New York’s Tyson Chandler named NBA defensive player of the year

Chandler NBA’s top defender

Tyson Chandler, the catalyst for the New York Knicks’ defensive improvement, was voted the NBA’s defensive player of the year.

Chandler beat out Oklahoma City’s Serge Ibaka and three-time champion Dwight Howard of Orlando to become the first Knicks player to win the award.

Chandler received 311 points, including 45 first-place votes, from a panel of 121 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Ibaka, the league leader with 3.65 blocked shots per game, had 41 first-place votes and 294 points.

Amare Stoudemire thinks there’s a “great chance” he can play in Game 4 of the Knicks’ series against Miami on Sunday despite cutting his left hand on a fire extinguisher case.

Stoudemire is out of Thursday’s Game 3 after a surgeon repaired a muscle in the hand Tuesday. The Knicks are calling him doubtful for Game 4, but Stoudemire said Wednesday he’s “not totally sure yet.”

The NCAA men’s volleyball Final Four begins Thursday at the Galen Center, with top-seeded UC Irvine (24-5) playing Penn State (23-5) at 6 p.m., and second-seeded USC (23-5) playing third-seeded Lewis (26-6) at 8.

UC Irvine is trying for its third title in six years. USC is playing in its third Final Four in four years.

-- Gary Klein

The Montreal Canadiens hired Marc Bergevin as general manager to replace the fired Pierre Gauthier.

The 46-year-old Montreal native served as assistant GM for the Chicago Blackhawks under Stan Bowman last season.

Paralyzed defensive tackle Eric LeGrand was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

LeGrand broke two vertebrae and suffered a serious spinal cord injury on Oct. 16, 2010, during a kickoff return against Army. His coach at Rutgers then, Greg Schiano, now coaches the Buccaneers.

LeGrand is on pace to graduate from Rutgers in the fall and hopes to pursue a career in broadcasting. He said he has not spoken with Schiano about a possible role within the Buccaneers organization in the future.