Brown Offered Contract by the Knicks

Larry Brown has been offered a contract by the New York Knicks to become the franchise’s 22nd head coach, his agent said Tuesday.

“An offer has been made, but that doesn’t mean a contract has been completed. Nothing has been finalized,” said Joe Glass, Brown’s longtime agent.

No formal announcement of Brown’s hiring was expected today, making Thursday the most likely day that Brown will sit at a podium alongside team President Isiah Thomas and owner James Dolan to make it official.

That scenario, of course, can only happen if there are no snags.

And with the 64-year-old Brown, who has coached seven NBA teams and two college teams, the likelihood of a snag can never be underestimated.

Brown had dinner Monday night with Thomas and interim Coach Herb Williams, a meeting that Brown described as “positive.” Brown had been uneasy about the prospect of displacing Williams as coach.

“That was a huge obstacle for me, not for him,” Brown said. “It’s not at all anymore.”

New York reportedly is willing to offer Brown a five-year contract worth between $50 million and $60 million.

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Denver Nugget Coach George Karl is scheduled to undergo prostate cancer surgery Thursday in Salt Lake City.

Karl was hired Jan. 27 and led Denver to a 32-8 record in the second half of the season.

The Nuggets finished 49-35 and advanced to the playoffs, where they were eliminated by eventual NBA champion San Antonio.

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The Portland Trail Blazers signed 2004 first-round draft pick Sergei Monia of Russia to a multiyear contract

Pro Football

Seattle Seahawk running back Shaun Alexander, who led the NFL with 20 touchdowns last season, signed the one-year, $6.32-million contract he was guaranteed when the team designated him as its franchise player in February.

The guaranteed contract ensures that Alexander will report to training camp on time Thursday. He had told management that he wanted a long-term agreement, and there was speculation that he might hold out if he couldn’t reach a multiyear agreement with the team.

As expected, quarterback Alex Smith signed his six-year, $49.5-million contract with the San Francisco 49ers.

The Oakland Raiders signed top draft pick and cornerback Fabian Washington to a five-year, $7.8-million contract.

Defensive tackle Luis Castillo, one of the San Diego Chargers’ two first-round draft picks, agreed to a five-year contract and was expected to be at the second practice of training camp.

Tennis

Meghann Shaughnessy upset fifth-seeded Vera Zvonareva in the first round of the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford.

Shaughnessy, a 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (6) winner, advances to the second round against Daniela Hantuchova, who needed 51 minutes to dispatch Alexandra Stevenson, 6-2, 6-1.

Third-seeded Tommy Robredo defeated three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten, 6-4, 6-4, in the opening round of the Croatia Open at Umag.

Philipp Kohlschreiber upset three-time champion Albert Costa, 6-2, 6-4, in the first round of the Generali Open at Kitzbuehel, Austria.

Top-seeded Anna Smashnova beat qualifier Lourdes Dominguez Lino, 6-1, 6-2, in the first round of the Budapest Grand Prix.

Miscellany

The United States won its seventh consecutive Nordic Cup when the Under-21 women’s national soccer team defeated Norway, 4-1, at Karlskoga, Sweden.

The U.S. team has won eight of the last nine Nordic Cup tournaments dating to 1997. The event is held every summer in northern Europe, and is the world’s premier competition for under-21 women.

Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford announced agreements with the Emerald Bowl and the Music City Bowl that will give the league at least eight bowl destinations after next season, including one in the bowl championship series.

The conference also extended its existing deals with the other six, allowing up to two-thirds of the league’s 12 teams to move into the postseason if they qualify.

Yelena Isinbayeva broke the women’s Olympic Stadium pole vault record with a leap of 15 feet, 8 1/2 inches to win a $10,000 diamond at the DN Galan track and field meet at Stockholm.

Kenya’s Isaac Songok earned the only other one-carat diamond for setting a stadium record by clocking 7 minutes, 35.84 seconds in the 3,000 meters.

Olympic champion Justin Gatlin overcame a slow start to win the men’s 100 in 10.15 seconds.

As many of the world’s top surfers scrambled to complete new travel plans for the Honda U.S. Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, courtesy of an airline strike in South Africa, several young Americans had strong showings in the men’s round of 144.

Gavin Gillette, a 19-year-old from Kauai and the only alternate to get into the field thus far, was among those who qualified for today’s round of 96. Scheduled to begin competition today are 31 members of the World Championship Tour. Andy Irons, the three-time defending WCT champion scheduled to begin competition today at 10 a.m., was stranded in South Africa for four days because of the strike, said Steve Clark, the team manager for his main sponsor. Irons was set to arrive in the Southland late Tuesday night.