DETROIT — Red Wings general manager Ken Holland spent most of Tuesday wooing prized homegrown hockey star Mike Modano, taking him to lunch and then inviting him and his parents to the evening’s Tigers game with a prime view from team owner Mike Ilitch‘s suite.
Holland also put the finishing touches on a $650,000, one-year deal with restricted free-agent forward Drew Miller. Contracts for Patrick Eaves and Derek Meech will follow closely.
• The Blues signed goaltender Jaroslav Halak to a four-year contract.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Halak, 25, was acquired from Montreal on June 17 in a surprising trade after his stunning performance, including two Game 7 wins, in the playoffs.
Running with the girls
JOHANNESBURG — Caster Semenya was cleared to immediately return to track by the sport’s governing body Tuesday, ending an 11-month layoff while she underwent gender tests after becoming the 800-meter world champion.
Semenya, 19, is allowed to keep running as a woman, although it is unclear if she has had any medical procedure or treatment during her time away.
• David Toms has withdrawn from the British Open to rest an ailing right shoulder, and Anthony Kim formally pulled out as he recovers from thumb surgery.
The Royal & Ancient said they were replaced in the field at St. Andrews by Ricky Barnes and Davis Love III.
Trojans falling.
Southern California released top recruit Seantrel Henderson from his national letter of intent, the latest blow to a school reeling from an NCAA scandal.
Henderson, a 330-pound offensive tackle from St. Paul, Minn., was one of the prizes of coach Lane Kiffin‘s first recruiting class.
Henderson had made a televised announcement saying he picked USC over Ohio State, Notre Dame and Florida, but he did not formally commit with the possibility of NCAA sanctions looming over the Trojans.
Defensive end Malik Jackson also announced he will transfer to Tennessee. The 6-foot-5, 245-pound junior from Los Angeles has two years of eligibility left.
• Former Seton Hall basketball coach Bobby Gonzalez is in trouble again. Fired in March for his antics on and off the court, Gonzalez has been arrested on charges of shoplifting from a New Jersey mall.
Gonzalez, 47, faces charges of criminal mischief, along with shoplifting. He is accused of taking a satchel worth roughly $1,400 from the Polo Ralph Lauren store in the Short Hills Mall on June 29.
• Nicolas Mahut, the loser in the record-setting three-day match at Wimbledon, advanced with a 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 victory over Alejandro Falla. The first-round match at the Hall of Fame Championships in Newport, R.I., lasted 83 minutes — far shorter than the Frenchman’s record 11-hour, 5-minute loss to John Isner at Wimbledon.
Also advancing were top-seeded Sam Querrey, defending champion Rajeev Ram, Mardy Fish and Denis Kudla.
Denver Post wire services
