BASKETBALL

KINGS FIRE COACH ADELMAN Rick Adelman was fired by the Sacramento Kings yesterday despite leading the club to eight straight playoff appearances.Geoff Petrie, the team’s president of basketball operations, gave only murky reasons for the decision, which probably was caused by clashing egos and the empty trophy case of owners Joe and Gavin Maloof,who are widely thought to be behind Adelman’s departure. Adelman, whose 752 career wins are the fourth-most among active NBA coaches, spent this season as a lame duck, but still led the Kings to the playoffs with a tremendous late-season surge after the arrival of Ron Artest. His departure ends the most successful tenure of any coach in the franchise’s 21 seasons in Sacramento.

BASEBALL

PROSPECT YOUNG SUSPENDED 50 GAMES FOR TOSSING BAT Tampa Bay prospect Delmon Young was suspended for 50 games without pay by the International League yesterday for throwing a bat that hit a replacement umpire in the chest after being called out on strikes. IL president Randy Mobley said he believed the suspension was the longest in the league’s 123-year history. The suspension is retroactive to April 27, the day after Young tossed his bat in a Triple-A game while playing for Durham. The 20-year-old outfielder has agreed to perform at least 50 hours of community service, and can play again June 19.

TENNIS

NADAL WINS 48TH STRAIGHT MATCH ON CLAY Rafael Nadal won his 48th straight match on clay, beating 2004 winner Carlos Moya 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 in the first round of the Rome Masters yesterday.The 19-year-old Spaniard can match Guillermo Vilas’s Open era record 53-match winning streak on the surface if he successfully defends his title.

– Associated Press