Ohio State’s Russell leaving for NBA

Ohio State’s Russell leaving for NBA

COLUMBUS

Ohio State point guard and first-team All-America D’Angelo Russell is making himself available for the NBA draft after one season with the Buckeyes.

Russell, a 6-foot-5 native of Louisville, Kentucky, declared his intentions in an interview with ESPN.com (http://es.pn/1IK1enO ). He was the Big Ten freshman of the year, leading the Buckeyes in scoring with 19.3 points per game to help them get to the round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament.

He set an Ohio State scoring record for freshmen with 675 points, while adding 5.7 rebounds and 5 assists a game. The left-hander shot 45 percent from the field, 41 percent on 3-pointers and 76 percent at the line.

NBA scouts had followed him all season. Most draft experts have him pegged as a top-five pick.

Limited Mayweather-Pacquiao tickets for sale

LAS VEGAS

A dispute over tickets to the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao fight was settled Wednesday, clearing the way for a limited number of seats to be sold to the public.

A conference call between the rival camps — with CBS head honcho Les Moonves serving as a mediator — resolved the dispute over millions of dollars in tickets, said Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum. The battle held up the sale of about 500 tickets to the general public and the release of thousands of others to ticket brokers and others.

There was no word from the MGM on when the tickets would be put on sale, but Mayweather’s promoter, Leonard Ellerbe, said it would likely be today.

Thunder fire Brooks after 7 years

OKLAHOMA CITY

The Oklahoma City Thunder have fired coach Scott Brooks.

The team made the announcement Wednesday.

Brooks coached the Thunder for seven seasons. Starting in 2010-11, he led the team to the Western Conference Finals three out of four years, and the Thunder reached the NBA Finals in 2012. The Thunder failed to make the playoffs this past season, as injuries limited them to a 45-37 finish.

Brooks was 338-207 (.620) with the Thunder and was the 2009-10 NBA Coach of the Year.

Bonds’ obstruction conviction thrown out

SAN FRANCISCO

Barry Bonds’ obstruction of justice conviction has been reversed by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled his meandering answer before a grand jury in 2003 was not material to the government’s investigation into steroids distribution.

Bonds was convicted in 2011 of a single count of obstruction by a jury, which deadlocked on three charges he made false statements during his grand jury appearance.

The government could ask the 11-judge panel to reconsider Wednesday’s decision or could request that all 29 judges on the 9th Circuit rehear the case. The full court has never sat on a case since it began using the “limited en banc” panels in 1980.

Prosecutors also could petition the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decision.

Hawks, Ressler agree on $850 million sale

ATLANTA

A group headed by billionaire Antony Ressler has agreed to purchase the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks.

The team announced the deal Wednesday night during the first half of the Hawks’ playoff game against the Brooklyn Nets.

The sale price was not released. But a person familiar with the deal, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the two sides did not reveal that information, said Ressler’s group would pay $850 million.

Former NBA star Grant Hill and Spanx founder Sara Blakely are part of the group.

The Hawks went on the market after discovering an inflammatory email written by co-owner Bruce Levenson in 2012, complaining about the racial makeupof the team’s fans.

Wire reports