ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – Jameer Nelson has a new deal in principle to return to the Magic. The 30-year-old Orlando point guard announced the news on his verified Twitter account Thursday, just a week after opting out of the final season and nearly $8 million of his contract to test free agency. Nelson has spent each of his eight NBA seasons in Orlando, who drafted him along with Dwight Howard in 2004. Howard is signed through next season, but recently told the Magic he wanted a trade to Brooklyn.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) – NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin has a sore back that will keep him out of Friday’s Nationwide race. Hamlin still plans to drive Saturday night in the Sprint Cup race at Daytona International Speedway. Hamlin currently ranks fifth in Cup points. Hamlin had been slated to drive the No. 18 Toyota in the second-tier series. Instead, Joe Gibbs Racing will move defending race champion Joey Logano from the No. 20 to the No. 18, and have Clint Bowyer behind the wheel in the 18.

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) – Getting through her Wimbledon semifinal was easier for Agnieszka Radwanska than getting through the post-match news conference. Radwanska reached her first Grand Slam final by outplaying Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-4 at the All England Club then succumbed to a coughing fit on the podium in the interview room that forced her to cut short the line of questioning from reporters. Before that, though, her tennis had done all the talking she needed. Radwanska used her consistent groundstrokes to wear down Kerber in the long rallies, finishing with only six unforced errors. She became the first Polish Grand Slam finalist since 1939, and can take over the No. 1 ranking by beating Serena Williams in the final. Radwanska says “this tournament is already one of the big parts of tennis history in Poland. I’m happy to be part of that.”

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Minnesota at Detroit 12:05 p.m.
Texas at Chi White Sox 1:10 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Cleveland 6:05 p.m.
Kansas City at Toronto 6:07 p.m.
Baltimore at L.A. Angels 9:05 p.m.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Miami at Milwaukee 1:10 p.m.
Houston at Pittsburgh 6:05 p.m.
San Francisco at Washington 6:05 p.m.
Chi Cubs at Atlanta 6:10 p.m.
Philadelphia at N-Y Mets 6:10 p.m.
Colorado at St. Louis 7:15 p.m. (LISTEN LIVE on ESPN Radio 1410)
L.A. Dodgers at Arizona 8:40 p.m.
Cincinnati at San Diego 9:05 p.m.

PHOENIX (AP) – Two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash is heading to the Lakers in a sign-and-trade deal that netted Phoenix first round picks in 2013 and 2015 and second round picks in 2013 and 2014. Nash agreed to a three-year, $27 million deal. The 38-year-old free agent picked the Lakers because he wanted to stay close to his children, who live in Phoenix.
WIMBLEDON (AP) – Defending champ Novak Djokovic and six-time winner Roger Federer will meet in a marquee semifinal showdown at Wimbledon. Federer holds a 14-12 edge in their career meetings, but top-ranked Djokovic has won six of their last seven matches. Andy Murray and Jo Wilfred Tsonga will square off in the other semifinal.
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Carlos Lee has been reunited with manager Ozzie Guillen after the first baseman was acquired by Miami from Houston for a pair of prospects. Guillen knows Lee from their time together with the White Sox. The 36-year-old Lee spent five-plus seasons with the Astros and is hitting .287 with five homers and 29 RBI in 65 games this year.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – It what was considered a very thin NHL free agent market, the Minnesota Wild hogged all the goodies. They landed the top two players available in forward Zach Parise and All-Star defenseman Ryan Suter. . Each agreed to 13-year, $98 million contracts.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
N.Y. Yankees 4, Tampa Bay 3
Oakland 3, Boston 2
Cleveland 12, L.A. Angels 3
Baltimore 4, Seattle 2
Detroit 5, Minnesota 1
Toronto 4, Kansas City 1
Chicago White Sox 5, Texas 4, 10 innings

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Washington 9, San Francisco 4
Philadelphia 9, N.Y. Mets 2
Pittsburgh 6, Houston 4
Miami 7, Milwaukee 6, 10 innings
Chicago Cubs 5, Atlanta 1
St. Louis 4, Colorado 1
L.A. Dodgers 4, Cincinnati 1
San Diego 8, Arizona 6

 

The Colorado Rockies couldn’t find the big hit in a 4-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium last night. The Rockies tallied ten hits in the game but left nine runners on base in the losing effort. Starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie turned in his best outing since Opening Day, pitching six innings and allowing just two runs on six hits while striking out two. Guthrie also delivered the Rockies’ only run of the evening, notching his first career RBI with a single in the fifth inning that scored Johnny Herrera. Carlos Gonzalez had a pair of hits to extend his hitting streak to 12 games. It’s the longest active hitting streak in the National League. The Rockies and Cardinals finish up their four-game series in St. Louis tonight. ESPN Radio 1410 has all the action, with pregame coverage at 6:30 and the first pitch at 7:15.

Josh Outman couldn’t live up to his last name on the mound for the Colorado Rockies. Now he’s headed to the minor leagues to try and find himself. The Rockies optioned Outman to AA Tulsa before yesterday evening’s game. In 15 appearances, seven of them starts, the left-handed Outman was 0-3 with an era of 9.00. He had allowed 39 hits and 16 walks in 31 and two-thirds innings of work. To replace Outman on the roster, the Rockies recalled right-handed pitcher Carlos Torres from AAA Colorado Springs. It’s Torres’s third stint on the big club this season.

