IN BRIEF
CAVALIERS, WADE NEAR DEAL
Dwyane Wade is nearing a contract agreement with the Cleveland Cavaliers and could sign as soon as Wednesday, once he clears waivers, a person with knowledge of the negotiations confirmed to USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. Wade, 35, agreed to a contract buyout with the Chicago Bulls last weekend after one season with the team. The 12time All-Star won two of his three NBA championships alongside longtime friend LeBron James with the Miami Heat. James said Monday that he would love to have Wade on the Cavaliers. Though Wade isn’t the perennial All-NBA guard he once was, he averaged 18.3 points and 4.5 rebounds last season and figures to play a significant role as the Cavaliers try to reach the NBA Finals for a fourth consecutive season. — Jeff Zillgitt
FOWLES-LED LYNX TIE FINALS
Sylvia Fowles grabbed a WNBA Finals-record 17 rebounds and scored 13 points to lead the host Minnesota Lynx to a 70-68 victory Tuesday against the Los Angeles Sparks. With the win, the Lynx tied the best-of-five series at 1-1. Fowles broke Taj McWilliams-Franklin’s record of 16 for Connecticut in 2005.
DOLPHINS REINSTATE TIMMONS
The Miami Dolphins lifted the suspension of linebacker Lawrence
Timmons after one week Tuesday, and he’s eligible to play Sunday against the New Orleans Saints in London. To make room, the Dolphins waived linebacker Justin March
Lillard. Timmons was suspended indefinitely after he went AWOL the day before the Dolphins’ seasonopening win at the Los Angeles Chargers. He signed a two-year, $12 million deal in March after 10 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
BLAKE SAYS OFFICER DIDN’T IDENTIFY HIMSELF
New York police officer James Fras
catore said at his disciplinary hearing that he was trying to use the element of surprise to apprehend a man who was a suspect in a credit card fraud ring and former professional tennis player Jason Blake matched the description. Surveillance video shows Frascatore, a plainclothes officer, twisting Blake’s left arm, grabbing him by the back of his neck and pulling him down to the sidewalk outside a Manhattan hotel. “He said that he declared he was an officer, and that wasn’t true,” Blake told USA TODAY Sports. “He didn’t say a word, and the doorman said the same thing. ... He just ran up to me and grabbed me. If I had been violent in nature, it could’ve really escalated.” If police officials find Frascatore guilty of using excessive force, he could lose his vacation days or possibly be terminated. — Kevin Spain
HIGH SCHOOL TEAM FORFEITS SEASON AMID ALLEGATIONS
The Geneseo (N.Y.) Central School district forfeited the rest of the varsity football team’s season after student code violations. Police Chief Eric Os
ganian said the department is investigating allegations of drug use by players, who are thought to have taken Oxycontin before Friday’s game. The pills were apparently taken from a parent without their knowledge. Superintendent Tim Hayes said it’s in the best interest to abandon the season rather than call up junior varsity players and put them at risk of injury.
— Meghan Finnerty