER, April 29 (UPI) -- For the Colorado Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings, it's one year later and one round earlier.
For the second straight season, the Avalanche and Kings are meeting in a Game Seven as the teams complete the last Western Conference quarterfinal series at Denver on Monday night.
In the 2001 Western Conference semifinals, the Kings posted back-to-back 1-0 wins in Games Five and Six before the Avalanche tallied four times in the third period of Game Seven for a 5-1 victory. Colorado went on to win the Stanley Cup.
The San Jose Sharks await the winner of Monday's game, while the Detroit Red Wings face the St. Louis Blues in the other Western Conference semifinal series.
In the Eastern Conference, the top-seeded Boston Bruins try to avoid elimination when they visit the Montreal Canadiens in Game Six on Monday night.
The Bruins have won five of the last six playoff series against the Canadiens, but Montreal had won 16 straight prior to that.
On Sunday, the New York Islanders evened their Eastern Conference series with the Toronto Maple Leafs at three games apiece.Toronto hosts Game Seven on Tuesday night.
Carolina and Ottawa already have advanced.
Jazz, Raptors in must-win situations
SALT LAKE CITY, April 29 (UPI) -- The Sacramento Kings, the team withthe NBA's best record this season, hope to finish off Karl Malone, John Stockton and the Utah Jazz Monday night in Game Four of their first round Western Conference series.
After splitting the first two games at home, the Kings receiveda superb performance from point guard Mike Bibby and posted a90-87 victory at Utah on Saturday to take a two games to onelead in the series.
If Utah wins Monday, the decisive Game Five will be played Thursday in Sacramento.
The Toronto Raptors also are in a must-win situation in Game Three of their series with the second-seeded Detroit Pistons.
The Raptors dropped the first two games of their Eastern Conference first-round series before winning Saturday night to stay alive.
The two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers and Dallasn Mavericks advanced to the Western semifinals on Sunday.
Strawberry sentenced to prison
TAMPA, Fla., March 29 (UPI) -- Former baseball star Darryl Strawberry has been sentenced to 18 months in jail for violating his probation.
Retired Judge Ralph Steinberg ordered Strawberry Monday to serve prison time for his 1999 arrest on drug and solicitation of prostitution charges after numerous probation violations.
Strawberry, an eight-time All-Star outfielder, had admitted violating the rules of probation in court and said he was willing to accept the consequences even if it meant time in prison. He said it was time to move on with his life,admitting, "I've made some mistakes and I'm willing to pay a price for it."
The latest violation occurred on Strawberry's 40th birthday on March 12, when he was kicked out of the drug treatment program at Phoenix House for smoking and having sex with a resident.
Battling drug addiction, depression and cancer, Strawberry has violated terms of his probation six times since his conviction and has been banned from baseball three times.
Once considered a future Hall of Famer, Strawberry admitted to substance-abuse problems eight years ago. His career has been wrecked by those problems and other legal woes. During eight seasons with the New York Mets, Strawberry won the 1983 Rookie of the Year Award, was a World Series champion in 1986 and led the NL with 39 homers in 1988.
In addition to the Mets, Strawberry played for the New York Yankees, the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. He hit 335 home runs over 17 seasons.
Srebotnik, Garbin advance at Bol
Bol, Croatia, April 29 (UPI) -- Eighth-seeded Slovenian Katarina Srebotnik and Tathiana Garbin of Italy both won first-round matches Monday in the $170,000 Croatian Bol Ladies Open.
Srebotnik recorded a 6-1, 6-7 (9-7), 6-3 victory over Zuzana Ondraskova of the Czech Republic. The 21-year-old Srebotnik won her second career title at Acapulco in February.
Garbin, playing in the main draw of this event for the first time, breezed to a 6-4, 6-2 win over Tatiana Perebiynis of Ukraine.
Top-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva and second seed Anne Kremer of Luxembourg each received byes in the first round. Defending champion Angeles Montolio of Spain is seeded fifth.
Lapentti advances at Munich
MUNICH, Germany, April 29 (UPI) -- Seventh seed Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador held off German wild card Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany,4-6, 6-4, 7-5, to advance to the second round of the $400,000 BMW Open Monday.
Lapentti improved to 7-5 on clay this season after early-round losses in Buenos Aires, Acapulco and Monte Carlo.
Eighth seed Fabrice Santoro of France took on Francisco Clavet, the oldest player in the field, later Monday.
A pair of former champions were in action Monday--Australian Mark Philippoussis, a winner here in 1997, and France's Julien Boutter. And, two-time champion Francisco Squillari of Argentina goes against countryman Juan Ignacio Chela.
Schalken ousted at Mallorca
PALMA DE MALLORCA, Spain, April 29 (UPI) -- Oliver Rochus handed third seed Sjeng Schalken his third straight loss Monday in the opening round of the $400,000 Mallorca Open claycourt tennis event.
The diminutive Belgian posted a 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 victory over his Dutch foe to even their head-to-head series at 1-1. Schalken won their only previous meeting easily in Amsterdam last year, but on Monday endured his seventh loss in his last nine matches.
Fifth seed Agustin Calleri of Argentina had little trouble advancing to the second round, trouncing Austrian Markus Hipfl, 6-0, 6-2.
No. 6 Albert Montanes of Spain was the only other seeded player in action Monday, seeking to snap a three-match losing streak against American Michael Russell.
