Off the wire

BASKETBALL

Iverson retires for good

Allen Iverson officially retired from the NBA on Wednesday, ending a 15-year career during which he won the 2001 MVP award and four scoring titles. Iverson retired in Philadelphia where he had his greatest successes and led the franchise to the 2001 NBA finals. Iverson said he’ll be a Sixer “until the day I die.” The 6-foot guard had not played in an NBA game since Feb. 20, 2010, and had a brief pro stint in Turkey. He also played for Denver, Detroit and Memphis. Iverson scored 24,368 points and was an 11-time All-Star. Former Georgetown Coach John Thompson and former Sixers great Julius Erving were in attendance for the ceremony. Iverson says he always thought retirement would be a “tragic” day. But he said he’s happy in his personal life and at peace with his decision.

FOOTBALL Florida tackle out

Florida left tackle D.J. Humphries will miss Saturday’s game against Georgia and could be sidelined four weeks with a knee injury. Coach Will Muschamp said Wednesday that Humphries sprained the medial collateral ligament in his right knee in practice Monday. He sustained the same injury in his left knee during fall practice. Muschamp said Humphries is a “quick recovery guy” and could be back in two weeks. The Gators (4-3) already were down four starters and several more backups. Tyler Moore will start at left tackle against Georgia, and junior college transfer Trenton Brown will start at right tackle. Moore was beaten repeatedly in Florida’s last two games, both losses. The Gators will have defensive end Ronald Powell, defensive tackle Damien Jacobs and linebacker Darrin Kitchens back Saturday.

CYCLING Armstrong loses ruling

A Texas company is closer to forcing Lance Armstrong to return about $12 million in bonuses he was paid for winning the Tour de France while secretly using performance-enhancing drugs. A spokesman for Dallas-based SCA Promotions said a Texas arbitration panel ruled Wednesday that it would consider the company’s appeal to recover the money. The company tried to prove Armstrong used steroids and other drugs and doping methods back in 2005, but ultimately agreed to pay Armstrong in a settlement. Armstrong’s attorneys argued the settlement was irreversible. But SCA went back to the same arbitration panel for a new ruling after Armstrong confessed he cheated to win the cycling’s biggest race every year from 1999-2005. Armstrong attorney Tim Herman did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

HOCKEY Selanne surgery set

Anaheim Ducks forward Teemu Selanne could be out two weeks for oral surgery after losing several teeth to a high stick. Philadelphia’s Luke Schenn inadvertently hit Selanne in the mouth with his stick during the Ducks’ 3-2 victory over the Flyers on Tuesday. Selanne lost at least four teeth and needed 40 stitches. He will undergo surgery this week. The 43-year-old Finnish Flash is in his 21st and final NHL season. He has 3 goals and 4 assists in 11 games. The Ducks already lost forwards Saku Koivu and Jakob Silfverberg to injury during their eight-game road trip, the longest of the season. Anaheim is 3-2 with three consecutive victories on their road trip, which continues today in Boston.

TENNIS

Nadal, Federer advance

Top-seeded Rafael Nadal advanced to the third round of the Paris Masters on Wednesday, and Roger Federer qualified for the ATP Finals for a 12th consecutive year. Nadal beat Marcel Granollers 7-5, 7-5 in an all-Spanish meeting, and Federer topped Kevin Anderson 6-4, 6-4. Nadal, the U.S. Open champion, is seeking a record sixth Masters title in a single season. He will face last year’s runner-up, Jerzy Janowicz of Poland, in the third round. Defending champion David Ferrer, Juan Martin del Potro and Stanislas Wawrinka also moved into the third round. Ferrer overcame LukasRosol 6-0, 2-6, 6-3, and Del Potro beat Marin Cilic 6-4, 7-6 (3). John Isner, Nicolas Almagro, Gilles Simon, Grigor Dimitrov and Philipp Kohlschreiber also won their second-round matches.

Simona Halep, Samantha Stosur and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova were winners at the season-ending WTA Tournament of Champions on Wednesday in Sofia, Bulgaria. Top-seeded Halep beat seventh-seeded Alize Cornet of France 6-4, 6-4, with a second consecutive round-robin victory in the Serdika group to ease her way to the semifinals. The Romanian’s last match of the group stage will be against Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, who replaced injured Maria Kirilenko. Former U.S. Open champion Stosur had a 6-3, 6-3 victory over fifth-seeded Russian Elena Vesnina in the Sredets group. Vesnina took a surprise 3-0 lead in the second set before Stosur rallied take the match.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL Coaches admit drug use, resign

BOCA RATON, Fla. - Florida Atlantic Coach Carl Pelini and defensive coordinator Pete Rekstis resigned Wednesday after university officials said they acknowledged using illegal drugs.

FAU received information about the allegations of drug usage by the two coaches Monday, Athletic Director Patrick Chun said. An investigation began immediately and Chun confronted the coaches Wednesday, a day when law enforcement officials also visited the school’s athletic offices.

Pelini was the head coach at practice in the morning. By late afternoon, he was gone.

“We hold ourselves to a standard here,” Chun said. “That behavior is unacceptable for a lot of reasons. Like I told our student-athletes today, we all have responsibilities. When you wearthe logo of Florida Atlantic University, you wear it 24 hours a day. … We hold you to a higher standard, and you have to hold yourself to that standard.

“Decisions were made that ultimately hurt some people, and there are consequences for those decisions.”

Chun said as of now neither Pelini nor Rekstis is facing any charges. The investigation is continuing, and Chun said that was limiting the amount of information he could publicly reveal, other than the drug usage happened off campus, not at an official school event, not on the team’s most recent road trip and that no players were involved.

Neither of the former coaches was permitted to address the team before leaving campus. Howard Schnellenberger, the program’s founder and longtime coach who still serves as an ambassador for the university, was at Chun’s news conference Wednesday, looking crestfallen and sitting in silence.