Hamblen, Rambis, Shaw Stay as Laker Assistants

The Lakers made it official Monday, announcing that Frank Hamblen, Kurt Rambis and Brian Shaw would remain with the team as assistants to Coach Phil Jackson.

Longtime members of the organization, Hamblen, Rambis and Shaw -- assistants last season -- had been expected to join Jackson on the sideline in his second stint with the franchise.

Hamblen, also interim coach in the second half of the 2004-05 season, has served six seasons as a Laker assistant, five under Jackson.

Rambis, who won four NBA titles as a player and has held many front-office and coaching positions with the Lakers, previously assisted Jackson for three seasons. Shaw, a guard on Jackson’s three title teams in Los Angeles, worked in the front office for two seasons.

-- Jason Reid

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Guard Nick Van Exel signed a free-agent contract with the San Antonio Spurs. Terms were not disclosed. Van Exel, 33, is coming off a season in Portland in which he averaged 11.1 points, 3.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists.

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Center Ervin Johnson returned to the Milwaukee Bucks, signing a one-year contract with the team he played for from 1997 to 2003.

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Denver Nugget assistant coach Doug Moe has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and will have surgery next month.

“The prognosis is good and I expect to be in training camp,” Moe said in a statement released by the team.

College Football

Iowa cornerback Antwan Allen was suspended for Saturday’s season opener against Ball State after his conviction for breaking a student’s jaw.

Kirk Ferentz, coach of the No. 11 Hawkeyes, said the university could take further discipline after Friday’s sentencing.

Nate Longshore, a former Canyon Country Canyon High standout, was chosen as California’s starting quarterback, beating out Joe Ayoob.

Longshore, a redshirt freshman, made use of his extra year of experience in Coach Jeff Tedford’s exacting system. Ayoob had transferred to Cal amid much fanfare after two prolific years at City College of San Francisco, but Longshore earned Saturday’s start with his consistency and work ethic.

New Mexico backup quarterback Chris Nelson was suspended by Coach Rocky Long and will miss next week’s opener against Nevada Las Vegas after being arrested and charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated.

Soccer

Former U.S. national team stars John Harkes, Tab Ramos and Marcelo Balboa were inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame at Oneonta, N.Y.

Tom “Whitey” Fleming, Alex McNab, Johnny Nelson, Werner Nilsen and Fabri Salcedo were elected from the pre-North American Soccer League era.

As expected, Chivas USA goalkeeper Martin Zuniga announced his retirement. Zuniga, who turned 35 on Aug. 6, will remain with the Major League Soccer expansion franchise with the title of “soccer ambassador” and will be an instructor in the club’s academy. He will serve as a scout for its youth development programs and speak at events.

Zuniga was expected to be Chivas USA’s starter but tore a ligament in his left knee in a preseason scrimmage. He later returned and started four matches before re-injuring the knee.

High Schools

Jeff Miller, a senior defensive end/tight end at Westlake Village Westlake, is expected to be sidelined four to six weeks after breaking a bone in his left foot Saturday during practice, Coach Jim Benkert said. A Times’ all-regional performer, Miller had 13 sacks last season for the Warriors.

Miscellany

Cal State Bakersfield declared its intention to upgrade its athletic programs to NCAA Division I.

Currently in Division II for most sports, the school has 10 women’s teams and seven men’s teams, with men’s wrestling and women’s water polo already competing in Division I. President Horace Mitchell said the school is raising $6 million to fund the added costs.

Maryland basketball guard Chris McCray, who will be a senior this year, was arrested at College Park, Md., on charges of refusing to leave the scene of a fight and trying to flee when police went to handcuff him.

The Pittsburgh Penguins accepted the $1.6-million salary awarded defenseman Dick Tarnstrom in arbitration and signed their leading scorer from the 2003-04 season to the one-year deal.

Trenidad Hubbard, an outfielder who has spent 10 seasons in the majors with nine teams, was among 24 players selected for the U.S. team at the World Cup in the Netherlands. The Americans will be coached by former major league manager Davey Johnson in the 18-nation tournament, which begins Friday. The U.S. roster consists of professionals not on 40-man major league rosters.

Jose Sulaiman, the president of the World Boxing Council, said that boxer Roy Jones Jr. should undergo intensive neurological testing before his Oct. 1 fight with Antonio Tarver. The Mexico City-based boxing organization said in a news release that it was “deeply concerned” about the fight because Jones was knocked out in his last two bouts.

Track and field’s governing body confirmed the positive drug tests of Ukrainian hammer thrower Vladyslav Piskunov and Indian female discus thrower Neelam Jaswant Singh at the world championships.

Charm the Giant rallied to win the $68,400 feature race at Del Mar by two lengths over 9-10 favorite Domaine, giving jockey Alex Solis his fourth victory on the card.

The inaugural meeting of the Los Angeles chapter of WISE, a networking group for women working in sports business, is scheduled Sept. 8 at Staples Center. Details: (310) 826-2839.

T.J. Simers is on vacation.