Terrapins' Williams decides to retire

Maryland men's basketball coach Gary Williams announced his retirement Thursday, saying "it's the right time" for him to end a career in which he led his alma mater to the 2002 national title.

He coached for 33 years, the last 22 at Maryland, where he played as a guard from 1964 to '67.

The 66-year-old Williams' career record is 668-380, including 461-252 at Maryland. Under his direction, the Terrapins went to the NCAA tournament 14 times, won or shared three Atlantic Coast Conference titles and reached the Final Four in back-to-back years, losing to ACC rival Duke in the national semifinals at the Metrodome in 2001 before beating Indiana for the 2002 title in Atlanta.

"My entire career has been an unbelievable blessing. I am fiercely proud of the program we have built here," he said.

Williams arrived at Maryland in 1989, when the program was still struggling under the weight of NCAA violations. The Terps endured two consecutive losing seasons before reaching the NCAA tournament for the first time under his direction in 1994, and he never had another sub-.500 season the rest of the way.

The announcement comes one season after the Terps endured a 19-14 record and missed both the NCAA tournament and the NIT. Also, on Wednesday, standout sophomore center Jordan Williams formally entered the NBA draft.

Trump backs out of Indy 500Donald Trump said he will not be the celebrity pace-car driver for the Indianapolis 500 May 29, calling it "inappropriate" since "he may be announcing shortly his intention" to run for president.

The decision shuts down a potential controversy that threatened to overshadow the 100-year anniversary of the first 500. Four-time Indy winner A.J. Foyt could be Trump's replacement.

Tennis: Kim Clijsters has resumed on-court training, but the U.S. and Australian Open women's singles champion -- who had been sidelined by shoulder, wrist and ankle injuries since early last month -- is still unlikely to play in the French Open, which begins May 22. ... Julia Goerges upset top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki in a second consecutive tournament, winning 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 in the third round of the Madrid Open. The 27th-ranked German also beat Wozniacki in the Porsche Grand Prix final on April 24. ... Juan Martin del Potro withdrew from the Madrid Open because of a hip injury that could force the 2009 U.S. Open men's champion to miss the French Open.

College football: Miami (Fla.) defensive tackle Jeffrey Brown was freed on bond Thursday, one day after he was charged with forcing sex on an allegedly intoxicated female in her dorm room. He has been suspended indefinitely from the Hurricanes program. ... Cookeville, Tenn., police said a suspected truck thief's end run failed when two Tennessee Tech players guided officers to apprehend him. Marcus Edwards and DeShawn Harris were presented commendations in the team locker room, with Police Chief Bob Terry saying the thief would probably have gotten away if Edwards and Harris had not have kept pointing out where he was to police last month.

Volleyball: Ohio State (25-6) beat host Penn State (24-7) 25-18, 24-26, 25-22, 25-23 in an All-Big Ten NCAA men's semifinal, earning a spot in the championship with California-Santa Barbara. The underdog Gauchos (18-14) beat top-ranked Southern California (23-4) in relatively easy fashion, winning 29-27, 24-26, 25-15, 25-18 to avenge two regular-season losses to USC. Both the Buckeyes and Gauchos are seeking their first NCAA championship.

Hockey: Russia beat Denmark 4-3 on Sergei Zinoviev's three goals in the second round of the world championships in Slovakia. Norway beat Switzerland 3-2. The United States will begin second-round play Friday against Canada.