NBA
2013-14 season will open with Miami at Chicago
NEW YORK – The Miami Heat will open their title defense against the Chicago Bulls on Oct. 29 in the expected return of Derrick Rose, with an all-Los Angeles matchup later that night in the Lakers’ first game without Dwight Howard and the Clippers’ first with Doc Rivers.
The NBA’s 2013-14 schedule, released Tuesday, also features a potential LeBron James-Kobe Bryant duel on Christmas in Los Angeles, right after scoring stars Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant match up across the country in New York.
Howard’s first visit to the Lakers since leaving for Houston as a free agent doesn’t come until Feb. 19, giving Bryant plenty of time to get back to full strength from his torn Achilles’ tendon near the end of last season.
College Basketball
Rams reward Eustachy with an extension through 2018
FORT COLLINS – Larry Eustachy agreed to a new contract that will keep him at Colorado State through the 2017-18 season, and it has options for three additional seasons.
Eustachy led the Rams to a school record 26-win season and an NCAA Tournament win over Missouri last season, his first at the school. CSU also cracked the AP Top 25 for the first time since 1954, and Eustachy became the only head coach in NCAA history to lead five different schools to 24 or more wins in a season.
Eustachy’s base salary goes up to $910,000 next season and will rise by 2 percent each year. He’d also get $40,000 for winning 20 games, $100,000 for winning the Mountain West Conference title and $200,000 if the Rams get an NCAA Tournament bid.
NFL
After his excused absence, Cooper returns to Philly
PHILADELPHIA – Wide receiver Riley Cooper returned to the Philadelphia Eagles on Tuesday after a four-day excused absence to undergo sensitivity training after he was caught on film yelling a racial slur before a Kenny Chesney concert.
Cooper, in his fourth year out of the University of Florida, seemed remorseful during an eight-minute press conference with the media after the Eagles and New England Patriots began what will be a three-day practice routine before Friday night’s preseason opener.
Video of Cooper’s racial slur surfaced Wednesday. He immediately was fined an undisclosed amount by the team but was not suspended.
NHL
16-year NHL vet Shawn Burr dies at 47 from Leukemia
DETROIT – Shawn Burr, who played 16 years in the NHL, mostly with the Detroit Red Wings, died Monday. He was 47.
Dave Goetze, a friend of Burr’s, said Burr was making progress in a fight against leukemia, but he died from brain trauma after a fall at his Detroit-area home. Goetze worked for the Shawn Burr Foundation in support of blood cancer research.
Burr was a first-round draft pick by the Red Wings in 1984. He made his NHL debut in 1984-85 and was with the Red Wings until 1995. He also played for the Tampa Bay Lightning and San Jose Sharks.
In 878 NHL games, Burr scored 181 goals with 259 assists and 1,069 penalty minutes.
Cycling
Van Avermaet wins Utah’s opening stage in a sprint
CEDAR CITY, Utah – As he stayed with the peloton in Tuesday’s opening stage of the Tour of Utah, Greg Van Avermaet of Belgium was waiting for a place to kick his bike into another gear. Once the final three-lap sprint came around, it was all the BMC team racer needed.
With crowds cheering along the final stretch, Van Avermaet beat Australian Michael Matthews to the finish line over the final half mile on Main Street and earned the Stage 1 victory in 4 hours, 11 minutes.
Tyler Magner finished third.
Associated Press
