PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns granted permission for coach Mike D’Antoni to talk to other teams, with the Chicago Bulls and the New York Knicks apparently the leading suitors.
General manager Steve Kerr confirmed Monday that D’Antoni can speak with other NBA teams about coaching vacancies but indicated he still wants to persuade the coach to stay with the Suns.
D’Antoni, who has two years worth $8.5 million remaining on his contract, has a 232-96 record.
• The NBA has scheduled a news conference for today at a Los Angeles hotel, where Kobe Bryant is expected to be announced as winner of his first MVP award.
Georgia Tech pitcher died of drug overdose.
A Georgia Tech pitcher died in April from an accidental drug overdose, the medical examiner’s office said, but it has not been determined if heroin was involved.
Michael Hutts, a 21-year-old pitcher for the Yellow Jackets, was the victim of accidental morphine toxicity, according to a statement from Fulton County’s chief medical examiner, Randy Hanzlick.
Hutts’ roommate was quoted in the police report as saying the pitcher was visited the night before his April 11 death by a friend who was known to use heroin, possibly with Hutts. Heroin is processed from morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seed pod of certain varieties of poppy plants, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Footnotes
. Guillermo Canas rallied past Italian wild-card Gianluca Naso 6-7 (8), 6-3, 6-2 to set up a clay-court meeting with Roger Federer, who had a first-round bye at the Rome Masters.
• Sabine Lisicki upset 14th-seeded Shahar Peer of Israel 7-5, 6-1 in the first round of the German Open in Berlin.
• Basketball forward Ekpe Udoh is leaving Michigan after two seasons but has yet to decide to which school he will transfer.
• Spokane will host the 2010 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, which will serve as the trials for the Vancouver Olympics.
• Chivas USA defender Lawson Vaughn is expected to be sidelined for up to six weeks after undergoing surgery for a fractured nose.
• U.S. archer Butch Johnson, 52, is headed to the Olympics for the fifth time and Khatuna Lorig will represent her third country. Also making the U.S. team are Brady Ellison, Vic Wunderle and Jennifer Nichols of Cheyenne.
• Minnesota Wild prospect Julien Sprunger scored two power-play goals to lead Switzerland to a 2-1 win over Belarus at the IIHF World Hockey Championship in Quebec City. Also, Sweden beat France 9-0; Finland edged Norway 3-2 in overtime; and Germany got past Slovakia 4-2.
• Shalane Flanagan broke the American record by 17 seconds in her first 10,000-meter race Sunday night, a stirring duel with New Zealand’s Kim Smith at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational at Stanford, Calif. Her time of 30 minutes, 34.49 seconds easily bettered the previous mark of 30:52.32 set by Deena Kastor and was the fastest in the world since 2006.
The Associated Press
