Brandon Roy says he wants to keep playing
MINNEAPOLIS — Brandon Roy said he will seek further treatment on the chronic pain in his knees in hopes of continuing his comeback attempt with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Roy issued a statement through the team shortly before they played the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night. Roy had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in November after playing in five games and had recently returned to practice. But Roy said he had a setback recently that requires more attention.
Roy spent the last few days contemplating retirement before deciding to keep going.
UConn gives coach Kevin Ollie new 5-year deal
HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut has given men’s basketball coach Kevin Ollie a new contract that runs through the end of the 2017-18 season.
The deal, signed Saturday, is worth just under $7 million and begins Jan. 1. When Ollie was hired in September, he was signed for just one season.
“As I said in my first press conference, I want to be here a lifetime and this is a step, hopefully a great step, in the program moving forward,” Ollie said.
Ollie, who turned 40 on Thursday, was hired after Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun retired. His original deal had a pro-rated value of just over $465,000, the school said.
Djokovic retains exhibition title in Abu Dhabi
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Novak Djokovic retained his title at the World Tennis Championship exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi on Saturday by rallying past Nicolas Almagro of Spain 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-4.
The top-ranked Serb swept past David Ferrer in straight sets to reach the final, but he got a tough test from the 11th-ranked Almagro.
Almagro, a late replacement at the tournament for Rafael Nadal, rallied from 3-1 down in the tiebreaker to take the first set.
“It is amazing, him coming here only a few days ago and having a late entrance to the tournament and performing this well yesterday and today,” Djokovic said.
Djokovic broke to lead 3-1 in the second set on his way to evening the match. The third set was much tighter, with both players holding serve after eight games until Djokovic went up 5-4 and then broke Almagro to clinch the victory.
Australia, Spain open Hopman Cup with wins
PERTH, Australia — Australia beat Germany 2-0 in the Hopman Cup mixed team competition on Saturday after Andrea Petkovic had to retire from her singles match with a right knee injury.
Bernard Tomic had given Australia a 1-0 lead with by beating Tommy Haas 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-5, but Petkovic looked likely to force the series into a decisive mixed doubles when she won the first set 6-4 against 16-year old Ashleigh Barty. However, she called for treatment and was in tears as her right knee was bandaged.
Spain clinched a 2-1 victory over South Africa after winning the mixed doubles 6-4, 6-7 (3), 10-8.
Li beats Azarenka in Hua Hin exhibition match
HUA HIN, Thailand — Li Na of China won the annual Hua Hin exhibition event on Saturday by beating top-ranked Victoria Azarenka 6-3, 2-6, 10-7 after a Champions tiebreaker.
The seventh-ranked Li benefited from a slew of unforced errors by Azarenka in the first set and then broke to lead 2-1 in the second. But the defending champion from Belarus won five straight games to level the match before coming up just short in the decider.
Azarenka was accompanied to Thailand by American rapper Redfoo of LMFAO. She will start her WTA season by playing in the Brisbane International next week.
Li will next play in the Shenzhen Open in China.
NHL, union spend day on conference calls
NEW YORK — Lots of questions, but still no answers in the NHL labor fight.
The league and the players’ association spent much of Saturday talking to each other via conference call. The conversations were strictly for the purpose of sharing information regarding the new contract offer the NHL made to the union late Thursday.
The initial thought was that the sides would get together today in New York to hold official negotiations for the first time in weeks, but those weren’t scheduled before discussions ended Saturday.
Staff level calls were expected to resume today, which could include face-to-face talks at some point, but no actual bargaining meetings have been set.
By wire sources
