Fisher out, low blow saves Bryant

May 8, 2009

Lakers guard Derek Fisher yesterday was suspended for one game by the NBA for striking Rockets forward Luis Scola with his shoulder and head in Game 2. But Kobe Bryant will be in the lineup for tonight's Game 3 because the elbow he threw at Ron Artest landed below the shoulders even though Artest said he got hit in the neck . . . Byron Scott will return next season as coach of the New Orleans Hornets, the team said. He has one year and $5.5 million remaining on his contract . . . The Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki offered no explanation about the arrest of a woman at his home, saying only that he is having personal troubles. Asked about his relationship with Cristal Taylor, 37, who was arrested on a probation violation and theft of services warrants Wednesday, Nowitzki declined to comment.

The Diamondbacks fired manager Bob Melvin after a disappointing start by Arizona, which is 8 1/2 games behind the Dodgers in the National League West. He had one year left on his contract. Hitting coach Rick Schu also was fired, and pitching coach Bryan Price resigned. The team is expected to name farm director A.J. Hinch, who has no prior managerial experience, as Melvin's replacement . . . Former manager Danny Ozark, 85, who led the Phillies to three consecutive NL East titles but fell short of the World Series each time, died at his Vero Beach, Fla., home . . . Former Oakland first baseman Troy Neel pleaded guilty to fleeing the country to avoid more than $700,000 in unpaid child support, which stacked up while he lived on a million-dollar resort on the South Pacific island of Vanuatu bought after his brief major league career.

Brett Favre told Vikings coach Brad Childress he will remain retired, a source close to the team told Yahoo Sports yesterday. The Yahoo report said Favre told Childress of his decision by phone and that he could "publicly explain his decision soon" . . . Matt Millen, the architect of the NFL's first 0-16 team, is joining ESPN as an analyst. He was a commentator at CBS and Fox before taking over the Detroit Lions in 2001 . . . The Miami Dolphins are renaming their home Landshark Stadium as part of a partnership with singer Jimmy Buffett. Buffett's Margaritaville enterprise includes Landshark Lager.

The National Hockey League says it has been in control of the Phoenix Coyotes franchise since November and is asking a federal judge to throw out the team's bankruptcy filing. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly says Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes signed documents ceding control of the team. Daly says the documents specifically prohibit Moyes from taking the franchise into bankruptcy . . . Pittsburgh police said they've traced an Internet death threat made against Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin to a 17-year-old boy. Pennsylvania state police have talked to the boy, but no charges were immediately filed.

Nationwide Series driver Kevin Grubb, 31, was found dead in a Richmond area hotel. Henrico County (Va.) police said Grubb was discovered at 11:30 a.m. and an autopsy showed he died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Grubb was indefinitely suspended by NASCAR on Sept. 11, 2006, after his second violation of its substance abuse policy . . . Formula One drivers rebuked FIA president Max Mosley over his comments that the sport could survive without Ferrari, saying they are worried internal politics are damaging the sport. Ferrari has criticized a proposed budget cap.

The Kentucky Derby's TV ratings were the highest in 17 years. NBC said last Saturday's coverage drew a 9.8 national rating and a 23 share. That's up 11 percent from last year. The rating is the percentage of all homes with TVs tuned to a program, while share is the percentage of all TVs in use at the time . . . Venus Williams breezed past Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-1, 6-2, in the quarterfinals of the Italian Open. She will play world No. 1 Dinara Safina in the semifinals . . . Sam Keller, Nebraska's quarterback in 2007, is suing EA Sports and the NCAA, saying the video game maker wrongly uses the names and likenesses of athletes, and the NCAA sanctions it. Keller's lawsuit was filed in federal court in San Francisco as a class-action on behalf of all college athletes depicted in the NCAA Football and NCAA Basketball video games made by EA Sports.