In Brief

BASKETBALL

Charles remembered for more
than NCAA title game dunk

Lorenzo Charles was remembered Saturday for more than a last-second dunk that remains one of the NCAA Tournament's signature moments.

Charles' funeral was held in Raleigh, N.C., five days after the hero of North Carolina State's title-winning upset of Houston in 1983 was killed in a single-vehicle bus wreck in Raleigh. He was 47.

"It's a tough time for family, teammates, fans and friends, but it's also a time to celebrate and reflect on a wonderful man's life," teammate Dereck Whittenburg said.

Charles caught Whittenburg's 30-foot heave and dunked the ball at the buzzer to give underdog N.C. State its second national championship. Late coach Jim Valvano scurried onto the court during the wild celebration in Albuquerque, N.M., searching for anyone to hug and creating an unforgettable highlight that is replayed every March.

"For the past 28 years, Lorenzo and I have been linked together in one championship moment," Whittenburg said, "and we'll be linked forever."

Also: A preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report said a Fort Wayne, Ind., pilot was attempting an instrument approach to a northern Michigan airport when his plane crashed, killing himself and his wife and leaving his standout high school basketball player son in a medically induced coma.

The report said Dr. Stephen Hatch was approaching Charlevoix Municipal Airport when his Beechcraft A36 crashed June 24. The crash also killed his wife, Kim.

The report doesn't state a cause for the crash, but The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne quoted Indianapolis-based flight instructor Preston Wulfenspein as speculating that Hatch stalled the aircraft while circling for a second approach.

The surviving family of 16-year-old basketball star Austin Hatch said his condition is improving and doctors have begun bringing him out of the coma.

PRO HOCKEY

Wooed by many, Richards nets
$60 million deal with Rangers

After a day of being wooed by teams around the NHL, Brad Richards picked the one that was the front-runner all along -- the New York Rangers.

Richards, considered the biggest prize in this year's underwhelming free-agent market, struck it rich when he agreed to a nine-year, $60 million deal. The 31-year-old center will be reunited with coach John Tortorella, with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 2004 with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He'll be alongside Marian Gaborik on New York's revamped top line.

After posting a career-high 28 goals and 49 assists last season with the Dallas Stars, Richards jumped to the head of the free-agent class and was highly coveted by the Rangers. The Los Angeles Kings and Toronto Maple Leafs also made in-person pitches at the office of his agent, Pat Morris, in Ontario.

Also: Jaromir Jagr had a message to Pittsburgh Penguins fans disappointed he spurned his former club in his return to the NHL: no hard feelings.

The 1999 Most Valuable Player just felt more at ease after listening to a pitch to join the Philadelphia Flyers.

Jagr, 39, said he rejected more lucrative offers to make his NHL comeback and decided to play on the other end of Pennsylvania because he liked what the Flyers are "trying to do" to win a Stanley Cup.

Jagr's acquisition is a big part of the Flyers' offseason overhaul that has seen them jettison key cogs Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Ville Leino and Brian Boucher, among others.

Jagr spent the past three seasons playing in Russia. He mulled a one-year offer to rejoin the Penguins, his original team, before deciding to play for the Flyers.

MISCELLANEOUS

Dominant Phelps captures
200 freestyle at Canada Cup

Michael Phelps led wire to wire and won the 200-meter freestyle in 1 minute, 47.46 seconds at the Canada Cup in Montreal.

More than 1,500 screeching spectators turned out at Olympic Pool, a better than average crowd for a swim meet, to see Phelps dominate his one event. American Matthew Patton was second in 1:49.87, with Canadian Ryan Cochrane third in 1:50.08.

Phelps is scheduled to compete in the 100 butterfly today.

Also: Courageous Cat and veteran jockey Patrick Valenzuela held off a charge from Caracortado and Joe Talamo to win the $300,000 Shoemaker Mile and take his first Grade 1 stakes at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, Calif.

The even-money favorite in a field of six older horses, Courageous Cat sat second for most of the mile, took the lead coming out of the turn and won by a neck in 1:33.19.

The win automatically gave him a spot in the Breeders' Cup Mile in November at Churchill Downs.

Later in the day's other Grade 1 stakes, the $250,000 Triple Bend Handicap, Smiling Tiger led from gate to wire for an easy win, beating Camp Victory by 3¼ lengths and covering seven furlongs in 1:21.22.