Sloan Will Return to Jazz

Jerry Sloan isn’t ready to retire to his Illinois farm yet.

Sloan, whose 15 seasons with Utah is the longest tenure among any coach or manager in the four major professional sports, said Tuesday he has agreed to a contract extension that will keep him with the Jazz through 2006.

“When the season was over I was very concerned about whether I would be able to put the energy into it,” Sloan said. “But I think after you have a chance to get away from it a little bit and kind of see what your thoughts are, those questions are pretty much answered.”

Sloan, 61, who still had a year remaining on his contract, was considering retirement after the Jazz was knocked out of the playoffs in the first round for the third consecutive year.

Terms of the deal were not announced.

*

Dirk Nowitzki and Raja Bell of the Dallas Mavericks were fined by the NBA for their conduct in Sunday night’s playoff game at Sacramento.

Nowitzki was fined $5,000 for kicking a pile of towels after receiving a technical foul. He was ejected.

Bell was fined $7,500 for verbally abusing an official after he was ejected with 1:14 left.

*

Seattle SuperSonic guard Joseph Forte was accused of punching a man in the face during a pickup basketball game May 1 at the University of North Carolina.

A misdemeanor assault warrant was issued but the former Tar Heels’ star has not been served with it. Forte is scheduled to appear in court June 23.

*

Guard Ray Allen of the SuperSonics, a three-time All-Star, received the Joe Dumars Trophy as the winner of the NBA’s sportsmanship award.

*

Authorities in Philadelphia have added Allen Iverson as a complainant against a man accused of shooting a friend of the Philadelphia 76er star in a leg outside a nightclub April 14.