Casserly Is Out as Texans’ GM

Houston Texan General Manager Charley Casserly resigned Wednesday, saying he was leaving on his own terms to pursue a job in the NFL’s front office.

There was speculation Casserly would be fired in the wake of the Texans’ 2-14 season and their controversial choice for the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.

“I have an interest in doing other things right now,” he said. “This was not an easy decision, but it was a decision I felt I had to make at this point in time.”

The Texans passed over Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush and hometown favorite Vince Young to take defensive end Mario Williams with the top choice in last month’s draft.

Many fans were outraged, but Texan owner Bob McNair said Casserly was never going to be fired. Casserly will officially step down June 1.

“We have gone through a lot of ups and downs and have had a lot of pleasurable moments together,” McNair said. “We made an awful lot of progress. We had some disappointments last year, but I think we both feel we’ve got the cart back on the path and it’s moving in the right direction.”

Casserly, 57, had been with the Texans since the franchise joined the NFL six years ago. The Texans played their first season in 2002.

“I’ve been in this league 29 years,” said Casserly, who had one year left on his contract. “I spent a lot of time talking about this with my family. We came to the same conclusion -- the time was right to move on.”

He plans to send a letter to the league office today, officially applying to become the NFL’s director of football operations.

McNair said he had no replacement candidates in mind.

New Orleans and Miami swapped linebackers in a trade that sent Courtney Watson, 25, to the Dolphins and Eddie Moore, 25, to the Saints.... The Atlanta Falcons re-signed wide receiver and return specialist Jerome Pathon, 30.

TENNIS

Federer, Nadal Keep Winning

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the top two seeded players, advanced with straight-set victories over Italians in the second round of the Rome Masters.

Federer was tested by wild card Potito Starace before winning, 6-3, 7-6 (2), and defending champion Nadal beat Filippo Volandri, 6-1, 6-2, for his 49th straight win on clay.

Fifth-seeded Andy Roddick overcame Marcos Baghdatis, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. In January, Baghdatis upset Roddick in the fourth round of the Australian Open.

Fourth-seeded David Nalbandian beat Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-2, 6-4, and Gael Monfils won, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, over 16th-seeded Robby Ginepri.

Marat Safin led, 6-0, 4-1, before losing to Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, 0-6, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (3).

Top-ranked Amelie Mauresmo returned from a month off to beat Vera Dushevina, 6-1, 6-2, in 59 minutes in the second round of the German Open in Berlin.

Second-seeded Nadia Petrova beat Vera Zvonareva, 6-1, 7-6 (3), improving to 11-0 on clay this year. Third-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne beat Mara Santangelo, 6-4, 6-1, improving to 21-1 in a tournament she has won three times. Martina Hingis beat Julia Schruff, 6-4, 6-3.

Sixth-seeded Meghann Shaughnessy lost, 7-5, 6-4, to Maria Elena Camerin in the third round of the Prague Open in the Czech Republic.

Three-time champion Gustavo Kuerten will skip the French Open to get his surgically repaired right hip in shape. Igor Andreev, the last player to beat Nadal on clay, withdrew because of a knee injury.

COLLEGE TENNIS

USC Women Pursue Eighth NCAA Title

The USC women’s tennis team, looking to win its eighth national title but its first since 1985, plays host to one of 16 four-team regionals this weekend as the NCAA championships get underway.

The third-seeded Trojans (17-3) will meet Army (15-12) in a first-round match at 2 p.m. Friday, preceded by a match between New Mexico (14-8) and Long Beach State (21-4) at 11 a.m. The winners will meet at 2 p.m. Saturday at USC.

Regional winners advance to Stanford, where, on May 18-23, men’s and women’s team championships will be contested for the first time at the same site.

The 10th-seeded UCLA men (17-5), who won the 2005 national title, play host to one of the men’s regionals. The Bruins will meet Stony Brook (14-6) at 1 p.m. Saturday after a 10 a.m. match between Arizona (12-9) and Colorado (19-8). The winners play Sunday at 1 p.m. at UCLA.

Pepperdine will play host to men’s and women’s regionals. The 13th-seeded Pepperdine women (20-3) will play Wichita State (17-7) at noon Friday followed by a match between UCLA (13-6) and San Diego State (16-8) at 3 p.m. The winners play at 3 p.m. Saturday.

The second-seeded Pepperdine men (30-2) will play Montana State (15-11) at 9 a.m. Saturday. San Diego (15-6) plays Texas Christian (17-9) at 1 p.m. Saturday, with the winners playing at 1 p.m. Sunday.

SOCCER

Sevilla Earns the UEFA Cup

Spain’s Sevilla won its first European trophy, beating Middlesbrough, 4-0, in the UEFA Cup final behind two goals by Enzo Maresca in Eindhoven, Netherlands.

Juventus chairman Antonio Giraudo is being investigated for false bookkeeping, Italian news agencies reported, adding to the team’s legal problems that include allegations that general director Luciano Moggi arranged to have certain referees assigned to his team’s games.

TRACK AND FIELD

Greene Sidelined by Foot Injury

Former world-record holder Maurice Greene withdrew from Saturday’s 100 meters in Veracruz, Mexico, because of a foot problem, his manager said.

World and Olympic champion Justin Gatlin said he will try to break the 100-meter world record at Friday’s IAAF Super Tour meet in Doha, Oatar. Jamaica’s Asafa Powell holds the world mark of 9.77 seconds.

MISCELLANY

Switzerland Rallies to a Tie With Sweden

Raffaele Sannitz scored on a close-range backhander with 3:16 left to give Switzerland a 4-4 tie with Olympic champion Sweden in their first-round finale in the world hockey championships in Riga, Latvia.

The second round begins today, with Canada meeting Latvia and Russia playing Ukraine.

Junior point guard Will Blalock signed with agent Charles Bonsignore, officially ending his career at Iowa State as he pursues an NBA contract.