pro basketball

Cavaliers acquire Williams in six-player, three-team trade

The Cleveland Cavaliers are getting some help for LeBron James.

High-scoring Milwaukee point guard Mo Williams is headed to Cleveland to join James as part of a three-team trade that also involves Oklahoma City.

In exchange for Williams, who averaged 17.2 points per game last season in the first year of a six-year, $51.5 million contract, the Bucks will receive Damon Jones from Cleveland along with guard Luke Ridnour and forward Adrian Griffin from Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma City will get veteran forward Joe Smith from Cleveland and Mason from Milwaukee. Mason played in college at Oklahoma State and spent time with the Hornets franchise in Oklahoma City when it was relocated after Hurricane Katrina.

Alston charged with DWI: Houston Rockets point guard Rafer Alston is due in court today for an arraignment on a misdemeanor drunken driving charge.

Alston, a former Ventura College standout, was arrested about 2:30 a.m. last Thursday and released on a $500 bond, police records show.

The arrest was first reported by KRIV-TV in Houston. The Rockets said in a statement that they were "aware of the situation and are in the process of gathering information regarding this incident."

Hawks sign free-agent guard Murray: The Atlanta Hawks signed free-agent guard Ronald "Flip" Murray.

Murray, a six-year veteran, can play both guard spots. He joins Maurice Evans as free-agent additions to the backcourt after the Hawks lost sixth man Josh Childress, who stunned the team last month by signing with Greek powerhouse Olympiakos.

Sun signs Jones to three-year extension: Former University of Connecticut star Asjha Jones signed a three-year contract extension with the WNBA's Connecticut Sun. Terms of the deal weren't released.

Jones is in her fifth season with the Sun. The 6-foot-2 forward leads the team in scoring at almost 17 points per game. She also averages 6.2 rebounds per contest.

tennis

Kirilenko holds off qualifier to reach Cincinnati quarterfinals

Third-seeded Maria Kirilenko avoided an upset and reached the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Women's Open with a 1-6, 6-2, 7-5 win over qualifier Stephanie Dubois.

Kirilenko came from behind twice, after losing the first set and seeing her serve broken at the beginning of the third, to advance in the $175,000 tournament.

Kirilenko will play Sabine Lisicki, who beat Camille Pin 6-3, 6-4 to become the first player to reach the quarterfinals. Lisicki, a German ranked 81st on the WTA Tour, used a 7-0 advantage in aces to help overcome nine double faults to Pin's two in beating the 78th-ranked Frenchwoman.

Wild-card entry Lilia Osterloh reached the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year, this time with an easy 6-4, 6-1 upset of 70th-ranked Petra Cetkovska.

Unseeded Nathalie Dechy rolled through a third-set tiebreaker to pull out a 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (1) upset of fourth-seeded Katarina Srebotnik.

Del Potro advances at Washington: Second-seeded Juan Martin del Potro won his 16th-straight match, beating Dudi Sela 6-0, 5-7, 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic at Washington.

Fourth-seeded Tommy Haas also advanced, beating Nicholas Mahut 7-6 (4), 6-3.

Bremond, Jackson, Rolle among U.S. Open wild cards: Severine Bremond, a 2006 Wimbledon quarterfinalist, and former U.S. Fed Cup players Jamea Jackson and Ahsha Rolle were among seven women awarded wild-card entries into the U.S. Open by the USTA.

The others are Americans Gail Brodsky, Asia Muhammad, Melanie Oudin and CoCo Vandeweghe. An Australian player will also receive a wild card.

Horse racing

Big Brown owner declines invite to Woodward Stakes

If horse racing's two stars are going to meet, it won't be at Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York.

Michael Iavarone, co-owner of Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown, said he has no plans to enter his colt in the Woodward Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 30 despite an invitation from Jess Jackson, the majority owner of 2007 Horse of the Year Curlin.

Jackson offered to donate $50,000 to charity if Big Brown takes on Curlin in 118-mile Woodward on the dirt. Jackson's invitation comes after Big Brown trainer Rick Dutrow said he thought Big Brown could beat Curlin in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita on Oct. 25.

auto racing

Darlington regains Southern 500 name for next race in 2009

The Southern 500 is back at Darlington Raceway.

Track president Chris Browning says the historic name will return to Darlington when the Sprint Cup series comes back in May for Mother's Day weekend in 2009.

The Southern 500 was first run in 1950 and became one of NASCAR's most prestigious events. It became a Labor Day weekend tradition until that race was moved to California Speedway after Darlington's race in 2003.

Darlington ran one more Southern 500 the following year, but that race was held in November.

The track has held one race a season each May since then.

Autopsy says motocross rider died of head injuries: Blunt force trauma to the head caused the death of a 21-year-old motocross rider who crashed at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway, the Connecticut medical examiner's office said.

Anthony Hart of Henderson, Nev., lost control of his motorcycle and hit an outer track barricade at Stafford Motor Speedway last Saturday. He died later that day.