Gretzky’s Number to Be Retired at King Opener

The Kings will kick off the 2002-03 regular-season schedule at Staples Center on Oct. 9 versus the Phoenix Coyotes at 7:30 p.m., the NHL announced Wednesday.

Before the game, the Kings will honor Wayne Gretzky with a pregame ceremony that will include his No. 99 sweater being retired, becoming the fourth King to have his number retired (joining Dave Taylor, Rogie Vachon and Marcel Dionne).

The two-game homestand concludes on Oct. 12 against the Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings.

“I look forward to sharing this honor with my family, friends, and especially the fans, whose support of both myself and the Kings over the years has been tremendous and very humbling. It is also exciting that the Coyotes will be there to be part of the festivities,” said Gretzky, who is the managing partner of the Coyotes.

The Mighty Ducks will open their season Oct. 10, when the club travels to St. Louis to play the Blues.

The Ducks play two road games before playing their home opener against Detroit on Oct. 13.

Kings’, Ducks’ schedules...D6

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Guy Charron, who served as head and assistant coach with the Ducks the last two seasons, has left the team, General Manager Bryan Murray said.

Charron is expected to become an assistant with the Montreal Canadiens.

Tom Watt, the Ducks’ other assistant last season, will move into the front office, Murray said.

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The Atlanta Thrashers, trying to address a glaring weakness on defense, signed free agent Richard Smehlik.... The Coyotes rewarded Coach Bob Francis with a four-year contract worth about $3.02 million. The deal will keep Francis in place through the 2005-06 season.... Left wing Sergei Berezin signed a two-year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Pro Basketball

Prosecutors in Philadelphia won’t decide until today whether to charge Allen Iverson of the 76ers with storming into a home with a gun and threatening two men.

Police presented their case to the district attorney’s office in a meeting that lasted nearly three hours.

But prosecutors said they weren’t ready to make a decision.

Lt. Michael Chitwood, who met with prosecutors, called the delay “standard procedure.”

Iverson has not commented publicly on the allegations. He was outside his house Wednesday night but didn’t respond to reporters who shouted questions at him from the other side of a fence.

Duke guard Jay Williams, the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft, signed a three-year contract with the Chicago Bulls.

His agent, Bill Duffy, said the deal is worth close to $10 million.

During his three-year career with the Blue Devils, Williams averaged 19.3 points and six assists.

Cliff Robinson of the Detroit Pistons was sentenced to 12 months of probation after pleading guilty to a marijuana possession charge in Phoenix.

Judge Robert Oberbillig also ordered Robinson to pay a $750 fine and complete 24 hours of community service and eight hours of drug education.

The Washington Wizards signed first-round pick Jared Jeffries to a three-year deal worth between $4.1 and $5 million. Jeffries attended Indiana.

Tennis

James Blake beat Ota Fukarek, 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-1, to lead five Americans into the quarterfinals of the Hall of Fame Championships at Newport, R.I.

Other Americans advancing in the only grass-court tournament in the United States were Mardy Fish, Taylor Dent, Justin Gimelstob and Robby Ginepri.

David Nalbandian, a surprise finalist at Wimbledon, won’t be around for the end of the Swiss Open at Gstaad, Switzerland, after losing in the first round, 7-5, 6-3, to Andrei Pavel of Romania.

Fifth-seeded Conchita Martinez Granados of Spain was upset, 6-2, 6-0, by Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia in the second round of the Casablanca Open at Casablanca, Morocco.

Third-seeded Asa Svensson of Sweden was upset by Lubomira Bacheva of Bulgaria, 6-3, 6-3, in the second round of the Palermo International clay-court tournament at Palermo, Sicily.

Miscellany

Domestic violence charges against Al Unser Jr. could stall because his girlfriend downplayed events in later interviews.

Little physical evidence and a victim reluctant to push the case forward could bring the case to a halt, according to Scott Minier of the Marion County Sheriff’s Department in Indianapolis.

Jena L. Soto, 38, initially told police Unser hit her in the face and left her on the side of a highway in the middle of the night.

But in a taped statement with police late Tuesday, Soto downplayed the events, police said. Detectives said they would rely on prosecutors to decide if the case should move forward.

Unser, 40, who won the Indianapolis 500 twice, posted a $30,000 bond on preliminary misdemeanor charges of domestic battery and domestic violence. He has not commented publicly on the charges.

Messages left for Unser at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he was staying in his motor home, were not returned.

Fullback Kyle Johnson, the fifth-round draft pick of the Carolina Panthers, signed a three-year contract for $1.025 million.

Indy Racing Infiniti Pro Series driver Matthew Halliday, who was injured in a crash during a race Sunday at Kansas Speedway, was downgraded to stable condition at Kansas University Medical Center because of bruised lungs.

The women’s U.S. Professional Longboard Championships of surfing will be held this weekend at Surfrider Beach in Malibu.

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T.J. Simers is on vacation.