Off the wire

LITTLE ROCK — MOTOR SPORTS

Edwards penalized

NASCAR docked Carl Edwards 60 Nationwide Series driver points, fined him $25,000 and placed both Edwards and Brad Keselowski on probation through Dec. 31 followingtheir last-lap antics at Gateway International Raceway at Madison, Ill., on Saturday night. Jack Roush, Edwards’ car owner, was also docked 60 owner points after the latest run-in between the feuding drivers ended with a chainreaction accident that left Keselowski’s car in tatters and another nine cars sustaining damage. Edwards and Keselowski were battling for the lead on the final lap when Keselowski nudged Edwards out of the way coming out of Turn 2. Edwards returned the favor a few seconds later, sending Keselowski into the outside wall coming out of Turn 4. Keselowski slid toward the inside wall before being struck by several other cars. Keselowski finished 14th while Edwards celebrated his second victory of the season. Though NASCAR has publicly encouraged drivers to police themselves by encouraging a “boys, have at it” philosophy, director of competition Robin Pemberton said Keselowski and Edwards took things a little too far. “We felt like at that time they had stepped over the line of what we would consider to be good, aggressive, healthy hard racing,” Pemberton said. Keselowski and Edwards have a long-simmering rivalry dating back to the spring Sprint Cup race at Talladega in 2009 when Keselowski nudged Edwards out of theway - and into the catch fence - to collect his first Cup victory. Edwards got even in Atlanta earlier this year, punting Keselowski into the fence upside late in the race.

BASEBALL

Ex-Yankees manager dies

Former manager Ralph Houk has died. He was 90. Boston Red Sox spokesman Dick Bresciani said Houk died in Winter Haven, Fla., onWednesday afternoon. The cause of death was not immediately known. Houk spent parts of eight seasons as a backup catcher for the New York Yankees, but he made his mark as a manager, managing 3,157 games and winning 1,619 over 20 seasons with the Yankees, Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox. He won the World Series in 1961 and 1962 with the Yankees in his first two years as a manager and won another American League pennant in 1963.

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, manager Joe Torre and bench coach Bob Schaefer have been suspended as a result of incidents in the team’s loss to the San Francisco Giants. Kershaw was handed a five-game suspension and an undisclosed fine for intentionally throwing at Giants center fielder Aaron Rowand in the seventh inning of Tuesday night’s game, which the Dodgers lost 7-5. Kershaw has appealed, so he’ll be allowed to play until the process is complete. Torre received a one-game suspension and an undisclosed fine for Kershaw’sactions after plate umpire Adrian Johnson issued a warning to both benches in the fifth. Torre was set to serve his suspension Wednesday night. Schaefer also got a one-game suspension and an undisclosed fine for his actions, which included coming onto the field in the sixth. He will serve his suspension Thursday night, when the Dodgers open a four-game series against the New York Mets.

Milwaukee Brewers radio announcer Bob Uecker will return to play-by-play duty Friday for the first time since undergoing heart surgery April 30. WTMJ-AM and the club announced Wednesday that Uecker, 75, will return to action when the Brewers host the Washington Nationals at Miller Park.

Two pitchers from the Dominican Summer League have been suspended 50 games each for violating baseball’s drug policy. Lefthander Francisco Vizcaino of the Tampa Bay Rays organization and right-hander Saulo Alcantara of the Baltimore Orioles organization tested positive for performance-enhancing substances. Vizcaino had metabolites of the steroid Stanozolol in his system and Alcantara had an estrogen suppressant, which is a sign of steroid use.

BASKETBALL

U.S. loses Lee

The United States lost another big man Wednesday, as David Lee will miss the world championships because of an injured middle finger on his right hand. USA Basketball said Lee will have his finger placed in a splint and could miss six weeks. The All-Star forward is expected to be ready in time for the Golden State Warriors’ training camp. Lee was hurt Tuesday, the first day of practice. The Americans already are missing Amare Stoudemire and Robin Lopez, who were forced to pull out Tuesday.

A little more than a month after making 38-year-old Monty Williams the youngest coach in the NBA, the New Orleans Hornets have hired Williams’ longtime friend and former NBA teammate, 40-year-old Dell Demps, as general manager. Demps takes over for Jeff Bower, who stepped down last week after spending nearly 15 years with the club in various capacities, the past five as general manager.

The Milwaukee Bucks have completed a trade with the Sacramento Kings for forward Jon Brockman in exchange for forward Darnell Jackson and a 2011 second-round pick. Brockman, 23, averaged 2.8 points and 4.1 rebounds as a rookie. Jackson began last year with Cleveland and appeared in 28 games before moving to Milwaukee when the Cavaliers waived him.

The San Antonio Spurs re-signed Richard Jefferson to a multiyear deal Wednesday, nearly a month after the nine-year veteran opted out of a guaranteed $15.2 million next season. Terms of his new deal weren’t disclosed. Jefferson averaged 12.3 points per game last season - his lowest since his rookie year.

The Minnesota Timberwolves signed former Milwaukee Bucks point guard Luke Ridnour to a four-year, $16 million contract. Ridnour, a seven-year veteran, averaged 10.4 points and 4.0 assists per game with the Bucks last season while shooting a career-high 47.8 percent from the field.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed free agent Royal Ivey to add depth to their backcourt. The 6-4 guard has averaged 3.6 points per game in six NBA seasons withAtlanta, Milwaukee and Philadelphia.

FOOTBALL

Ravens’ Reed to sit

Baltimore Ravens Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed says he expects to miss the start of the regular season while he recovers from off-season hip surgery. Reed told WJZ-FM he expects to be placed on the physically unable to perform list, which requires a player to miss the first six games of the season. Reed, 31, missed four games last December because of a variety of injuries, including problems with his neck, hip and groin.

The Chicago Bears have signed running back Harvey Unga to a four-year contract. Terms were not disclosed. Taken in the seventh round of the supplemental draft, Unga is BYU’s all-time leading rusher with 3,455 yards on 696 carries.

TENNIS

Errani upset

Fourth-seeded Sara Errani was upset 6-1, 6-2 by Anna Chakvetadze of Russia in the second round of the Slovenia Open in Portoroz. Chakvetadze will face fellow Russian Vera Dushevina, who rallied to beat Virginie Razzano of France 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, in the next round.

Third-seeded Juergen Melzer of Austria, a semifinalist at the French Open, beat Argentina’s Eduardo Schwank 6-4, 6-1 at the German Open in Hamburg. Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan edged fifth-seeded Nicolas Almagro of Spain 7-6 (5), 7-6 (7), and qualifier Pere Riba outlasted fellow Spaniard and eighthseeded Albert Montanes 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (4).

ODDS & ENDS

Man U. tops list

Forbes magazine released its list of the world’s most valuable teams Wednesday with Manchester United of soccer’s English Premier League leading the way at $1.84 billion. The top American franchise, the Dallas Cowboys, was second at $1.65 billion. The New York Yankees, Washington Redskins, New England Patriots, Real Madrid, New York Giants, Arsenal, New York Jets and Houston Texans round out the top 10.