UConn sophomore Gay leaps into draft

Connecticut forward Rudy Gay said yesterday he will forgo his final two years of eligibility and enter the NBA draft. The 6-foot-9-inch Gay, a consensus All-American as a sophomore, averaged a team-best 15.2 points a game this season. Coach Jim Calhoun said in his conversations with NBA executives and scouts, Gay is projected to be taken in the top six of the June 28 draft . . . LSU freshman forward Tyrus Thomas signed with an agent and declared for the draft, while sophomore teammate and Southeastern Conference player of the year Glen Davis said he is coming back to the Tigers. ''When you're hot, you're hot," Thomas said of his decision, which comes just three weeks after he and Davis helped the Tigers make the Final Four . . . Connecticut women's coach Geno Auriemma was back at work, one day after being released from the hospital. He was admitted to St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford Thursday for a minor intestinal problem and was discharged Sunday, team officials said . . . Joe Bryant, father of Lakers star Kobe Bryant, was hired as coach of the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks. Bryant joined the team as an assistant last season and took over for the last five games after coach Henry Bibby departed by mutual agreement with management . . . Former WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson signed a multiyear deal to remain with the Seattle Storm. Jackson is expected to make the league maximum, reportedly $91,000 a year.

The New York Knicks took out an insurance policy on Larry Brown's contract that would free the team from paying the remainder of the coach's contract if he's forced to resign because of health issues, the New York Daily News reported. The newspaper, citing a league source, reported the Knicks made the move when Brown signed his record five-year, $50 million contract. The newspaper also said the contract would not prevent Brown from taking another NBA or college job if he and the Knicks part ways. Brown, 65, was hospitalized Thursday night in Cleveland with a stomach ailment after becoming ill during the Knicks' 91-87 loss to the Cavaliers . . . Minnesota Timberwolves guard Fred Hoiberg announced his retirement, nearly 10 months after open-heart surgery.

The Tennessee Titans deny they breached their contract with Steve McNair by not allowing the quarterback to work out on their property, a union spokesman said. The Titans defended themselves in a response to a grievance filed on McNair's behalf by the NFL Players Association April 7. The team counsel had declined to discuss the Titans' answer for why they told McNair April 3 that they don't want him working out on their property, but it is believed they fear an injury on their property would make them liable for the entire $23.46 million he is due to count against the cap next season. The Titans have said they want to rework McNair's contract . . . Iowa State linebacker Matt Robertson will not be allowed to play his senior season with the Cyclones after he tested positive for a banned nutritional supplement . . . Tom Mickle, a former Atlantic Coast Conference associate commissioner who was instrumental in creating the Bowl Championship Series, died yesterday. He was 55. No official cause of death was released. Mickle had been battling cancer discovered during a January kidney removal surgery.

The Houston Astros have sued an insurance company claiming breach of contract because the company has denied the team's claim to recoup $15.6 million of Jeff Bagwell's contract. The lawsuit against Connecticut General Life Insurance Company was filed in Harris County District Court. In January, the Astros deemed Bagwell too injured to play. They filed the claim the same month to try to get back most of the $17 million Bagwell will earn in the final year of his contract. In March, Connecticut General notified the Astros that they had denied the claim. Bagwell has not played this season.

Greg Norman never liked the idea of women competing on men's tours, but he has made an exception for Annika Sorenstam, inviting her to play in the Merrill Lynch Shootout. Sorenstam, who became the first woman in 58 years to compete on the PGA Tour when she missed the cut in the 2003 Colonial, has played in the Skins Game the last two years. Norman is the tournament host of the event known as the ''Shark Shootout." He has a new title sponsor in Merrill Lynch, and offered the first invitations to Sorenstam and Fred Couples. Norman has been outspoken about women playing on men's tours, calling it a marketing ploy. But he said unofficial ''silly season" events like the Merrill Lynch Shootout are different. Norman said inviting Sorenstam was a joint decision with Merrill Lynch.

Roger Federer struggled through a second set that was riddled with unforced errors before beating Novak Djokovic, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, in the first round of the Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco. The top-ranked Swiss had 37 unforced errors in the match. Federer, who is 29-1 this year, is hoping to extend his finals streak to 12 and match the record set by John McEnroe in 1984 . . The Toronto Maple Leafs re-signed forward Chad Kilger to a $2.7 million, three-year contract. . . . Louise Smith, the first woman inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1999, has died. She was 89. Smith was on the NASCAR circuit from 1945-56 and won 38 modified events.