Defending champion Roddick is ousted in Ohio

David Ferrer ousted defending champion Andy Roddick, 7-6 (4), 6-4, Thursday at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, which has been unkind to seeded players this week.

The third-seeded Roddick was the 11th seeded player to fall at Mason, Ohio. No. 2 Rafael Nadal retired on Wednesday because of cramps in his wrist and arm, and No. 4 Novak Djokovic lost to Carlos Moya, who stayed alive Thursday by beating Juan Martin Del Potro, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, in a match in 110-degree heat on center court.

Top-seeded Roger Federer survived a scare from Marcos Baghdatis to reach the quarterfinals. Federer beat Baghdatis, 7-6 (5), 7-5. Also Thursday night, ninth-seeded James Blake beat Juan Carlos Ferrero, 6-1, 6-4, and fifth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko defeated 10th-seeded Tomas Berdych, 6-3, 6-2.

Earlier, Lleyton Hewitt topped Jurgen Melzer, 6-3, 6-3; Nicolas Almagro defeated Jarkko Nieminen, 6-2, 6-2; and Sam Querry downed Juan Monaco, 6-3, 7-5.

Roddick won the event in 2003 and 2006. He reached the quarterfinals in 2002, semifinals in 2004 and finals in 2005.

Top-seeded Justine Henin advanced to the quarterfinals in the Rogers Cup at Toronto with a 7-5, 6-2 win against Peng Shuai.

The top-ranked Henin improved to 40-4 on the season. She broke her 58th-ranked opponent at 5-5 and held serve to win the first set.

Henin looked more comfortable in the second set after adjusting to the swirling winds on the Rexall Centre stadium court.

Henin will face sixth-seeded Nadia Petrova, who defeated Patty Schnyder, 6-4, 6-1.

Third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Meghann Shaughnessy, 6-3, 6-2; Tatiana Golovin moved into the final eight with a 6-2, 6-0 rout of Francesca Schiavone; and Virginie Razzano downed 10th-seeded Shahar Peer, 6-4, 6-3.

Yan Zi, ranked 169th, scored another upset against Eleni Danilidou, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (5). She ousted defending champion Ana Ivanovic on Wednesday.

PRO BASKETBALL

Grizzlies hire former UCLA coach Bartow

Gene Bartow, former coach at Memphis State and UCLA, was hired as president of Hoops LP, the company that operates the Memphis Grizzlies and their arena, the FedExForum.

Bartow was chosen NCAA coach of the year in 1973 after leading the Tigers to the NCAA finals against powerhouse UCLA. Memphis State is now called the University of Memphis.

After a one-season stint at Illinois, Bartow succeeded John Wooden at UCLA, going 52-9 in two seasons and leading the Bruins to the Final Four in 1976.

The Clippers signed their 2006 second-round draft pick Guillermo Diaz. A native of Puerto Rico who played three seasons at the University of Miami, Diaz was playing in Europe last winter before coming back to participate on the Clippers’ summer league team.

A 6-foot-2 point guard, Diaz averaged 10.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in five games during the summer league in Las Vegas.

-- Jaime Cárdenas

The Washington Wizards traded the rights to Spanish guard Juan Carlos Navarro to Memphis for a future first-round draft pick. . . . The Detroit Pistons signed free-agent guard/forward Jarvis Hayes, who played in 81 games last season for the Washington Wizards, averaging 7.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 20.1 minutes. . . . The San Antonio Spurs signed free-agent swingman Ime Udoka, who averaged 8.4 points and 3.7 rebounds with the Portland Trail Blazers last season. . . . Free-agent guard Robert Hite, who played in 12 games for the Miami Heat last season, signed with the New Jersey Nets.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

USC, UC Irvine to play in first Anaheim Classic

O.J. Mayo will be getting some early season national exposure when USC and seven other teams play in the new Anaheim Classic over Thanksgiving weekend.

Mayo, one of the nation’s most highly touted recruits, will be three games into his college basketball career when the Trojans play San Diego on Thanksgiving night on ESPN2.

Three hours earlier, USC’s football team will play at Arizona State in a game shown on ESPN.

UC Irvine also is in the tournament and will play Mississippi State on Thanksgiving.

The eight teams will play three games each from Nov. 22-25, taking Nov. 24 off to visit Disneyland.

The other first-day matchups are: Southern Illinois vs. Tennessee-Chattanooga and Miami of Ohio against Southern Alabama.

Games will be played at the 7,500-seat Anaheim Convention Center, which has played host to the Big West tournament for seven years.

MISCELLANY

Wrestling officials meet with prosecutors

Officials from World Wrestling Entertainment met this week in Albany with New York prosecutors investigating illegal steroid sales.

Jennifer McIntosh, WWE vice president, confirmed the Tuesday meeting but declined to comment on what was discussed. Calls to Albany County District Attorney P. David Soares’ office were not immediately returned.

The day before the meeting, former pro wrestler Brian “Crush” Adams, 44, was found dead of undetermined causes in his Florida home.

Authorities said tissue and toxicology tests are due in six to eight weeks.

FIFA is expanding its system for monitoring sports betting to prevent match-fixing scandals in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.

Soccer’s world governing body said it had set up an independent company in Zurich, Switzerland -- called Early Warning System -- to monitor betting patterns when World Cup qualifying begins later this year.

The Puerto Rican winter baseball league, where the likes of Roberto Clemente, Ivan Rodriguez and Juan Gonzalez once starred, canceled its upcoming season because of financial problems. The league was supposed to start its 70th season in three months.

The New Jersey Devils kept a major piece of their defense together, signing Paul Martin to a three-year, $11.5-million contract.

Tennessee’s Pat Summitt, the winningest basketball coach in NCAA history, filed for divorce. She and husband R.B Summitt will have been married 27 years on Aug. 23.