SPORTS BITS: Upper Deck drops Vick; Bulls sign Joakim; Adu headed to Portugal; Holdsclaw?s depression; Eddy Curry robbed.
*Upper Deck has followed in the footsteps of Nike and Reebok by distancing itself from indicted NFL quarterback Michael Vick. The company removed all Vick autographed memorabilia from its online store and will remove his trading card from NFL sets that are scheduled to be released in October, repots AP. The announcement came a day after Nike suspended its contract with Vick, and Reebok took the unprecedented step of stopping sales of his No. 7 jersey. Another trading card company, Donruss, announced it was pulling Vick's likeness from any new packs. Last week, the Atlanta Falcons QB pleaded not guilty to federal dogfighting charges in Richmond, Va.
*The Chicago Bulls made things official with former University of Florida forward Joakim Noah. On Friday, the team signed their first-round pick in June's NBA draft to a two-year, $3.69 million deal. The son of French tennis legend Yannick Noah was the ninth overall pick in draft after playing a pivotal role in Florida?s back-to-back national titles. In his three seasons with the Gators, he averaged 10.6 points and 6.3 rebounds.
*Soccer star Freddy Adu was given permission by Real Salt Lake to go to Portugal in an attempt to complete transfer negotiations with Benfica. MLS and Benfica already have agreed to a $2 million transfer fee for the 18-year-old forward and midfielder, who captained the U.S. team at this year's FIFA Under-20 World Cup. Under FIFA's rules, the sides have until Aug. 31 to work out a contract and complete a transfer. Benfica will start play in the European Champions League in the third qualifying round on Aug. 14 or 15.
*Depression may have led to the early retirement of former WNBA star Chamique Holdsclaw, according to her college coach at Tennessee, Pat Summit. At a Tennessee alumni event in Nashville on Thursday, Summit said Holdsclaw first told her she was considering retirement while she was playing with the Washington Mystics, telling Summit basketball is ?just not in my heart.? The WNBA's No. 1 overall pick in 1999 left the Mystics after seven seasons, (later citing depression), and played basketball in Spain before joining the Los Angeles Sparks in 2005. The six-time WNBA All-Star shocked Sparks fans and her team in June when she announced her retirement after playing only five games. Holdsclaw didn't give a reason for her exit.
*New York Knicks star Eddy Curry was tied up and robbed at his suburban Chicago home early Saturday, reports the New York Daily News. Three masked gunmen broke in just after midnight and used duct tape to restrain Curry, his wife, Korie, and an unidentified employee. The robbers escaped with cash and jewelry, leaving their victims unharmed, the Daily News reportsed. "At this point in the investigation, information leads us to believe this was not a random incident," Burr Ridge Deputy Police Chief John Madden said in a statement. Curry, 24, who was traded to the Knicks by the Chicago Bulls in 2005, averaged 19.5 points and seven rebounds for the Knicks last season.
See more at www.eurweb.com
