Nets owner calls off effort to trade for Carmelo Anthony

The megadeal to bring Carmelo Anthony to the New Jersey Nets is dead.

Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov told the team to end trade talks with the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday, saying he was unhappy with how negotiations played out in public, that they took too long, got too expensive and cost the team games.

The Russian billionaire also canceled a planned meeting with Anthony on Thursday and said there was no chance the trade would be resurrected.

“There comes a time when the price is simply too expensive,” Prokhorov said in a news conference before the Nets’ game against Utah. “I have instructed our team to walk away from the deal.”

New Jersey had offered to ship six players and at least two first-round draft picks to Denver in a three-team deal that would have sent Anthony to the Nets along with former Pistons teammates Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton.

Prokhorov decided Tuesday to end talks with the Nuggets, and General Manager Billy King said he informed them via a text message as Prokhorov was speaking Wednesday.

“Really, I am not happy with the way this deal has gone until now,” Prokhorov said. “It has taken too long … and I believe it has cost us several games.”

The Nets have lost six straight, including all four on a just-completed West Coast trip that ended at Golden State on Monday.

Prokhorov said the Nets received permission from Denver to talk with Anthony on Monday night, but he never spoke to the all-star forward.

Longhorns strike lucrative deal with ESPN

The University of Texas, which already has one of the wealthiest athletic programs in the country, is lining up for even more money.

Texas and ESPN announced a 20-year, $300-million deal for a 24-hour television channel that will broadcast Longhorns sports, including at least one football game and eight basketball games per season, plus other sports and academic content.

“We want to define what it means to be ‘the’ public university,” Texas President William Powers said. “The challenge is to create new sources of revenue to support our mission.”

The deal includes Texas’ licensing and marketing partner IMG College, with more than 80% of revenue set to go to the university. It will not replace existing television deals between the Big 12 Conference and both ESPN-ABC and Fox.

ESPN will handle distribution of the unnamed channel via cable or satellite in Texas and other states, and it has already had preliminary conversations with Time Warner Cable and Comcast Corp.

The channel is scheduled to launch in September and will broadcast at least 200 Texas sporting events per year. Football will include at least one live broadcast and multiple replays from other networks, the annual spring football scrimmage and pregame and postgame coverage.

Steinbrenner ordered Soriano deal, Yankees’ Cashman says

In a move mirroring those of his famous father, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner overruled General Manager Brian Cashman in giving a $35-million, three-year contract to Rafael Soriano.

Distancing himself from the decision after a news conference to introduce Mariano Rivera’s new setup man, Cashman said he didn’t think it was worth playing closer money for a pitcher the team plans to use in the eighth inning.

And the general manager didn’t want to lose his first-round pick in June’s amateur draft, which will go to Tampa Bay as compensation.

“I think it’s certainly a sign that at times if Hal feels that he wants to go in a different direction, that could happen,” Cashman said. “I think that’s certainly the case. This is their team. Does that happen often? Will it happen a lot? I just think it depends on the circumstances.”

Twins, Pavano agree on two-year contract

Carl Pavano and the Minnesota Twins agreed on a $16.5-million, two-year contract. The right-handed starter went 17-11 with a 3.75 earned-run average and seven complete games last season to help the Twins win the American League Central title.

Padres, Qualls agree to deal

The San Diego Padres and reliever Chad Qualls agreed to a $2.55-million, one-year contract. The Padres also agreed to a minor league deal with catcher Gregg Zaun that includes an invitation to spring training.

Qualls split last season between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Rays, going 3-4 with a 7.32 ERA in 70 appearances. He converted 12 saves in 16 opportunities for the Diamondbacks before he was traded to the Rays on July 31.

Armstrong brushes aside report

Lance Armstrong was content once again to avoid all the trouble in the Tour Down Under in Australia. He hasn’t been nearly as fortunate when he gets off his bike.

The seven-time Tour de France winner missed three crashes in the final few miles to finish in the main pack during the second stage of the race, won by Britain’s Ben Swift. Armstrong is 60th overall in what he has said will be his final international race.

Armstrong brushed aside questions before the stage about a report in Sports Illustrated that challenges past statements that he cut ties to an Italian doctor and training adviser who has long been accused of helping cyclists cheat. Armstrong repeatedly refused to comment on the report Wednesday before saying he had perused it and “I have nothing to worry about on any level.”

Swift won the 91-mile second stage from Tailem Bend to Mannum, avoiding a series of crashes in the final three miles that claimed overnight leader Matthew Goss.

Aussie Robbie McEwen, who was second in the stage, took the overall lead.

‘You’ve got to legalize doping,’ Landis says

Disgraced Tour de France winner Floyd Landis has called on cycling authorities to legalize doping because he thinks testers will always struggle to uncover the cheats. Landis, who announced his retirement Tuesday, lost his 2006 Tour title after testing positive for testosterone and last year accused former teammate Lance Armstrong of doping.

He said the fight against doping is one that cannot be won.

“You’ve got to legalize doping. They [the testers] are so far behind in the testing organizations that there’s no way to change it now,” Landis told the website Cyclingnews.com.

Woods will play at Torrey Pines

Tiger Woods will launch his 2011 campaign in San Diego next week at one of his most successful venues. Woods confirmed he will play his first tournament of the year in the PGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, where he has won the title a record six times.

Portland’s Camby to have knee surgery

Portland Trail Blazers center Marcus Camby will have arthroscopic knee surgery this week, adding to the team’s injury problems, the Trail Blazers said.

Camby, 36, the team’s leading rebounder, became the fifth Portland player to need knee surgery this season.

Hip injury will sideline Cavaliers’ Williams

Cleveland Cavaliers starting guard Mo Williams is expected to be sidelined for several weeks because of a lingering hip injury, another blow to the NBA’s worst team.

Williams, who has sat out seven games because of the injury, received a cortisone shot to relieve the pain. He said doctors want him to rest before deciding the next course of treatment. Williams said one positive is that surgery is not an option.

Hartsfield, first Blue Jays manager, dies

Roy Hartsfield, the Toronto Blue Jays’ manager for their first three seasons, died Saturday at his daughter’s home in Ball Ground, Ga.

Hartsfield also played in the majors from 1950 to 1952 for the Boston Braves. He then coached and managed, mostly in the minors, including 19 years in the Dodgers organization.