OGDEN, Utah — Ken Bone has been named the 2007-08 Big Sky Conference men’s basketball coach of the year after leading Portland State to its first NCAA tournament appearance.

The league’s nine head coaches voted on the award.

Bone guided the Vikings to a 23-9 record, including a 14-2 conference mark. Portland State won the Big Sky Conference regular season title and the tournament championship with a 67-51 victory over Northern Arizona.

Portland State meets top-seeded Kansas in the opening round of the NCAA tournament today in Omaha, Neb.

Bone has a 54-38 record in three seasons at PSU. He has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the vacant head coaching job at OregonState University.

TENNIS

Nadal,Federer and Sharapova advance

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Rafael Nadal came back to win the final five games and beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in an intense, crowd-pleasing rematch of their Australian Open semifinal.

Nadal, the defending Indian Wells champion, avenged his lopsided loss in Melbourne with a scrappy 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3) 7-5 victory in the fourth round of the Pacific Life Open.

No. 1 Roger Federer, bidding for his fourth Indian Wells title in five years, cruised to a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Ivan Ljubicic to also move into the quarterfinals.

Maria Sharapova ran her 2008 record to 18-0 and gained the women’s semifinals with a 7-6(2), 6-1 victory over defending champion Daniela Hantuchova. Sharapova won the tournament in 2006, and Hantuchova has taken the title twice, the first time in 2002.

James Blake and Mardy Fish, the two U.S. players remaining in the men’s competition, each won to advance to the quarterfinals. Blake took a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Richard Gasquet, and Fish beat two-time Indian Wells champion Lleyton Hewitt 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(4).

OLYMPICS

Canadians recommend against boycott

VANCOUVER, British Columia — The organizers of the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver spoke out against a boycott of the Beijing Olympics over the violence in Tibet.

A boycott of the Aug. 8-24 games would only end up hurting athletes, said John Furlong, head of the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee.

This week’s violent protests in Tibet, the most serious challenge in almost two decades to China’s rule in the region, are forcing human rights campaigners to re-examine their approach to the Olympics.

Hundreds of pro-Tibetan activists will demand a Canadian boycott of this summer’s Olympic Games in Beijing when they converge at Parliament Hill today.

No country is threatening such a measure and the Canadian government has remained largely silent, referring questions on a boycott to the Canadian Olympic Committee.

PRO FOOTBALL

Pittsburgh receiver faces charge

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Cedrick Wilson was charged with assaulting his estranged girlfriend at a suburban Pittsburgh restaurant Wednesday night.

Wilson, 29, entered the Patron Mexican Grill in Pine Township shortly before 8 p.m. and saw Lindsey Paulat sitting at the bar, according to a criminal complaint filed by Northern Regional Police.

Paulat told police Wilson pushed her on the shoulder and, when she turned around, punched her in the left side of her face before leaving the eatery promptly, according to the complaint.

There was redness and swelling on Paulat’s left cheek, and witnesses told officers what happened, police said.

Officers later found Wilson as he was leaving his Pine Township home in his car, police said.

BASEBALL

Astros demote former OSUpitcher

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The Houston Astros outrighted former Oregon State left-hander Mark McLemore to Triple-A Round Rock and reassigned seven players to minor league camp Wednesday.

McLemore allowed 13 hits and 11 runs in six appearances this spring.

“He just didn’t throw enough strikes,” manager Cecil Cooper said. “We need guys to throw strikes.”

Houston selected McLemore in the fourth round of the 2002 draft. He made 29 relief appearanes for the Astros last season, winning all three of his decisions and posting a 3.86 ERA.

Houston reassigned right-handers Mike DeJean and Carlos Hines, left-hander Stephen Randolph, catchers J.R. House and Albert Castillo and outfielders Victor Diaz and Nick Gorneault to minor league camp.

HOCKEY

Minnesota player injured

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Minnesota Wild defenseman Kurtis Foster left the Shark Tank ice on a stretcher with a broken left leg after running into the boards in a collision with San Jose rookie Torrey Mitchell.

Foster, who has seven goals and 12 assists this season, was expected to have surgery to insert a stabilizing rod into his leg. The third-year pro’s season is almost certainly over.

Foster was slightly ahead of Mitchell as they chased a puck toward the boards behind the Minnesota goal in the second period. The 5-foot-11 San Jose center, who was hoping to prevent an icing call, put out his arms just enough to disrupt the precarious balance of the 6-foot-5 Foster, who already appeared to be falling when the players’ skates collided.

Nashville close to new arena lease

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The new owners of the Nashville Predators are close to final approval on a revised lease agreement for their arena that has Nashville taxpayers helping subsidize the team.

The Metro Sports Authority approved the new lease by a vote of 7-1 Tuesday, and the Metro Council is expected to vote on the lease April 1 with only a simple majority needed for approval.

The agreement has Nashville paying the team $3.8 million each year, even when the Predators don’t lose that much money. If the Sommet Center’s losses are less than $3.8 million, the other money could be spent on the arena itself.

David Freeman, the lead owner, said the owners plan to spend at least that much to help bring in events like the NCAA women’s Final Four. Freeman said the arena should host 150 days of events in the fiscal year ending in June, up 30 days from the previous fiscal year.