In Brief

pro basketball

Jackson tells Lakers goodbye,
says he has 'no plans to return'

Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson informally wrapped up his tenure with the Lakers Wednesday, three days after the two-time champions were swept out of the playoffs by the Dallas Mavericks. The Lakers have no plans to replace him imminently, but Jackson left only the slightest doubt he's done with what's likely the final chapter of his unmatched career.

The awful ending to the season did nothing to change the 11-time NBA champion coach's mind about his future. Although he still loves basketball, Jackson wants to get on with the life he imagined as a boy growing up in North Dakota.

"I have no plans to return," Jackson, 65, said at an emotionless news conference. "Today, I'm sure. What it's going to be like in six months, I'm not sure."

Jackson said there's a point in a coach's life at which "you either move on or stay in it, you never break away from it, and it becomes the rest of your life. I always thought I'd like to do something beyond just the basketball coaching."

Also: Dallas guard J.J. Barea said he doesn't hold any animosity toward Lakers center Andrew Bynum after their ugly collision Sunday in the Mavericks' 122-86 victory.

Bynum elbowed Barea in the chest while he was in the air for a layup late in the game. He hit the floor hard, Bynum was ejected, then suspended Tuesday for the first five games of next season.

Barea said he has a bruise on his ribs and another on his left hand. He said he received an apologetic message from Bynum that he considered sincere. Barea said he didn't return the call because he didn't think it was necessary.

junior college baseball

Coyotes outlast Eastern Utah,
advance in Region 18 tourney

John Pustay and Jordan Stewart each belted home runs and drove in three runs to power the College of Southern Nevada to a 14-11 victory over College of Eastern Utah in the first round of the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 18 Tournament in Carson City.

Fourth-seeded CSN (32-25) overcame seven errors to win its ninth straight game. The Coyotes will play top-seeded and fourth-ranked Western Nevada at 9 a.m. today in the double-elimination tournament.

Pustay, Tyler Blair and Cameron Harper stroked three hits apiece, and Harper also drove in three runs. Pustay hit a three-run homer in the third inning, and Stewart smacked a two-run shot in the eighth.

In other games, Southern Idaho defeated Colorado Northwestern 4-3, and Eastern Utah eliminated Colorado Northwestern, 14-12.

miscellaneous

Deceased jockey had hearing
scheduled for cocaine charge

Jockey Michael Baze, found dead in his vehicle Tuesday in the Churchill Downs stable area in Louisville, Ky., was scheduled for a preliminary hearing today on a cocaine charge.

According to court records, the 24-year-old was charged with first-degree possession of cocaine Nov. 18, after he was arrested in a parking lot near downtown.

There has been no report filed on Baze's death because Louisville police are waiting for autopsy results.

Baze, a cousin of thoroughbred racing's all-time leading rider, Russell Baze, was listed to ride a horse in the eighth race at Churchill Downs today on the overnight entries.

Also: Jockey Robby Albarado, who missed out on riding winner Animal Kingdom in Saturday's Kentucky Derby because of injuries, will receive payouts from winning rider John Velazquez and owner Barry Irwin.

Irwin said Velazquez will give a portion of his share of the purse money to Albarado, and Irwin will match the undisclosed amount. The winner's share of the Derby purse was $1,411,800, meaning that the standard 10 percent made by Velazquez was $141,180.

A title that had appeared inevitable for weeks finally was clinched with two games to spare when Barcelona tied 1-1 at Levante to win Spain's La Liga for the third straight season. Barcelona won the league for the 21st time in its 111-year history and fifth time in seven seasons.

Second-ranked Novak Djokovic stretched his unbeaten start this year to 33 matches with a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Polish qualifier Lukasz Kubot at the Italian Open in Rome. The Serb can take the top ranking if he wins the tournament and No. 1 Rafael Nadal doesn't reach the semifinals.

Jaromir Jagr scored a hat trick to lead the defending champion Czech Republic to a 4-0 victory over the United States in the quarterfinals of the ice hockey world championship in Bratislava, Slovakia. The Czechs will meet Sweden, a 5-2 winner over Germany, in the semifinals.

The Glendale City Council voted 5-2 late Tuesday to give the NHL $25 million for arena operating costs to keep the Phoenix Coyotes in Arizona for another season while the prolonged attempt to sell the troubled franchise continues. It's the second $25 million Glendale will have forked over. The city did the same a year ago, and the league collected that cash out of escrow last week.