Tuesday’s Sports In Brief

TENNIS

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Five-time champion Venus Williams beat No. 11-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-1, 6-2, before two-time champion Serena Williams defeated No. 8 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-2, 6-3, a pair of overwhelming performances that moved the siblings closer to another all-in-the-family final at Wimbledon.

If No. 3 Venus gets by No. 1 Dinara Safina of Russia in Thursday’s semifinals, and No. 2 Serena eliminates No. 4 Elena Dementieva of Russia, the siblings would meet Saturday in their second consecutive final at the All England Club and fourth overall.

Safina, who lost in the final at three of the previous five Grand Slam events, overcame 15 double-faults and wore down 41st-ranked Sabine Lisicki of Germany 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-1. Dementieva, twice a runner-up at major championships and a singles gold medalist at last year’s Beijing Olympics, was never challenged by 43rd-ranked Francesca Schiavone of Italy and won their quarterfinal 6-2, 6-2.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Mike Krzyzewski made it clear: He’s not ever going to coach the Los Angeles Lakers.

During his annual summer meeting with reporters, one of the first topics covered by the Duke coach was the simmering buzz that had him leaving the Blue Devils for the Lakers if Phil Jackson retires.

“I’m not going to the Lakers. They have one of the great coaches in the game,” Krzyzewski said. “I don’t know where that rumor started, but there has been nothing done like that, and I’m not leaving Duke. Whatever you hear about anything like that, I will never leave Duke until I leave coaching.”

AUTO RACING

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Tony George’s tenure as the leader of U.S. open-wheel racing and its biggest stage, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, was marked by tumultuous changes. Now George himself is being replaced — at the behest of a board led by his mother.

The board of directors overseeing the speedway and Hulman & Company announced Tuesday that a new management team will take over both entities beginning Wednesday. That means George is out as president and CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and his family’s business, although he will remain on the board.

According to a person familiar with the league’s inner workings, George was offered the chance to remain CEO of the Indy Racing League but declined. The person spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the negotiations were private.

OREGON, Wis. (AP) — Sprint Cup points leader Tony Stewart runs short-track special events in what little spare time he has. On Tuesday night he walked away from Madison International Speedway with a top-five effort.

Former Cup Series champion Matt Kenseth finished second at his hometown track to Chris Wimmer, and Stewart wound up fifth in the All-Star Challenge, a 100-lap super late model race on a half-mile oval.

PRO BASKETBALL

DETROIT (AP) — First-year coach Michael Curry became the latest Detroit Pistons coach to get the ax as president for basketball operations Joe Dumars fired him Tuesday after watching his team stumble to a sub-.500 record and an embarrassing first-round exit from the playoffs.

MILLSTONE, N.J. (AP) — A judge sentenced Denver Nuggets guard J.R. Smith to 90 days in jail Tuesday night for causing an auto accident that killed his friend, though Smith will likely end up serving only 30.

Municipal Judge Debra J. Gelson suspended 60 days of the sentence providing Smith performs 500 hours of community service consisting of visiting sick children at hospitals.

Smith, who grew up in this town about 20 miles east of Trenton, was taken to county jail Tuesday night to begin serving his sentence.

GOLF

HONOLULU (AP) — Organizers of the Kapalua LPGA Classic in Hawaii have pulled out of their contract to host the annual LPGA event through 2012.

LPGA deputy commissioner Libba Galloway said in a news release that the association is “extremely disappointed” with the decision not to conduct the event in October. She says the LPGA will vigorously enforce its legal rights under the contract.

Kapalua Land Co., the contract holder, said it’s unable to present the tournament without a title sponsor.

HOCKEY

NEW YORK (AP) — Scott Gomez’s brief New York tenure ended when the star center was traded by the Rangers to the Montreal Canadiens as part of a six-player deal.

The key player coming back to New York is forward Chris Higgins, a Long Island native who is set to become a restricted free agent. The deal was announced one day before the NHL’s free-agent shopping season opens Wednesday.

New York had been looking to clear space under the NHL salary cap and cut out a major contract that still has five years and $33.5 million left on it. The cap hit on Gomez’s deal is $7.35 million.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Jerry Reinsdorf, the owner of baseball’s Chicago White Sox and the NBA’s Chicago Bulls, has offered $148 million to buy the Coyotes out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy and keep the team in Glendale, a suburb west of Phoenix. The Coyotes have been awash in ink as red as their home jerseys.

OLYMPICS

NORTHBROOK, Ill. (AP) — The Dream Team is still dominating.

The star-studded team that featured Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Charles Barkley and won the gold medal in Barcelona headlines this year’s inductees for the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. The class, which also includes Michael Johnson, Picabo Street and Peter Ueberroth, will be formally announced Wednesday morning and inducted Aug. 12 in Chicago.

The other inductees are: Teresa Edwards (basketball); Mary T. Meagher (swimming); and Willye White (athletics); skier Sarah Will (Paralympian); Abie Grossfeld (coach, gymnastics); and Andrea Mead-Lawrence (veteran).

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