Sports briefs 6/28/05

Basketball

The Cleveland Cavaliers finally have their general manager, and with not a moment to spare.

Danny Ferry, who spent the past two years in the front office of the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs, has been hired as the Cavaliers' GM, team spokesman Tad Carper said Monday.

The Cavaliers have scheduled an afternoon news conference at Gund Arena to introduce Ferry, who is already well known to Cleveland fans. Before becoming a league executive, Ferry played 10 seasons with the Cavaliers.

Motorsports

Toyota will end a 12-year run as an engine supplier in U.S. open-wheel racing after the 2006 IRL season, the Japanese auto manufacturer said Monday night.

"This was simply a decision to move in a different direction after having our major U.S. motorsports emphasis on open-wheel racing since 1994," said Toyota vice president J. Davis Illingworth.

Toyota moved into NASCAR last year with a fleet in the Craftsman Truck series. There has been considerable speculation that the company will move up to the Busch series in 2006 or 2007 and eventually move into Nextel Cup, challenging Chevrolet, Ford and Dodge, which currently race in NASCAR's top stock car series.

-- From wire reports