Sports

NBA veteran center Jason Collins has become the first active male professional athlete in the major four American sports leagues to come out as gay.

Collins wrote a first-person account posted Monday on Sports Illustrated's website. The 34-year-old Collins has played for six NBA teams in 12 seasons. He finished this past season with the Washington Wizards and is now a free agent. He says he wants to continue playing.

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson has announced a new investor to help fill the role vacated by billionaire Ron Burkle in the city's bid to keep the Kings from moving to Seattle.

Johnson said at his weekly news conference Tuesday that Sacramento developer Mark Friedman has joined the group. The announcement comes a day after Burkle backed out because of a conflict of interest stemming from his ownership stake in Relativity Sports, which manages some NBA players' careers.

Sacramento is in a stronger position to convince the NBA to keep the Kings from moving to Seattle with a deal now in place to build an 18,500-seat arena downtown.

The Sacramento City Council voted 7-2 Tuesday to approve a deal that contributes $258 million to the $447 million project. The city plans to use money earned from leasing parking garages for events at the arena to help pay the public cost of the new arena on the current site of an aging shopping mall.

The Seattle Seahawks made two big moves this week, trading for high-profile wide receiver Percy Harvin and signing defensive end Cliff Avril. These moves show that the Seahawks are serious about winning a Super Bowl this upcoming season, says sports commentator Art Thiel. 

Investor Chris Hansen says the proposed arena for Seattle's next NBA team will be an "even better building for hockey."

Hansen on Thursday released preliminary design renderings that show how his planned arena would accommodate an NHL team.