NBA's Timberwolves fire McHale as coach

Kevin McHale is out as coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

David Kahn, the new president of basketball operations, announced the move yesterday, ending McHale's 15-year stint with the Timberwolves, mostly in the front office.

McHale boldly had drafted Kevin Garnett out of high school in 1995.

Kahn replaced McHale in the front office in April.

In 2005, McHale took over as coach after firing Flip Saunders, and the team was 19-12 the rest of the season.

The Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtics star returned to the bench in December for a second stint, replacing the fired Randy Wittman. The Timberwolves were 20-43 the rest of the way.

The New York Giants and Jets are willing to wait for the right price before selling the naming rights to their new $1.6 billion stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

Giants chief executive John Mara said the teams had been negotiating with several companies.

Former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf was in custody in Bellingham, Wash., on drug and burglary charges filed in Texas. Leaf was arrested by customs agents as he returned to the United States from Canada.

Bill Kelly, Leaf's attorney, said his client was returning to Texas to turn himself in by today's deadline.

The United States needs to beat Brazil, the five-time world champion, today in Centurion, South Africa, to stay alive in the Confederations Cup after Monday's 3-1 loss to Italy.

Brazil is 12-1 against the Americans. The United States gained a 1-0 upset in Los Angeles in the 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup for its lone victory.

Spain tied an international record yesterday by winning its 14th consecutive game, beating Iraq, 1-0, on David Villa's goal in the 55th minute in Bloemfontein to advance to the semifinals.

Bernard Parker scored in the 21st and 52d minutes, leading South Africa over New Zealand, 2-0, in Rustenburg and moving the hosts closer to a berth in the semifinals. New Zealand was eliminated.

North Korea qualified for its first World Cup since 1966, battling Saudi Arabia to a scoreless draw and finishing second in its Asian final-round group in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Georgia State will play at Alabama in its inaugural football season in 2010, marking the return of coach Bill Curry. He coached the Crimson Tide from 1987 to '89, winning the Southeastern Conference title in 1989. He is now coaching Georgia State.

The U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association named Cornell's Jeff Tambroni the Division I coach of the year. Division II honors went to John Jez of C.W. Post, while the Division III award went to Steve Beville of Cortland State.

Brigham Young basketball coach Dave Rose has pancreatic cancer, the university said on its Web site.

Rose was recovering at home after surgery to remove his spleen and a portion of his pancreas. BYU is 97-34 in four seasons under him.

Rafael Nadal, the defending champion, and Dinara Safina, the top-ranked women's player, were seeded No. 1 for Wimbledon, which opens Monday. The draw will be released tomorrow.

Jamaica's Usain Bolt, the Olympic champion and world-record holder, ran the 100 meters in 9.77 seconds, helped along by a strong tailwind, to easily win in the Golden Spike meet in Ostrava, the Czech Republic.

Katie Burkhart gave up three runs and four hits while striking out 11 to lead the Philadelphia Force to a 6-3 victory over the Chicago Bandits in Allentown, in the National Pro Fastpitch League.