Off the wire

LITTLE ROCK — BASKETBALL

Player’s home hit

Armed men broke into the home of Charlotte Bobcats guard Stephen Jackson, holding his wife at gunpoint before locking her in a bathroom, police said. Three men broke into the home in a gated community of two dozen milliondollar homes about 2:45 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday, police said. Jackson, 32, was in Texas for a basketball camp and his wife was not injured, multiplemedia organizations reported. Charlotte-Mecklenburg (N.C.) police had made no arrests as of Friday morning, Officer Rosalyn Harrington, a department spokesman, said. Police did not release any other details about the incident. Public records list Jackson and his wife, Renata, as occupants of the $1.7 million home where they’ve lived since December, The Charlotte Observer reported. Jackson arrived in Charlotte the previous month after the team acquired his contract rights in a trade with the Golden State Warriors. The 6,300-square-foot tan stucco home with three garages is owned by former Bobcats guard Jason Richardson, who was traded to the Phoenix Suns during the 2008-2009 season.

The San Antonio Spurs have signed first-round draft pick James Anderson of Junction City. Terms of the deal announced Friday weren’t released. The 6-6 guard out of Oklahoma State bypassed his senior year and was the 20th pick in the June NBA Draft after finishing sixth in the nation in scoring at 22.3 points per game last season. Anderson, the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year, also averaged 5.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists. He is Oklahoma State’s No. 2 career scorer with a 17.9-point average in 101 games, including 99 starts.

Kobe Bryant recently underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, the Los Angeles Lakers revealed Friday. Bryant will be fully recovered well before training camp opens Sept. 25, the Lakers said in a brief statement. The two-time NBA Finals MVP underwent surgery lastweek. Bryant’s knee was drained of fluid early in the playoffs, and he played through several additional injuries while leading the Lakers to their second consecutive title. The team hasn’t announced whether Bryant will have surgery on his injured index finger, which was broken late last year and hampered his shot throughout the season.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have added their first player since LeBron James left as a free agent, signing swingman Christian Eyenga. Terms of the deal were not immediately known. The Cavaliers selected Eyenga in the first round, 30th overall, in the 2009 draft, but the 21-yearold played in Spain last season to develop his skills.

The NBA fined Minnesota Timberwolves president of basketball operations David Kahn $50,000 for his radio remarks about power forward Michael Beasley’s past marijuana use. The league also fined the Timberwolves organization $50,000 for what it called inappropriate comments. In an interview broadcast Thursday on the Twin Cities ESPN Radio affiliate, Kahn called the recently acquired Beasley “a very young and immature kid who smoked too much marijuana” while he was playing in Miami. Kahn said Beasley told him he’s done with pot. The second overall selection in the 2008 draft, the 6-10 Beasley was recently traded by the Heat to the Timberwolves for two second-round draft picks.

Florida has granted center Kenny Kadji his request for a transfer from the university. Kadji would have entered this season as a redshirt sophomore. The 6-10 center was granted a medical redshirt last season after having back surgery. Kadji appeared in 42 games in two years at Florida, averaging 3.7 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.

BASEBALL

Speed-up proposed

The NCAA Baseball Rules Committee has unanimously approved two new rules intended to speed up the game. The eight-member committee, which met this week in Indianapolis, set a 20-second limit between pitches when no runners are on base and a 90-second limit between innings during nontelevised games. Barring major objectionsfrom coaches and administrators, the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel will adopt the changes next month, said Ty Halpin, the NCAA associate director for playing rules administration. The recommendations basically mirror the rules used on an experimental basis during the SEC Tournament in May. No violations were reported at the SEC Tournament. A pitcher risked having a ball added to the count if he violated the 20-second rule. A batter who stepped out of the box within five seconds of the clock expiring risked having a strike added. A team offending the between-innings limit - set at 108 seconds to accommodate television - also faced having a ball or strike imposed.

TENNIS

Roddick, Isner advance

No. 1 seed Andy Roddick beat Xavier Malisse 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the Atlanta Tennis Championships on Friday night in Johns Creek, Ga. John Isner, the second seed, took less than an hour in the afternoon to beat Michael Russell 6-1, 6-2. He will face South Africa’s Kevin Anderson, a 6-3, 6-4 winner over Lukas Lacko of Slovakia, in the semifinals. Roddick will play Mardy Fish, a 6-3, 6-0 winner over Taylor Dent.

Third-seeded Jurgen Melzer, a semifinalist at the French Open and the highest-seeded player left in the field, beat Potito Starace 6-4, 6-1 to reach the semifinals of the German Open in Hamburg.

Johanna Larsson, ranked No. 84, reached her first WTA Tour semifinal by beating third-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3, 6-2 at the Slovenia Open in Portoroz.

No. 2 seed Timea Bacsinszky beat Sandra Zahlavova 6-0, 6-4 and became the only seeded player to reach the semifinals of the Gastein Ladies in Bad Gastein, Austria.

FOOTBALL

Browns sign McCoy

The Cleveland Browns have signed rookie quarterback Colt Mc-Coy to a multiyear contract. Terms of McCoy’s deal were not immediately known. McCoy was selected in the third round in April’s draft. The former Texas star reported with theteam’s other signed first-year players Friday.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed Coach Mike Tomlin to a two-year contract extension through the 2012 season, with an option year in 2013. The extension was expected because the Steelers’ policy has been to sign a coach before he begins the final season of a contract. Tomlin is only the Steelers’ third coach since 1969, following Chuck Noll (1969-1991) and Bill Cowher (1992-2006). Tomlin is 31-17 in three seasons, with two division titles, an AFC championship and a Super Bowl victory. Tomlin made an average of $2.5 million per season under the contract he signed upon succeeding Cowher in January 2007. His new contract is expected to at least double that.

A.J. Whitmore (Nashville), who served as the Wildcat quarterback in Tulsa’s offense last season, has been dismissed from school for being academically ineligible. Tulsa announced that Whitmore, a senior, can try to regain his eligibility in June. Whitmore has played in 38 games in three seasons at Tulsa. He had 238 yards receiving, 85 yards passing and 67 yards rushing last season.

MOTOR SPORTS

Hornaday wins again

Ron Hornaday won the NASCAR trucks series race at O’Reilly Raceway Park for the third time in four years Friday in Clermont, Ind. Hornaday, who qualified fifth, became the first driver to win four major NASCAR races at O’Reilly. He also won the trucks race in 1997, 2007 and 2009. He led 129 of the 200 laps to snap a 22-race winless streak. Kyle Busch was second and Matt Crafton third. Pole-sitter Timothy Peters finished 10th.

SOFTBALL

Finch shuts out Japan 5-0

Jennie Finch took a no-hit bid into the fifth inning in one of her final starts for the U.S. national team, Kaitlin Cochran homered in her second consecutive game and the Americans beat top rival Japan 5-0 Friday night at the World Cup of Softball. Finch announced earlier this week that she’ll retire from international softball after the World Cup.