The Tri-City Storm’s Trevor Moore has been selected to play for the United States under-18 select team at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in Slovakia and the Czech Republic in August. Moore had a standout rookie season for the Storm in 2011-2012, tallying 12 goals and 20 assists in 49 games. He will play his college hockey at Denver University. This is the second time Moore has represented his country on the international level. He was part of a gold-medal winning US under-17 select team last summer at an international event in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Former Husker Jordan Larson has been named to the US Olympic Volleyball Team. The former three-time All-American at Nebraska is one of seven players on the twelve-player roster who will be making their Olympic debuts. The US team is ranked number one in the world by the International Volleyball Federation heading into the London Olympics. Larson, from Hooper, Nebraska, is one of three outside hitters on the roster. Another former Husker, Nancy Metcalf, is one of eight alternates for the Olympic team.

Two former Husker hoopsters are already headed to the Olympics – Aleks Maric for the Australian men’s team and Chelsea Aubry on the Canadian women’s team. A third took a big step towards joining them yesterday, as Ade Dagunduro scored six points for Nigeria in an 86-80 upset of Lithuania in Olympic qualifying in Venezuela. Dagunduro, who led the Husker men in scoring in the 2008-09 season, also contributed three steals. The Nigerian team moves on to the quarterfinal round on Friday as they strive for their first ever Olympic bid.

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Serena Williams has once again reached the semifinals at Wimbledon. The four-time winner at the All-England Lawn and Tennis Club advanced today with a 6-3, 7-5 win over defending champion and fourth-seed Petra Kvitova (PEH’-trah kuh-VIHT’-oh-vuh).

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Saints quarterback Drew Brees has won an arbitration case involving the franchise tag. The arbitrator ruled with Brees in a dispute over how much the Saints would have to pay him if they applied the franchise tag to him in 2013. If so, that would be the third time he’s had the tag placed on him and it would cost the Saints a considerable amount of money. If Brees were to agree to a new, multi-year contract, the issue would be moot.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Guard George Hill has a new contract with the Indiana Pacers. Hill’s agent confirms that a deal has been completed. Hill averaged 9.6 points and 2.9 assists per game last season.

BOULOGNE-SUR-MER, France (AP) — The third stage of the Tour de France took place today and the winner was Slovakia’s Peter Sagan. The overall leader remains Fabian Cancellara (FAH’-bee-un kahn-cheh-LAH’-rah) of Switzerland.

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A day after retaining the services of goalie Martin Brodeur (mahr-TAN’ broh’-DYOOR’), the New Jersey Devils have announced an agreement with defenseman Bryce Salvador. The 36-year old had four goals and 14 points in the postseason after a regular season in which he failed to find the net once.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
L.A. Angels at Cleveland 6:05 p.m.
Minnesota at Detroit 6:05 p.m.
Kansas City at Toronto 6:07 p.m.
N-Y Yankees at Tampa Bay 6:10 p.m.
Texas at Chi White Sox 7:10 p.m.
Boston at Oakland 9:05 p.m.
Baltimore at Seattle 9:10 p.m.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Miami at Milwaukee
San Francisco at Washington 5:35 p.m.
Houston at Pittsburgh 6:05 p.m.
Chi Cubs at Atlanta 6:10 p.m.
Philadelphia at N-Y Mets 7:10 p.m.
Colorado at St. Louis 7:15 p.m. (LISTEN LIVE on ESPN Radio 1410)
San Diego at Arizona 8:40 p.m.
Cincinnati at L.A. Dodgers 9:10 p.m.

UNDATED (AP) — The Atlanta Hawks have agreed to deal All-Star guard Joe Johnson to the Brooklyn Nets for five players and a draft pick, and Atlanta will send forward Marvin Williams to the Utah Jazz for guard Devin Harris. A person familiar with the deal tells The Associated Press that Atlanta will receive guards Anthony Morrow, Jordan Farmar and DeShawn Stevenson and forwards Jordan Williams and Johan Petro, along with a draft pick Brooklyn received from Houston in a prior deal.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Less than two weeks after guiding his team to the NBA Finals, Scott Brooks has signed a multiyear extension to return as coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Terms were not disclosed but other media outlets reported the deal was for four years at more than $4 million per season.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – B.J. Upton and Carlos Pena homered and the Tampa Bay Rays took advantage of Mark Teixeira’s (teh-SHEHR’-uhz) first error of the season to beat the New York Yankees 4-3. After pinch hitter Brooks Conrad’s RBI double tied the game in the seventh inning, Teixeira misplayed Elliot Johnson’s sharp grounder over first base for his first error in 671 chances this year, enabling Conrad to score the go-ahead run.

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) – A wet and wild Monday at Wimbledon saw top-seed and world No.1 Maria Sharapova fall to 15th seed Sabine Lisicki (suh-BEEN’ lih’-SIH’-kee), 6-4, 6-3. Third seed Roger Federer defeated Xavier Malisse (mah-LEES’) 7-6, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, but only after he left the court for a few minutes during the first set because of a back problem.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Dara Torres has come up short in her bid to make it to the Olympics for a sixth time. The 45-year-old Torres finished fourth in the final of the 50-meter freestyle Monday night, her only event at the U.S. swimming trials, and said afterward her storied Olympic career is over.

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) – There’s good news for fans of the New Jersey Devils as Martin Brodeur (mahr-TAN broh-DYOOR’) is coming back. His agent confirmed with The Associated Press that the 40-year old goaltender has signed a new two-year contract. Brodeur is the NHL’s all-time winningest goaltender. The Devils also re-signed Brodeur’s backup, Johan Hedberg.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
L.A. Angels 3, Cleveland 0
Minnesota 6, Detroit 4
Kansas City 11, Toronto 3
Tampa Bay 4, N.Y. Yankees 3
Oakland 6, Boston 1
Seattle 6, Baltimore 3

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Pittsburgh 11, Houston 2
Chicago Cubs 4, Atlanta 1
Milwaukee 6, Miami 5
St. Louis 9, Colorado 3
San Diego 6, Arizona 2
Cincinnati 8, L.A. Dodgers 2