Toledo Player Collapses, Dies

Toledo basketball player Haris Charalambous died Monday after collapsing during conditioning practice at Toledo, Ohio.

Trainers performed CPR on Charalambous until paramedics arrived. The 21-year-old backup center was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, university spokesman Lawrence Burns said.

The cause of death was not immediately known.

“The players are devastated,” Burns said. “This has been a shock to our entire athletic program and university.”

Charalambous, a junior from Manchester, England, was expected to come off the bench this season. He played 23 games last season, averaging less than a point per game.

The workout had just started and the players were doing some light running when Charalambous collapsed on the court.

Burns said he didn’t know if Charalambous showed any signs of distress. He also did not know if the player had any past health problems.

“We won’t speculate until the autopsy is completed,” he said.

Coach Stan Joplin, who was recruiting in Arizona on Monday, cut short his trip to return to the school. Players met with assistant coaches after Charalambous was pronounced dead.

TENNIS

Ferrer, Olivier Rochus Advance at Stockholm

Fourth-seeded David Ferrer defeated Andreas Seppi, 6-1, 6-4, in the first round of the Stockholm Open at Sweden.

Sixth-seeded Olivier Rochus and Paradorn Srichaphan also advanced. Rochus topped Vince Spadea, 6-3, 6-4, and Srichaphan downed Mardy Fish, 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-1.

Robin Soderling cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 win over Christophe Rochus, and Frank Dancevic advanced to the second round by beating Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 6-4, 6-1.

Nicole Vaidisova beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 6-3, 6-3, to reach the second round at the Kremlin Cup at Moscow.

Shahar Peer defeated Elena Bovina, 6-0, 6-2, and Elena Likhovtseva won 11 consecutive games to eliminate Maria Elena Camerin, 6-0, 6-1.

The top four seeded players -- Amelie Mauresmo, Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Elena Dementieva -- have byes in the first round.

In men’s matches, Jan Hernych defeated fifth-seeded Filippo Volandri, 6-1, 6-4, and Teimuraz Gabashvili beat Gilles Muller, 7-6 (3), 6-3.

Top-seeded Marion Bartoli withdrew from the Bangkok Open at Thailand after heavy rains washed out the first day of competition.

PRO BASKETBALL

Bucks’ Bogut Sidelined Because of Sprained Leg

Milwaukee Bucks center Andrew Bogut will probably sit out the beginning of the season because of a lower left leg sprain that is expected to sideline him for at least six weeks.

Bogut was helped off the court during a team scrimmage last Saturday after banging his leg into Steve Blake’s knee.

Bucks Coach Terry Stotts initially said the injury was not serious.

But Bogut, the No. 1 pick in last year’s NBA draft, was evaluated Sunday by team doctor John Heinrich and will undergo rehabilitation for the injury.

Indiana forward Jermaine O’Neal expects to sit out the Pacers’ exhibition opener against New Jersey on Wednesday because of a lawsuit stemming from the brawl with Detroit Pistons fans two years ago. O’Neal could testify today or Wednesday.

Former Pacers star Reggie Miller said he doesn’t understand why Stephen Jackson’s teammates are standing by the guard him after a violent incident outside an Indianapolis strip club.

Police said Jackson fired a gun in the air in apparent self-defense early Friday after he was slugged in the mouth and struck by a car that sent him tumbling onto the hood.

Miller, who played 18 years for the Pacers, spoke out about the incident on Dan Patrick’s ESPN Radio show.

“You shouldn’t stand behind a player that is someone slapping you guys in the face during the middle of training camp being out at a strip club at 3 o’clock in the morning shooting it up like it’s the wild, wild West,” he said.

The Portland Trail Blazers removed the interim tag from General Manager Steve Patterson’s title. Patterson also has been team president since 2003.

Patterson took over the general manager duties after John Nash was fired in late May.

MISCELLANY

Cyclist Gobbi in a Coma After Race Accident

Italian cyclist Michele Gobbi was in a coma with severe head injuries after a fall in the GP Beghelli race at Bologna, Italy.

Blood flowed from Gobbi’s head and his helmet was split in two after the accident in Saturday’s race. He was airlifted to a Bologna hospital.

Gobbi’s Milram team said in a statement that he was “in stable condition.”

The 29-year-old Gobbi has four victories in his pro career.

Wyoming hired Tom Burman as its new athletic director.

Burman, 40, received his undergraduate degree from Wyoming and spent five years in the school’s athletics department.

He was Portland State’s athletic director for more than five years before returning to Laramie earlier this year to raise money for the UW Foundation.

Suspended NFL star Ricky Williams ran for 71 yards in seven carries to help the Toronto Argonauts wrap up a Canadian Football League playoff spot with a 28-23 victory over the Edmonton Eskimos at Toronto.

Stroke-play medalist Cecilia Mourgue D’Algue and defending champion Diane Lang won first-round matches in the USGA Senior Women’s Amateur at Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Ga.

PASSINGS

U.S. Soccer Assistant Coach Myernick Dies

Glenn Myernick, an assistant coach for the U.S. soccer team and a former coach of Major League Soccer’s Colorado Rapids, died after suffering a heart attack last week. He was 51.

Myernick collapsed Thursday after his regular morning jog and never regained consciousness, said Rapids spokesman Jurgen Mainka.