THE WARRIORS

Briefs: Warriors' top draft pick will be sidelined six months
The Golden State Warriors' first-round draft pick won't make his debut until January at the earliest.

Power forward Ekpe Udoh, the No. 6 overall pick, had successful surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left hand Wednesday. He is expected to miss six months, the team announced.

"Just one of those things," Warriors general manager Larry Riley said. "It's a shame that he has to wait. But I have no doubt that he is going to prove to be worthy of that pick. I feel good about his ability. I feel bad about the injury."

Udoh missed all of summer league after, according to the team, he injured his left wrist while working out with point guard Stephen Curry on July 4. Udoh visited two hand specialists before concluding he needed surgery.

Teammate of Armstrong wins Tour stage

GAP, France — Something finally went right for Lance Armstrong's squad at the Tour de France. Team RadioShack got its first taste of success at this year's Tour when Sergio Paulinho of Portugal captured the 10th stage, narrowly winning a two-man sprint among breakaway riders.

Andy Schleck of Luxembourg retained the yellow jersey. He finished in the main pack more than 14 minutes back, alongside his biggest rivals for the title.

Paulinho edged Vasil Kiryienka of Belarus over the sun-baked 111-mile trek from Chambery to Gap that featured one difficult climb — the Laffrey pass — as the race left the



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The Golden State Warriors' first-round draft pick won't make his debut until January at the earliest.

Power forward Ekpe Udoh, the No. 6 overall pick, had successful surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left hand Wednesday. He is expected to miss six months, the team announced.

"Just one of those things," Warriors general manager Larry Riley said. "It's a shame that he has to wait. But I have no doubt that he is going to prove to be worthy of that pick. I feel good about his ability. I feel bad about the injury."

Udoh missed all of summer league after, according to the team, he injured his left wrist while working out with point guard Stephen Curry on July 4. Udoh visited two hand specialists before concluding he needed surgery.

Teammate of Armstrong wins Tour stage

GAP, France — Something finally went right for Lance Armstrong's squad at the Tour de France. Team RadioShack got its first taste of success at this year's Tour when Sergio Paulinho of Portugal captured the 10th stage, narrowly winning a two-man sprint among breakaway riders.

Andy Schleck of Luxembourg retained the yellow jersey. He finished in the main pack more than 14 minutes back, alongside his biggest rivals for the title.

Paulinho edged Vasil Kiryienka of Belarus over the sun-baked 111-mile trek from Chambery to Gap that featured one difficult climb — the Laffrey pass — as the race left the


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Alps.

Paulinho pointed skyward then sucked his thumb in honor of his 8-month-old daughter after beating Kiryienka by less than half a wheel. They both clocked 5 hours, 10 minutes, 56 seconds. Belgium's Dries Devenyns was third: 1:29 behind.

Armstrong fell out of contention in the first Alpine stage Sunday after getting tangled up in three crashes and losing crucial minutes against the top contenders. The team is now banking on the podium hopes of Levi Leipheimer, who is sixth overall.

Riders are likely to breathe a bit easier during today's 11th stage, a mostly flat 114.65-mile route from Sisteron to Bourg-les-Valence that has one midgrade climb.

O'Neal leaves Heat for Celtics

WALTHAM, Mass. — Jermaine O'Neal left the Miami Heat in favor of a two-year deal with the Boston Celtics, saying the Celtics provide a better fit.

O'Neal agreed to a deal that pays him the midlevel exception of about $5.76 million the first year. He is expected to start in place of injured center Kendrick Perkins, and after that he is content to fill a role off the bench for a team that won it all in 2008 and returned to the NBA finals this year.

Braves add a shortstop with power

ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves acquired shortstop Alex Gonzalez in a five-player trade with Toronto that sent the erratic Yunel Escobar and left-handed starter-reliever Jo-Jo Reyes to the Blue Jays. The Braves also received two minor leaguers, left-handed pitcher Tim Collins and shortstop Tyler Pastornicky.

