Ex-boxing champ Hatton ends retirement

Manchester, England — Former two-weight world champion Ricky Hatton said he is coming out of retirement, more than three years after a comprehensive loss to Manny Pacquiao in the Briton's last fight.

Hatton, who won titles in the light welterweight and welterweight divisions, retired last year with a 45-2 record after being stripped of his boxing license in 2010 following newspaper revelations of drug use.

His comeback fight has been scheduled for Nov. 24 in Manchester, against an as-yet-unnamed opponent.

The 33-year-old Hatton slipped into depression and considered suicide while trying to come to grips with the second-round knockout by Pacquiao in May 2009.

Hatton said "no one wants to end their career that way," adding that "it's great to be back."

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Roddick beats Fognini to postpone retirement

NEW YORK — Winning a second consecutive match since announcing the U.S. Open will be the last tournament of his career, 2003 champion Andy Roddick postponed his retirement a little longer by getting past 59th-ranked Fabio Fognini of Italy 7-5, 7-6 (7-1), 4-6, 6-4 in the third round Sunday.

What comes next could really be memorable. In the fourth round Tuesday, the last American man to win a Grand Slam title will face 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, who defeated Leonardo Mayer 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (11-9) in an all-Argentine match that featured one particularly noteworthy point. In the tiebreaker, Mayer smacked a backhand that somehow ricocheted off the top of a net post and landed in the court — but del Potro was unfazed, got the ball back and wound up winning the point.

"I'm going to have to serve well, kind of try to rush him a little bit," Roddick said about del Potro. "When he gets into a groove and has time, he'll put a hurt on the ball."

Looking ahead himself, del Potro wasn't about to get too sentimental about Roddick's impending departure from tennis.

"I know this is special, this day, for him, but I'm doing my job," said del Potro, whose major trophy is the only one of the past 30 that wasn't won by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic.

"The crowd loves Andy here," del Potro said, "and they have respect (for) me."

Djokovic, the defending champion, beat No. 31 Julien Benneteau in straight sets and will next meet No. 18 Stanislas Wawrinka. Also advancing: No. 4 David Ferrer, who got past two-time major champion Lleyton Hewitt 7-6 (11-9), 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 and now meets No. 13 Richard Gasquet, who eliminated two-time NCAA champion Steve Johnson 7-6 (7-4), 6-2, 6-3; and No. 8 Janko Tipsarevic.

In women's action, Maria Sharapova got back to the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the first time since winning the 2006 title, taking control of a back-and-forth match after a 75-minute rain delay and beating No. 19 Nadia Petrova 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.

Sharapova will play No. 11 Marion Bartoli, who came back to defeat Petra Kvitova 1-6, 6-2, 6-0.

Top-seeded Victoria Azarenka beat 73rd-ranked Anna Tatishvili 6-2, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows for the first time. Azarenka has dropped only 10 games through four matches heading into a showdown against defending champion Sam Stosur, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over 18-year-old Laura Robson of Britain, whose breakthrough run included wins against past major champions Kim Clijsters and Li Na.

Robson beat Clijsters in the second round Wednesday, sending the 29-year-old Belgian into retirement. It was the next day, Roddick's 30th birthday, that he surprisingly let the world know he had decided to walk away as well.

Roddick and Fognini provided their own brand of entertainment, even though Roddick is not at his best because of an aching right shoulder. A couple of months ago, Roddick lowered the tension in his racket strings so he could, he explained while pointing to that shoulder, "get a little sling action in it and help the old Hamburger Helper here."

Asked how that key part of his body feels, Roddick said: "It's not great. But, you know, it's good enough. I've got, max, a week of tennis left, so it's good enough for that."

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Boxer Mosley announces retirement

NEW YORK — Boxer "Sugar" Shane Mosley is retiring, ending a career in which he won titles in three different weight classes, beat Oscar De La Hoya twice and never was knocked out.

