Off the wire

— TENNIS Ferrer, Querrey advance

Top-seeded David Ferrer rallied to beat Taiwan’s Lu Yen-hsun 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 in a hard-fought match to advance to the Heineken Tennis Open quarterfinals in Auckland, New Zealand. The fifth-ranked Ferrer is attempting to become the first player since Australian great Roy Emerson to win the tournament four times, including three years in succession. Fourth-seeded Sam Querrey hit 19 aces in beating Belgian wild-card Olivier Rochus 7-5, 6-3 in just over an hour.

Top-seeded John Isner lost 6-4, 6-4 to fellow American Ryan Harrison in the second round of the Sydney International. Isner was promoted to the No. 1 seed after Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet withdrew.

Former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt beat big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (4) at the Kooyong Classic in Melbourne, Australia, advancing to a semifinal against Tomas Berdych. Hewitt, 31, is preparing for his 17th Australian Open.

BASKETBALL

Knicks’ Anthony suspended

Carmelo Anthony has been suspended one game by the NBA for confronting Kevin Garnett after the New York Knicks’ loss to Boston on Monday. Anthony, who was angry about Garnett’s choice of words during a fourth-quarter altercation, went toward the Celtics’ locker room after the game and later waited for Garnett outside Boston’s team bus. Anthony will miss the Knicks’ nationally televised game at Indiana tonight and lose about $176,700 of his $19.4 million salary.

Kevin Love will miss the next eight to 10 weeks after needing surgery to repair a right hand that is broken for the second time this season. The Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star visited a hand specialist in New York on Wednesday Love was averaging 18.3 points and 14.0 rebounds per game.

Cleveland Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao needs surgery fora torn leg muscle and could be sidelined two more months. Varejao was the NBA’s leading rebounder when he injured his knee in a Dec. 18 game against Toronto.

FOOTBALL

Seahawks sign kicker, end

The Seattle Seahawks have signed veteran kicker Ryan Longwell and defensive end Patrick Chukwurah after placing Steven Hauschka and Chris Clemons on injured reserve. The moves by the Seahawks became official Wednesday morning. Neither Longwell nor Chukwurah haveplayed in the NFL this season. Longwell last kicked for Minnesota during the 2011 season, when he made 22 of 28 attempts. Chukwurah has not played in an NFL game since 2007 with Tampa Bay.

New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton has signed a five-year contract extension that will run through the 2017 season. The team announced the extension Wednesday but did not release details. Payton had agreed to the deal in principle Dec. 29. Payton, who was suspended for the entire 2012 season in connection with the NFL’s bounty investigation, can return to work Feb. 4, the day after the SuperBowl.

The Carolina Panthers have hired New York Giants senior pro personnel analyst David Gettleman as their new general manager. Gettleman replaces longtime Panthers GM Marty Hurney, who was fired six games into the season. Carolina finished the season 7-9.

The San Diego Chargers hired Tom Telesco from the Indianapolis Colts on Wednesday to replace fired General Manager A.J. Smith. Telesco, 40, spent the past 15 seasons with the Colts, most recently as vice president of football operations. He had a hand in the moves that helped the Colts go from 2-14 in 2011 to 11-5 and the playoffs this year, including taking quarterback Andrew Luck with the first pick in April’s draft.

Green Bay Packers wide receivers Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb should be ready for Saturday night’s NFC divisional playoff game against San Francisco despite missing practice Wednesday. Nelson is nursing an “ongoing” ankle injury, but Coach Mike McCarthy said he hopes the receiver will practice Thursday. Cobb was sent home with the flu, the latest Packer to get sick.

BASEBALL

Astros’ Singleton suspended A minor league player in the Houston Astros organization has been suspended 50 games after a second violation for a drug of abuse. First baseman Jonathan Singleton was penalized Wednesday by the commissioner’s office. He was the first player banned this year under the minor league drug program. Singleton, 21, hit .284 with 21 home runs and 79 RBI at Class AA Corpus Christi. Singleton, who also plays outfield, was traded by Philadelphia to Houston in July 2011 in the deal for Hunter Pence.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired right-handed pitcher Jeanmar Gomez from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for minor league outfielder Quincy Latimore. Gomez, 24, is 14-16 with a 5.18 ERA in 42 major-league appearances, including 38 starts. Gomez went 5-8 with a 5.96 ERA in 2012 with Cleveland.

Sports, Pages 16 on 01/10/2013

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