MIAMI — Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah was fined $50,000 on Monday for directing an anti-gay slur at a fan during Sunday’s Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals, and vowed to learn from the incident.
The NBA released its decision hours after speaking with Noah, saying the fine was “for using a derogatory and offensive term from the bench.” The fine is only half of what Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant was assessed for shouting the same slur toward a referee last month, and the league said the discrepancy was because the sanction against Bryant was based on what he said — and whom he said it to.
“Kobe’s fine included discipline for verbal abuse of a game official,” NBA spokesman Mark Broussard said.
• The Portland Trail Blazers dismissed general manager Rich Cho after less than a year on the job.
Penn State’s DeChellis joins Navy
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Coach Ed DeChellis, who led Penn State to the NCAA Tournament this year, resigned to take the vacant men’s basketball job at Navy.
The 15-year coaching veteran said he found “a calling” in announcing the surprise move two months after orchestrating his alma mater’s first NCAA bid in a decade. The Nittany Lions lost to Temple 66-64 in the second round.
DeChellis, who went 114-138 at Penn State, replaces Billy Lange, who resigned this month after a second straight losing season.
• Steve Prohm was promoted to head coach at Murray State, taking over for his mentor, Billy Kennedy. Prohm spent the past five years at Murray as an assistant to Kennedy, who left to take the coaching job at Texas A&M.
Sharks’ Thornton to play Game 5
SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose Sharks captain Joe Thornton is expected to play tonight against the Vancouver Canucks in Game 5 of the Western Conference final despite leaving the previous game with an apparent shoulder injury.
Footnotes.
Tiger Woods fell to 12th in the world rankings, dropping out of the top 10 for the first time in 14 years. Lee Westwood of England remains at No. 1, with Charl Schwartzel of South Africa taking Woods’ place in the top 10.
• Sergio Garcia withdrew from British Open qualifying because of an infected fingernail.
• Citing back problems, Fred Couples and Tom Wargo withdrew from the Senior PGA Championship at Valhalla.
• After a disastrous weekend for Michael Andretti‘s team, the owner and his father’s old rival have reached a deal to get Ryan Hunter-Reay, the only American to win an IndyCar race since April 2008, into A.J. Foyt‘s No. 41 car for Sunday’s race.
• Spanish cyclist Xavier Tondo died in a freak accident after he was crushed between his car and a garage door in southern Spain. He was 32.
• With more than two months to let emotions settle and plenty of information from experts to satisfy any safety concerns, gymnastics officials said it was an easy decision to keep the world championships in Tokyo as originally planned from Oct. 7-16.
The Associated Press
