Thomas plans to stick with Knicks jobs

Isiah Thomas believes the best way he can fix the Knicks is by staying on the bench. And in the front office. Thomas said yesterday he has no plans to give up either position with the team, which sits at 9-26. He has been the president for four years, and Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan also made him the coach after firing Larry Brown in June 2006. Thomas said he hasn't considered talking to Dolan about whether it's best for the team if he wears just one hat. "I've never given it that thought. I only think about how to fix it, how to make it right," Thomas said. "That's all my time and energy is focused on and, until I do that, I'll be here trying to make it right."

Mel Tucker, Cleveland's defensive backs coach the past three seasons, is the new defensive coordinator, replacing Todd Grantham, who was fired Friday. Tucker received a two-year contract extension through the 2010 season . . . The Buffalo Bills promoted Russ Brandon to the new post of chief operating officer as team owner Ralph Wilson elected not to formally fill the general manager's position after Marv Levy's departure . . . The Washington Redskins interviewed assistant coach Gregg Williams for their head coaching vacancy.

Division 1 coaches are still barred from text messaging recruits. An attempt to override a ban failed yesterday at the NCAA convention in Nashville. The vote by delegates was 240 to 65, with one abstention. The ban took effect Aug. 1 and was on the agenda after 30 schools asked for the override vote. Kerry Kenny, who played basketball at Lafayette College and is the incoming chairman of the NCAA student-athlete advisory committee, asked delegates to uphold the ban. He called text messaging intrusive, putting an undue burden on recruits and parents with messages coming in at all hours . . . New Hampshire quarterback Ricky Santos passed for 169 yards, completing 10 of 16 attempts, and Marshall's Bernard Morris threw for 172 yards and a touchdown as the Aina (East) defeated the Kai (West), 38-7, in the Hula Bowl in Honolulu . . . Doc Holliday will return to West Virginia to become coach of tight ends and fullbacks and recruiting coordinator at his alma mater, new coach Bill Stewart said. Holliday was associate head coach for safeties under Urban Meyer at Florida the past three seasons.

In Wengen, Switzerland, Jean-Baptiste Grange confirmed his status as a rising star, winning the slalom to match Jean-Claude Killy's 1967 mark as the only skiers to win two different races on the Lauberhorn course in the same year. The 23-year-old Frenchman won for the second time in two days, holding off Jens Byggmark to finish with a combined time of 1 minute 34.81 seconds. Byggmark was 0.80 behind in second place while American Ted Ligety was third, another 0.09 back. Bode Miller finished fifth. Grange won the super-combi Friday . . . Elisabeth Goergl won a World Cup giant slalom in a combined 2:38.49. Manuela Moelgg of Italy took second on the Maribor, Slovenia, course. Overall World Cup leader Nicole Hosp of Austria was sixth, while American Lindsey Vonn was 13th . . . The US Women's National Under-18 hockey team won the inaugural International Ice Hockey Federation World Women's U18 Championship with a 5-2 win over Canada in Calgary.

The St. Louis Cardinals have agreed to send third baseman Scott Rolen to the Toronto Blue Jays for third baseman Troy Glaus, contingent upon the players passing physicals tomorrow, ESPN.com is reporting. The website, citing major league sources, said Glaus agreed to exercise his $11.25 million option for 2009. Both players were also required to waive no-trade clauses . . . Roger Clemens talked about pitching and conditioning. What he didn't talk about was steroids. In a session before about 1,000 Texas high school baseball coaches in Waco, he stuck to baseball and cracked jokes, making no mention of the allegations in the Mitchell Report that he used performance-enhancing drugs . . . The Providence Bruins were shut out by the host Portland Pirates, 4-0, but coach Scott Gordon and assistant Rob Murray will lead the PlanetUSA team at the AHL All-Star Classic Jan. 28 in Binghamton, N.Y.