Stern warns Seattle over arena funding

Commissioner David Stern warned yesterday that if the SuperSonics leave Seattle, he sees no way the league would ever return to the city. "I'd love to find a way to keep the team there," he said, "because if the team moves, there's not going to be another team there, not in any conceivable future plan that I could envision, and that would be too bad." Stern criticized the city and the Washington Legislature for their handling of the issue of funding a replacement for Key Arena. Sonics owner Clay Bennett said he plans to move the team to Oklahoma City. When that move would occur depends on the outcome of litigation with the city over the franchise's Key Arena lease . . . Denver forward Nene is expected to miss up to six weeks after tearing a ligament in his left thumb during the Nuggets' loss to the Celtics Wednesday.

Former NHL MVP Eric Lindros officially announced his retirement, ending a career derailed by concussions and other injuries. Lindros, 34, scored 372 goals and had 865 points and 1,398 penalty minutes in 760 games for Philadelphia, Toronto, the New York Rangers, and Dallas . . . The Toronto Maple Leafs are the most valuable NHL team, even though the Original Six franchise hasn't captured the Stanley Cup in 40 years, according to Forbes. The Maple Leafs have a current value of $332 million, $26 million more than the Rangers in second place. The Bruins are sixth, valued at $235 million . . . Former Boston University goalie John Curry made 36 saves, including 17 in the third period, as the United States edged host Germany, 3-2, in its first game of the Deutschland Cup in Hannover . . . Natalie Darwitz had a goal and two assists but Canada rolled past the United States, 6-3, in the Women's Four Nations Cup in Leksand, Sweden, dropping the US to 1-1 in round-robin play.

Three-time IndyCar Series champion Sam Hornish Jr. is moving to NASCAR in 2008, joining the mass exodus of open-wheel stars fleeing to America's most popular racing series. He told the Associated Press he will drive the No. 77 Dodge next season for Penske Racing with Mobil 1 as the sponsor. Hornish will join Juan Pablo Montoya, Dario Franchitti, and Jacques Villeneuve as former Indianapolis 500 winners and IndyCar champions now racing in NASCAR's top series . . . Renault was accused by Formula One of possessing confidential information belonging to McLaren, two months after McLaren was fined a record $100 million for using leaked secret data from Ferrari.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays are gone. Trying to reinvent itself, the perennial last-place team officially shortened its nickname to simply "Rays" during a celebration that brought a crowd of about 7,000 to a downtown park. Navy blue and light blue have replaced green and black as the primary colors. The organization considered names like Cannons, Stars, Wave, and Dukes before settling on Rays and developing a logo featuring a bright yellow sunburst . . . General managers decided that base coaches will wear head protection next season, a move that came four months after Mike Coolbaugh died after being struck in the neck by a line drive during a minor league game. Coolbaugh was a coach for the Colorado Rockies' Double A team in Tulsa when he died July 22 . . . Maria Sharapova reached the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Championships in Madrid with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 win over Svetlana Kuznetsova. Sharapova will play Ana Ivanovic today, with the loser facing Justine Henin, who crushed Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli, 6-0, 6-0. Anna Chakvetadze clinched the final semi berth by defeating Jelena Jankovic, 6-4, 0-6, 6-3 . . . Paula Creamer birdied the final seven holes for a share of the first-round lead with Meg Mallon in the LPGA Tournament of Champions in Mobile, Ala., ending Suzann Pettersen's run at the top of the leaderboard at six rounds. Creamer and Mallon shot 5-under-par 67s, leaving them two strokes ahead of Pettersen, Natalie Gulbis, Pat Hurst, Mi Hyun Kim, and Seon Hwa Lee . . . Kevin Stadler shot 8-under 64 to gain a share of the lead with Niclas Fasth after the first round of the HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai . . . UMass-Lowell edged Southern Connecticut, 3-2, on penalty kicks after playing to a 1-1 tie and Franklin Pierce routed Le Moyne, 5-0, to advance to the final of the New England Regional in the Division 2 NCAA men's soccer tournament . . . Undefeated Hartford fighter Mike Oliver (21-0) won the vacant IBO super-bantamweight title, unanimously outpointing Al Seeger in Uncasville, Conn. . . . Live racing at Suffolk Downs will conclude for the season with tomorrow's 10-race card.