Sports briefs 3/26/05

Basketball

* A telephoned threat that there was a bomb in Indiana's locker room delayed the start of the Pacers-Detroit Pistons game for 1 hour, 25 minutes Friday night.

Auburn Hills chief of police Doreen Olko said The Palace -- the site of the melee between the teams four months ago -- received a call about an hour before the scheduled start with a very specific threat that there was a bomb in the locker room.

Tennis

* Defending champion Andy Roddick lost his opening match Friday at the Nasdaq-100 Open when a right wrist injury forced him to retire trailing Fernando Verdasco.

The Spaniard led 7-6 (9), 4-3 when Roddick called it quits. He received treatment during the second set from a trainer who taped his wrist, but No. 2-seeded Roddick's serve and forehand lacked their usual zip in the final games.

Carlos Moya erased three match points and advanced to the third round, winning the final rally when James Blake took a painful tumble chasing a shot. Moya won 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (6).

No. 12 Tommy Robredo beat Jonas Bjorkman 6-4, 6-0 and then withdrew, citing shoulder inflammation that has bothered him for six months. No. 24 Jiri Novak eliminated American Kevin Kim 6-1, 6-2 and advanced to the fourth round because of Robredo's withdrawal.

In women's play, three-time champion Venus Williams took just 50 minutes to beat Anna-Lena Groenefeld 6-2, 6-0. Williams is seeded eighth and seeking her first tournament title since July.