The decision was made last week at a league meeting in Orlando after a request by team owner Tom Benson and talks between Superdome officials, the NFL and the team.

The Superdome was used as a shelter for between 25,000 and 30,000 people following Hurricane Katrina. Repair costs are estimated at about $140 million and most of that is expected to be covered by the state's insurance and FEMA.

NBA commissioner David Stern said in a statement the league remains committed to returning to New Orleans, but "for now, our collective interests are best served by having the team play the bulk of its 2006-07 schedule in Oklahoma City."

Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith could become the third player to win consecutive NBA slam dunk contests when he participates in the event on Feb. 18 during All-Star weekend. Michael Jordan won back-to-back competitions in 1987-88 and Jason Richardson did it in 2002-03.

Joining Smith in contest this year will be Andre Iguodala of the Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks 5-foot-9 guard Nate Robinson and Hakim Warrick of the Memphis Grizzlies.

Dewitt Gabrekivan scored 17 points to lead five Bearcats in double figures in the victory at Holly Springs. Other double-figure scorers for the Bearcats (11-8) were Ryan Rodriguez with 16, Lamont Keaton 15, Clifton Randall 12 and Andre Lockhart 10.

Under the threat of NCAA sanctions, ULM president James Cofer has accepted the Mascot Committee's recommendation to retire its 75-year-old mascot and choose a new one by June 1.

The University of Illinois filed its second appeal of an NCAA decision that would require the school to drop its Chief Illiniwek athletic mascot and logo before it could host any postseason competition.

The latest appeal, filed Tuesday, seeks to persuade the NCAA to reverse a decision by its executive committee last August that concluded Chief Illiniwek was an example of "hostile and abusive" American Indian imagery.

The Turin organizing committee (TOROC) said new ticket offices would open today, including sites at the Olympic villages in Turin, Sestriere and Bardonecchia selling tickets to officials and athletes.

Richard Norman "Chip" Williams Jr., of Mooresville, N.C., was arrested in the parking lot of a Guilford County church where he had arranged to meet what he believed was a 14-year-old girl with whom he had been conversing in an Internet chat room, Sheriff B.J. Barnes said.

Williams' firm, Williams Company of America, Inc., handles media and public relations for drivers Kyle Petty, Bobby Labonte, Derrike Cope and John Andretti, among others. Williams also formerly worked for NASCAR.

This is cache, read story here