Sports briefs

Wallace joins Celtics, McDyess to Spurs

Finally a Laker, Ron Artest won't guarantee another ring for his new team. Especially not since some recent NBA champions made moves that could get them back to the top.

Boston and San Antonio signed veteran power forwards Wednesday, with Rasheed Wallace joining the Celtics and Antonio McDyess agreeing to a deal with the Spurs.

They left the Detroit Pistons, who added Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva to a former title contender looking to get younger and better.

Wednesday was the first day deals could be signed, and Artest called it "a long time coming," saying he's wanted to join Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles for many years. He received a five-year deal worth about $33 million, according to his agent, David Bauman.

Also Wednesday:

The Toronto Raptors re-signed former No. 1 pick Andrea Bargnani to a five-year, $50 million contract extension, as they also closed in on a deal with free agent forward Hedo Turkoglu.

Chris "Birdman" Andersen reached a five-year deal that could be worth up to $26 million to keep his high-flying, shot-blocking act with the Denver Nuggets.

The Lakers also signed guard Shannon Brown to a two-year contract for $4.2 million.

The Atlanta Hawks and center Zaza Pachulia agreed on a four-year contract, a source told The Associated Press.

McNair's death ruled a homicide-suicide

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Former NFL star Steve McNair was shot dead in his sleep last week by a 20-year-old girlfriend distraught about mounting financial problems and her belief that he was seeing someone else, police said Wednesday.

Sahel Kazemi "was spinning out of control" when she shot McNair four times as he dozed on a sofa early Saturday, then turned the gun on herself, Police Chief Ronal Serpas said. Interviews with friends revealed that she was making payments on two cars, her rent was doubling and she suspected McNair, who was married, was having a second affair with another young woman.

Police earlier had labeled McNair's death a homicide, but waited for further tests and the revelations about Kazemi's personal problems before concluding that she pulled the trigger of a 9 mm semiautomatic pistol in a condominium McNair rented with a friend. McNair, 36, a quarterback for the Tennessee Titans most of his career, met Kazemi six months ago at a sports cafe where she was a waitress.

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