Hawks to Hire Woodson as Coach

The Atlanta Hawks have reached an agreement with Detroit assistant Mike Woodson to become their new coach, the Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported on its website Monday night.

Woodson agreed to a four-year deal to replace Terry Stotts, who was fired May 6.

“We think it’s a good situation for us and a good situation for him,” Hawk General Manager Billy Knight told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He did not give details of the contract.

Hawk spokesman Arthur Triche said Monday night that no contract had been signed, and there would be no announcement until one was.

“Nothing is planned as of tomorrow,” Triche said. “I think it will be later in the week.”

Woodson was Larry Brown’s top assistant on the NBA champion Pistons and considered a strong candidate to eventually succeed Brown.

The Utah Jazz has verbal commitments from restricted free agents Mehmet Okur and Gordan Giricek.

Utah vice president for basketball operations Kevin O’Connor and the Jazz would not release terms of either agreement, other than to say they were multiyear contracts.

Tennis

Andy Roddick failed to beat Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final, but he probably deserves credit for a big boost in TV ratings.

Federer’s 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-4 victory over Roddick for a second consecutive title at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament drew a 3.6 overnight rating Sunday on NBC. That’s 33% higher than the 2.7 last year, when Federer beat Mark Philippoussis. It’s also the best overnight rating for a Wimbledon men’s final since 2000, the last time an American was in the match.

That year, Pete Sampras won the last of his seven Wimbledon singles titles, and the overnight rating was 5.0.

Maria Sharapova’s 6-1, 6-4 upset of two-time defending champion Serena Williams in the women’s final Saturday produced a 3.9 overnight rating. That was down from a 4.0 in 2003, when Williams beat her sister Venus.

Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic opened defense of his Swiss Open title with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Jose Acasuso of Argentina at Gstaad, Switzerland. In other matches, Spain’s Albert Costa defeated Czech Bohdan Ulirach, 6-4, 7-6 (5); and Spaniards eliminated two Swiss players: Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo defeated Stanislas Wawrinka, 7-6 (5), 6-4 and Albert Montanes beat Marco Chiudinelli, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (2), 6-4.

First-round matches at the Hall of Fame championships in Newport, R.I., were postponed because of rain.

Water Sports

USA Water Polo extended the contract of Guy Baker, coach of the national and Olympic teams, for four years, through 2008. Baker guided the 2000 Olympic team to a silver medal at Sydney and its first world title in 2003. The U.S. women are favored to win gold at the Athens Summer Games.

The U.S. men’s national team defeated world champion Hungary, 11-9, in Newport Beach in FINA World League play. Ryan Bailey of Long Beach led the U.S. team with five goals, two in the fourth quarter. The U.S. men’s Olympic roster will be announced July 20.

Jon Urbanchek and Adam Crossen have been hired as assistant swim coaches by Soka University in Aliso Viejo. Urbanchek recently left the University of Michigan, where his teams won 13 Big Ten Conference titles and the 1995 NCAA championship. Crossen is a former USC swimmer who has been an assistant at Auburn and Cal.

Miscellany

A former Olympic wrestler who crashed his sport utility vehicle into a crowded terminal at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida was hospitalized for psychological evaluation, an official said Monday.

Alexis Vila, 33, of Williamston, Mich., was taken into custody after he ran from his SUV after Sunday’s crash. He sustained minor scrapes. No one else was injured.

Vila was held at the hospital under the Baker Act, which allows authorities to hold people in protective custody for 72 hours for mental evaluations if they are deemed a danger to themselves or others, sheriff’s spokesman Jim Leljedal said.

“He’s just going to stay at the hospital,” Leljedal said.

Investigators don’t know why Vila drove into the unmanned Southeast Airlines ticket counter, Leljedal said. Authorities have said they did not suspect terrorism.

It was unclear if Vila, who defected from Cuba in 1997, had been charged.

At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Vila won the bronze medal for Cuba in the 105.5-pound division. He wrestled for Cuba from 1993 to ‘96, never placing lower than third in any world championship. After winning a gold medal at the 1997 Pan American Games, Vila defected.