North Carolina’s Roy Williams has kidney tumor removed

North Carolina basketball Coach Roy Williams was recovering from surgery Wednesday to remove a tumor from his right kidney and is expected to be on the sideline when the season starts.

Still, the coach might need another operation to remove another tumor from his left kidney.

“I fully expect him to coach this season and for years to come,” Dr. Eric Wallen said in a statement. “He could miss some practice time if we perform another procedure sometime in October, but he would be able to resume his coaching duties prior to the start of the regular season.”

It’s unclear exactly how much time the 62-year-old Williams will miss leading up to the start of preseason practice Oct. 13.

ETC.

Melky Cabrera could win batting title despite drug suspension, Selig suggests

Major League Baseball appears unlikely to interfere if Melky Cabrera wins the NL batting title while serving his 50-game suspension for a positive drug test.

The San Francisco Giants outfielder has a league-leading .346 average, six points ahead of Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen.

Cabrera has 501 plate appearances, one fewer than the required amount if the Giants play 162 games. Under the rules, he would win the batting title if an extra hitless at-bat was added to his average and it remained higher than that of any other qualifying player.

“We’ll see how it all plays out,” Commissioner Bud Selig said Wednesday after taping an episode of “CenterStage” for the YES Network. “We generally don’t interfere in that process. We’ll take a look at it at the end of the year.”

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Brian Banks, a onetime football star at Long Beach Poly high who was recently exonerated in a rape case in which he was falsely accused, is finally getting a chance to play professional football. Banks, 26, a linebacker, is signing with the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League.

Banks served more than five years in prison after a conviction a decade ago on rape and kidnapping charges. The alleged victim later recanted and helped Banks clear his name.

Locomotives Coach Jim Fassel said the team is pleased to give Banks “an opportunity in football that was denied him years ago.”

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Fred Couples, a former Masters champion and one of the most popular figures in the game, was elected into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Among his 15 wins on the PGA Tour are the 1992 Masters and two at the Players Championship, including an eagle-birdie-par finish in 1996. He played in the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup five times each, and next year will be captain of the Presidents Cup for the third time. He was No. 1 in the world for four months in 1992.

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A federal court judge in Nevada ordered boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. to pay about $114,000 in lawyer fees and costs for avoiding questioning from rival fighter Manny Pacquiao’s lawyers. The judge ruled that Mayweather violated a court order to be questioned under oath by Pacquiao’s attorneys in a civil defamation lawsuit.

Pacquiao accused Mayweather of defamation for statements alleging that the Filipino fighter used performance-enhancing substances.

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Former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. tested positive for marijuana in a post-fight urine test, the Nevada State Athletic Commission told the boxer’s promoter Wednesday.

The result could have steep consequences for Chavez, who lost his World Boxing Council middleweight title by a unanimous decision Saturday to Sergio Martinez.

Chavez also tested positive for a diuretic after a November 2009 victory over Troy Rowland in Nevada.

“A subsequent positive finding could result in an enhanced punishment,” in Nevada beyond the seven-month ban Chavez received for he first offense, said Keith Kizer, executive officer of the Nevada commission. “The commission will hear all the facts.”

—Lance Pugmire

Eleven-time Assn. of Surfing Professionals world champion Kelly Slater advanced to Round 5 of the Hurley Pro at Trestles event after finishing third in his round Wednesday.

The 40-year-old Slater is trying for his 50th win on the tour. He’ll face off against 24-year-old Jeremy Flores on Thursday.

The event, at San Onofre State Beach in San Clemente, is expected to hold its final Saturday.

—Baxter Holmes