Los Angeles Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal is out of this weekend's NBA All-Star Game and will be replaced by Sacramento Kings center Vlade Divac, the league said yesterday.
O'Neal's sore right arch is still hurting so he will not play in Sunday's game at the MCI Center in Washington.
The NBA named Divac, a former Laker, to replace O'Neal. The Yugoslav native will be making his first all-star appearance in 12 NBA seasons.
Toronto Raptors star Vince Carter, the leading vote-getter in the game, said he would play, despite an ailing left knee.
Elsewhere: The Sacramento Kings placed guard Jon Barry on the injured list with a fractured left hand. . . . Cleveland Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas had three new screws inserted during a "complicated" surgery on his broken left foot on Tuesday and will be sidelined at least six to eight months.
HOCKEY
The Vancouver Canucks got help in goal by acquiring Dan Cloutier from the Tampa Bay Lightning for defenseman Adrian Aucoin and a 2001 second-round draft pick. Felix Potvin started the season as Vancouver's No. 1 goalie but struggled with a 3.08 goals-against average and lost the job to 36-year-old journeyman Bob Essensa.
* Developer Steve Ellman secured the money needed to complete his $88 million purchase of the Phoenix Coyotes, adding a prominent local businessman to the investment group. Swift Transportation Co. executive Jerry Moyes joins the group that includes Wayne Gretzky.
* Suspended defenseman Marty McSorley signed with the London Knights of the British league, who are coached by his brother, Chris McSorley. McSorley must obtain a transfer card from the International Ice Hockey Federation, the Swiss governing body.
Elsewhere: The Detroit Red Wings activated defenseman Maxim Kuznetsov from the injured reserve list. . . . Forward Raffi Torres, selected fifth overall in the NHL draft last summer, signed a three-year deal with the New York Islanders. . . . Sandy Cohen scored a goal and added an assist as the Titans beat Johnstown, 4-2, in an ECHL game at Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton.
COLLEGES
Negotiators for 14 state-owned universities and athletic coaches met separately with a state mediator in Harrisburg but reported no progress in stalled contract talks.
The 350 non-faculty coaches are attempting to reach their first collective-bargaining agreement with the universities that make up the State System of Higher Education.
