Kansas’ Marcus and Markieff Morris will enter NBA draft

Twins Marcus and Markieff Morris are skipping their senior seasons with the Kansas Jayhawks, choosing instead to hire an agent and enter the NBA draft.

The forwards from Philadelphia led the team in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots this season, when the Jayhawks went 35-3, won the Big 12 Conference regular-season and tournament titles, and advanced to the NCAA tournament regional finals as a No. 1-seeded team.

The Morris brothers announced their intentions Thursday through Rival Sports Group and agent Tony Dutt, who will represent them during the draft and contract negotiations.

Marcus, a second-team All-American, averaged 17.2 points and 7.6 rebounds, while Markieff was an honorable-mention All-American after averaging 13.6 points and 8.3 rebounds.

Fresno State hired Rodney Terry as men’s basketball coach. He replaces Steve Cleveland, who stepped down to take a job in the athletic department. Terry was an assistant under Rick Barnes at Texas for the last nine seasons.

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NFL requests more talks with players

The NFL responded to a federal judge’s encouragement for mediation with players by requesting that the parties return to discussions in Washington.

The meeting would be supervised by Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service Director George Cohen. A copy of the NFL letter was also sent to Judge Susan Richard Nelson, who presided over a Wednesday hearing in Minnesota to consider imposing an injunction to the owners’ lockout, which threatens the upcoming season.

While the owners’ proposal claims they will “not compromise any legal position” of the players as a result of the discussions, the players would prefer to have litigation settlement discussions of the antitrust suit they filed against the league. Not surprisingly, the venue of mediation is up for dispute.

A lawyer representing players including Tom Brady and Peyton Manning wrote Judge Nelson on Thursday to say they would engage in mediation talks in the U.S. District Court in Minnesota where Nelson presides.

— Lance Pugmire

ETC.

LeBron James’ mother arrested

The mother of Miami Heat star LeBron James was arrested by Miami Beach police after she was accused of assaulting a valet worker because it was taking too long to have her car delivered. Police said Gloria James had a strong odor of alcohol on her breath and her eyes were bloodshot when officers arrived at the hotel about 4:47 a.m. Thursday. She was released with a promise to appear on charges of simple battery and disorderly conduct.

J.T. Brown had a goal and an assist to lead Minnesota Duluth to a 4-3 victory over Notre Dame in the semifinals of the NCAA hockey Frozen Four at St. Paul, Minn., propelling the Bulldogs to their second national title game in school history.

Ben Winnett’s first-period goal gave Michigan an early edge and Shawn Hunwick made 40 saves for his fourth shutout this season, leading Michigan to a 2-0 victory over North Dakota in the other semifinal. Minnesota Duluth and Michigan will play for the title Saturday.

Top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki was expecting a challenge at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, S.C. — and she got it from Barbora Zahlavova Strycova. The top-seeded Dane had to win two tiebreakers to defeat Zahlavova Strycova, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (9), in a match that lasted more than 21/2 hours. It looked nothing like the 56-minute cakewalk that Wozniacki enjoyed in her opening match Wednesday.

She will next play Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium for a spot in the semifinals.

No. 2-seeded Samantha Stosur lost to Elena Vesnina, 6-4, 6-1, and No. 3-seeded Jelena Jankovic defeated Chanelle Scheepers, 6-2, 6-2.

Top-seeded Mardy Fish beat Albert Ramos, 6-3, 6-4, to advance to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Clay Court Championships at Houston, and Pablo Cuevas cruised to a 7-5, 6-1 victory over James Blake.

Longtime Colorado Avalanche defenseman Adam Foote plans to retire after 19 hard-hitting years in the NHL. He has appeared in more regular-season and playoff games than any other defenseman in franchise history and was a member of Colorado’s two Stanley Cup champions.

Vancouver Canucks forward Raffi Torres was suspended four games for a hit to the head of Edmonton Oilers rookie Jordan Eberle. That means Torres will sit out the Canucks’ final two games of the regular season, plus the first two games of the playoffs.