Islanders opt for move to Brooklyn

The New York Islanders finally have a new home and it’s in Brooklyn, the borough that is suddenly a hotbed of pro sports 55 years after baseball’s Dodgers headed west.

After seven months of negotiations, and offers to move the team out of New York, owner Charles Wang announced that the Islanders will relocate about 25 miles west once their lease expires at Nassau Coliseum after the 2014-15 season.

Since the day the Islanders entered the NHL in 1972, the Coliseum in Uniondale has been the place for them. It’s where they grabbed the hockey spotlight, outshined the big, bad Rangers, and won the Stanley Cup four straight times from 1980-83.

But on Wednesday, the future became all about Brooklyn.

The move is hardly shocking and not even unprecedented. The old New York Nets left Nassau Coliseum way back when, relocated to New Jersey, and have moved into their new Brooklyn home — the new Barclays Center, which will also house the Islanders.

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Officials of the NHL and the players’ association said they did not talk Wednesday and had no negotiations planned.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman had set Thursday as the deadline for a written collective bargaining agreement to be in place and a full schedule to be played, but that deadline is likely to pass without a resolution. The league rejected the NHLPA’s request to convene Wednesday.

“Nothing new to report today following the NHL declining to agree to a meeting,” an NHLPA spokesman said.

—Helene Elliott

ETC.

Harrington wins PGA’s Slam

Padraig Harrington won the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, closing with a four-under-par 67 for a one-shot win over U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson at Southampton, Bermuda. The Grand Slam is for the season’s four major champions.

Harrington, a three-time major champion, was asked on Saturday to fill in for British Open champion Ernie Els, who has a minor ankle injury.

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A person familiar with Cleveland’s decision said the Cavaliers have exercised the option on Coach Byron Scott’s contract for the 2013-14 season.

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Roger Federer edged Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 7-5, to advance to the quarterfinals of his hometown Swiss Indoors tournament at Basel.

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John Isner of the United States lost to David Goffin, 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-4, in the second round at the Valencia Open in Spain.

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Serena Williams overcame an erratic serve to beat Li Na, 7-6 (1), 6-3, for her second win in round-robin matches at the WTA Championships in Istanbul, Turkey.