Off the wire

BASKETBALL

Silver new commissioner

Adam Silver officially become the NBA’s fifth commissioner Saturday. The NBA posted a picture onits Twitter account of Silver holding a basketball and shaking hands with outgoing commissioner David Stern. “It’s official: Adam Silver succeeds David Stern as NBA Commissioner,” the caption read. Stern retired after exactly 30 years in charge.Silver joined the NBA as his assistant in 1992 and has been the deputy commissioner since 2006.

Los Angeles Lakers center Pau Gasol will miss at least the next week with a strained right groin. The spiraling Lakers announced their latest injury setback Saturday after an MRI exam for the 7-foot Spaniard. He will be re-evaluated next weekend after the Lakers’ three-game road trip. Gasol scored 24 points in the Lakers’ 110-100 home loss to Charlotte on Friday night, their sixth consecutive defeat. He has been bothered by a sore groin for several games, but attempted to play through it. The Lakers have been decimated by injuries. Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Steve Blake, Jordan Farmar and Xavier Henry have all been out for several weeks. The Lakers have lost 18 of 21 to fall into 14th place in the Western Conference.

TENNIS Swiss take doubles

Switzerland won the Davis Cup first-round match against Serbia after Marco Chiudinelli and Michael Lammer beat Nenad Zimonjic and Filip Krajinovic in doubles for an unbeatable 3-0 lead on Saturday at Novi Sad, Serbia. Switzerland faces Belgium or Kazakhstan in the quarterfinals in April. Serbia dropped into the World Group playoffs in September. Aconfident Chiudinelli and Lammer defeated veteran doubles player Zimonjic and Krajinovic 7-6 (3), 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2. The Serb pair fought hard and appeared even, forcing a tiebreak in the first set and winning the second. But Zimonjic and Krajinovic failed to convert two break points at 5-5 in the third set, allowing the Swiss to regain confidence and cruise to victory in the fourth set. On Friday, Swiss stars Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka won the opening singles. Federer was making his first Davis Cup appearance since 2012.

Top-seeded Maria Sharapova lost 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in an all-Russian semifinal of the Open GDF Suez on Saturday in Paris. Pavlyuchenkova will play third-seeded Sara Erraniof Italy for her first final since the Korea Open in September. Errani outlasted Alize Cornet of France 7-6 (3), 3-6, 7-6 (5). In their only previous meeting, Sharapova beat Pavlyuchenkova in 2010 in Cincinnati. Sharapova led 3-0 in the opening set but her compatriot broke back in the seventh game. Pavlyuchenkova lost the first set by sending a backhand wide as Sharapova imposed her aggressive game, having a 15-9 edge in winners and winning nine of 10 points at the net. Pavlyuchenkova put the four-time Grand Slam champion under pressure in the second set, capitalizing on a double fault and a forehand error to break Sharapova in the opening game. The 26th-ranked Pavlyuchenkova evened the match with a backhand winner. In the second semifinal, Cornetwon five more points than Errani, but the Italian held her nerve in the tiebreakers. Errani failed to serve out the first set at 5-4 and 6-5. But last year’s runner-up recovered by jumping to a 5-1 lead in the tiebreaker. Cornet netted a forehand to drop the opening set. Cornet broke serve three times in the second set and leveled the match with a backhand winner. In the final set, Errani steadied herself to win the last two points in the tiebreaker.

BASEBALL Chen signs deal

The competition for a spot in the Royals’ rotation just got a little tougher. Kansas City announced the signing of veteran pitcher Bruce Chen to a $4.25 million, one-year deal Saturday that includes a mutual option for the 2015 season, and Manager Ned Yost said he expects to keep the left-hander as a starter rather than a reliever. That would leave just one job available for other candidates. “I don’t know how it’s all going to play out,” Yost said at Royals FanFest. “I’m real open-minded, but you try to go into it and youthink about all scenarios and all cases.” The Royals are solid at the front of the rotation with James Shields, Jason Vargas and Jeremy Guthrie, and Chen was dominant the latter part of last season after beginning in the bullpen. That means former Northwest Arkansas Naturals Yordano Ventura, Kyle Zimmer and Danny Duffy, starters-turned-relievers Luke Hochevar and Wade Davis, and even veteran Brad Penny could be competing for a single rotation spot in spring training.

Two weeks before the start of spring training, the Baltimore Orioles don’t have a proven closer and are still searching for a veteran starting pitcher. Executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette said Saturday that he hopes to supplement the starting rotation within the next two weeks. A.J. Burnett (Central Arkansas Christian), Ervin Santana and Bronson Arroyo are among those available.

FOOTBALL Guy among seven elected to Hall of Fame

NEW YORK - Ray Guy is the first punter elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Joining the long-time Oakland Raider were two first-time eligible players, linebacker Derrick Brooks and offensive tackle Walter Jones.

The class of 2014 also included defensive end Michael Strahan, receiver Andre Reed, defensive back Aeneas Williams and defensive end Claude Humphrey, who like Guy was a senior selection.

The announcement was made Saturday night at NFL Honors.

Among the finalists who didn’t get in were two with ties to the Indianapolis Colts and current Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning - Coach Tony Dungy and receiver Marvin Harrison.

Each of the incoming Hall of Famers walked to the stage and was announced individually. Strahan, who helped the Giants make two Super Bowls, received a huge cheer from the home crowd.

Induction will be Aug. 1 in Canton, Ohio.

Guy turned the punting job into a defensive weapon after he became the first player at his position to be selected in the first round of the draft in 1973. He made “hang time” part of the football vernacular while playing all of his 207 games in 14 seasons with the Raiders.

The Southern Mississippi product averaged 42.4 yards, falling under the 40-yard bar only during the strike-shortened 1982 season. Only three of his 1,049 punts were blocked, and he set an NFL record with 619 in a row without a block. He had 209 punts downed inside the 20-yard line, including 77 in his final three seasons.

Brooks was the cornerstone of a Bucs defense that led the league in 2002 and 2005, and the NFC five times. He was the AP Defensive Player of the Year when Tampa Bay won its only Super Bowl after the 2002 season.