Tuesday's Sports in Brief
NEW YORK (AP) In a huge triumph for the Nets, Deron Williams is moving with the team to Brooklyn rather than back home to Dallas.
The All-Star point guard, the top free agent available, said on his Twitter page that he ``made a very tough decision today'' and posted a picture of the Nets' new team logo.
A person with knowledge of the decision said Williams told the team he was accepting their five-year contract worth $98 million. The person confirmed the agreement on condition of anonymity because contracts can't be signed until July 11.
PHOENIX (AP) - Restricted free agent guard Eric Gordon agreed to a four-year deal with the Phoenix Suns worth about $58 million, a person familiar with the talks told The Associated Press. The New Orleans Hornets have the right to match the deal and keep Gordon.
Gordon was in Phoenix meeting with the Suns' front office. The agreement to the offer sheet was confirmed by a person who spoke on condition of anonymity because free agent acquisitions can't be revealed until July 11.
NEW YORK (AP) - Jeremy Lin will visit the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, two people with knowledge of the plans said, and the New York Knicks' restricted free agent is expected to get a contract offer.
The Rockets waived Lin last December and he was claimed by the Knicks, turning into a breakout star when he landed the starting point guard job. With Goran Dragic not expected to return, Houston may want Lin back.
NEW YORK (AP) - Knicks guard Landry Fields could be on his way out of New York after agreeing to sign an offer sheet with the Toronto Raptors.
The Octagon agency confirmed the deal, reported by ESPN.com to be for three years and about $20 million.
Since Fields is a restricted free agent, the Knicks will have three days to match the offer after it can be signed on July 11.
PRO FOOTBALL
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell rejected the appeals of four players suspended in connection with the league's bounty investigation of the New Orleans Saints.
Goodell told Jonathan Vilma, Anthony Hargrove, Will Smith and Scott Fujita that each of them is still welcome to meet with him to give their side of the story, and that he reserves the right to reduce the suspensions should new information be brought forth.
The players, however, intend to fight Goodell's rulings through the federal court system.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Drew Brees gained leverage in his protracted contract talks with the New Orleans Saints when an arbitrator in Philadelphia ruled in the quarterback's favor in a dispute over how much the Saints would have to pay their star if they applied the franchise tag to him again in 2013.
The Saints already have used the tag on Brees for 2012, meaning he can't negotiate with another team and could be forced to settle for a one-year, $16.3 million deal if he cannot reach a new long-term deal by a July 16 deadline specified in the league's collective bargaining agreement.
ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) - Ben Davidson, the hulking defensive end who starred for the Oakland Raiders in the 1960s before becoming a famous television pitch man, died Monday night. He was 72.
He was being treated for prostate cancer. Former Raiders coach John Madden first reported Davidson's death Tuesday on KCBS radio in San Francisco.
COLLEGE PARK, Ga. (AP) - Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Kiante Tripp is in a Georgia jail on a burglary charge.
College Park police spokesman Sgt. Jeff Hightower said Tripp was arrested with two others Sunday afternoon at an apartment in that Atlanta suburb.
PRO HOCKEY
DALLAS (AP) - The Dallas Stars signed five-time NHL scoring champion Jaromir Jagr.
The team announced it had landed Jagr on its Twitter account. Canadian Press reported the one-year contract is for $4.55 million.
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Phoenix Coyotes forward Brett MacLean was in intensive care at a Canadian hospital after suffering what the team called a ``cardiac emergency'' during a pickup hockey game.
Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney said the 23-year-old MacLean received CPR on Monday night at the rink in Owen Sound, Ontario. He was taken to a hospital by ambulance, then transported by air ambulance to Knight University Hospital in London, Ontario where he was admitted to cardiac ICU.
TENNIS
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) - Serena Williams smacked 13 aces at up to 120 mph and overpowered defending champion Petra Kvitova 6-3, 7-5 in the quarterfinals at the All England Club. With two more victories, Williams will be holding a Grand Slam trophy for the first time in two years.
On Thursday, Williams will play No. 2 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, the reigning Australian Open champion, who defeated unseeded Tamira Paszek 6-3, 7-6 (4) under the roof at night to reach the Wimbledon semifinals for the second straight year. The other semifinal will be No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland against No. 8 Angelique Kerber of Germany.
The last two American men in the draw were beaten: 10th-seeded Mardy Fish wasted the one-set lead he built before play was suspended Monday and lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4, 6-4, and 126th-ranked qualifier Brian Baker's surprising run ended against Kohlschreiber 6-1, 7-6 (4), 6-3.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Joe Paterno's family and supporters are defending the late coach against a leak of apparently damaging material released during highly secretive investigations into former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.
Details from a decade-old email have raised new questions about whether the Hall of Fame coach tried to cover up a sex abuse complaint against Sandusky.
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) - The Atlantic Coast Conference is remaining tied to the Orange Bowl, announcing a 12-year agreement with the bowl beginning after the 2014 season.
The ACC says details on the opponent and broadcast partner will come later.
BASEBALL
ATLANTA (AP) - Newly chosen All-Star Chipper Jones delivered his first five-hit game in a decade, driving in four runs in leading the Atlanta Braves over the Chicago Cubs 10-3.
Jones was added to the NL All-Star roster before the game. The 40-year-old third baseman replaced injured Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp.
ST. LOUIS (AP) - St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a nerve issue in his shoulder that has sidelined him since spring training.
The 37-year-old Carpenter wants to continue pitching. He's been told the surgery to relieve compressed nerves in the shoulder could allow him to resume his career.
OLYMPICS
DENVER (AP) - The U.S. Olympic Committee will not bid for the 2022 Winter Games, instead choosing to explore the possibility of hosting either the Summer Olympics in 2024 or the Winter Olympics in 2026.
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USA Basketball said Lamar Odom won't try to earn an Olympic roster spot, leaving the Americans with 15 players for 12 spots.
Odom informed USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo and coach Mike Krzyzewski that he was unable to play this summer.
With the Americans lacking size up front, Odom's departure could strengthen new Clippers teammate Blake Griffin's hopes of making the team, or perhaps open the door for Memphis' Rudy Gay.
POKER
LAS VEGAS - Antonio Esfandiari won the richest prize in poker history, collecting $18,346,673 after prevailing in a daylong battle against Sam Trickett on the final day of the $1 million buy-in Big One for One Drop Texas Hold'em event.
SOCCER
NEW YORK - Manchester United plans to go public in the United States. The record 19-time English champions filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to hold an initial public offering of stock and become a listed company on the New York Stock Exchange.
CYCLING
BOULOGNE-SUR-MER, France (AP) - Pumping his arms in victory, Peter Sagan of Slovakia won the crash-marred third stage of the Tour de France as cycling's showcase race returned to its home country.
Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland remained the overall leader for a fourth straight day. The cyclists, who opened in Belgium, completed a 122-mile ride from Orchies that featured five small climbs to an uphill finish in the fishing port of Boulogne-sur-Mer.
Sagan won his second stage in his debut Tour by bolting from the splintered pack with less than 300 meters left. He crossed the line several lengths - and one second - ahead of runner-up Edvald Boasson Hagen of Norway and third-place finisher Peter Velits of Slovakia.
