Associated Press
RALEIGH ó Mark Gottfried is jumping right into his new job as North Carolina State’s basketball coach.
N.C. State says Gottfried will take a tandem parachute jump into Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday night.
Gottfried will jump with the ROTC Ranger parachute team at halftime of the Wolfpack’s football game against South Alabama.
The jump comes as part of the program’s annual “Military Appreciation Day.”
Gottfried was hired by N.C. State in April to replace Sidney Lowe.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. ó The University of Maryland will name the basketball court at its home arena after former head coach Gary Williams, who retired in May after a 22-year run.
NBA
MINNEAPOLIS ó Even with a lockout firmly in place across the NBA, the Minnesota Timberwolves have still managed to land one of the biggest free agents on the market.
The team announced on Tuesday that it has an agreement in principle with Rick Adelman to make one of the game’s great offensive minds its next head coach. An introductory news conference will be held once the contract is signed, but conflicts mean that is unlikely to happen this week.
Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor landed a coach who is eighth on the career victories list. The 65-year-old Adelman is 945-616 in 20 seasons as coach of the Trail Blazers, Kings, Warriors and Rockets.
NEW YORK ó The long looks on players’ faces and the anger in Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver’s voice made it obvious: There was no progress Tuesday in talks to end the NBA lockout.
And with less than three weeks until training camps, the latest setback may be a tough one..
Still divided over the salary cap structure, owners and players decided to pass on talking again today, and no further meetings are scheduled at this point.
BASEBALL
ATLANTA ó Mired in their first four-game losing streak of the season, the Atlanta Braves called a rare team meeting Tuesday before facing the Florida Marlins.
Third baseman Chipper Jones said the meeting was “basically a circling of the wagons” after a galling 12-inning loss to the Marlins the night before. Atlanta had lost seven of nine overall, reducing its lead in the wild-card race to 41/2 games over St. Louis.
“The message was just go out and let the game come to you,” Jones said. “Do your job when the time comes, whether it’s throwing a strike in a big spot, or making a big play, or getting a guy in from third with less than two outs ó all the little things.”
The Braves were still in fairly good shape with only 14 games left. Manager Fredi Gonzalez insisted there was no sense of panic.
LOS ANGELES ó Medical care for the San Francisco Giants fan who was brutally beaten outside Dodger Stadium is expected to cost more than $50 million, according to his lawyers.
The victim, Bryan Stow, and his children have filed a lawsuit against Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and 13 others in the baseball team’s organization. The suit alleges a lack of security, lighting and other problems at the ballpark.
TENNIS
NEW YORK ó Serena Williams was fined $2,000 by the U.S. Open for berating the chair umpire during Sunday’s final.
Tournament referee Brian Earley issued his ruling a day after Williams was cited by chair umpire Eva Asderaki for a code violation for verbal abuse during a 6-2, 6-3 loss to Sam Stosur in the women’s singles championship match at Flushing Meadows.
In 2009, Williams’ profanity-laced outburst at a line judge led to a $10,000 fine from the U.S. Open and later a record $82,500 fine from Grand Slam committee director Bill Babcock.
Williams made $1.4 million at the U.S. Open, including $900,000 for the runner-up finish.
OLYMPICS
BRADFORD, England ó The director of London’s anti-doping lab said next year’s Olympics will be the “riskiest” for drug cheats. Professor David Cowan says “huge advances” have been made in recent years to detect prohibited substances and methods. Authorities also are using intelligence gathering to crack down on doping.
Cowan heads the doping lab at King’s College London, which will analyze more than 5,000 samples during the 2012 Olympics.