Off the wire

BASKETBALL Cavs, Brown agree to deal

Mike Brown and the Cleveland Cavaliers are getting back together. Brown, who led the Cavs to the playoffs in all five seasons he coached them from 2005-2010, has agreed in principle to a contract to return as their coach for a second time, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Tuesday. Brown went 272-138 with the Cavaliers, teaming with LeBron James on a run to the NBA Finals in 2007. He was fired after the Cavs lost to Boston in the 2010 Eastern Conference semifinals, shortly before James decided he was leaving Cleveland as a free agent. Brown spent one full season with the Lakers, but was fired by Los Angeles five games into this season. The Cavs have been without a coach since firing Byron Scott last week following his third consecutive losing season.

Indiana Pacers forward Paul George received the NBA’s Most Improved Player award Tuesday. George received 52 of 120 first place votes and 311 points, more than double the total of New Orleans’ Greivis Vasquez, who had 13 first place votes and 146 points. Milwaukee’s Larry Sanders was third with 141 points and was one of three players to receive 10 first-place votes. George averaged 17.4 points and 7.6 rebounds this season, both career highs, and was the only player in the league with at least 140 steals and 50 blocks. He earned his first All-Star appearance and led Indiana to its first Central Division crown in nine years. In 2011-2012, George averaged 12.1 points and 5.6 rebounds and made just 19 of 52 shots from the field in the 4-2 playoff loss to the Heat.

The Charlotte Bobcats fired Mike Dunlap as coach Tuesday after a single season. The Bobcats went 21-61 under Dunlap, finishing with the second-worst record in the NBA ahead of only the Orlando Magic. Charlotte won just seven games in the lockout-shortened 2011-2012 season, but tripling last year’s victory total and a three-game winning streak to close the season weren’t enough to save Dunlap’s job. The Bobcats hired Dunlap last Juneafter he had been working as an assistant at St. John’s, the first person to make a direct move from an assistant coach at the college level to a head coaching position in the NBA. Dunlap replaced Paul Silas, who was fired after the Bobcats went 7-59 in 2011-2012, the worst winning percentage in NBA history (.106).

FOOTBALL NCAA names playoff

The Bowl Championship Series will be replaced by the College Football Playoff. The BCS conference commissioners announced the name of the new postseason system that starts in 2014 on Tuesday, the first of three days of meetings at a resort hotel in Pasadena, Calif. They also will choose the remaining three sites for the six-bowl semifinal rotation in the new system and the site of the first championship game to be held Jan. 12, 2015, this week. The website www.collegefootballplayoff.com is already up and running and allowing fans to vote on a new logo. It also has a Twitter handle of “cfbplayoff.”

The Cincinnati Bengals added a longtime nemesis to their defense Tuesday, signing former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrisonto a two-year deal. The five-time Pro Bowl player agreed to terms Friday and signed the deal Tuesday. The former Defensive Player of the Year was released by Pittsburgh after the two sides failed to agree on a reworked contract. Harrison missed time in training camp and the first three games last season with a knee injury, but finished with six sacks - tied for the team lead. The Steelers finished No. 1 in defense for the fourth time since Harrison became a starter in their 3-4 alignment.

BASEBALL Billingsley facing surgery

Los Angeles Dodgers righthander Chad Billingsley will have Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery this week and miss the rest of the season, the latest setback for the Los Angeles rotation. Billingsley will have the transplant operation today in Los Angeles. The team said it typically takes about 12 months to return to competition. Billingsley was 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in two starts this season. He was scheduled to start last Sunday in Baltimore, but instead was put on the 15-day disabled list because of elbow pain.The 28-year-old Billingsley joined three other Dodgers starters already on the disabled list: Zack Greinke (left fractured clavicle), Chris Capuano (left calf strain) and Ted Lilly (left shoulder surgery). Billingsley hurt his elbow last August, didn’t pitch after early September and decided to try rehabilitation and a platelet-rich plasma injection instead of major surgery. He had been fine until feeling pain Friday in a bullpen session. A magnetic resonance imaging showed the injury.

The Seattle Mariners have placed outfielder Franklin Gutierrez on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring. Gutierrez was injured Monday night trying to make a diving catch in the fourth inning against Houston. He has struggled with injuries in his career, and this is the fifth time he’s been on the disabled list since the beginning of the 2011 season. Gutierrez is hitting .259 with 4 home runs and 10 RBI in 16 games this season.

The Detroit Tigers put reliever Octavio Dotel on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with right elbow inflammation, retroactive to Saturday. He has allowed seven runs in 42/3 shaky innings for the Tigers this season.

MOTOR SPORTS Foyt undergoes surgery

Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt had successful back surgery Tuesday. His team said the 78-year-old IndyCar owner was expected to stay in a Houston hospital overnight. Surgeons were trying to relieve the sciatic nerve pain Foyt complained about. He is expected to make a full recovery. A.J. Foyt Racing won its first race in 11 years Sunday when Takuma Sato won at Long Beach in his third race with the team. Sato became the first Japanese driver to win an IndyCar race, and the first Foyt driver to win on a street or road course since Foyt himself in 1978. Foyt watched the race on television at home in Texas. He plans to be at next month’s Indianapolis 500, where will also have rookie Conor Daly driving.

BASKETBALL Alabama starting guard Lacey transferring

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama guard Trevor Lacey, who led the team in assists and three-pointers, is transferring before his junior season.

Crimson Tide Coach Anthony Grant said Tuesday that he has granted the two-year starter a release from his scholarship.

“It was a family decision to pursue other opportunities,” Lacey said in a release from the university.“This definitely was not an easy decision to make. It’s been great at Alabama during my two years.It was tough my freshman year coming off surgery and having to work my way back. I wanted to improve during my sophomore season and I thought I did that. I want to thank the coaches and staff, my teammates and all the fans for their support.”

He didn’t say where he planned to finish his career.

Lacey was the only Tide player to start all 36 games last season. He averaged 11.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. He also made a team-high 62 three-pointers.

Lacey started 52 of 69 games the past two seasons.

Center Moussa Gueye, who started 27 games, announced earlier that he was transferring.