West Is NBA Executive of the Year

Jerry West, president of the Memphis Grizzlies, was selected NBA executive of the year by the Sporting News on Tuesday after turning a struggling franchise into a playoff team.

“We had a magical year this year. OK, but does that qualify as a success in my eyes? No. We need to get better,” West said.

West got 16 1/2 of the 35 votes cast by fellow league executives.

He finished ahead of Kevin McHale, Minnesota’s general manager, who had five votes, and Kevin O’Connor, Utah senior vice president of basketball operations, who had three.

West, 65, also won the executive award in 1995 as general manager of the Lakers. He spent 40 years with the Lakers as a player, coach and executive.

The Grizzlies had a 50-32 record this season but were swept by San Antonio in the first round of the playoffs. The Grizzlies’ most victories in a previous season had been 28.

Tennis

Justine Henin-Hardenne said she will defend her women’s title at the French Open, which starts Monday, although she hasn’t recovered from a viral infection that has sidelined her since mid-April.

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Carson and four other cities lost out when the U.S. Tennis Assn. awarded the U.S. Davis Cup team’s semifinal match against Belarus in September to Charleston, S.C.

Soccer

Last-minute snags are holding back Thailand’s unusual bid to buy a 30% stake in English Premier League club Liverpool, said Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand’s billionaire prime minister.

Thaksin said that Liverpool has agreed in principle to sell the stake in the club to Thailand’s government for $112.7 million.

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England striker Emile Heskey, 26, was transferred from Liverpool to Birmingham City for $11 million and signed a five-year contract with his new club.

Miscellany

UCLA shot a one-over-par 289 and was one stroke behind leader Oklahoma State after the first round of the NCAA women’s golf championships at Opelika, Ala. Allison Hanna of Ohio State shot a three-under 69 to lead the individual competition by one stroke.

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Goaltender Milan Hnilicka, who appeared in two games for the Kings this season, signed a three-year contract with Liberec in the Czech League.

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The Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League signed former USC receiver R. Jay Soward, a first-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL in 2000.

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San Diego State football Coach Tom Craft dismissed tight ends Sione Fifita and Adam Watson and linemen Freddie McCutcheon and Danny Negrete from the team for undisclosed rules violations.

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Indiana Fever guard Bridget Pettis retired from the WNBA. She played in 217 of a possible 220 games.

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Greco-Roman wrestler Faruk Sahin, who tested positive for a banned stimulant at the U.S. national championships April 10, accepted a provisional suspension while the case goes to arbitration, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said.