Liddell, 41, retires after long career Former light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell, one of the pioneers of modern mixed martial arts, has retired from professional fighting. The “Iceman’’ said he will become an executive vice president for business development with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the promotion that rocketed him to stardom in the United States more than a decade ago. Liddell, a former collegiate wrestler, made his UFC debut in 1998 and quickly became one of the sport’s most popular fighters. He fought nearly every big name in mixed martial arts, including Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz, and Wanderlei Silva. His last fight was a knockout loss to Rich Franklin at UFC 115 in June.

Jackson derides league ownership Lakers coach Phil Jackson said he’s “not happy’’ about the NBA’s ownership of the Hornets and is pessimistic about the club’s future in New Orleans. Jackson said New Orleans has not shown it can support an NBA team to this point and if that doesn’t change in the near future, someone is going to have to move the club . . . Denver coach George Karl said the Nuggets made inquiries about trading for Timberwolves star Kevin Love this summer. Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony has been the subject of trade rumors for months and has rejected the team’s three-year, $65 million contract extension offer. But Karl did not say who, if anybody, was offered in return.

Blackhawks’ Toews out for two weeks Blackhawks forward Jonathan Toews will be out two weeks with a shoulder injury suffered in Tuesday’s loss at St. Louis. He was checked hard into the boards by Matt D’Agostini in the first period and got up holding his right shoulder. Toews is Chicago’s second-leading scorer with 33 points, including 15 goals . . . The Stars signed defenseman Trevor Daley to a six-year contract extension worth $19.8 million. The 27-year-old Daley is second on the team at 22:34 minutes per game . . . The NHL suspended Flyers forward Jody Shelley two games for hitting Vancouver defenseman Andrew Alberts. Shelly was given a five-minute match penalty in Tuesday’s game for a punch on Alberts, who was down on the ice and then forced to leave the game with 7:31 left. Shelley was suspended two games this month for hitting Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid from behind. The suspension is Shelley’s fifth of his NHL career . . . The Predators claimed forward Marek Svatos off waivers from St. Louis . . . Slovakian defensemen Martin Marincin (four games) and Peter Hrasko (three) were issued multigame suspensions for hits to the head during a 6-1 loss to the United States Tuesday at the World Junior Hockey Championships at Buffalo.

Sports Hub’s ratings creeping upward The ratings continue to rise for 98.5 The Sports Hub. The CBS Radio-owned all-sports FM station finished second overall in the Arbitron ratings among the men aged 25-54 demographic for the fall book, which includes October, November, and December. The Sports Hub, which has the broadcast rights to Patriots games, earned an overall 7.0 share over the three-month span, trailing only WZLX (7.7) and edging all-sports rival WEEI (850), which was third at 6.3. With the 0.8 it received in Boston from its Providence-based WEEI (103.7) affiliate, WEEI’s overall share in the market rises to 7.1. The Sports Hub also finished second to WZLX in December, earning a 7.4 share. WEEI (850) was third with a 6.3, and that rises to 6.9 with the FM share included.

Roddick finally feeling 100 percent World tennis No. 8 Andy Roddick, preparing for next week’s Brisbane Invitational, said he feels at full strength for the first time in more than six months after overcoming the strength-sapping illness mononucleosis. Roddick said he fought the illness for most of this past year, when he failed to reach the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and the French and US Opens . . . Former world No. 1 Justine Henin says she will nurse an elbow injury through next month’s Australian Open, and she may be six months away from full strength. Henin will play the Hopman Cup mixed-teams event, which starts in Perth Saturday . . . Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong won’t compete in a New Zealand triathlon next month because of a sore left knee. He said the knee has cartilage damage and eventually will require surgery. The injury does not interfere with his cycling. Armstrong still plans to compete in the Tour Down Under race in Australia that runs Jan. 16-23.