IN BRIEF

BASKETBALL

Celtics to open title defense vs. Cavaliers

The Boston Celtics will begin defense of their NBA title on opening night against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers and will face the Los Angeles Lakers in a finals rematch on Christmas Day, according to the league schedule released Wednesday.

The Celtics will host the Cavaliers, who they beat in seven games in last season's Eastern Conference semifinals, on Oct. 28. The Lakers also are in action that night, hosting the Portland Trail Blazers in what should be Greg Oden's NBA debut. The No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft sat out last season after knee surgery.

Boston visits Los Angeles in one of five games Dec. 25. The Celtics beat the Lakers in six games in the NBA Finals in the renewal of the league's greatest rivalry.

The NBA returns to Oklahoma City on Oct. 29, the first full slate of games, when the former Seattle franchise welcomes Milwaukee to the Ford Center. Oklahoma City served as a secondary home for the New Orleans Hornets for two seasons after Hurricane Katrina.

Also: The Los Angeles Clippers acquired Steve Novak, a forward who can shoot from the perimeter, in a deal with the Houston Rockets.

In return, the Rockets will have the option to exchange second-round picks with the Clippers in the 2011 NBA Draft.

Last season, his second in the NBA, the 6-foot-10-inch Novak averaged 3.9 points while playing in 35 games for Houston.

The Charlotte Bobcats signed guard Shannon Brown to a one-year deal.

The 6-4 Brown played in 21 games for Cleveland and Chicago last season and had two stints in the NBA Development League.

A former Toledo player has been charged with point shaving, according to a federal bill of information filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit.

Sammy Villegas, who played basketball for four years at Toledo and has followed that with a professional career in his native Puerto Rico, is accused of shaving points in games during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons.

Bill Self, the Kansas coach who guided the Jayhawks to their first NCAA championship in 20 years, signed a 10-year, $30 million contract.

The deal had been in the works since April, when Self's Jayhawks came from nine points down in the final minutes to beat Memphis in a thrilling title game and he subsequently turned down an offer to return to Oklahoma State, his alma mater.

Kansas and Self said in April that Self had agreed to the deal while the details were worked on.

MISCELLANEOUS

Blasko's blasts lead local Little Leaguers

Michael Blasko hit three home runs and drove in six runs as Paseo Verde finished a four-game sweep of pool play in the Little League West Regional in San Bernardino, Calif., with a 10-6 victory over Cedar City, Utah.

The Henderson-based team will be the No. 1 seed when the tournament resumes with semifinal play Friday night.

Blasko homered in the third, fourth and decisive seventh inning, when Paseo Verde snapped a 6-all tie.

Also: McQueen High School will become the first in Washoe County to randomly test its football players for drugs after county school board trustees unanimously approved a pilot program to begin this fall.

"If it has the potential to help some kids, even one kid, then I'm all for it," trustee Jody Ruggiero said.

Southern Nevada's Green Valley High tested athletes last year and about a half-dozen schools in Clark County plan to do so this coming season.

The UNLV's men's soccer team was picked to finish third in the six-team Mountain Pacific Sports Federation this season, according to a poll of league coaches.

New Mexico was selected to win the league, followed by Denver.

Archipenko won the draw for the Arlington Million, taking the No. 1 post position for Saturday's race at Arlington (Ill.) Park.

The 4-year-old drew the spot from a field of eight for the 1-mile race.

Martin Truex Jr. finally agreed to a contract extension with Dale Earnhardt Inc. that keeps him in the No. 1 Chevrolet at least through 2009.

The two sides held a mutual option on the '09 season, but Truex had been reluctant to commit, even though DEI was eager to retain him.

Twenty-year-old Brad Coleman will replace J.J. Yeley in the No. 96 Hall of Fame Racing Toyota beginning at the Aug. 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Michigan International Speedway.

Yeley, already set to sit out Sunday's Cup race at Watkins Glen in favor of road racing specialist P.J. Jones, was released by the team Wednesday.

Kim Terrell-Kearney won the first professional championship match featuring two black bowlers, beating Trisha Reid 216-189 in the U.S. Bowling Congress' U.S. Women's Open in Romeoville, Ill.

Terrell-Kearney built an early lead and held on for her second U.S. Women's Open win and third career major title.