IN BRIEF

BASKETBALL

Veteran Iverson agrees to deal with Grizzlies

Free-agent guard Allen Iverson and the Memphis Grizzlies agreed in principle to a contract Wednesday. A news conference was scheduled for today to announce the signing.

Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley wants Iverson to provide a big-name attraction for a team that struggled to attract fans to the plush FedExForum to watch a young team rebuilding through the draft. Memphis went 24-58 last season, tied for the NBA's fifth-worst record

Iverson, 34, can provide valuable minutes and scoring off the bench. He has a career scoring average of 27.1 points in 13 NBA seasons, but his production dropped to 17.4 points in 54 games after being traded by Denver to Detroit during last season.

Also: Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade said he won't sign a long-term extension and will revisit his future with the team as a free agent next summer.

With training camp scheduled to open Sept. 28, Wade said his focus has shifted from contract talk to preparing for the season. He had suggested for months that his plan was to bypass a potential extension that would add three years and about $90 million to the two seasons left on his contract.

The Golden State Warriors re-signed restricted free-agent guard C.J. Watson, a former Bishop Gorman High School star who averaged 9.5 points and 2.7 assists last season. Terms weren't announced.

The New Orleans Hornets agreed to trade reserve point guard Antonio Daniels and a 2014 second-round draft pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves for forward Darius Songaila and guard Bobby Brown.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Alabama's Saban gets three-year extension

Alabama football coach Nick Saban received a three-year contract extension through Jan. 31, 2018.

The extension doesn't include a salary hike, but rewards him for staying at the school and guarantees he will remain among college football's five highest-paid coaches.

Saban would receive a series of three completion bonuses totaling $5 million if he is still the coach through 2011, 2014 and 2017. That means the contract would be worth $42.35 million if he remains through the nine-year deal, or about $4.7 million annually.

Saban led the Tide to a 12-0 regular season and No. 1 ranking in 2008, his second season. Alabama is currently ranked No. 4.

Also: Mississippi running back Dexter McCluster spent Tuesday night in a hospital because of flu symptoms, and almost two dozen other players missed practice Wednesday with the virus.

McCluster, a versatile star for the sixth-ranked Rebels, was released Wednesday morning but did not attend the afternoon practice. As many as 27 players are in some stage of the flu, including starting quarterback Jevan Snead, McCluster and several other starters.

Illinois sophomore running back Mikel Leshoure has been suspended for one week for an unspecified violation of team rules. He will miss Saturday's home opener against Illinois State.

MISCELLANEOUS

PGA Tour boss: Growth in purses will flatten

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said any increases in prize money will be flat over the next decade, and that he didn't seriously consider reducing purses during the economic downturn.

"Our objective is to do the things that we need to do to continue to grow as we come out of a downturn," Finchem said. "And it's not our intention to go backward to get ready to go forward. Our intention is slow growth during this period, and then come back and grow more."

Most tournaments have incremental increases built into their contracts, some as little as $100,000.

Meanwhile, the Sports Business Journal reported that the tour's financial reserves lost more than 25 percent of their value in 2008 because of the slide in the stock market.

Also: The Chicago City Council unanimously agreed to take full financial responsibility if Chicago is awarded the 2016 Summer Olympics, a guarantee the local bid leader said leveled the field because the other three candidates -- Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro -- already have government backing.

The council voted 49-0 to authorize Mayor Richard Daley to sign the International Olympic Committee's host city contract that puts taxpayers on the hook for the Olympics and a proposed $4.8 billion operating budget.

The IOC will pick the host city at its Oct. 2 meeting.

American pole vaulter Stacy Dragila retired after competing 14 years in the event. The 38-year-old won gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, the first games in which women competed in the pole vault, and is a two-time world champion.

The UNLV women's soccer team gave up two goals in the final 16 minutes and lost to Ohio State 3-2 in overtime at Peter Johann Memorial Field. Colette Jepson and Jenna Larkin scored for the Rebels (2-2-2).