Yale coach Williams targets Harvard

Jacksonville Jaguars defensive assistant Tom Williams was introduced as the head coach at Yale yesterday, making him the first African-American to hold the job and only the second black coach (after Columbia's Norries Wilson) in the Ivy League. "I am thrilled - absolutely thrilled - to accept this position," Williams, 39, said. He was blunt in outlining his goals, the first being to win the Ivy League championship. "And secondly, we're going to beat Harvard. We've got to turn 'The Game' back into a rivalry." Williams replaces Jack Siedlecki, who retired after 12 seasons to become an assistant athletic director at the school. AD Tom Beckett said Williams's race was not a factor. Williams said he looked forward to the day when a coach's race doesn't matter. "Movement is glacial. It's happening, but it's glacial," he said . . . Navy football coach Ken Niumatalolo was given a contract extension as a reward for defeating Army and taking the Midshipmen (8-5) to a bowl game in his first full season as coach. Terms were not released . . . Louisville redshirt freshman quarterback Matt Simms, son of 1987 Super Bowl MVP Phil Simms, will transfer, but the school was not released.

Matthew Stafford, a junior who set a Georgia record with 25 touchdown passes this season, and Knowshon Moreno, only the second Bulldog player (Herschel Walker is the other) to rush for more than 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons, said they are leaving school to enter the NFL draft. Each is a projected first-round pick. Georgia coach Mark Richt offered advice for NFL executives: "Trade up for them, if you're smart." Stafford and Oklahoma's Sam Bradford may be the two top quarterbacks in the draft, assuming Bradford also declares early . . . Florida State pass rusher Everette Brown is leaving a year early for the draft. Brown led the Atlantic Coast Conference in sacks (13) and tackles for loss this season (20) . . . Maryland wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey will skip his senior season and enter the draft. He ranks second in school history in career receiving yards (2,089), is third in receptions (138), and is tied for third in touchdown catches (13) . . . Junior wide receiver Kevin Ogletree, who led Virginia in receiving (58 catches) after sitting out last year with a knee injury, is entering the draft.

Jason Giambi and the Oakland A's finalized a $5.25 million, one-year contract with an option, bringing the free agent designated hitter and first baseman back to the place he began his big league career. After leaving the A's following the 2001 season, Giambi signed a $120 million, seven-year contract with the New York Yankees. He was slowed by injuries and was ensnared in the federal and baseball investigations of performance-enhancing drugs. New York declined its $22 million option on him after last season, choosing instead to pay him a $5 million buyout. "In our minds, he's still one of the best offensive players in the league," Oakland GM Billy Beane said.

Rebuilding Oklahoma City acquired a first-round draft pick along with guard Chucky Atkins in a trade that sent seldom-used center Johan Petro to the Nuggets. "Chucky's going to provide some veteran leadership that balances out our roster," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said . . . The Heat traded guard Shaun Livingston and cash to Memphis in exchange for a conditional second-round pick in the 2012 draft . . . Tests showed Lamar Odom's right knee injury (bone bruise) is not serious, and the Lakers forward is day to day . . . Wizards shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson had a painkilling injection in his back and is expected to miss at least another 1 1/2 weeks . . . WNBA star Candace Parker and husband Shelden Williams of the Sacramento Kings are expecting their first child this spring. In 2008, Parker was the No. 1 pick by the Los Angeles Sparks out of Tennessee and captured rookie of the year and MVP honors.

James Blake's bid for a third Hopman Cup title ended when the United States lost the mixed doubles match to Germany in Perth, Australia. The Americans lost, 2-1, to Germany when Blake and Meghann Shaughnessy fell to Nicolas Kiefer and Sabine Lisicki, 6-3, 3-6, and 10-7 in the tiebreaker. Blake defeated Kiefer to set up the deciding match after Shaughnessy lost to Lisicki . . . Top-ranked Rafael Nadal and No. 2 Roger Federer advanced to the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open in Doha along with Andy Roddick and Andy Murray . . . Nikolay Davydenko will miss the Australian Open because of a heel injury.

Home Depot said it is ending its multimillion-dollar sponsorship deal with the US Olympic Committee and discontinuing a program that offered jobs and benefits to American athletes. The 86 athletes currently in the program will be offered traditional jobs at their current stores. But after March 2, they will no longer receive either full-time benefits or full-time pay for their part-time work . . . The Maple leafs acquired hard-hitting forward Brad May from the Anaheim Ducks for a conditional 2010 sixth-round draft pick . . . Joe Sakic, already sidelined after a snowblower accident last month, underwent surgery for a herniated disk and will need 10 weeks to recover . . . Manchester United's 14-game unbeaten streak ended with a 1-0 loss to Derby in the League Cup semifinals in London.