Expanded Drug Tests Considered

The NBA and its players’ union are discussing expanded testing for performance-enhancing drugs, and Commissioner David Stern said Wednesday that he was optimistic it would be part of the new labor agreement.

The league already tests for recreational drugs and more than a dozen types of steroids.

Stern said he didn’t have details on what the new testing program would cover or how it would work. Now, first-year players are tested once during training camp and up to three times during the season. Veterans are tested only at camp unless there is probable cause for additional testing.

Penalties for positive steroid tests include a five-game suspension for a first offense, 10 games for a second and 25 for subsequent offenses.

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Kevin McHale will return as the Minnesota Timberwolves’ vice president of basketball operations next season, saying the team’s absence from the playoffs is a motivating factor.

McHale vowed to make the team better next season. His first task will be finding a coach, a job that he’s not interested in after 31 games as an interim replacement for the fired Flip Saunders. Minnesota missed the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons.

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Detroit Piston fan Dennis W. Pauley, 31, was charged with throwing an object onto a playing surface after allegedly hitting Philadelphia 76er guard Allen Iverson with a coin while he sat on the bench in the final minutes of Tuesday’s game at Auburn Hills, Mich.

Another man, Michael A. Roberts, 26, was charged with occupying a seat without a proper ticket, police said.

They could be sentenced to 90 days in jail and fined $500.