SPORTS BRIEFS

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

USC coach Floyd steps down

Southern California men's basketball coach Tim Floyd reportedly has resigned, one month after being accused of paying someone to help steer former star O.J. Mayo to the school.

The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Miss., reported yesterday that Floyd submitted a one-paragraph letter of resignation to athletic director Mike Garrett.

Floyd, who turned around the Trojans program in his four seasons there, led the team to the NCAA tournament the last three seasons, a first in school history.

In May, Yahoosports.com reported that one-time Mayo confidant Louis Johnson said Floyd made a payment of $1,000 to Rodney Guillory, a "runner" for sports agent Bill Duffy.

Such a payment would be a major violation of NCAA rules.

NHL

Sutter resigns as Devils coach

NEWARK, N.J. - A homesick Brent Sutter resigned as the coach of the New Jersey Devils after just two seasons, citing family reasons and scoffing at the idea that some may criticize him for leaving so soon.

Sutter said the Devils' crushing loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 7 of their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series had nothing to do with his decision.

Sutter posted a 97-56-11 record with New Jersey. The Devils won a franchise-record 51 games this past season.

TENNIS

Federer out of Weber Open

HALLE, Germany - Roger Federer pulled out of the Gerry Weber Open, his usual grass-court warm-up for Wimbledon, saying yesterday he is "overwhelmed" and "exhausted" after his French Open win.

The withdrawal came two days after Federer's record-tying 14th Grand Slam victory at the French Open, the only major title that had been missing from his résumé.

Federer has taken the Halle title five times, and four of those years he went on to win Wimbledon, where he had his five-year run stopped last year by Rafael Nadal.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Army-Navy to play in Philly

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Army-Navy football game will be held in Philadelphia for five of the next eight years, beginning in 2010.

The Naval Academy announced yesterday that the annual duel between the two service academies will be held at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2017.

The teams will play at FedEx Field, home of the Washington Redskins, in 2011. Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium will host the event in 2014 and 2016.

ELSEWHERE

• Former Chicago Bear Roland Harper was sentenced to a year of house arrest for acting as a front man in a $1.5 million fraud involving a landscaping contract for Chicago public schools.

U.S. District Judge John W. Darrah also required the 56-year-old former fullback to perform 200 hours of community service and pay $25,000 in restitution and forfeit $50,000. He'll also serve two years of probation, including the year he is confined to his home.

• One-time Big East freshman of the year Scottie Reynolds has decided to end his career as a senior leader.

Reynolds (Herndon), the star point guard who in March led Villanova to its first Final Four appearance since the Wildcats won the 1985 national championship, announced he has removed his name from the NBA draft and will return for his final college season.

• North Carolina forward Jessica Breland is being treated for Hodgkin's lymphoma, school officials said.

The women's basketball team's leading returning scorer and rebounder is undergoing chemotherapy treatments at UNC Hospitals, and they are expected to continue into the fall, officials said.

Team spokesman Bobby Hundley said the 21-year-old Breland was diagnosed in May and began chemotherapy a short time later. It's unclear whether Breland would be able to play her senior season in 2009-10.

• Pro golfer Ken Green's brother and girlfriend were killed in a recreational vehicle accident in which Green also was hurt.

Green was driving on Interstate 20 near Hickory, Miss., on Monday when the right front tire of his RV blew out. Green was unable to control the vehicle and ran off the road and down an embankment before hitting a large oak tree.

Mississippi Department of Public Safety spokesman Jon Kalahar said yesterday that passengers William Y. Green, of Indiantown, Fla., and Jean Marie Hodgin, of Greensboro, N.C., were killed in the wreck. William Green is Ken Green's brother and caddie. Hodgin was the golfer's girlfriend.

• Belmont Stakes runner-up Dunkirk has had surgery for a leg injury but is expected to return to racing as early as this fall.

Dunkirk fractured his left hind cannon bone during Saturday's race and had surgery to insert a screw to stabilize the leg. Trainer Todd Pletcher says he anticipates a full recovery.

AROUND THE STATE

• Richmond Kickers defender Yomby William, midfielder Mike Burke and forward David Bulow were all named to the USL-2 team of the week.

• Former Virginia Tech golfer Drew Weaver qualified for the U.S. Open at the Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md. Cameron Yancey, an ex-Virginia standout, also qualified at NCR Country Club in Dayton, Ohio.

Bill Irish has been named Longwood's Associate Athletic Director for Internal Operations. Irish previously had been a vice president of programming operations and scheduling for FOX Sports South/SportSouth Networks from 1995-2008. - From Staff and Wire Reports