Jury awards coach $5.85 million

A former Fresno State volleyball coach was awarded $5.85 million Monday by a jury in Fresno that ruled the school discriminated against her for speaking up on behalf of female athletes.

Lindy Vivas was fired in 2004, two years after coaching her team to its best season in history. University officials said Vivas was let go because she did not meet performance goals and ran a team that often played in empty arenas.

The 50-year-old coach sued, saying her contract wasn’t renewed because she advocated for equal treatment of female athletes and access to facilities on the campus.

“The jury saw exactly what was happening,” Vivas said. “They were targeting me, but what keeps getting lost in all this was there were 14 student-athletes who were caught in the crossfire.”

University officials said they feared publicity had influenced the outcome of the trial and planned to appeal the case “on a variety of grounds.”

“We’re extremely disappointed that the jury did not see that the university’s actions in this matter were based solely on Ms. Vivas’ job performance and her unwillingness to improve the volleyball program,” the university said in a statement.

A federal jury in Washington awarded $260,000 to one of two men who sued Allen Iverson of the Denver Nuggets after they said they were beaten by his entourage at a Washington nightclub in 2005.

The jury’s decision against Iverson and his bodyguard, Jason Kane, covers bar patron Marlin Godfrey’s medical bills and pain and suffering. But the jury chose not to award punitive damages.

Godfrey and another patron, David Anthony Kittrell, sued Iverson for $20 million, saying they were beaten by his entourage in July 2005. The attacks, they said, followed their refusal to vacate the Eyebar club’s VIP section for Iverson.

TENNIS

Federer-Nadal match

is a big draw on TV

NBC earned a 3.2 overnight Nielsen rating and a 9 share for its coverage of Roger Federer’s five-set victory over Rafael Nadal in Sunday’s Wimbledon men’s final.

That’s a 10.3% increase over the 2.9/8 for last year’s men’s final between the same two players and the highest since the 2004 final between Federer and Andy Roddick, which got a 3.6/10.

In Los Angeles, Sunday’s men’s final got a 2.8/10. West Palm Beach, Fla., was the highest-rated market with a 7.0/17.

Saturday’s coverage of the men’s semifinals and women’s final between Venus Williams and Marion Bartoli earned a 2.8/8, up 27.3% from a 2.2/7 for the Amelie Mauresmo-Justine Henin final last year. In L.A., the Saturday rating was a 2.4/9.

-- Larry Stewart

Second-seeded Vince Spadea beat Justin Gimelstob, 6-4, 6-3, in the first round of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships at Newport, R.I.... Luis Horna beat defending champion and top-seeded Tommy Robredo, 6-1, 1-6, 6-1, in the first round of the Swedish Open at Bastad.... Kristof Vliegen beat Gaston Gaudio, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-4, in the first round of the Swiss Open at Gstaad.

HOCKEY

Selanne dismisses

report about retiring

Ducks star Teemu Selanne dismissed a report in a Finnish newspaper that he will retire if Scott Niedermayer does not play again with the team.

According to Ilta Sanomat, Finland’s second-largest newspaper, Selanne told people close to him that he will not return if Niedermayer retires because the Stanley Cup champions won’t be as good without the defenseman and team captain, even though they signed Mathieu Schneider as a possible replacement.

Through a club spokesman, Selanne said he is not close to making a decision on whether to play for the Ducks in 2007-08 and denied making those comments. He added that he was not contacted for the story.

-- Eric Stephens

Vancouver signed defenseman Kevin Bieksa to a $11.25-million, three-year contract extension. Bieksa led Canucks defensemen with 30 assists and 42 points last season.... Dallas signed free-agent winger Todd Fedoruk to a one-year, $875,000 contract. He started last season with the Ducks before being traded to Philadelphia.

PRO FOOTBALL

Draft pick Jackson

signs with Rams

Defensive tackle Keith Jackson, son of the former star tight end by the same name, signed a three-year contract with the St. Louis Rams after being selected by the team in the seventh round of the NFL draft in April.

Philadelphia signed defensive tackle Mauricio Lopez, a 27-year-old Mexico City native who spent three seasons in NFL Europe and who played three years with the Mexican national team.

PRO BASKETBALL

Heat’s Walker held

at gunpoint in robbery

Miami Heat forward Antoine Walker’s home in Chicago was robbed, the player’s agent said.

Police and witnesses said two offenders held Walker and at least one other person at gunpoint during the robbery.

Said Walker’s agent, Mark Bartelstein: “He’s OK. There was a robbery. It’s a scary thing. It’s a terrible thing. He’s trying to get himself back together.”

The Atlanta Hawks signed first-round draft picks Al Horford from Florida and Acie Law from Texas A&M; to multiyear contracts.... First-round draft pick Sean Williams, a 6-foot-10 forward from Boston College, has signed with the New Jersey Nets.... After opting out of his contract, swingman Devean George has agreed to a roughly $2.4-million, one-year deal to return to the Dallas Mavericks.

SOCCER

Schuster is hired

to coach Real Madrid

Bernd Schuster was introduced as coach of Real Madrid, taking over for Fabio Capello, who was fired June 28.

Schuster, a former Germany defender, had been the coach of Madrid-based Getafe since 2005.