IN BRIEF

basketball

Hewitt turns down St. John's
offer, to stay at Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said Thursday he has rejected an offer from St. John's to become its basketball coach, citing his family's strong ties to Atlanta.

When Norm Roberts was fired last week after six seasons at St. John's, athletic director Chris Monasch said he wanted to hire "someone who has a record of success of getting into the NCAA Tournament." St. John's hasn't been to the NCAAs since 2002.

Hewitt, a New Yorker, has taken the Yellow Jackets to five NCAA tournaments in his 10 seasons, including the 2004 Final Four.

Also: The two sides negotiating the sale of the Washington Wizards have agreed to value the franchise and the Verizon Center at slightly more than $550 million, a significant benchmark in the expected transfer of ownership to Ted Leonsis after the death of longtime owner Abe Pollin.

An agreement on the value of the franchise represents substantial progress in talks that got off to a rough start. Leonsis' group and Pollin's estate were "several hundred million dollars" apart when negotiations began in early January, according to a source.

Rookie guard Tyreke Evans, the Sacramento Kings' leading scorer at 20.3 points per game, will miss two more games because of injuries. He sustained a concussion, bruised his jaw, lacerated his gums and chipped his teeth March 19 against the Milwaukee Bucks and has missed three straight games.

miscellaneous

Venus Williams rides strong
finishes to win at Key Biscayne

Venus Williams won her first match at the Sony Ericsson Open, beating Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-3 in Key Biscayne, Fla.

Both sets followed similar patterns, with the third-seeded Williams losing serve early and finishing strong. She swept the final four games of the first set and the final three of the match.

Also advancing were No. 1-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova, a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 winner over Peng Shuai; and former No. 1-ranked Ana Ivanovic, who beat Pauline Parmentier 6-4, 6-3 to break a four-match losing streak.

Also: The UNLV baseball team lost to Brigham Young 12-11 in Provo, Utah, in its Mountain West Conference opener.

R.J. Arnold hit two-run homer in the ninth inning to pull the Rebels (14-9) within 12-11, but BYU reliever David McNight retired the next three batters to end the game.

UNLV starter Tanner Peters (2-2) was roughed up by the Cougars (9-11, 2-2), giving up 10 runs on 12 hits in five innings. The Rebels' Drew Beuerlein went 2-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to 17 games.

Florida International running back Kendall Berry was stabbed to death in an incident on the school's main Miami campus late Thursday. Police were interviewing "several people that observed the incident," a spokesman said, though he could not confirm if any suspect was in custody.

Berry, 22, led the team with seven touchdowns last season despite missing the first seven games because of a knee injury.

The NHL's executive board of the players' union voted to accept a new temporary rule that will ban hits to the head against unsuspecting players. The decision took effect immediately.

The rule is in effect through this year's playoffs. The competition committee is expected to meet during the summer to create a permanent rule.

Philadelphia Flyers leading scorer Jeff Carter will have surgery on his broken left foot today but hopes to return in time for the playoffs. The center, who leads the Flyers in goals (33) and points (60), is expected to miss three or four weeks.

Na On Min shot a bogey-free 6-under-par 66 to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the inaugural Kia Classic at Carlsbad, Calif., the first U.S. stop on the LPGA Tour this season.

Defending champion Soren Kjeldsen and Paul Lawrie shot 5-under 65s to share the first-round lead at the European Tour's Andalucia Open in Malaga, Spain. Seven players were a stroke behind.

Pioneering sports broadcaster Chester R. Simmons, who served as president of ESPN during the company's launch in 1979, died Thursday in Atlanta. He was 81. The cause of death wasn't disclosed.