SPRINGFIELD, Mass. [bar] Phil Jackson learned to coach from Red Holzman and practiced the craft on superstars like Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.
'I've had people say that I'm the luckiest coach that's ever been in the NBA. I probably have to agree with that,' Jackson said Friday at the Basketball Hall of Fame's induction weekend. 'I've been in the right spots at the right time.'
Jackson was inducted into the Springfield shrine Friday night with North Carolina coach Roy Williams; the 1966 NCAA champion Texas Western team; four-time WNBA championship coach Van Chancellor, the longtime women's coach at Mississippi recently hired by LSU; former NBA referee Mendy Rudolph and international coaches Pedro Ferrandiz of Spain and Mirko Novosel of Yugoslavia.
baseball
Pirates send GM Littlefield packing
PITTSBURGH [bar] Dave Littlefield, like nearly all executives, was judged on won-lost record - and the Pittsburgh Pirates' 442-581 record and .432 winning percentage in his six-plus seasons as general manager weren't nearly good enough.
Littlefield was fired Friday after the franchise showed negligible progress on the field and not nearly enough in its farm system. Director of player development Brian Graham will serve as the interim general manager.
IN OTHER BASEBALL NEWS
Ryan Jorgenson, a catcher for the Reds , was suspended for 50 games as the third player penalized this year under Major League Baseball's drug program.
pro football
suit by retired NFL players dismissed
SAN FRANCISCO [bar] A federal judge tossed out a lawsuit accusing the NFL players' union of inadequately representing 3,500 retired players, ruling the complaints of fraud and antitrust allegations had little merit.
One of the many reasons U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup said he dismissed the lawsuit was because none of the three retired players who sued the NFL Players Association earlier this year could show they signed any formal marketing agreements with the union in the past four years, the length of the statute of limitations.
college football
N.H. player faces murder charge
DURHAM, N.H. [bar] A New Hampshire football player charged with murder in California is expected to turn himself in by Monday, authorities in San Diego say.
San Diego Police Lt. Kevin Rooney said prosecutors and the lawyer defending Henri 'Hank' Hendricks were arranging his surrender to face charges that he was part of a gang that fatally beat a man in May. Before he was suspended Friday, Hendricks, 21, was a backup quarterback at the University of New Hampshire.
IN OTHER NEWS
Selwyn Lymon, Purdue wide receiver, faces team discipline after being charged with two other players in connection with a nightclub fight during which he was stabbed in the chest.
gymnastics
American Johnson wins all-around
STUTTGART, Germany [bar] First, a national champion. Now, a world champion. And everyone knows what's coming up next on Shawn Johnson's schedule.
America's new queen of gymnastics also proclaimed herself best in the world Friday, winning the all-around title with a bright smile and sky-high jumps - setting herself up as the woman to beat next year at the Beijing Olympics.
The 15-year-old Iowan scored 61.875 points to defeat Steliana Nistor of Romania by 1.25.
golf
Rookie Mcpherson shares LPGA lead
ROGERS, Ark. [bar] Rookie Kristy McPherson shot a 6-under 66 to share the early clubhouse lead at the rain-soaked LPGA NW Arkansas Championship. Play was suspended by darkness.
Katherine Hull and Teresa Lu were also tied for the lead at 6-under 66.
IN OTHER NEWS
Oliver Wilson completed a 6-under 65 in a delayed first round, then added a second-round 66 to take the halfway lead in the European Masters in Crans-Sur-Sierre, Switzerland.
basketball
Fever's Catchings to miss 6-9 months
INDIANAPOLIS [bar] Tamika Catchings could start rehabilitation on her injured foot in about six weeks.
Her complete recovery from a torn Achilles tendon that cost the Indiana Fever a chance at their first WNBA championship appearance will take a lot longer - six to nine months.
'It ended up being a little more serious than they thought it was at first,' Catchings said .
IN OTHER NEWS
Darko Milicic, the Memphis Grizzlies center, was fined nearly $14,000 by FIBA for a profanity-laced tirade at referees following Serbia's defeat at the European basketball championship.
Oklahoma State lost its only experienced frontcourt player when Kenny Cooper decided to transfer.
Samuel Dalembert, the Philadelphia 76ers center, has a stress fracture in his left foot but is expected to participate when the team opens training camp in early October.
CAPTION(S):
Littlefield Johnson
