Associated Press
ASHEVILLE ó ESPN racing commentator and former NBA and North Carolina star Brad Daugherty has become a partner in the JTG Racing team, and will field a Sprint Cup car in the 2009 season.
The Asheville Citizen-Times reported Tuesday that the 42-year-old Daugherty, who played college basketball at North Carolina, is hoping to announce his plans soon for a 2009 Nationwide Tour team, which would join the two others already in the JTG stable.
The Black Mountain native has been involved in NASCAR for almost 20 years, including as an owner of teams in the Busch and Craftsman Truck Series. He and NASCAR chief executive Brian France co-founded NASCAR’s Diversity Council several years ago.
Daugherty was chosen first overall by Cleveland in the 1986 NBA Draft. A back injury forced his retirement in 1994.
COLLEGE HOOPS
GREENSBORO ó A judge sentenced the son of North Carolina State basketball coach Sidney Lowe to 15 months on a low-security prison farm Tuesday in exchange for guilty pleas to charges that included robbery and kidnapping.
Guilford County Superior Court Judge Henry Frye Jr. sentenced Sidney Lowe II, 23, to 11 years in prison, but suspended it after he serves 15 months at the Guilford County Farm. Frye also ordered five years of probation.
Earlier in the day, an emotional elder Lowe held back tears as he asked the judge for leniency. His son faced a maximum 23 years on the charges that stemmed from a pair of 2007 incidents.
NBA
LOS ANGELES ó The Los Angeles Clippers have acquired center Marcus Camby from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for a future second-round draft pick.
Camby led the NBA in blocked shots with 3.61 per game last season, only the second player in league history to do so in three straight seasons. He played the last six seasons in Denver after four years with the New York Knicks.
– ORLANDO, Fla. ó The Orlando Magic signed veteran free-agent point guard Anthony Johnson on Tuesday.
TRACK
ARLINGTON, Texas ó Sprinter Tyson Gay is in Germany, resting, relaxing and getting ready for his next race ó almost exactly like he planned before getting injured at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Gay sprained a muscle in the back of his left leg in a 200-meter qualifying race, a tumble that forced him to be carted off the track and ended his chances of winning two individual gold medals in Beijing.
“He’s fine,” his coach, Jon Drummond, said Tuesday. “He’s walking normal. There’s nothing to really be overly concerned about. I feel there’s no reason why he won’t be 100 percent at the Games.”
Gay will run in the 100 and the 400-meter relay.
– Track coach Trevor Graham received a lifetime ban from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency Tuesday for his role in helping his athletes obtain performance-enhancing drugs.
NHL
RALEIGH ó The Carolina Hurricanes have agreed to terms on one-year contracts with forwards Patrick Dwyer and Joe Jensen, and defenseman Mark Flood.
First-round draft pick Zach Boychuk has had successful surgery to repair a fractured left wrist.
– UNIONDALE, N.Y. ó Ted Nolan’s return to NHL coaching ended after only two years when he split with the New York Islanders over “philosophical differences” with general manager Garth Snow.
SOCCER
MILAN, Italy ó Ronaldinho transferred to AC Milan late Tuesday, leaving FC Barcelona after the club’s new coach declared the team would plan for next season without the Brazilian playmaker.
The Italian club said late Tuesday Ronaldinho would arrive in Milan on Wednesday to get a medical exam and sign a contract through June 30, 2011.
Barcelona said that AC Milan will pay $33.4 million for Ronaldinho and another $6.3 million if it clinches a place in next season’s Champions League. The transfer amount was considerably less than the $50.7 million Barcelona said Manchester City had offered.
– NEWARK, N.J. ó Former U.S. national captain and midfielder Claudio Reyna plans to announce his retirement today, less than two seasons after returning from Europe to join Major League Soccer.
CYCLING
PAU, France ó Frank Schleck of Luxembourg wants ideas.The Tour de France resumes Wednesday and he’s trying to figure out how to erase his one-second deficit to race leader Cadel Evans of Australia.