PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)—Longtime coaching veteran Bernie Bickerstaff has been
named an assistant on Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan’s staff.

McMillan also named Bob Ociepka and former Blazer Buck Williams as
assistants.

Bickerstaff’s coaching career started in 1973 and has included stints as a
head coach in Seattle, Denver, Washington and Charlotte. He has spent the past
two seasons as an assistant with the Chicago Bulls.

He has also served as general manager of the Nuggets and the Bobcats.

Ociepka has also been an assistant with the Bulls for the past two seasons.
He has nearly 20 years’ experience as an assistant in the league.

Williams, a three-time All-Star, played for the Blazers from 1989-96 during
an NBA career that spanned 17 seasons.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)—Oklahoma City assistant general manager Rich Cho has been
named the new GM of the Portland Trail Blazers.

Cho, 44, has been assistant for the Thunder for the past nine seasons. The
northwest native joined the team as an intern when the franchise was based in
Seattle.

“Everyone I spoke to about Rich commented not just on his qualifications
but on who he is as a person,” Blazers president Larry Miller said in a
statement. “He is well known for his ability to connect genuinely with people.
Rich will be a great fit for our organization and for Portland. He is an
executive on the rise and we’re thrilled to have him as a Trail Blazer.”

Terms of the contract with Cho were not disclosed. The Blazers scheduled a
news conference on Monday to discuss the appointment.

Cho replaces Kevin Pritchard, who helped usher the team out of the Jail
Blazers era but was fired shortly before the NBA draft last month.

During his time in Seattle Cho worked closely with Microsoft to develop a
comprehensive player evaluation system. A member of the Washington State Bar, he
also served as a vice president in charge of legal affairs for the SuperSonics
from 2005-07, handling issues including licensing agreements and employment
contracts.

“He has been the most sought after NBA executive over the past couple of
years,” said Blazers coach Nate McMillan, who worked with Cho in Seattle. “He
can get deals done and make things happen.

“Next steps will be to finalize my coaching staff. I hope to make that
announcement later this week”

Cho, who also has worked at Boeing, is a graduate of Washington State. He
attended law school at Pepperdine.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP)—An Alabama business has filed a lawsuit against NFL
receiver Terrell Owens(notes) and his cousin, claiming the two didn’t pay expenses from
a lease termination agreement for their martini bar.

The Birmingham News reports that the lawsuit was filed in Jefferson County
Circuit Court Friday on behalf of Walker Partners Ltd.

The company claims it entered into a lease with Minnifield Owens Lounges in
Birmingham on May 17, 2005.

It says the sides agreed to terminate the lease and that M&O Lounges would
pay past due rent, utility costs and other operating expenses.

The lawsuit contends Owens and Antonio Minnifield failed to pay and seeks
more than ,000. About ,000 of it is attorney’s fees.

Owens is a free agent. An agent for Owens didn’t immediately return a
message left by The Associated Press.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP)—The endorsement of Kyle Orton(notes) as his starting
quarterback maybe wasn’t as emphatic this time around.

Still, Denver Broncos coach Josh McDaniels insisted Saturday after minicamp
that Orton will be his guy heading into training camp.

From there, the competition is open as Brady Quinn(notes) and rookie Tim Tebow(notes) will
have an opportunity to win the job.

Nothing is set in stone.

“We’ve got a guy who’s going to go into camp as the starter, no question
about it and he deserves it,” McDaniels said. “If somebody comes in there and
plays better than he does then that player will play.”

About this point last spring, McDaniels, then in his first year as coach,
eagerly anointed Orton as his starter, a move that was made to ease any tension,
cease any speculation.

This time, though, McDaniels’ affirmation seemed almost more tepid, a casual
assumption rather than a proclamation.

“He is the starter, no doubt,” McDaniels nonchalantly said.

On a rainy and cool practice Saturday, Orton received a bulk of the reps, an
explicit indication he’s the leader of the QB pack.

Asked if the competition was even close right now, McDaniels said, “It’s
clear, I think, that Kyle is definitely ahead. There’s no question.”

Orton isn’t really giving the competition much thought, just going about his
business. That’s always been his approach.

“I’m really happy with the way I’m playing and just really have more
confidence right now than I’ve ever had,” he said.

Orton is coming off a season in which he threw for a career-high 3,802 yards
and 21 touchdowns. But Denver limped home down the stretch and missed the
playoffs despite a 6-0 start.

The Broncos brought in a cache of quarterbacks to challenge Orton, acquiring
Quinn from Cleveland in March and then drafting Tebow, the two-time national
champion and Heisman Trophy winner out of Florida.

Being the incumbent, though, and with a year of this intricate offense under
his belt, Orton feels like he’s a step ahead.

“It’s just night and day,” Orton said about his improvement since last
season. “There’s really just no comparison between myself and anyone else who’s
been in this offense for two years.”

Precisely why he has a lock on the starting spot—for the moment. Quinn or
Tebow still have something to say about that.

“I don’t know if it matters if it’s close or not, but they’re going to keep
pushing (Orton) and working hard to try to improve their game so that they can
make it close,” McDaniels said. “I think we had three guys out there that
practiced pretty well (Saturday).”

Not to mention a rookie receiver who’s steadily finding his groove.
Demaryius Thomas(notes), a first-round pick from Georgia Tech, is working his way back
into shape after being sidelined earlier this spring with a broken left foot.

“He’s doing great,” McDaniels said. “In terms of trying to get better at
the things that he has struggled with or made an error with—he has really
worked hard to try to fix those.”

Lately, Thomas has been spending time with former Broncos standout Rod
Smith(notes), who holds team marks for career receptions (849), yards receiving
(11,389), touchdown catches (68) and touchdowns (71).

The tutoring is taking hold.

“He helped me out a lot,” said Thomas, who tweaked his knee late in
practice but said it wasn’t anything serious. “Some of the stuff that he told
me he did and would help me out and I tried it today and it did help.”

Stuff like?

“It was basically getting off the line and getting off press and using my
body and using my shoulders—something I never did before,” he said.

Thomas wasn’t the only receiver to dazzle Saturday, with Matthew Willis out
of UCLA turning in quite a catch between defensive backs in a red-zone drill.
Kenny McKinley(notes) wasn’t to be outdone, leaping in the corner of the end zone to
haul in a pass.

However, Pro Bowl safety Brian Dawkins(notes) refuted McKinley’s catch, throwing
his helmet as a makeshift flag and protesting that McKinley stepped out before
the grab.

Still, it was a good day for the young wideouts as they build a rapport with
Orton, Quinn and Tebow.

“I have a (high) comfort level with all these guys,” Orton said. “All
these guys run great routes.”

Notes: LB Robert Ayers(notes) wasn’t taking reps with the first team Saturday for
what McDaniels called a “coaching decision.” When pressed if Ayers, a
first-round pick last season, was being punished, McDaniels responded, “I’m not
going to talk about it.” … WRs Brandon Stokley(notes) and Brandon Lloyd(notes) were among
the players who didn’t practice Saturday.