by Florida Times-Union

During his annual summer meeting with reporters Tuesday, one of the first topics covered by the Duke coach was the simmering buzz that had him leaving the Blue Devils for the Lakers if Phil Jackson retires.

"I'm not going to the Lakers. They have one of the great coaches in the game," Krzyzewski said. "I don't know where that rumor started, but there has been nothing done like that, and I'm not leaving Duke. Whatever you hear about anything like that, I will never leave Duke until I leave coaching."

Recent reports fueled the latest round of Krzyzewski-to-the-Lakers chatter. Jackson had raised the possibility of coaching just home games next season, and when that proposal was shot down, it raised questions about Jackson's future with the club.

Five years ago, Krzyzewski was courted by the Lakers before he ultimately turned down a reported $40 million offer and stayed at Duke.

NCAA DENIES APPEAL BY EX-Indiana COACH SAMPSON

The NCAA rejected an appeal from former Indiana basketball coach Kelvin Sampson, who was slapped with five years of potential penalties for taking part in more than 100 impermissible calls to recruits while coaching the Hoosiers.

The NCAA said its infractions committee upheld the violations found in the case, which prompted an overhaul at Indiana and led to Sampson's departure after just 1 1/2 years. Sampson is essentially barred from coaching in college until 2013.

AROUND THE NHL

Scott Gomez's brief New York tenure ended when the star center was traded by the Rangers to the Montreal Canadiens as part of a six-player deal. Gomez was sent to Montreal with F Tom Pyatt, and D Mike Busto, both minor-leaguers. The Rangers received F Chris Higgins, D Ryan McDonagh and D Pavel Valentenko from the Canadiens. ... The New Jersey Devils acquired C Ben Walter and future considerations from the New York Islanders in exchange for the rights to C Tony Romano. ... The Chicago Blackhawks and C Dave Bolland agreed on a five-year contract. The team did not disclose his salary.

ELSEWHERE

Jacksonville University's football team announced that season tickets are now available for $60. For more information, call (904) 256-7444 or go to www.judolphins.com/tickets. ... Top-ranked Rafael Nadal was left off Spain's team for the Davis Cup quarterfinals because of sore knees. Nadal has struggled with tendinitis in his knees, which forced him to skip defending his Wimbledon title. Spain will face Germany on outdoor clay in Marbella, the International Tennis Federation said. ... Ana Ivanovic will rest for one to two weeks to recover from a thigh injury that forced her to quit her fourth-round Wimbledon match against Venus Williams. The French Open champion said on her Web site she has a small muscle tear in her left thigh.

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