Sports briefs 6/30/04

Baseball

The Indians purchased the contract of reliever Bob Howry on Tuesday from Triple-A Buffalo and optioned left-hander Cliff Bartosh back to the minor leagues. Cleveland also brought up outfielder Mark Little from the Bisons and designated reliever Jack Cressend for assignment.

Randy Johnson reached 4,000 career strikeouts and still couldn't change the Arizona Diamondbacks' luck. The Big Unit struck out eight to join Nolan Ryan (5,714), Roger Clemens (4,200) and Steve Carlton (4,136) as the only pitchers to fan 4,000 batters, but the Diamondbacks lost their franchise-record 11th straight game, 3-2 to the San Diego Padres.

Basketball

Sam Mitchell was hired as coach of the Toronto Raptors. Mitchell, who played in the NBA for 13 years, was an assistant coach for the expansion Charlotte Bobcats for the past month. Mitchell, who played for Minnesota and Indiana, spent two years as an assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks before leaving for Charlotte. He retired as a player just two years ago. Mitchell, 40, spent 10 seasons with Minnesota, and served as a mentor to league MVP Kevin Garnett, who jumped to the NBA from high school. Mitchell is the club's leader in games played at 757, and was second in scoring with 7,161 points before retiring in 2002.

The New Orleans Hornets hired NBA Hall of Famer Willis Reed as vice president of basketball operations, giving the former New York Knicks star a chance to finish his career in his native state. "This will be my last job," said the 62-year-old Reed, who built a house in northern Louisiana and plans to retire there. He expects to be more than a figurehead for the Hornets. Reed, who led the Knicks to NBA titles in 1970 and 1973, was an adviser for the Knicks last season after 14 years in the New Jersey Nets' front office.

College

Texas A&M track and field coach Ted Nelson has retired and men's swim coach Mel Nash has resigned, prompting nationwide searches to replace them. Nelson, himself a former Aggie track athlete, served as an assistant for 24 seasons before taking over the program in 1991. He has led A&M to one Big 12 championship and 17 top-25 finishes at nationals. Nash, who completed his 25th season and was A&M's longest-tenured head coach

Three Missouri universities will join the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Valley Conference starting with the 2005-06 season, conference officials announced Tuesday. Drury University of Springfield, Mo., Rockhurst University of Kansas City, Mo., and the University of Missouri-Rolla will bring the conference's membership to 14 schools, making it the fifth largest in Division II. The GLVC last expanded in 1995 when Missouri-St. Louis became the 12th member. Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne left in 2001 for Division I.

Football

Miami Dolphins tight end Randy McMichael was arrested for allegedly hitting his pregnant wife. McMichael was charged with aggravated battery on a pregnant woman, a second-degree felony that is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, Broward County sheriff's officials said.

Motorsports

Al Unser Jr., 42, appears ready to end his racing career. The two-time Indy 500 winner could not be reached for comment Tuesday, but Al Unser Sr. said his son was considering retirement after more than 21 seasons driving Indy cars. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has a news conference planned for today, but did not give details other than to say it would involve a "superstar." Unser's ex-wife, Shelley Unser, said their 21-year-old son, Al, also would be participating in a conference call. The Indianapolis Star reported Tuesday on its Web site that Unser told the newspaper he would retire from Indy-car racing. Spokesman Kevin Diamond of Patrick Racing, Unser's team, said Unser denied telling that to the newspaper. The Star said it was standing by its story.

-- From wire reports