Doug Collins set to become 76ers’ coach

The Philadelphia 76ers agreed to terms with TV analyst Doug Collins to become their new coach, two people familiar with the negotiations told the Associated Press.

The sources spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity because the announcement had not been made public. One of them said the official announcement probably will come Friday. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Collins will receive a four-year contract.

Collins is 332-287 in coaching stints with Chicago, Detroit and Washington. The 76ers made him the No. 1 overall pick in the 1973 draft, and he played eight seasons with the team.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

USC’s title may be in jeopardy

USC’s 2004 Bowl Championship Series title could be in jeopardy if the NCAA rules Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush retroactively ineligible and sanctions the school, according to a report.

USA Today reported that the BCS in 2007 adopted a policy “calling for teams’ BCS appearances and BCS titles to be vacated when major rules violations subsequently are discovered and the institutions are sanctioned by the NCAA.”

Bush was at the center of a four-year investigation of USC’s athletic program. If the NCAA deems that USC must vacate wins in games in which Bush participated, the BCS could act to strip the Trojans of a title won with a 55-19 rout of Oklahoma.

USC also won the 2004 Associated Press title. At the time, the AP poll was part of the BCS formula. The AP result would not necessarily be changed based on what the BCS might do.

— Gary Klein

GOLF

Day, Durant open with 66s

Australia’s Jason Day birdied four of his first six holes on his way to a four-under-par 66 and a share of the first-round lead when play at the Byron Nelson Championship was suspended late Thursday at Irving, Texas.

The threatening skies never actually drenched the TPC Four Seasons course, but the radar looked so scary that there was a delay of 3 hours 44 minutes.

Joe Durant finished with an eagle and a birdie and matched Day’s 66. Steve Elkington, Hunter Mahan and Jarrod Lyle were still on the course with scores of four under.

Michelle Wie survived a tight opening match against Stacy Prammanasudh in the Sybase Match Play Championship at Gladstone, N.J., taking the lead with a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-three 16th and winning 2-up with a conceded birdie on 18.

The eighth-seeded Wie will face Hee Young Park, a 19-hole winner over Ji Young Oh, in the second round at Hamilton Farm on Friday.

Purdue shot an eight-under 280 and took the lead after three rounds of the NCAA women’s golf championships at Wilmington, N.C.

The Boilermakers, who trailed by eight shots after 36 holes, took a seven-stroke lead on USC, the leader for the first two rounds. Purdue’s total through three rounds is six-under 858.

The final round is Friday at the 6,368-yard Pete Dye Course.

ETC.

Racing board backs Oak Tree

The California Horse Racing Board passed a motion reaffirming that the dates awarded for thoroughbred racing this fall in Southern California belong to the Oak Tree Racing Assn., not Santa Anita.

Last week, Santa Anita voided a lease with Oak Tree, which has run its fall meeting at the Arcadia track since 1969. Officials from Oak Tree and Santa Anita are scheduled to discuss the issue June 4. Oak Tree is free to find another track if it cannot reach agreement with Santa Anita. Hollywood Park and Del Mar have offered to hold the meeting.

Also, it was announced that George Haines has been named president of Santa Anita, replacing Ron Charles, who resigned. Haines, 55, the track’s general manager, has worked for Santa Anita since he was 18 and started in the money room.

— Eric Sondheimer

Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki retired because of an injured ankle in the Warsaw Open quarterfinals, jeopardizing her play at the French Open.

Wozniacki, No. 3 in the world, lost the first set, 6-3, to fifth-seeded Zheng Jie before retiring.

Vania King reached the semifinals of the Strasbourg International in France with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Anastasia Rodionova.