Thibodeau to interview with Kings

May 21, 2009

The Sacramento Kings were granted permission by Celtics president Danny Ainge to speak to assistant coach Tom Thibodeau about their head coach opening. Thibodeau, who has a reputation as one of the best defensive coaches in the league, is also slated to interview with Philadelphia about its opening, but it's uncertain when Thibodeau will interview for either job. -- MARC J. SPEARS

The Nuggets won out in their scheduling conflict with World Wrestling Entertainment and will play Game 4 of the Western Conference finals Monday night at the Pepsi Center in Denver, while WWE will take its "Monday Night Raw" show to Los Angeles. WWE had booked the Pepsi Center last August, but "they bumped us right out of the building, hardly an apology," said WWE chairman Vince McMahon of Kroenke Sports, which owns the Nuggets and Pepsi Center. Kroenke Sports claims McMahon had agreed to shift the WWE event to Sunday . . . Gar Forman was promoted to general manager of the Bulls, replacing John Paxson, who will become the team's executive vice president of basketball operations.

Rays manager Joe Maddon could be close to getting a three-year contract extension through 2012, according to the St. Petersburg Times and Tampa Tribune. Maddon is in the final year of his contract . . . Reds righthander Edinson Volquez is likely to miss his next scheduled start because of a bad back. Volquez left his start last Saturday because of back spasms, and he was still bothered when he tried to throw a bullpen session yesterday . . . The wife of Diamondbacks pitcher Scott Schoeneweis was found dead at her home in Fountain Hills, Ariz. Police said the cause of 39-year-old Gabrielle Dawn Schoeneweis's death hasn't been determined.

NASCAR suspended driver Carl Long for the next 12 Sprint Cup races and fined crew chief Charles Swing $200,000, the largest penalty in the sport's history. Swing also was suspended until Aug. 18 for using an engine that was too big for NASCAR's specifications last weekend at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Long was docked a NASCAR-record 200 points . . . NASCAR gave Jeremy Mayfield's attorney a copy of the suspended driver's toxicology report. Mayfield has said he was never told what he tested positive for, but Dr. David Black, CEO of Aegis Sciences Corp., which runs the testing program, said he specifically identified the drug in several conversations with the Sprint Cup driver after his suspension.

The University of Massachusetts baseball team opened the Atlantic 10 tournament with a 5-4 victory over Fordham, extending its winning streak to seven - the Minutemen's longest since 2003. Peter Copa of Malden homered in the sixth and scored the deciding run in the eighth. Boston College (ACC in Durham, N.C.) and Northeastern (CAA in Wilmington, N.C.) lost their conference tourney openers and face elimination today . . . Longtime rivals Amherst and Williams will meet today for the NCAA Division 3 women's tennis title in Lawrenceville, Ga. Amherst (21-1) defeated the University of Chicago, 5-4, and Williams (20-2), the defending champs, swept Emory, 5-0 . . . The Amherst men's tennis team (28-6) routed Washington (Mo.), 5-2, in the NCAA Division 3 semifinals in Claremont, Calif., and will play UC Santa Cruz today.

A freak crash could affect American Levi Leipheimer's chance of winning the marathon-like time trial today in the Giro d'Italia. Leipheimer somersaulted off his bike when someone dropped a water bottle in front of him in the feeding zone midway through yesterday's 11th stage. Leipheimer, who has won three of the four time trials he's entered this year, escaped serious injury. Meanwhile, Lance Armstrong moved up two spots to 16th overall, 5:28 behind Italy's Danilo Di Luca. Leipheimer is fourth, 1:40 back . . . Rachel Alexandra returned to the track for the first time since winning the Preakness, galloping a mile at Churchill Downs.