Associated Press
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. ó The New York Giants have signed running back Andre Brown, their fourth-round selection from North Carolina State.
He is the sixth 2009 draft choice to sign with the Giants. Terms of the deal were not released.
The only unsigned draft picks are wide receiver Hakeem Nicks, the first-round selection from North Carolina, and second-round picks Clint Sintim and William Beatty.
Brown played in 44 games with 30 starts at N.C. State. He gained more than 2,500 yards and scored 22 touchdowns. He also caught 70 passes and had 341 yards on 17 kickoff returns.
To clear space on the roster for Brown, the Giants waived rookie Alex Derenthal, a free agent from Temple.
– NORFOLK, Va. ó Suspended NFL Star Michael Vick is leaving a job with a Virginia construction company to work with youngsters at Boys & Girls Clubs.
Steven Kast, CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Virginia Peninsula, says Vick will be working with children on health and fitness activities at several clubs in the Hampton Roads area. Vick was a regular at the Boys & Girls Club in Newport News as a youngster.
Vick needed a job to meet the conditions of his probation and had been working as a $10-an-hour laborer.
– JACKSONVILLE, Fla. ó The Jacksonville Jaguars have traded receiver Dennis Northcutt to the Detroit Lions for safety Gerald Alexander.
Northcutt gives the Lions a veteran receiver opposite rising star Calvin Johnson.
– FOXBOROUGH, Mass. ó Tedy Bruschi isn’t looking beyond the upcoming season.
The New England Patriots linebacker said Tuesday he hasn’t considered whether he’ll keep playing after 2009, which will be his 14th season with the team.
– CHARLOTTE ó The Carolina Panthers have waived undrafted rookie linebackers Mike Juergens and Brit Miller.
NBA
DETROIT ó The Detroit Pistons fired coach Michael Curry on Tuesday as the team started rebuilding from an unpopular trade, a sub-.500 record and an embarrassing first-round exit from the playoffs that ended its six-year streak of making it to the conference finals.
The Pistons went 39-43 and were swept in the postseason in four lopsided losses to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
– DALLAS ó Mark Cuban wants to be first in line to talk to Jason Kidd.
Cuban posted Tuesday on Twitter, “Getting ready to fly up to NYC for Free Agent meeting at 12:01,” and that free agent is Kidd.
Cuban has made it clear he wants to keep Kidd, but it might not be that easy. The New York Knicks are believed to be interested, too, as could LeBron James and the Cavaliers or perhaps Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. GOLF
BETHESDA, Md. ó Phil Mickelson’s wife, Amy, is to have surgery Wednesday to learn the scope of her breast cancer. Mickelson has already said it was “unlikely” he would play in the British Open during the early stages of her treatment.
If that’s the case, it would end the longest active streak in the majors.
Mickelson has played 61 dating to the 1994 U.S. Open ó he missed the Masters that year after breaking his leg while skiing. Next line would be Vijay Singh, who now has played 60 consecutive majors.
No one from this generation is likely to match the major streak set by Jack Nicklaus, who played 146 in a row from the 1962 Masters through the 1998 U.S. Open.
NHL
NEWARK, N.J. ó The New Jersey Devils have acquired center Ben Walter and future considerations from the New York Islanders in exchange for the rights to center Tony Romano.
– NEW YORK ó Scott Gomez’s brief New York tenure ended Tuesday 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.