Cleveland’s Mike Brown is NBA’s coach of the year

Mike Brown, who has taken Cleveland to the postseason in each of his four seasons, on Monday was selected the NBA coach of the year in a vote of sportswriters and broadcasters.

Brown led the Cavaliers to a 66-16 regular-season record, a Central Division title and the No. 1 overall seeding in the playoffs.

With LeBron James and the other Cavaliers standing behind him and his coaching staff seated a few feet away, Brown accepted the Red Auerbach Trophy.

“If they did not want me to coach them, I wouldn’t be able to coach them,” he said. “I look at this as a partnership. Yes, my name is on this, but this is the ultimate team award from a coaching standpoint.”

Brown received 55 first-place votes and earned 355 points. Houston’s Rick Adelman was second with 151 points, one point ahead of Orlando’s Stan Van Gundy.

Brown joins Bill Fitch in 1976 as the only Cleveland coaches to win the award.

Orlando center Dwight Howard said he will have his eyes examined after he was inadvertently scratched by center Samuel Dalembert in Philadelphia’s 100-98 playoff win over the Magic on Sunday.

Howard said he will play Wednesday in Game 2 of the series with the 76ers.

Danny Ainge, the Boston Celtics’ general manager, is out of the hospital after having a minor heart attack Thursday.

Ainge, 50, attended the team’s morning workout one day after being released from a hospital. He didn’t speak to reporters.

HIGH SCHOOLS

Rule change gets preliminary OK

The City Section Interscholastic Athletic Committee gave preliminary approval to mandating overtime in all football games in which regulation play ends in a tie.

Last season, the City Section title game between San Pedro and Narbonne ended in a 21-21 tie. There was no procedure for having overtime.

The rule change would require putting the ball at the 25-yard line and giving schools four plays to score unless they pick up a first down.

The IAC is expected to give final approval in May.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Senior left-hander Patrick Schuster (7-0) of Mitchell High in New Port Richey, Fla., threw his fourth consecutive no-hitter, beating Pasco, 5-0. He has 60 strikeouts in the four games.

The record for consecutive no-hitters in high school baseball is six.

JURISPRUDENCE

Ski jumpers seek ruling in court

Fifteen international female ski jumpers appeared in a court in Vancouver, Canada, seeking a ruling that women be allowed to compete in the event at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Three men’s ski jumping events are planned at the Games, but none are scheduled for women.

The women say their exclusion by the International Olympic Committee is a violation of Canadian human rights laws.

The IOC says women’s ski jumping simply doesn’t have enough international competitions to merit inclusion.

Purdue point guard Lewis Jackson will have to complete community service and spend a year under court supervision after pleading guilty in Piatt County, Ill., to illegal alcohol consumption and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Jackson was arrested after being stopped April 12 for speeding on Interstate 72 near his hometown of Decatur, Ill.

GOLF

Corning Classic to end in May

The LPGA Corning Classic, the longest-running event on the ladies tour with the same title sponsor and played at the same venue in Corning, N.Y., since its inception in 1979, will end in May.

Tournament President Jack Benjamin said the tournament had an option for 2010 but added that the loss of more than $500,000 in sponsorship revenue made it economically unfeasible to sustain it beyond this year.

ETC.

Stanford coach ties Dedeaux

Stanford baseball coach Mark Marquess won his 1,342nd game to tie former USC coach Rod Dedeaux for the eighth-most ever.

Marquess got the milestone win with an 11-1 victory against Santa Clara. He has a 1,342-685-7 record in 33 seasons with the Cardinal.

Kings forwards Alexander Frolov and Michal Handzus will represent their native countries at the 2009 IIHF World Championship tournament, the Kings announced.

Handzus will play for Slovakia, and Frolov will play for Russia at the tournament that starts Friday and runs through May 10 in Switzerland.

Freshman guard Tyreke Evans, who led Memphis in scoring with 17.1 points per game, has made himself available for the NBA draft.