Gonzalez, 33, is hitting .259 with 17 home runs and 50 RBIs. He is tied for fifth in the American League with 43 extra-base hits. Troy Glaus had been the Braves' homer run leader with 14 and 58 RBIs.

Vanderbilt football coach quits

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt football coach Bobby Johnson retired less than a month before the start of fall practice.

The 59-year-old Johnson said it was a very difficult decision, one that he began seriously considering month ago. He said he informed vice chancellor David Williams in a meeting Monday. The announcement came Wednesday after Williams couldn't talk Johnson out of retiring even with offering more money.

"Football is not life, but it's a way of life and it consumes your life," Johnson said. "You only have so many years to live, and you want to see a different way."

During the 35-minute news conference and in follow-up interviews, Johnson never said why he chose now to retire. He did say neither he nor his wife have any health concerns.

Woodson, others escape house fire

BAY HARBOR, Mich. — Former Oakland Raiders cornerback Charles Woodson says he was lucky to escape a burning house in Michigan over the weekend.

Woodson told The Associated Press in a telephone interview he was at Gwen Haggerty's house in Bay Harbor on Friday night. It was part of a celebration honring the Ted and Jane Von Voigtlander Foundation for donating $15 million to name the new women's hospital at the University of Michigan.

The former Wolverine says he and other overnight guests were fortunately still awake when the fire started sometime after 4 a.m. Saturday. Everyone was able to get out of the house without being hurt.

$5 LeBron pendant pays off

AKRON, Ohio — An Ohio woman who paid $5 at a yard sale for a LeBron James pendant she thought was costume jewelry has found out it's worth nearly $10,000. Twenty-year-old Vaneisha Robinson says she used to wear the basketball jersey-shaped pendant to high school when she didn't know its value. Then she had it appraised.

The International Gemological Institute says Robinson's find is the real deal. Gemologist Jerry Ehrenwald says the 14-karat white gold pendant sports more than 2 carats of diamonds.

The No. 23 jersey reads "King" on the front and "James" on the back.

Robinson is an amateur boxer in James' hometown of Akron, Ohio. She has listed the jewelry on eBay. She says the King's brand will never die even though he's left the Cleveland Cavaliers to play for the Miami Heat.

Brees wins four ESPY Awards

LOS ANGELES — Drew Brees was the big winner at the ESPY Awards, collecting four trophies, including male athlete of the year. The New Orleans Saints quarterback also won best championship performance, NFL player and shared the team award with his Super Bowl champion colleagues.

Skiier Lindsey Vonn won female athlete of the year honors at the show hosted by "Saturday Night Live" comic Seth Meyers. Vonn was also chosen best female Olympian.

Landon Donovan of the U.S. national soccer team picked up three trophies, for best moment in a World Cup game against Algeria, best MLS player and the performance under pressure award.

Phil Mickelson ended Tiger Woods' five-year run as best male golfer, denying Woods a record 23rd career ESPY.

Elsewhere


A $226 million renovation incrased the capacity of the University of Michigan's football stadium to 109,901. The incrase of 2,000 seats lets the Wolverines reclaim the title of biggest college arena from Penn State.


The NCAA put the Ball State women's tennis program on probation for three years over what it says were excessive practice requirements and the former coach's attempts to have players lie to investigators. Former coach Kathy Bull, who was fired in October after 20 seasons, is accused of major infractions including $125 loans to two players.


France's Thierry Henry joined the New York Red Bulls of MLS. Henry


The Indiana Pacers named former player Clark Kellogg vice present for player relations. He will continue his broadcasting career for CBS-TV.


Major League Baseball's All-Star Game earned its lowest-ever television rating, a 7.5 fast national rating and 13 share. That's down 16 percent from last year.


The New Jersey Nets hired former Philadelphia 76ers executive Billy King to replace Rod Thorn as their general manager.


Spain regained the top spot in the FIFA rankings after winning its first World Cup title. The United States moved up one place to 13th.