UNLV’s Kruger undergoes heart bypass surgery

Nevada Las Vegas basketball Coach Lon Kruger underwent open-heart surgery Thursday in which six bypasses were performed, the school said.

Kruger, 54, is recovering at a Las Vegas-area hospital after the four-hour operation, UNLV said in a statement on its website. He underwent a routine stress test last week and additional tests earlier this week revealed six blockages, the school said.

“The surgery was very successful, Lon is doing well and we are looking forward to his full recovery,” Kruger’s wife, Barb, said in the school’s statement.

Kruger may be released from the hospital as early as next week and he fully anticipates rejoining the team before the season, the school said.

PRO FOOTBALL

Moss misses workouts with apparent leg injury

Randy Moss missed both practices, one day after the New England Patriots receiver appeared to injure his left leg during a passing drill.

“Randy’s good,” Coach Bill Belichick said without specifying the injury. “Day to day.”

New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan has received persistent text messages from defensive line coach Mike Waufle trying to nudge him away from retirement.

“The thing that I told him is that we have a good team, and I feel he is too young to retire,” said Waufle, who had no news on Strahan’s weeklong absence.

Denver Broncos linebacker Warrick Holdman was hospitalized because of a spinal cord concussion after a collision with a teammate at training camp.

Holdman was carted off the field strapped to a backboard and taken to a hospital, where he was being kept overnight for observation, team spokesman Jim Saccomano said.

Holdman temporarily lost feeling in his extremities but had movement in his arms and legs by the time he was removed.

The Carolina Panthers acquired safety Chris Harris from the Chicago Bears for a fifth-round draft pick. . . . Receiver Terrell Owens, who missed both workouts Wednesday to rest a sore hamstring, returned to practice with the Dallas Cowboys. . . . Houston Texans defensive end Mario Williams missed practice because of a tight hamstring, but he and Coach Gary Kubiak said it wasn’t serious.

TENNIS

Roddick gets extended in victory over Stepanek

Top-seeded Andy Roddick held off Radek Stepanek, 6-3, 1-6, 7-5, earning a quarterfinals spot in the Legg Mason Tennis Classic at Washington.

Gael Monfils outlasted Michael Berrer, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3. Seventh-seeded Ivo Karlovic also advanced, beating Vince Spadea, 6-2, 6-4.

Martin Vassallo Arguello reached the quarterfinals of the Prokom Open after top-seeded defending champion Nikolay Davydenko retired because of a left foot injury while trailing, 2-6, 6-3, 2-1, at Sopot, Poland.

Dominika Cibulkova upset top-seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-3, to reach the quarterfinals of the Nordic Light Open at Stockholm.

CYCLING

Time trial champion fails a doping test

Italian time trial champion Luca Ascani tested positive for EPO and was suspended by his country’s Olympic committee pending a hearing.

He tested positive for the banned blood-boosting hormone at the Italian national championships on June 26, when he won the time trial, the Italian Olympic Committee said. The 24-year-old rider faces a two-year ban if found guilty of doping.

A man has been arrested in Copenhagen on suspicion he hacked into Danish cyclist and one-time Tour de France leader Michael Rasmussen’s e-mails and tried to sell them to a newspaper, police said.

The 30-year-old man, unnamed because of Danish privacy rules, reportedly claimed the e-mails contained information about Rasmussen’s whereabouts before the Tour. Rasmussen was kicked out of the Tour by his Rabobank team -- while leading the race -- for allegedly lying about his whereabouts to evade drug testers.

Stuttgart, Germany, officials backed off threats to pull out as host of September’s world road cycling championships after successfully demanding more doping controls.

MISCELLANY

Beckham likely to sit out MLS debut

David Beckham’s left-ankle injury probably will cause him to miss his scheduled Major League Soccer debut when the Galaxy plays at Toronto FC on Sunday night.

Beckham will travel to Toronto but probably won’t play.

“The chances are probably slim,” Galaxy Coach Frank Yallop said. “It’d be tough to put him into the lineup with what he’s been doing. He may have some part in the game, but we’ll see.”

A Northern Colorado punter attacked by a knife-wielding man last Sept. 11 testified in Greeley, Colo., that he once considered sharing his apartment with the teammate accused in his case.

Police and prosecutors allege Mitch Cozad, the backup punter at the time, stabbed Rafael Mendoza in his kicking leg in a bid to get the starter’s job. Cozad is on trial on charges of attempted first-degree murder and second-degree assault.

Tom House joined the USC baseball team as an assistant coach, Coach Chad Kreuter announced. House played at USC in 1967 and caught Hank Aaron’s 715th homer in the Atlanta Braves’ bullpen in 1974.

The NCAA should focus on educating schools and pregnant athletes receiving scholarships about their rights, not create new rules, said Janet Kittell, the outgoing head of the NCAA’s committee on women’s athletics.

The issue is being discussed after athletes at Clemson and Memphis said they had to sign documents stating they could lose their scholarships if they became pregnant. One Clemson athlete told ESPN she had an abortion to stay in school.