softball

Arizona's Candrea retires as U.S. coach

Mike Candrea, the Arizona softball coach whose bid to lead the United States to a second gold medal ended with a loss to Japan in the Beijing title game, stepped down Wednesday as coach of the national team.

Candrea had guided the Americans since 2002 and went 17-1 in Olympic play. The only defeat was a 3-1 loss to Japan in the gold-medal game last week.

Candrea has led Arizona to eight NCAA titles.

Candrea said he would stay involved with USA Softball's education and development programs, including a 10-day trip to Europe next month to help grow the sport in perhaps the most critical region for the International Olympic Committee to reinstate it.

auto racing

Top two Sprint Cup drivers placed on probation

NASCAR placed Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards on probation for the next six Sprint Cup Series races, the result of their on-track incident last weekend at the end of the race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

During the cooldown lap after Edwards' Ford took the checkered flag for Roush Fenway Racing, Busch drove alongside Edwards and bumped his car. Edwards responded by driving the nose of his car into the right side of Busch's Toyota, spinning him out.

The postrace incident was apparently a reaction to Edwards nudging Busch aside with 30 laps to go Saturday night. Busch had led the previous 415 laps.

pro basketball

Ankle injury to sideline Warriors' Ellis three months

Golden State Warriors guard Monta Ellis will be out at least three months after severely spraining his ankle during an offseason workout.

Ellis underwent surgery to repair the ligament. Ellis' ankle will be immobilized for six weeks, followed by at least six weeks of off-court rehab before the guard can return to basketball workouts.

Lakers sign second-round draft pick: Joe Crawford, the Los Angeles Lakers' only selection in the NBA draft last June, signed a contract with the Western Conference champions.

Crawford, the 58th overall pick, averaged 11.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in four years at Kentucky, where he played in 127 games, 76 of them starts.

Dydek signs with Sparks: Margo Dydek, the 7-foot-2 center who holds the WNBA record for blocked shots with 811, signed with the Los Angeles Sparks.

The 34-year-old center, the first overall pick in the 1998 WNBA draft by the Utah Starzz, has averaged 10 points, 1.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocked shots in 289 career games.

NBA to play two games in China in October: The Milwaukee Bucks and the Golden State Warriors will travel to China in October to play two exhibition games, the NBA and Chinese Basketball Association said.

The NBA China Games tips off with the Bucks and Warriors meeting on Oct. 15 in Guangzhou and Oct. 18 at the Beijing Olympic Basketball Arena.

Officials say Duckworth died of heart disease: Oregon officials say an autopsy shows former Portland Trail Blazers center Kevin Duckworth died when his enlarged heart failed.

Duckworth died Monday at 44 on the Oregon coast, where he was on a goodwill tour for the team.

college football

NCAA turns down Mauk's appeal for sixth season

Quarterback Ben Mauk has lost his latest appeal to the NCAA for another year of eligibility to play for Cincinnati.

After a couple days of uncertainty, the NCAA informed Cincinnati that Mauk had been turned down again.

Mauk led the Bearcats to 10 wins and a No. 17 final ranking last season, when he came back from serious shoulder and arm injuries. He appealed for another season on grounds that injuries had sidelined while he was at Wake Forest. He's been turned down four times.