Carter reportedly set for $61.8-million deal

Vince Carter and the New Jersey Nets agreed Sunday to a four-year contract that guarantees the All-Star about $61.8 million, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because under league rules the deal cannot be announced until after July 10.

The Nets announced last week that the 30-year-old swingman had opted out of the final year of a contract that would have paid him $16.3 million next season.

Gary Sussman, a team spokesman, did not return a message left Sunday. The Star-Ledger of Newark reported on its website that the deal guarantees Carter $61.8 million over four seasons, with the team holding an option for a fifth year.

Kurt Schoeppler, Carter’s agent, did not return calls.

Carter averaged team highs of 25.2 points in the regular season and 22.3 for the postseason. However, he shot less than 40% during the playoffs and made several costly turnovers.

Free-agent forward Jason Kapono left the Miami Heat for a four-year deal believed to be worth $24 million with the Toronto Raptors, according to ESPN.com.

Kapono’s agent, Bob Myers, confirmed the deal.

Kapono, 26, drafted in the second round by Cleveland from UCLA in 2003, led the NBA in three-point percentage (51.4%) and averaged a career-high 10.9 points last season.

MISCELLANY

USOC steps up anti-doping fight

The U.S. Olympic Committee will take a more aggressive approach with its anti-doping strategy, putting more emphasis on testing athletes in high-risk sports such as track and cycling, increasing unannounced testing and spending more on research.

Not satisfied with the progress in the increasingly high-profile fight against doping, the USOC signed a new agreement with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency through 2010 that gives the USOC a more active role in expanding research.

Even before the new contract, details of which will be made public today, the USOC and USADA had what is considered the most extensive anti-doping system in American sports.

Champion marathoner Alberto Salazar remained hospitalized in serious condition after collapsing Saturday at the Nike campus in the Portland, Ore., area.

Doctors were conducting additional tests to learn the cause of the 48-year-old runner’s “heart event,” said Lisa Helderop, a spokeswoman at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center. “Basically nothing has changed.”

Salazar collapsed while coaching distance runners at the campus, Nike spokesman Bob Applegate said.

He was awake and alert upon arrival at the hospital, and a stent was inserted to open an artery.

The Peking University gymnasium, under construction to host the table tennis tournament at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, caught fire early this morning, state media reported.

Xinhua News Agency said there were no casualties. Construction was scheduled for completion next month.

The Pacific island chain of Tuvalu, with a population of 12,000, is set to become the newest Olympic member when the International Olympic Committee executive board agreed to grant recognition to the former Ellice Islands.

The full IOC general assembly is expected to ratify the move this week.