Off the wire

LITTLE ROCK — HOCKEY

Gretzky resigns as coach

Wayne Gretzky's tenure as coach of the Phoenix Coyotes, a period marked largely by on-ice futility, ended abruptly Thursday when the "Great One" announced he would be stepping down amid the financial turmoil surrounding the team. The Coyotes hired former Dallas Stars Coach Dave Tippett, 48, hours after Gretzky, 48, announced his departure, which had been rumored as the bankruptcy court battle between Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie and the NHL over the sale of the team dragged on. "This was a difficult decision that I've thought long and hard about," Gretzky said in a statement Thursday on his Web site. "We all hoped there would be a resolution earlier this month to the Coyotes ownership situation, but the decision is taking longer than expected. Since both remaining bidders have made it clear that I don't fit into their future plans, I approached General Manager Don Maloney and suggested he begin looking for someone to replace me as coach. Don has worked hard and explored many options. I think he has made an excellent choice, and so now it's time for me to step aside." Gretzky, who was due to make $8.5 million this season, coached the Coyotes from 2005-2009, finishing with a 143-161-24 record, and the team missed the playoffs in all four seasons. Gretzky also owns a small piece of the franchise. Tippet was fired by the Stars in June despite making the Stanley Cup playoffs five times in six seasons. Maloney said the Coyotes signed Tippett to a four-year deal. Financial terms weren't disclosed.Tippett went 271-162-59 in six seasons with the Stars.

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Patrice Brisebois, 38, retired, ending his 18-year NHL career with plans to drive on NASCAR's Canadian series. Brisebois spent 16 seasons with the Canadiens, retiring in third place on the franchise list for games by a defenseman (896), fourth for goals by a defenseman (87) and fifth in points by a defenseman (371). He played two years with the Colorado Avalanche.

BASKETBALL Army fires coach

Army fired men's basketball Coach Jim Crews after seven losing seasons. Crews brought the Black Knights to the Patriot League Tournament semifinals the past three seasons but his best overall record was 15-16 in 2006-2007. Army went 11-19 last season. In seven years, Crews had a record of 60-139, a .302 winning percentage. The Black Knights have not had a winning season since 1984-1985. Crews came to West Point in March 2002 after 17 seasons at Evansville in Indiana. His teams had 11 winning seasons, reached the NCAA Tournament four times and the NIT twice. Crews was a reserve under Bobby Knight at Indiana.

Binghamton (N.Y.) University basketball player Emanuel "Tiki" Mayben, 22, pleaded innocent at his arraignment Thursday to possessing and selling cocaine. Mayben, who led Binghamton last year to its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament, was arrested Wednesday night in his hometown of Troy, N.Y. Investigators were taking him into custody on a sealed indictment charging him with selling cocaine twice June 29 when they found 3.4 grams of cocaine on him, police said. Binghamton Athletic Director Joel Thirer said Mayben has been dismissed fromthe basketball program. Mayben set a school single-season record for assists last year. He was named to the America East Conference all-tournament team in March and was a second-team all-conference selection. Mayben began his college career at Massachusetts, where he sat out one season before playing in the 2006-2007 season. He transferred to Hudson Valley Community College, where he played in the 2007-2008 season.

SKIING Miller to compete in World Cup

Bode Miller is rejoining the U.S. ski team, just five months before the Vancouver (British Columbia) Olympics. The threetime Olympian skied on his own the past two years, winning his second overall World Cup title in 2007-2008. He plans to compete during the coming World Cup season, and if he qualifies for Vancouver, he will race. Miller, who turns 32 next month, reached out to U.S. men's alpine coach Sasha Rearick a few weeks ago and received a warm reception. "He seemed really enthusiastic about the opportunity to sort of try to reintegrate me into the team, and for the first time I felt really positive and excited about the whole thing," Miller said. "At that point, it was sort of a no-brainer." The three-time Olympian left the U.S. team after the 2006 Turin (Italy) Olympics. Miller plans to begin training with the national team immediately. He didn't set a date to return to competition but isn't expected to compete in the season opener Oct. 25 in Soelden, Austria. He hopes to race in a World Cup meet in Beaver Creek, Colo., beginning Dec. 2. Rearick said Miller, like all the skiers, must qualify for a spot on the Olympic team based on this season's results. The Olympic team will be announced Jan. 26.

TENNIS Top seed advances

Top-seeded Gael Monfils, who had a first-round bye, reached the quarterfinals of the Open de Moselle in Metz, France, winning 6-1, 6-1 over Sebastien Grosjean, a wild-card entry ranked 1,147th. Monfils hit 10 aces and broke Grosjean six times.

Defending champion Maria Kirilenko advanced to the quarterfinals of the Korea Open in Seoul, beating third-seeded Francesca Schiavone, who retired with an injury early in the second set. Kirilenko was leading 6-1, 1-2 when Schiavone, who had taken a medical timeout in the first set with an apparent right thigh injury, retired. Top-seeded Daniela Hantuchova, who did not face a break point, beat Chanelle Scheepers 6-1, 6-1.

Third-seeded Juan Monaco defeated Pere Riba 6-4, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals of the BCR Open Romania in Bucharest. Monaco never faced a break point and converted his only break point in the first set and used two more breaks in the second.

Second-seeded and 46th-ranked Shahar Peer beat Kathrin Woerle 6-2, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals of the Tashkent (Uzbekistan) Open.

HORSE RACING Well Said wins Little Brown Jug

Well Said won the $609,150 Little Brown Jug, the second leg of the Triple Crown for pacers at Delaware (Ohio) County Fairgrounds. Well Said, driven by Ron Pierce and trained by Steve Elliott, caught If I Can Dream in the homestretch to win by 1 length in 1:51 4-5 for the mile. Nineteen 3-year-old pacers entered the race and were split into two elimination heats. If I Can Dream won the first elimination and Well Said took the second elimination.