UCLA’s Gordon has injured knee

Reggie Theus, former Sacramento Kings coach, will interview for the USC men’s basketball job today, according to a source familiar with the program.

Theus will meet with Athletic Director Mike Garrett at USC. He is expected to accept the job if offered.

Theus was fired as the Kings’ coach in December, 24 games into his second season. Before that, he was the head coach at New Mexico State, where he led the Aggies to the NCAA tournament in 2006-07.

Tim Floyd resigned as the Trojans’ coach June 9 in the face of a mounting NCAA investigation.

-- Chris Foster

UCLA forward Drew Gordon has a partially torn patellar tendon in his right knee, an injury suffered while at the 2009 USA Basketball U-19 World Championship team trials. The extent of his injury and rehabilitation will not be known until the sophomore returns from Colorado Springs tonight. “It’s an unfortunate event, but Drew is a resilient kid and he’ll get through it,” Coach Ben Howland said. “We have a good athletic training staff and we will be here to support him.”

-- David Wharton

Brigham Young basketball Coach Dave Rose has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Rose’s family announced that tests from emergency surgery he had earlier this month to stop internal bleeding were positive for cancer.

JURISPRUDENCE

Mel Hall gets 45 years in prison

Former major league outfielder Mel Hall was sentenced to 45 years in prison in Fort Worth after being convicted of raping a 12-year-old girl he coached on an elite basketball team.

Hall, 48, was convicted on three counts of aggravated sexual assault and two counts of indecency with a child. Among his accusers during sentencing were others who said he had improper relationships with them.

Former UCLA and Clippers guard Jerome “Pooh” Richardson passed along a tip from a police officer friend that federal agents were about to raid the home his half-sister shared with a drug kingpin, according to an indictment unsealed in Philadelphia. Richardson, 43, is not charged in the indictment, which accuses only the detective with criminal wrongdoing. The officer, Rickie Durham, is a longtime friend of Richardson’s. . . . Former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf posted a $45,000 bond in Washington for drug and burglary charges out of Texas after being arrested by customs agents as he returned to the United States from Canada. . . . Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy arrived at a Tampa, Fla., halfway house from a federal prison camp to serve the rest of his 15-month sentence in a gambling scandal, his spokesman said.

SOCCER

North Korea earns spot in World Cup

North Korea qualified for its first World Cup since 1966, tying Saudi Arabia, 0-0, at Riyadh to finish second in its Asian final-round group.

European champion Barcelona will play Mexico’s Chivas at Candlestick Park in San Francisco on Aug. 8 in the final game of the Spanish team’s U.S. summer tour. . . . American goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann has joined Premier League newcomers Wolverhampton after being released by Reading. . . . UEFA banned Chelsea striker Didier Drogba for four games because of his vulgar rant at a referee.

TENNIS

Dementieva ousted at Eastbourne

Top-seeded Elena Dementieva was upset, 6-0, 3-6, 7-6 (4) by Virginie Razzano at the Eastbourne International in England.

Sixth-seeded American Sam Querrey failed to advance, losing, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4, to Denis Istomin. Former Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo fell, 7-6 (8), 7-6 (13), to Ekaterina Makarova after she built commanding leads in each set.

Defending champion Rafael Nadal, who has injured knees, and top-ranked women’s player Dinara Safina were seeded No. 1 for Wimbledon, which begins Monday.

ETC.

Rachel Alexandra set to race again

Preakness winner Rachel Alexandra is heading to Belmont Park after all. Co-owner Jess Jackson’s Stonestreet Farms announced in a news release that his filly will return to the track June 27 in the Mother Goose Stakes after skipping the Belmont.

Andrew Darr doubled in the go-ahead run in the top of the 12th inning and Arkansas, which had been down to its last strike in the ninth, rallied to defeat Virginia, 4-3, in the College World Series at Omaha.

Arkansas (41-23) plays Louisiana State on Friday and must win twice to reach next week’s best-of-three.

The University of Alabama plans to appeal a ruling by the NCAA Committee on Infractions that forced the football program to vacate 21 wins.