FOOTBALL

Suggs Fails Physical, Heads Back to Cleveland

Lee Suggs is heading back to Cleveland after the Jets said he wasn’t fit to play.

The Browns beg to differ.

The dispute left the Browns scratching their heads, and the Jets without a much-needed running back to help fill the void of the injured Curtis Martin. Suggs flunked his physical yesterday, voiding the deal that sent him to New York for defensive back Derrick Strait.

It is unclear what part of the checkup the oft-injured Suggs failed.

“We have a whole series of tests that we do, and we were very thorough with the process,” Jets coach Eric Mangini said. “He just didn’t pass those tests. … Each team has a criteria they set up that they believe is what’s important and what’s needed to be competitive. I’m very comfortable with the tests we have set up.”

Steelers Confirm Ending Contract Talks With Cowher

The Pittsburgh Steelers made official what has seemed evident for weeks: coach Bill Cowher is no longer negotiating an extension to a contract that runs through 2007.

The team announced yesterday that it has ceased talks with Cowher on signing an extension so he can focus on coaching the returning Super Bowl champions. The team, which has had just two coaches in 38 seasons, has long had a policy of not negotiating contracts during a season, but wants to renew talks with Cowher once the season ends.

This is the first time since Cowher was hired by his hometown team in 1992 that he will go into a season with as few as two seasons remaining on his contract. Cowher and the team had been discussing an extension since shortly after the Steelers won the Super Bowl in February.

Vikings Rookie LB Greenway Out for Season With Knee Injury

Vikings rookie linebacker Chad Greenway is out for the season, the result of a knee injury he sustained in Minnesota’s first exhibition game.

Greenway was hurt covering a kickoff in Monday night’s 16–13 loss to the Oakland Raiders. He had an MRI test yesterday morning, but a news release issued by the team didn’t specify the nature of the injury.

CYCLING

Landis’s Former Team Phonak Shuts Down

The owner of Floyd Landis’s former cycling team will shut down operations at the end of the year, citing continuing doping issues within the sport and an inability to sell the team.

Swiss hearing aid firm Phonak decided to pull its sponsorship, but was unable to find a buyer. It was to be replaced at the end of the season by ishares, an American subsidiary of Barclays Bank, but the deal was called off, owner Andy Rihs said yesterday.

“I’ve had to do something I’ve never done in my whole life: Give up,” he said at a press conference.

HOCKEY

Islanders Add Hill To Rebuilt Defense Corps

Add Sean Hill to the ever-changing New York Islanders‘ defense corps.

Hill, who spent last season with the Florida Panthers after a three-year stint with Carolina, received a one-year deal worth $600,000 from the Islanders yesterday.

He joins a revamped blue line that also added hard-hitting Brendan Witt and offensive-minded Tom Poti earlier in the free-agent signing period.

BASKETBALL

SuperSonics, Wilcox Okay $24 Million Deal

The Seattle SuperSonics and power forward Chris Wilcox agreed yesterday on a three-year, $24 million contract.

It’s a “win-win situation for both sides,” agent Jeff Fried said after finalizing the deal. “After three years, if Chris progresses to the superstar level, we feel comfortable about the salary situation to compensate him and his superstar status.”

A restricted free agent, the 6-foot-10 Wilcox also could have signed a one-year deal.

— Associated Press