Smith Becomes Youngest GM in Joining the Texans

The Houston Texans hired Rick Smith as general manager on Monday, reuniting the former Denver assistant GM with new Coach Gary Kubiak.

Smith becomes the second general manager in Texans history, following Charley Casserly, who resigned after the draft. Casserly is considered the front-runner to become the NFL’s vice president for football operations, succeeding Art Shell, who left to become coach of the Oakland Raiders for the second time.

Smith, who at 36 will be the NFL’s youngest GM, spent 10 years with Kubiak while the coach was offensive coordinator of the Broncos. He also becomes the league’s second black general manager, joining Ozzie Newsome of Baltimore.

Quarterback Brett Favre was an unexpected no-show for the Green Bay Packers’ voluntary workout. But it wasn’t clear whether it was a big deal.

Favre participated in last week’s voluntary workouts, and Packers Coach Mike McCarthy said through a team spokesman that he would address Favre’s absence during his regular interview session today.

The New England Patriots traded wide receiver Bethel Johnson to the New Orleans Saints for defensive lineman Johnathan Sullivan as both teams gave up on high draft picks who underwhelmed.

In the three seasons since each player was drafted in 2003, Johnson, the 45th player picked, had 30 catches, and Sullivan, chosen sixth, had 77 tackles.

Quarterback Kliff Kingsbury was claimed off waivers by the Buffalo Bills from NFL Europe Cologne after Craig Ochs was injured playing in NFL Europe.

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Tennessee Quarterback Suspended After Arrest

Tennessee quarterback Jim Bob Cooter was suspended indefinitely after campus police arrested him Saturday and charged him with drunk driving.

Cooter was charged with first offense driving under the influence. A female passenger was charged with underage consumption of alcohol.

The Big 12 football championship game will be held in San Antonio in 2007, the league said.

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COLLEGE BASKETBALL

UCLA’s Farmar Attends Orlando Pre-Draft Camp

UCLA sophomore guard Jordan Farmar, who has made himself eligible for the NBA draft, is spending this week at the NBA pre-draft camp in Orlando. Farmar, who has also tried out individually for several teams including the Lakers and Clippers, can maintain his college eligibility as long as he does not hire an agent and withdraws his name by June 18, ten days before the draft.

Fellow sophomore guard Arron Afflalo has also made himself eligible for the draft and has tried out for five teams, but is not attending the Orlando camp.

-- Steve Springer

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Connecticut center Josh Boone said that he planned to hire an agent soon and stay in the NBA draft, passing up his senior year with the Huskies.

The news came on the same day that point guard A.J. Price received medical clearance to play, nearly two years after suffering a brain hemorrhage.

The Big Ten men’s tournament will be in Indianapolis for five years starting in 2008, ending a yearly rotation with Chicago.

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JURISPRUDENCE

Mighty Ducks’ Dineen Is Charged With DUI

Kevin Dineen, who led the Mighty Ducks’ minor-league affiliate to the American Hockey League semifinals in his first season as the Portland Pirates’ coach, was arrested and charged with drunk driving in South Portland, Maine.

Dineen, 42, was stopped by South Portland police and arrested about 2 a.m. Friday. The former NHL forward was released two hours later after posting $200 bail.

“The Mighty Ducks are taking this matter very seriously and are disappointed by what appears to be a case of poor judgment,” Ducks General Manager Brian Burke said in a statement.

According to the Maine Department of Public Safety, first-time offenders face a minimum 90-day license suspension and a $400 fine if convicted.

-- Eric Stephens

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Former NFL running back Rabih Abdullah, 31, was charged in Tampa, Fla., with driving under the influence, carrying a concealed firearm and possessing marijuana. He was released on $3,000 bond.

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MISCELLANY

Arizona Wins Game 1 Against Northwestern

Taryne Mowatt homered and drove in three runs and Alicia Hollowell threw a one-hitter for Arizona, which beat Northwestern, 8-0, to win Game 1 of the Women’s College World Series softball championship in Oklahoma City.

Hollowell (31-5) struck out 12 and Arizona (53-11) took advantage of two errors by Northwestern (50-14) to score five runs in the third inning. Game 2 of the best-of-three series is tonight.

Bill Elliott will run three races this season for Red Bull Racing as a warmup for its 2007 debut as one of Toyota’s initial teams. Elliott, NASCAR’s 1988 champion, has run a limited schedule the last two seasons.

Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber, working without a contract since December, signed a four-year extension through the 2009 season, league spokesman Sean Dennison said.

Max Gebhardt, an assistant coach at the University of La Verne, was hired as men’s soccer coach at Whittier College.

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T.J. Simers has the week off.