Clippers Expose Drobnjak, Dooling to Expansion Draft

Center Predrag Drobnjak and guard Keyon Dooling, who opened last season as starters, were among the players left unprotected by the Clippers for the June 22 expansion draft, NBA sources said Monday.

Also left unprotected by the Clippers and eligible to be selected by the Charlotte Bobcats were Matt Barnes, Eddie House and Josh Moore. The maximum eight players were protected by the Clippers: Elton Brand, Corey Maggette, Chris Kaman, Quentin Richardson, Marko Jaric, Bobby Simmons, Chris Wilcox and Melvin Ely.

The Clippers declined to comment, citing confidentiality rules.

The Bobcats are required to select at least 14 players and could take as many as 29 in the draft but can pick no more than one from each NBA team.

-- Jerry Crowe

College Basketball

Bob Huggins’ top assistant, Dan Peters, will coach Cincinnati during the head coach’s indefinite suspension after an arrest on a drunk-driving charge. ... Forward Ryan Gomes of Providence withdrew his name from the NBA draft and will return to school for his senior season.... Point guard Darren Collison of Etiwanda High made an oral commitment to attend UCLA, becoming the first player to commit to the Bruins for the 2005-06 season.

Boxing

The World Boxing Council started bankruptcy proceedings that might dismantle the 41-year-old, Mexico City-based organization. The move comes 14 months after a federal court in New York ordered the WBC to pay $31 million to Graciano Rocchigiani for stripping him of the light-heavyweight title in 1998.

Last year, the WBC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which gives companies and organizations protection from creditors while they try to reorganize their finances. The new filing would come under Chapter 7 of the U.S. bankruptcy code, a move that usually leads to liquidation.

Pro Football

Quarterback Tim Couch, released last week after five stormy seasons with the Cleveland Browns, agreed to a one-year contract with the Green Bay Packers to play behind Brett Favre. Terms were not disclosed.... Tests on the right foot of tight end Jeremy Shockey have found a “hot spot” that is worrying the New York Giants. Coach Tom Coughlin did not provide specific information on the injury, which is in the same foot that bothered Shockey last season. ... Diagnosed in August with Hodgkin’s disease, Carolina Panther linebacker Mark Fields practiced at full speed.

Miscellany

Five-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong disputed claims by a former staff member in a new book that he asked her to dispose of used syringes and lend him makeup to conceal needle marks on his arms.

And a spokesman for his U.S. Postal Service team, Jogi Muller, said David Walsh, author of “L.A. Confidential, the Secrets of Lance Armstrong,” was seeking “personal revenge.”

The heart of the accusations come from Emma O’Reilly, who worked for several years as Armstrong’s masseuse, physical therapist and assistant.

Also, Discovery Communications Inc., the Silver Spring, Md.-based company whose brands include the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and TLC, will take over as Armstrong’s team’s title sponsor at the end of this year, replacing the USPS.

Philadelphia Flyer captain Keith Primeau, 32, signed a four-year, $17-million contract, 10 days before he was eligible to become an unrestricted free agent.