Off the wire

— FOOTBALL

QB Cotton leaves Ole Miss

Mississippi Coach Houston Nutt said redshirt freshman quarterback Raymond Cotton is leaving the university. A prep All-American out of Fort Meade (Md.) High School, Cotton was No. 2 at Mississippi after competing throughout spring drills with Nathan Stanley. Former junior college star Randall Mackey, a Bastrop, La., native who transferred to Mississippi from East Mississippi Community College, is the only other quarterback now on scholarship.

Baltimore Ravens top draft pick Sergio Kindle hurt his head in a fall in Texas, a mishap that will prevent him from reporting to camp today. The injury occurred Thursday night while Kindle was at a house in Austin, Texas. It is believed the former Texas linebacker fell down two flights of stairs. He is in stable condition at University Medical Center Brackenridge.

AUTO RACING

Dixon placed first

Scott Dixon won the Honda Edmonton Indy despite being the second driver to cross the finish line in Edmonton, Alberta. Helio Castroneves finished first, but was penalized for blocking his teammate and ended up 10th. An enraged Castroneves stormed from his car after the race to yell at IndyCar officials and grabbed one by the collar. Castroneves took the lead from Team Penske teammate Will Power with 18 laps to go in the 95-lap race, but was called for blocking Power when Power tried to pass him on a restart with two laps to go. Dixon stormed past Power to take second place as the checkered flag came out.

Fernando Alonso won the German Grand Prix in Hockenheim, Germany for Ferrari, but the team was fined $100,000 afterward for orchestrating his pass of teammate Felipe Massa.

Robert Hight defeated father-inlaw John Force to win the NHRAFunny Car classification of the Mile-High Nationals in Morrison, Colo. Hight (4.215 seconds, 296.05 mph) beat Force (4.386, 284.95) for his fourth victory of the season. Other winners were Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Allen Johnson (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle). Rod Fuller of Rogers was third in Top Fuel.

BASKETBALL

Huggins stays in hospital

West Virgnia Coach Bob Huggins is going to be released from a Las Vegas hospital in the next “couple days,” university spokesman Bryant Masserly said. Huggins, who broke four ribs in a fall in his hotel room Friday, had been expected to be released Saturday.

The family of former University of Memphis and NBA player Lorenzen Wright said they suspect foul play in his disappearance. Wright’s sister, Adriane Harris, told The Commercial Appeal of Memphis that Wright has been out of touch before, but “not to this extent.” The family filed a missing persons report with police, who said they don’t suspect foul play. Wright played in college at Memphis and later for the Grizzlies as a pro. He last played in the league for the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2008-2009 season. Harris said Wright was last seen at a Memphis barbershop on July 19, where he had his hair cut.

BASEBALL

Ordonez, Guillen on DL

The Detroit Tigers have placed outfielder Magglio Ordonez and infielder Carlos Guillen on the 15-day disabled list. Ordonez fractured his right ankle sliding into home plate in the third inning of Saturday night’s 3-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays and Guillen strained his right calf two innings later, raising to three the number of starters Detroit has lost in six days. Third baseman Brandon Inge broke a bone in his left hand last Monday when he was hit by a pitch against the Texas Rangers. Ordonez is expected to miss six to eight weeks.

TENNIS

Fish outlasts Isner

Mardy Fish won his second consecutive tournament and 10th consecutive match, beating John Isner 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) in the finals of the Atlanta Tennis Championships. Fish.

Andrey Golubev became the first Kazakhstan player to win an ATP tour title, beating third-seeded Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-3, 7-5 in the German Open final in Hamburg, Germany.

Julia Goerges of Germany won her first WTA Tour title in her first final, beating Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky 6-1, 6-4 in the Gastein Ladies in Bad Gastein, Austria.

BASEBALLAngels boost rotation with Haren

PHOENIX - Dan Haren was traded to the Los Angeles Angels by the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday for left-hander Joe Saunders and three other players.

The last-place Diamondbacks also get right-hander Rafael Rodriguez, minor league pitcher Patrick Corbin and a player to be named.

A three-time All-Star, Haren was one of the most prized pitchers available as the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline approaches. He joins a Los Angeles rotation that is solid up front but is missing injured left-hander ScottKazmir.

“A top-of-the-rotation guy that’s going to help us not just this year but years down the road,” Angels General Manager Tony Reagins said in Texas before his team played the Rangers. “The addition of Dan gives us five guys that are really talented.”

It also counters a big move made recently by Texas, which had a six-game lead in the AL West over the Angels going into Sunday night’s game.

The Rangers acquired ace lefthander Cliff Lee (Benton, Arkansas Razorbacks) from Seattle on July 9 for rookie first baseman Justin Smoak and a package of prospects.

Haren has averaged 15 victories over the past five seasons and is 7-8 with a 4.60 ERA in 21starts this year. He was tied for the NL lead with 141 strikeouts through Saturday’s games.

Haren is in the second season of a four-year, $44.75 million contract with a club option for a fifth year. Angels Manager Mike Scioscia wasn’t sure yet when the right-hander would make his Angels debut.

Saunders, an All-Star in 2008, was 6-10 with a 4.62 ERA in 20 starts for the Angels this year.

Rodriguez appeared in one game this season, allowing a run and a hit in two innings.

Both have played for the Arkansas Travelers, the Angels’ Class AA affiliate.

Corbin, a 21-year-old lefthander, has spent the season in the lower levels of Los Angeles’ system.

Haren, who turns 30 in September, is due to make $12.75 million each of the next two seasons with a club option for $15.5 million in 2013. If the option is not picked up, Haren is due a $3.5 million buyout. His contract also includes a list of teams to whom he could veto any trade.

Haren is 86-70 with a 3.71 ERA for St. Louis, Oakland and Arizona. The Diamondbacks acquired him from the Athletics after Arizona finished with the NL’s best record in 2007 and made a surprise run to the National League Championship Series.

Sports, Pages 16 on 07/26/2010

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