IN BRIEF

BASKETBALL

NBA tears up proposal after heated meeting, union says

Billy Hunter, the executive director of the NBA players' association, said Friday the league tore up its proposal for a new collective bargaining agreement after a contentious 90-minute session in Dallas.

Hunter said that doesn't mean the league is closer to a lockout when the current deal expires July 1, 2011. He said the union will submit its own proposal but offered no timetable for when that would happen.

Hunter said the union received the league's proposal Jan. 29. It calls for dramatic financial changes.

Also: Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Karl Malone, six-time champion Scottie Pippen and two of the great U.S. Olympic champions are among 19 finalists for the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame.

The 1992 Dream Team, which Malone and Pippen played on with superstars such as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, is a finalist in the team category. Also up for induction is the 1960 gold medal team, which was led by Jerry West and Oscar Robertson and won its games in Rome by an average of 42.4 points.

The 2010 class will be announced April 5.

Denver Nuggets coach George Karl agreed to a new contract that runs through the 2010-11 NBA season. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

FOOTBALL

Dolphins cut Porter, bring him back after 'invalid termination'

The Miami Dolphins released veteran linebacker Joey Porter, then less than three hours later announced that the move was "determined to be an invalid termination. Therefore at this time, Porter reverts back to the Miami Dolphins roster."

The Dolphins declined to elaborate, as did the NFL.

Also: NFL commissioner Roger Goodell received a new five-year contract that runs until March 2015. Financial terms weren't announced, but the tax return for the year ending last March 31 showed Goodell made $9,759,000, of which $2.9 million was salary and $6.55 million bonus and incentive compensation.

Troubled receiver Matt Jones agreed to a one-year, $700,000 deal with the Cincinnati Bengals, a source familiar with the discussions said. Jones, 26, didn't play in the NFL last year after being released by the Jacksonville Jaguars because of off-field issues.

MISCELLANEOUS

USA sails to opening victory in best-of-3 America's Cup

The monster trimaran USA delivered a victory for challenger BMW Oracle Racing against two-time defending champion Alinghi of Switzerland in the first race of their America's Cup best-of-3 match in Valencia, Spain.

USA recovered from a blunder at the start to rout the equally immense catamaran Alinghi 5 by 15 minutes, 28 seconds.

Also: Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra is scheduled to make her first start of the year March 13 at the New Orleans Fair Grounds in a new race called the New Orleans Ladies.

The 1 1/16-mile race for fillies and mares will have a $200,000 purse and will be used as a prep for Rachel Alexandra's highly anticipated showdown against unbeaten Zenyatta in the $5 million Apple Blossom Invitational on April 9 at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas.

Larry Dixon claimed the provisional pole in Top Fuel with a 3.795-second pass at 317.79 mph for the season-opening NHRA Winternationals at Pomona, Calif. Robert Hight (Funny Car, 4.059 at 312.86) and Mike Edwards (Pro Stock, 6.580 at 210.47) led their divisions.

The NASCAR Camping World Trucks race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., was postponed because of rain and rescheduled for today. Jason White will start on the pole.

Top-seeded Andy Roddick beat No. 5 seed Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) to reach the SAP Open semifinals in San Jose, Calif. Roddick has won the tournament three times.

UNLV senior Kristina Nedeltcheva broke the school record for women's tennis victories in the Rebels' two wins at the Fertitta Tennis Complex.

Nedeltcheva has 85 victories, breaking the record of 84 set by Jolene Watanabe in 1990. The Rebels (5-2) defeated UC Riverside and Utah State by 7-0 scores.

The UNLV men's tennis team was upset by Idaho 4-3 at the Fertitta Tennis Complex, snapping the Rebels' five-match winning streak. They are 5-2.

The UNLV softball team lost its home opener to Illinois 8-0 in five innings, then rebounded for a 17-1 win over Cal State Bakersfield at Eller Media Stadium.

The College of Southern Nevada baseball team lost its first game of the season, 6-3 to Cochise (Ariz.) College at Morse Stadium. Daniel Higa had three hits and Bryce Harper two for the top-ranked Coyotes (8-1).