Off the wire

LITTLE ROCK — BASKETBALL

Hawks suspend top-scorer

The Atlanta Hawks suspended top-scorer Josh Smith for Wednesday night’s home game against the Brooklyn Nets for “conduct detrimental to the team.” The one-game suspension, which comes with an undisclosed fine, was announced by Hawks General Manager Danny Ferry. The Hawks did not reveal the conduct that led to the suspension. Smith was called for a technical foul in Monday night’s 97-58 loss at Chicago. Smith, 27, leads the team with 16.5 points and 2.3 blocked shots per game. He also is averaging 8.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists.

MOTOR SPORTS Peterhansel holds Dakar lead

Flash floods stopped the Dakar Rally on Wednesday as the shortened 11th stage left Stephane Peterhansel with a commanding lead three days from the finish. Two swollen rivers near Fiambala, Argentina, forced organizers to stop the cars after 33 miles of the scheduled 137-mile stage on the sand dunes around Fiambala. Robbie Gordon led in his Hummer at that point, followed by Ronan Chabot and Lucio Alvarez. Peterhansel, who was sixth, was given a provisional 52-minute lead over Giniel de Villiers as he closes in on an 11th career victory in the Dakar.

Landon Cassill said Wednesday he is leaving BK Racing to pursue other opportunities in NASCAR. Cassill joined BK Racing last season when team owner Ron Devine purchased the assets of defunct Red Bull Racing. Cassill ran all 36 races, with an average finish of 27th.

Nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb won three of Wednesday’s four stages to take a commanding lead on the opening day of the Monte Carlo rally, one of only four races the Frenchman will contest this season after going into semi-retirement. Loeb has won six of the past seven Monte Carlo rallies and looks set for another victory. The Citroen driver leads countryman Sebastien Ogier, who won the first stage of the day, by 1 minute, 20.3 seconds.

FOOTBALL

Gator charged with theft

A University of Florida offensive lineman has been charged with stealing a scooter. Campus police said redshirt freshman Jessamen Dunker was arrested Wednesday morning and charged with vehicle theft, a third-degree felony, and driving with a suspended license, a misdemeanor. Maj. Brad Barber said an officer observed Dunker tailgating a campus maintenance truck Wednesday morning. After seeing that Dunker’s scooter didn’t have a license plate, the officer pulled Dunker over near Ben Hill GriffinStadium. During the stop, the officer learned that Dunker’s license was suspended and the scooter had been reported stolen.

BASEBALL A-Rod has hip surgery

Alex Rodriguez has undergone surgery on his left hip and is expected to be sidelined until after the All-Star break. The New York Yankees said Dr. Bryan Kelly repaired a torn labrum and impingement during the operation Wednesday at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. The team said the former All-Star third baseman is expected tobe released from the hospital today and the anticipated time for a full recovery is six months.

The Baltimore Orioles have extended the contracts of executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette and Manager Buck Showalter through 2018. In his first season with the Orioles, Duquette, 54, put together a club that earned an American League wild-card berth, ended a 14-year run of losing seasons and won 24 more games than in 2011. Showalter managed Baltimore to a 93-69 record last year.

A person familiar with the trade said the Washington Nationals have agreed to send Michael Morse to Seattle as part of a three-team deal that would move catcher John Jaso from the Mariners to the Athletics and pitcher A.J. Cole from Oakland to the Nationals. Morse hit .291 with 18 home runs and 62 RBI for the Nationals in an injury-plagued season, playing mostly as an outfielder. The National League East champions acquired Denard Span in a trade and contemplated moving Morse,30, to first base but then re-signed Adam LaRoche. Morse played for the Mariners from 2005-2008.

The Colorado Rockies have agreed to one-year contracts with right-hander Wilton Lopez and left-hander Josh Outman that avoided salary arbitration. Lopez gets $1,762,500 under Wednesday’s agreement, up from $515,000 last year. Outman received $675,000, an increase from $482,000.

The Blue Jays said left-hander Darren Oliver, 42, has decided to pitch a 20th major-league season. Toronto exercised his $3 million option in October but Oliver had not made a final decision until now whether to return for 2013. He had a career-low 2.06 ERA last year, when he went 3-4 with 2 saves in 62 games during his first season with the Blue Jays. Oliver has a 115-94 record and a 4.53 ERA for ninemajor-league teams.

Right-hander Jerome Williams and the Los Angeles Angels avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a $2 million, one-year contract that more than doubles his pay. Williams, 31, went 6-8 with a 4.58 ERA for the Angels last season in 15 starts and 17 relief appearances. He made $820,000.

TENNIS Williams, Azarenka move into third round

MELBOURNE, Australia - Serena Williams cautiously walked onto the court and tried to keep the points short to avoid irritating her injured right ankle as she advanced to the third round at the Australian Open.

Summoning all her experience from 15 major titles, including the final two of the past season, Williams lifted her tempo on the biggest points - winning an 18-minute game to open the second set, finally cashing in on her fourth break chance. Nineteen minutes later, she finished off a 6-2, 6-0 victory over 112th-ranked Garine Muguruza of Spain.

Apart from a swollen lip from hitting herself in the face with her racket in the sixth game, she emerged unscathed.

“It feels better,” Williams said of her ankle. “I was just doing everything you can do - icing to massage. I woke up this morning and thought ... ‘Oh my God, it feels good. ’

“I’ll keep my fingers crossed.”

Despite the injury concerns, Williams said she would be playing doubles later with sister Venus, and will play her next singles match against Japan’s Ayumi Morita on Saturday.

Defending champion Victoria Azarenka practically danced into Rod Laver Arena for the match before Willliams’ victory andsaid she is starting to find some rhythm after beating Eleni Daniilidou 6-1, 6-0 in 55 minutes.

The No. 94-ranked Daniilidou won only 10 points in the first set and was shut out in the second despite having triple break point in the fourth game.

Top-ranked Azarenka had her friend and musician Red-Foo in the stands watching and signing autographs, and said she went onto the court listening to a “great mix of disco music and a little bit of new music. I really start to like it a lot - there’s no words really.”

Azarenko, a 23-year-old Belarusian, won her first Grand Slam title in Melbourne last year during a 26-match winning streak to start the season.

No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska, 2011 French Open champion Li Na, No. 5 Angelique Kerber and 17-year-old American wild card Madison Keys all advanced in straight sets.

Novak Djokovic also advanced to the third round, extending his winning streak at Melbourne Park to 16 with a 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 victory over 20-year-old American Ryan Harrison. He’s on track for a record third consecutive Australian Open title and doesn’t have any other major winners on his half of the draw after Rafael Nadal withdrew.