FOOTBALL

NFL SUSPENDS WILLIAMS FOR 2006 Ricky Williams will sit out another season. The NFL suspended the troubled Miami Dolphins running back for one year yesterday after he violated the league’s substance abuse policy for the fourth time.

Williams met April 10 with NFL counsel Jeff Pash in an attempt to have the league overturn the test. He had been participating in the off-season training program at the Dolphins’ complex, and he was there working out shortly before league announced that his appeal had been rejected.

Williams also sat out the 2004 season after retiring shortly before training camp. He returned last year to play for new Miami coach Nick Saban. Williams’s previous positive drug tests were for marijuana, which he acknowledged using. The latest test apparently involved a substance other than marijuana and may have been related to his interest in holistic medicine.

Since his return last season, the NFL required Williams to undergo drug tests up to 10 times a month. If Williams, who owes the Dolphins $8.6 million for breaching his contract when he retired, does try to return next year, he’ll be 30 years old and will have played a total of 12 games in the previous three seasons.

BASKETBALL

AVERY JOHNSON NAMED COACH OF THE YEAR Avery Johnson was honored as the NBA’s coach of the year yesterday after leading the Mavericks to a 60-win season in his first full season as coach. That matched the team record for victories, first set three years ago when he played for the team. While the 2002-03 team was known for its scoring, Johnson transformed the Mavericks into a defensive squad. Dallas ranked in the league’s top 10 in scoring and points allowed, ranking higher in the defensive category. Johnson replaced Don Nelson as head coach on March 19, 2005.

UCONN’S WILLIAMS HEADED TO NBA Connecticut point guard Marcus Williams said yesterday he will forgo his final year of eligibility and enter the NBA draft. The 6-foot-3 Williams is considered one of the nation’s top playmakers. He appeared in 47 games at UConn, starting 31 and averaging 7.3 points and 6.6 assists. But his career was marred by academic problems and an arrest. Williams is the third underclassman to announce he will leave UConn early this year, joining junior forward Josh Boone and sophomore swingman Rudy Gay.

SOCCER

ARSENAL ADVANCES TO CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL Arsenal advanced to the final of the European Champions League for the first time, playing a 0-0 tie at Villarreal last night as goalkeeper Jens Lehmann saved Juan Roman Riquelme’s penalty kick in the 89th minute. Arsenal won the home-and-home, total-goals series 1-0 and will play Barcelona or AC Milan in the final on May 17 at Saint-Denis, France. Barcelona takes a 1-0 lead into its second leg tonight at home. Lehmann, the starter for Germany’s national team, stopped the penalty kick after defender Gael Clichy was called for fouling Jose Mari Romero in the penalty area. Arsenal is unbeaten in 12 Champions League games this season and has not allowed a goal in its last 10 Champions League matches.

– Associated Press