Basketball
NBA ALL-INTERVIEW TEAM: Charles Barkley is the best in the NBA when it comes to interviews, in the view of sports writers and broadcasters who cover the league.
Barkley led the annual All-Interview team with 74 votes, the league announced on Tuesday. The Houston Rockets' power forward has been voted to the squad 10 times in its 11-year existence.
Also on the first team were Jayson Williams of the New Jersey Nets, Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls, Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz and Grant Hill of the Detroit Pistons.
Seattle's George Karl was selected as the coach by a wide margin. He had 28 votes. Rudy Tomjanovich of the Rockets was second with nine.
The prime requirements for making the team: frank and candid comments, accessibility and the ability to articulate meaningfully. The media panel was asked to vote for five players without regard to position.
Baseball
CORDERO EXPECTED BACK: Boston outfielder Wil Cordero, arrested last month on a charge of assaulting his wife, is expected back with the Red Sox Thursday night, when they begin a series against Toronto at Fenway Park. He has not played since June 25 when he was suspended by Boston.
"Having him on the team is not a problem," chief executive officer John Harrington said Tuesday before the All-Star game. "We put him on waivers and teams asked about him, but we're not trying to trade him. He's a great player."
Hockey
COYOTES SIGN TOCCHET: The Phoenix Coyotes signed free agent forward Rick Tocchet, a four-time All-Star, to a three-year contract.
Tocchet, 33 with a history of back problems, is one of only four players in league history to score over 300 goals and incur 2,000 penalty minutes.
MAPLE LEAFS NAB HEALY: The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired their fourth free agent in five days, signing goalie Glenn Healy from the Rangers. The deal is reportedly worth $3.9 million over three years.
Healy, who had a 2.61 goals-against average in 23 games last season, joins Toronto on the heels of forwards Kris King (from Phoenix), Derek King (Carolina) and Mike Kennedy (Dallas).
Basketball
CHAPMAN, WILLIAMS RE-SIGN: The Phoenix Suns re-signed free agents Rex Chapman and John "Hot Rod" Williams to one-year contracts.
Chapman averaged 13.8 points in 65 games, and Williams was the team's leading rebounder and shot blocker.
KINGS INK TOP PICK: The Sacramento Kings signed top draft pick Olivier St. Jean of San Jose State to a three-year deal, making him the first player born and raised in France to join the NBA.
Tennis
HALL OF FAME CHAMPIONSHIPS: Top seeds Alex Radulescu and Mark Woodforde survived first-round scares in the grass-court Miller Lite Hall of Fame Championships.
SWEDISH OPEN: At Bastad, Sweden, unseeded Marcus Sarstrand of Sweden upset top-seeded countryman Thomas Johansson 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 at the Swedish Open ATP tournament.
SWISS OPEN: Marc Rosset of Switzerland upset top-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia and Richey Reneberg surprised No. 5 seed Albert Costa of Spain at the Swiss Open.
Auto racing
IRVAN, YATES SPLIT WAYS: Ernie Irvan, who made one of auto racing's great comebacks after he was nearly killed in a crash three years ago, won't be driving for Robert Yates after this season.
Yates, owner of Robert Yates Racing, said Tuesday he is not renewing Irvan's contract, and the decision is his alone.
Boxing
CHAMPIONSHIP BOUT MOVED: The junior bantamweight championship bout between WBO champ Johnny Tapia and IBF titleholder Danny Romero has been moved to the 19,000-seat Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas instead of the 6,300-seat Hilton Hotel.