Raptors Hire European as Vice President

Maurizio Gherardini, who built Benetton Treviso into one of the most successful teams in Europe, was hired as the Toronto Raptors’ vice president and assistant general manager, becoming the first European to hold a senior management position with an NBA franchise.

“This is a ground-breaking move for the league, appropriately with the NBA’s only true international franchise,” Raptors President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo said in a statement.

And next week, the Raptors might select Andrea Bargnani, one of Gherardini’s Benetton Treviso players, with the first pick in the draft. Bargnani, a 6-foot-11 forward, led Benetton to the Italian Lega A championship this week.

Gherardini, 51, guided Benetton to four league championships, seven Italian Cups, three Italian supercups, two Eurocups and four appearances in the Euroleague’s final four since 1992.

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Michael Jordan went to work for the Bobcats in Charlotte, overseeing a pre-draft workout as part-owner of the team.

Jordan helped conduct on-court drills but declined to speak to the media. Charlotte has the No. 3 pick.

Jordan, who acquired the largest individual stake in the team behind majority owner Bob Johnson last week, hasn’t worked in the NBA since he was fired as the Washington Wizards’ president of basketball operations in 2003.

TENNIS

Henin-Hardenne, Clijsters to Meet Again

Defending champion Kim Clijsters and third-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne won quarterfinal matches in the Hastings Direct grass-court tournament, and will meet for the 21st time in the semifinals in Eastbourne, England.

Clijsters needed only 44 minutes to beat sixth-seeded Francesca Schiavone, 6-2, 6-1, and Henin-Hardenne overcame Russia’s Elena Likhovtseva, 6-2, 6-4.

The Belgians have split their 20 meetings.

Fourth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova saved three match points to beat seventh-seeded Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (4), and set up the other semifinal against fifth-seededt Anastasia Myskina, who beat Nathalie Dechy, 6-4, 6-4.

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Defending champion Richard Gasquet beat Gilles Simon, 6-3, 6-1, to advance to the semifinals of the Red Letter Days Open in Nottingham, England.

He will face Robin Soderling, who beat Janko Tipsarevic, 7-6 (4), 6-4. Andreas Seppi advanced with a 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-1 win over Andrew Murray and will face Jonas Bjorkman, who beat Feliciano Lopez, 6-3, 6-4.

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Defending champion Mario Ancic beat Fabrice Santoro, 6-4, 6-0, to reach the semifinals of the Ordina Open in Den Bosch, Netherlands.

The third-seeded Ancic will play Marcos Baghdatis, who advanced when Philipp Kohlschreiber retired because of a shoulder injury while trailing, 6-2, 3-0.

In the women’s event, top-seeded Elena Dementieva defeated fifth-seeded Ana Ivanovic, 7-6 (6), 6-4.

Michaella Krajicek will meet Dementieva after advancing when Jelena Jankovic retired during the first-set tiebreaker.

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John McEnroe, 47, will return to the ATP doubles circuit Oct. 7-15, teaming with Bjorkman at the Stockholm Open.

McEnroe wil continue an improbable doubles comeback that started in February, when he and Bjorkman won the SAP Open doubles title in San Jose.

GOLF

Curtis Records Career-Best 62

Ben Curtis shot a career-best nine-under-par 62 in the first round of the Booz Allen Classic in Potomac, Md.

The 2003 British Open champion led Jeff Gove by one shot.

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Shi Hyun Ahn overcame swirling winds and opened with a seven-under-par 65 to take a one-stroke lead over rookie Brittany Lang in the Rochester LPGA in Pittsford, N.Y.

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Thomas Bjorn shot an eight-under 65 for a two-shot lead in the first round of the Johnnie Walker Championship in Gleneagles, Scotland. U.S. Open runner-up Colin Montgomerie bogeyed the last hole for a 68.

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UCLA’s Hannah Jun took yet another step in her comeback from a serious neck injury, beating 16-year-old Kristen Schelling, 4 and 3, in the first round of match play in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship at Pueblo, Colo. Jun fractured a vertebra in her neck in a car accident that led to drunk driving charges against UCLA football player Justin Medlock.

OLYMPICS

Field Reduced to Three for 2014 Winter Games

Two Europeans cities and one from Asia made the cut as the International Olympic Committee trimmed the field for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Salzburg, Austria; Pyeongchang, South Korea; and Sochi, Russia, were selected as finalists by the IOC’s executive board in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Eliminated were Almaty, Kazakhstan; Borjomi, Georgia; Jaca, Spain; and Sofia, Bulgaria.

The host city will be selected July 4, 2007.

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New York and Boston were awarded the U.S. marathon trials for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The men’s trials will be in New York on either Nov. 2 or 3, 2007, USA Track & Field announced. It will be separate from the New York Marathon, scheduled for Nov. 4.

The women’s race will be in Boston on April 20, 2008, the day before the Boston Marathon.

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The IOC renewed its support for the Paralympic Games through 2016.

MISCELLANY

Rucker Denies Assault Allegations

Former USC defensive lineman Frostee Rucker, charged with two misdemeanor counts of spousal battery and two counts of vandalism in connection with an alleged altercation last August, denies all allegations, his attorney said.

Leonard Levine said his firm was conducting its own investigation and that he would move to have the case dismissed on or before the scheduled arraignment date of July 13.

“We’re confident when all the evidence is known, he will be exonerated,” Levine said.

Rucker, 22, was picked by the Cincinnati Bengals in the third round of the NFL draft in April.

-- Gary Klein

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Severe thunderstorms wiped out most of the opening-night schedule at the U.S. track and field championships in Indianapolis. Events, including the preliminary 100-meter heats, were rescheduled for today.

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Nebraska and Tennessee agreed to a home-and-home football series for 2016 and 2017, the schools announced.

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Pete Manarino, who led Long Beach State’s softball program to five College World Series, retired after 23 seasons and a record of 843-508-2. Manarino, who lives in Mission Viejo, will be athletic director beginning this fall at San Juan Capistrano Serra High.

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The NCAA will consider restrictions on the number of text messages college coaches are allowed to send high school recruits.

Text messaging currently is not encumbered by rules that limit contact between recruiters and prospects.

The NCAA could consider the proposal as soon as January.

-- Eric Sondheimer

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UCLA finished second to Stanford in the Directors’ Cup, presented annually by the National Assn. of Collegiate Athletic Directors, USA Today and the U.S. Sports Academy to the best athletics programs in the NCAA.

Stanford won for the 12th consecutive year.

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For the second straight year, Azusa Pacific won the Directors’ Cup for being the best athletics program in the NAIA. Lindenwood (Mo.) finished second.