SPORTS digest

Andersen signs 1-year deal with Cavs

CLEVELAND

The Cavaliers have officially signed veteran forward Chris “Birdman” Andersen to a one-year contract.

The NBA champions needed a backup center after losing Timofey Mozgov in free agency and are hoping the 38-year-old Andersen can fill that role. A 14-year veteran, Andersen, known for his multiple tattoos and toughness on the boards, split last season with Miami and Memphis.

In Cleveland, he will be reunited with former Heat teammate LeBron James. They won an NBA title together in 2013.

Dennis Green, 67: was Vikings coach

MINNEAPOLIS

Dennis Green, the trailblazing coach who led a Minnesota Vikings renaissance in the 1990s before a less successful run with the Arizona Cardinals, has died. He was 67.

The Cardinals said Green had died of a heart attack.

Green was the first black head coach in Big Ten history when he took over at Northwestern in 1981 and was just the third black head coach in the NFL when the Vikings hired him in 1992. Through it all, Green worked hard to provide opportunities for minorities on his coaching staffs and was beloved by his players for the loyalty he showed them.

Green spent 10 seasons in Minnesota, leading the Vikings to eight playoff appearances and two NFC championship games. He only had one losing season and compiled an overall record of 97-62, a mark second only to Bud Grant in franchise history. That included a 15-1 regular season in 1998 spearheaded by a record-setting offense.

Froome escapes Tour de France crash

SAINT-GERVAIS-LES-BAINS, France

If Chris Froome wins the Tour de France on Sunday, it won’t have been an easy ride to the Champs Elysees.

After a pile-up forced him to run up part of Mont Ventoux last week, the two-time champion escaped from another crash on Friday during a chaotic and spectacular penultimate Alpine stage held in stormy and wet weather.

Two days before the ceremonial ride to Paris, rain played havoc at the Tour, causing many crashes and reshuffling places in the general classification. But Froome was lucky enough to escape with no serious injury, and even emerge with a bigger lead overall.

Oklahoma State player died of enlarged heart

stillwater, okla.

Oklahoma State basketball player Tyrek Coger died from an enlarged heart after a 40-minute team workout on the football stadium stairs in hot weather, officials said Friday.

While the temperature was 99 degrees, it wasn’t known if the weather played a role in Coger’s death. The 22-year-old forward, who had recently transferred to OSU, did not appear to struggle during Thursday’s workout at Boone Pickens Stadium, school spokesman Gary Shutt said at a news conference.

Coger sat down after the drills and the team noticed later he was having issues and called 911 about 5 p.m.; he was pronounced dead at a hospital at 6:23 p.m., Shutt said.

National Weather Service records show the temperature at 5 p.m. Thursday was 99 with humidity at 38 percent, meaning it felt like it was 106.

Green avoids jail time with plea deal

east lansing, mich.

Lawyers say Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green will pay $560 for a noise violation in a deal that gets rid of a misdemeanor assault-and-battery charge in East Lansing, Mich.

David Meyers, an attorney for the city, says the noise violation is not a criminal charge so no guilty plea is required. Green’s attorney, James Heos, said Friday it’s akin to a parking ticket.

Green was accused of striking a Michigan State football player in the face on July 10 outside a restaurant near campus. Police say they witnessed the incident. Heos says Green was defending himself.

Wire report