Off the wire

MOTOR SPORTS Dick Trickle dead

Authorities in North Carolina say former NASCAR driver Dick Trickle has died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 71. The Lincoln County sheriff’s office said authorities received a call believed to be from Trickle on Thursday saying that “there would be a dead body and it would be his.” Authorities tried to call the number back, but no one answered. The sheriff said Trickle’s body was found near his pickup truck at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Boger City, N.C., about 40 miles northwest of Charlotte. Sheriff’s Lt. Tim Johnson said foul play is not suspected. Trickle earned his reputation as a successful short track driver before joining the Winston Cup series and earning rookie of the year in 1989 at age 48. He competed in more than 300 Cup races. Although he never won a Cup race and won just two Busch Series races, Trickle earned cult status. NASCAR does not keep track of short-track records, but according to the (Milwaukee) Journal-Sentinel, Trickle won more than 1,000 short-track races throughout the country during his prime. He was a seven-time winner in the regional ARTGO Challenge Series in the late 1970s and mid 1980s. Trickle also captured the ASA AC-Delco Challenge Series in back-to-back years in 1984-85 before turning to Cup racing.

BASKETBALL Fisher named in suit

The former head of the NBA players’ association has filed a lawsuit alleging President Derek Fisher (Little Rock Parkview, UALR) had a secret deal with owners during the 2011 lockout that benefited himself, his publicist and certain players. Billy Hunter contends that Fisher undermined Hunter’s efforts to make an agreement and interfered with his job as executive director. Filed Thursday in California Superior Court, the suit also names the National Basketball Players Association and Jamie Wior, Fisher’s publicist. It said Fisher and Wior worked after the lockout ended “to terminate his employment without cause and in violation of his contract.” Hunter was ousted in February following an investigation into his business practices. Fisher finished the season with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

FOOTBALL Cowboys sign Hargrove

The Dallas Cowboys have signed defensive end Anthony Hargrove, who sat out the 2012 season after he was suspended as part of the New Orleans Saints’ bounty scandal. Hargrove, who signed a one-year deal Thursday, received an eight-game ban from Commissioner Roger Goodell after the NFL said the Saints ran a program that paid defensive players improper cash bonuses for hits that injured opponents from 2009 through 2011. Hargrove’s suspension was eventually reduced to two games, but he never signed with another team after Green Bay released him during the preseason last year.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have released special teams ace Montell Owens after seven seasons. The Jaguars want to get younger, so the move was hardly a surprise. Owens, a two-time Pro Bowler, is the latest veteran to leave the rebuilding Jaguars, joining a list that includes cornerback Rashean Mathis, linebacker Daryl Smith and fullback Greg Jones. The team filled one of two open roster spots by signing first-year center Dan Gerberry, who tried out during a voluntary veteran minicamp last month. Owens made the team as an undrafted rookie in 2006.

HOCKEY Torres suspended

San Jose Sharks forward Raffi Torres was suspended Thursday for the rest of the Western Conference semifinal series against Los Angeles for a hit to Kings forward Jarret Stoll’s head. Torres was assessed a minor penalty for charging for the second-period hit Tuesday night in the Kings’ 2-0 victory in Game 1. Under the collective bargaining agreement, Torres is considered a repeat offender. While playing for Phoenix last season, Torres received a 21-game suspension - initially 25 games - for a high hit on Chicago’s Marian Hossa in the first round of the playoffs. Torres was suspended for two games in January 2012 for charging Minnesota defenseman Nate Prosser and for four games in April 2011 for a hit to the head of Edmonton’s Jordan Eberle while playing for Vancouver.