In Brief

PRO BASKETBALL

NBA players to meet today
at Aria to discuss labor dispute

Billy Hunter hoped to deliver good news when he meets with NBA players today at the Aria.

Instead, the executive director of the players association isn't even sure how he will answer all their questions.

No progress was made toward ending the 2½-month lockout during a meeting with owners Tuesday, and Hunter might have to tell players to look elsewhere if they want to be paid to play basketball anytime soon.

"There are a lot of guys, many marquee players now, who have offers to go outside the country. And the question is, what do they do?" Hunter said Wednesday. "I mean, do they hold off making the decision, or do they wait in hopes that we get a deal in place sometime in the immediate future?"

Hopes of that diminished after Tuesday's meeting between the union's executive committee and the owners' labor relations committee ended with the sides still divided over the salary cap system, despite a hint of economic compromise.

Also: Former Washington Wizards player Javaris Crittenton will be returned to Atlanta from Los Angeles today to face a murder charge, police said.

Crittenton, a former star player at Georgia Tech, will be transported to jail by a fugitive unit of the Atlanta police department, spokesman officer John Chafee said.

Authorities said Crittenton was being returned to face the charge in the death of 22-year-old Julian Jones, a mother of four who was hit by gunfire during a drive-by shooting. Police said the shots were aimed at someone walking with her. Crittenton denies involvement.

TENNIS

Serena Williams: Emotions got
best of her in U.S. Open rant

Serena Williams said her emotions got the best of her when she berated the chair umpire during her 6-2, 6-3 loss to Sam Stosur on Sunday in the U.S. Open final.

"My emotions did get the best of me this past weekend when I disagreed with the umpire," Williams tweeted. "It has been a long road to get back to the US Open this year, and I am thankful to have had such a great two weeks in New York."

Williams' tweet came two days after she was cited for a code violation and fined $2,000 for verbally abusing chair umpire Eva Asderaki.

Facing a break point while serving in the first game of the second set, Williams hit a forehand that she celebrated with a yell of "Come on!" Asderaki applied the hindrance rule, noting the scream came while Stosur reached out and got a racket on the ball. Asderaki awarded the point to Stosur.

That set Williams off on a series of insults directed at the official, reminiscent of her tirade on the same court when she berated and brandished her racket at a line judge who called a foot fault in the 2009 semifinal against Kim Clijsters.

Also: Rafael Nadal said he is tired but ready to play for host Spain in Friday's opening singles matches against France in the Davis Cup semifinals in Cordoba.

Spain captain Albert Costa is coy about when the U.S. Open runner-up will play, saying only: "We are going to see over the next two days how he is. Of course, if Rafa is well, he'll play."

Nadal lost to Novak Djokovic on Monday in the U.S. Open final before returning to his home country.

MISCELLANEOUS

McCourt to continue paying
ex-wife $225,000 per month

Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt will keep paying $225,000 per month to his ex-wife, but money once used toward the mortgages of six luxurious homes will come from a $1.1 million escrow account, attorneys said.

Attorneys for the former couple hammered out a deal that called for McCourt to pay temporary spousal support to Jamie McCourt over the next couple of months. He was paying an additional $412,159 a month for the mortgages of six homes and a condominium, but that money will now come from an account created after the sale of a home near the Playboy Mansion.

Also: Former Ohio State and NFL quarterback Art Schlichter is resolving multiple state and federal theft and fraud charges with plea agreements that will allow him to leave jail temporarily before beginning a multi-year prison term.

Schlichter was expected to plead guilty to state theft charges today in Columbus, Ohio, and to plead guilty soon to federal charges of bank and wire fraud and filing a false tax return, according to court documents and one of Schlichter's attorneys.

The Egyptian Football Association said it has reached a deal with former U.S. coach Bob Bradley to take over the national soccer team, two weeks after Egypt failed to qualify for the African Cup of Nations for the first time in three decades.

Bradley was fired from the U.S. team in July and replaced by Jurgen Klinsmann.