Gaudio is new basketball coach at Wake Forest

Wake Forest chose Dino Gaudio to succeed the late Skip Prosser on Wednesday, entrusting the Demon Deacons’ program to the veteran coach’s longtime top assistant.

Athletic Director Ron Wellman introduced Gaudio as the new coach during a news conference. Gaudio, who had been Wake Forest’s associate head coach since 2002, received a five-year contract.

Gaudio, 50, was Prosser’s right-hand man for nearly three decades and returns to head coaching for the first time since leaving Loyola of Maryland in 2000.

Prosser died July 26 of an apparent heart attack at 56.

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Billy Taylor was introduced as Ball State’s coach, giving him about three months to prepare while the program deals with possible NCAA violations and claims of a “racially hostile work environment” by former coach Ronny Thompson.

Taylor was 81-69 in five seasons at Lehigh.

PRO BASKETBALL

Miller says Celtics have been in touch

The Boston Celtics have spoken with future Hall of Fame guard Reggie Miller, 42, about coming out of retirement to help the team in its push for an unprecedented 17th NBA title.

“I’ve had limited discussions with Celtics management about their roster and a potential role for me. At this time, I’m enjoying my role as an analyst with TNT,” Miller said.

CYCLING

Tour de France winner isn’t welcome at event

Even though Tour de France champion Alberto Contador wasn’t likely to enter, organizers of an upcoming race have said he is not welcome in their event.

The chief organizer of the Pro-Tour’s Cyclassics event Aug. 19 in Hamburg, Germany, said that the race doesn’t want Contador because he has been mentioned in connection with the Spanish blood-doping scandal known as Operation Puerto.

“Our basic position is that we don’t want any rider from the Fuentes list,” Frank Bertling said.

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Another Kazakh rider from the Astana cycling team has tested positive for blood doping.

Andrej Kashechkin tested positive for a banned blood transfusion during an unannounced check Aug. 1 in Belek, Turkey, the team said.

JURISPRUDENCE

Plea deals are offered to NHL players

Carolina Hurricanes star Eric Staal and his brother Jordan Staal of the Pittsburgh Penguins have been offered plea deals stemming from their arrests at Eric Staal’s bachelor party in Minnesota last month.

Under terms of the deal, the Staals would plead guilty to a petty misdemeanor for disorderly conduct.

Charges of obstructing the legal process are to be dropped against both players.

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Former Indiana men’s basketball coach Bob Knight isn’t entitled to collect insurance to recoup money he paid to settle a lawsuit stemming from his 1999 confrontation with a former assistant at Indiana University, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled.

Knight, now the coach at Texas Tech, settled with Ron Felling in 2002 by paying him $25,000 and admitting that he had shoved Felling in anger.

MISCELLANY

Gato Del Sol, winner of 1982 Derby, dies

Gato Del Sol, the winner of the 1982 Kentucky Derby and the second-oldest living Derby winner, died at 28 in Paris, Ky.

The horse was euthanized because of age-related infirmities.

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Tasha’s Miracle won the $150,000 Sorrento Stakes by 3 1/4 lengths over Set Play at Del Mar.

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Cuban leader Fidel Castro said he might bar Cuban boxers from competing in the world championships in Chicago and other qualifying events leading to next year’s Beijing Olympics to prevent possible defections.

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European soccer’s governing body will investigate reports of alleged racist taunting of American midfielder DaMarcus Beasley of Glasgow Rangers by fans in Montenegro during a Champions League qualifier.

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Peter Nowak will coach the U.S. under-23 men’s soccer team. Nowak, 43, an assistant coach for the full national team since December, takes over for Bob Bradley, the coach of the full team.

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Venus Williams withdrew from the Rogers Cup, a tennis tournament in Montreal still trying to recover from a rash of withdrawals last year.

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Driver Jeremy Mayfield will not return to Bill Davis Racing next season, the team said.