The 40-year-old announced on Twitter that he was hanging up his gloves, saying he "loved every moment of it. Win, lose or draw."

Mosley lost three of his last four fights, including a dreary bout against Manny Pacquiao in May 2011 in which he mostly seemed to be avoiding the Filipino star in the ring.

His last fight was May 5 on the undercard of the fight between Floyd Mayweather and Miguel Cotto. Mosley lost a lopsided decision to rising Mexican star Canelo Alvarez. The loss dropped his record to 46-8-1.

Mosley began boxing at age 8 and wound up winning three U.S. Amateur titles and a bronze medal at the 1990 Goodwill Games.

His professional career peaked when he won the WBC welterweight title by beating De La Hoya in 2000 before besting the popular fighter again in 2003 to claim the light middleweight title. Mosley also won the IBF lightweight belt in 1997 and was chosen fighter of the year by the Boxing Writers Association of America.

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Mavs eliminate Lakers, sweep Jackson to retirement

Break out the brooms: Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki takes a shot against the Lakers on Sunday in Dallas. The Mavericks routed the Lakers 122-86 to sweep their playoff series. AP PHOTO

DALLAS — Phil Jackson walked off the court with a tight smile, shaking hands and accepting congratulations like he has after so many series-ending playoff games.

Never like this, though.

His team didn't win; they were crushed. Swept, too.

And he wasn't just heading to the offseason — he's calling it a career, ending the most successful run by any coach in NBA history.

Jason Terry and the Dallas Mavericks ended Jackson's tenure, and the Lakers' reign as two-time champions, with a 122-86 victory Sunday. After two tight finishes and another game that was relatively close, the Mavs turned this one into a rout in the second quarter.

With Terry, who had a game-high 32 points, leading the way, Dallas hit a barrage of 3-pointers to go ahead by 24 at halftime. When he made 3s on consecutive possessions early in the third quarter, Los Angeles knew it wasn't going to come back in this game or the series.

Things got ugly early in the fourth, with vicious, frustration-fueled cheap shots by Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum getting them ejected 45 seconds apart. But at game's end, Dallas coaches, players and team owner Mark Cuban lined up to bid farewell to the Zen Master.

"It's been a wonderful run," Jackson said.

The 65-year-old Jackson has retired before, but he insists it's for good this time. While he goes out with the sour taste of his first sweep in 21 postseasons, and his second-widest margin of defeat, it can't override all the sweet days.

A Hall of Famer since 2007, he leaves with a record 11 titles, and only 10 series losses. Take away Red Auerbach, who won nine championships, and Jackson won more titles than any two coaches combined.

Jackson won six championships with Michael Jordan, three with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, and the last two with Bryant leading the way.

He had to be talked into coming back this year. The lure of chasing a 12th title, bundled neatly as four three-peats, did it, but he knew it would be tough with a team worn down by three straight years of reaching the finals.

"(That) puts a lot of strain on the basketball club from all angles: personalities, spiritually, physically, emotionally, and getting charged up for game after game and assault after assault when you go in and play a team," Jackson said. "It was a challenge bigger than we could beat this year."

Atlanta AP

Josh Smith seemed to do it all. He attacked the basket. He defended. He rebounded. He made brilliant passes. He even won a crucial jump ball against a taller player.

There was only one thing Smith didn't do — park himself on the outside, putting up shots beyond his range.

The Atlanta Hawks were just fine with that.

Smith answered his critics with a huge game — 23 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists — and fill-in Jeff Teague came up with the Derrick Rose-like plays down the stretch to lead the Hawks past the Chicago Bulls 100-88 Sunday night, evening the Eastern Conference semifinals at two games apiece.

The Hawks snapped a nine-game home losing streak in the second round, their misery dating to a May 13, 1996, win against Orlando.

Smith is frequently criticized by Atlanta fans for his inconsistent play. He heard nothing but cheers in this one, largely staying away from the jumpers, dominating on the inside and finding the open man.

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