BASKETBALL

ISIAH THOMAS SAYS ‘MY HEAD NEVER LEFT BASKETBALL’

Knicks coach Isiah Thomas said yesterday his mind “never left basketball” throughout a threeweek trial where he was found guilty of sexually harassing a former Knicks executive.

“Honestly, my head never left basketball. This is what I’ve done. This is what I do and this is what I think about the majority of the time,” Thomas on the Knicks second day of training camp. Thomas said a day after the verdict that he wasn’t worried about losing his job and didn’t even talk with the team about the trial before practice.

“We came back extremely focused,” Thomas said. “I just wanted to make sure we stayed focused and keep the team moving. We went right into practice.”

FOOTBALL

RAMS BENCH QB BULGER; BACKUP FREROTTE WILL START

One day after insisting he’d stick with Marc Bulger, St. Louis Rams coach Scott Linehan benched his banged-up quarterback. The winless Rams will go with backup Gus Frerotte on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, Linehan said yesterday. Frerotte and Bulger, who has been ineffective while playing with two broken ribs, both got the news Tuesday from the coach and the switch was made public before practice yesterday.

HOCKEY

SENATORS SIGN HEATLEY TO SIX-YEAR, $45M EXTENSION

After seeing Buffalo lose Daniel Briere and Chris Drury, and what happened with Ryan Smyth in Edmonton, the Senators locked up 50-goal scorer Dany Heatley before he became an unrestricted free agent next summer. With a self-imposed deadline of opening night, Heatley agreed to terms on a six-year, $45-million extension.