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The Charlotte Bobcats have released their eight-game exhibition schedule, which includes a West Coast trip and only two home games.
The Bobcats also announced Friday they'll hold training camp at UNC Wilmington for a fourth straight season, from Sept. 30 to Oct. 6.
Charlotte's exhibition opener is Oct. 8 at Orlando. The Bobcats then will visit Memphis and Atlanta. The Bobcats' two home games are Oct. 16 against Orlando and two days later against Atlanta. The matchup with the Magic will start at 10:30 a.m., with students from area schools attending.
The Bobcats then visit Phoenix and the Los Angeles Lakers before closing the preseason against the Lakers in San Diego on Oct. 23. Charlotte's regular-season opener is at Cleveland on Oct. 30.
NEW YORK KNICKS: The team has a new president, coach and roster. Now they have a new home for training camp, too.
The Knicks said they have agreed to hold training camp at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs in upstate New York, yet another change under new president Donnie Walsh. The team had been holding training camp at the College of Charleston in South Carolina since the 1990s, but have been considering a move closer to home.
SEATTLE: Former SuperSonics owner Howard Schultz's court bid to regain control of the team will have to wait until after next season.
Federal Judge Marsha Pechman has set a June 15 trial date for Schultz's lawsuit, which seeks to overturn his 2006 sale of the team to Clay Bennett.
Pechman also heard the city of Seattle's lawsuit against Bennett, which resulted in a settlement allowing the team to relocate to Oklahoma City for the upcoming season.
Schultz claims Bennett failed to follow through on his promise to make a good-faith effort get a new arena built to keep the team in Seattle.
SOCCER
Defender Cory Gibbs agreed to a contract with Major League Soccer's Colorado Rapids and is expected to be available for today's match at Kansas City.
Gibbs was picked for the 2006 U.S. World Cup roster but injured a knee against Morocco and missed the tournament.
He has played for St. Pauli in Germany, the Dallas Burn of the MLS, Feyenoord and Den Haag in the Netherlands. He signed with Charlton in England in May 2006 but never appeared in a match.
CYCLING
In Billings, Mont., former cycling star Greg LeMond has reached a $39.5 million settlement with the owners of an exclusive retreat for the super rich that has its own ski resort and uses ex-Secret Service agents for security.
Wednesday's settlement resolves a two-year legal dispute in which LeMond, his in-laws and an associate accused businessman Tim Blixseth of trying to buy out their minority stake in the Yellowstone Club for less than its true value.
TENNIS
In Washington, Juan Martin del Potro won his 17th straight match, advancing to the semifinals of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic with a 6-4, 6-4 victory against John Isner.
The second-seeded del Potro has won the last three tournaments he's played in. “I'm very happy to win another match,” he said. “Saturday I'll have a chance to play another semi, so I want to enjoy this moment.”
Isner was trying for his first semifinal berth since he made the finals here last year, when he was the runner-up to top-seeded Andy Roddick.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Xavier has lost one of its reserve guards. Adrion Graves requested his release so he could play somewhere else. The 6-foot-4 guard appeared in 34 games as a sophomore last season, averaging 1.9 points, 1 rebound and 8 minutes.
Xavier has been stocking up at the guard position.
Last month, Indiana guard Jordan Crawford accepted a scholarship from Xavier. Point guard Terrell Holloway, a prep player who was originally intending to play at Indiana, also committed to Xavier in the offseason.
GROUP HONORS SEX OFFENDER
In Torrington, Conn., members of a Connecticut baseball umpires' group are defending a decision to give a lifetime achievement award to a child sex offender.
Fifty-eight-year-old Tom Barbero received the award this month from the Torrington Board of Approved Baseball Umpires. He umpired from 1970 to 1998, including for 13- to 15-year-olds in the Babe Ruth league.
The group says it knew about Barbero's record but honored him because he deserved recognition. He was sentenced in 2000 to four years in prison and 35 years of probation. Police accused him of sexually assaulting three teenage boys in 1994 and 1995. The boys were not involved with youth baseball.
Neither Barbero nor his lawyer returned phone messages.
