Minnesota Sports Roundup: Parise watch continues

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ST. PAUL - Top NHL free agent Zach Parise has still not announced which team he will sign a new contract with, but it is believed Minnesota remains one of the options.

The 27-year-old Minneapolis native has spent his entire NHL career with New Jersey and has several lucrative offers on the table from teams across the league. He reportedly returned to his offseason home in the suburban Twin Cities to sit down with family and choose his destination. Pittsburgh, Chicago, Detroit, and New Jersey are reportedly also in the hunt to land the coveted forward, who combines high skill with grit when he plays. He is the son of former North Stars player and assistant coach J.P. Parise and played prep hockey at Shattuck-St. Mary's in Faribault. The Wild also have an offer out to top line free agent Ryan Suter, who most recently played for Nashville.

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Benilde-St. Margaret's high school hockey player Jack Jablonski, who was paralyzed after a check from behind during a game last December, has taken to Twitter to try to help his hometown Minnesota Wild land the top NHL free agent on the market. Sunday, Jablonski tweeted to Zach Parise that he'd like the star player to sign with the Wild. Previously, Parise had called Jablonski to offer support as the 16-year-old was recovering in the hospital following the hit. The Wild confirmed that they have made a lucrative offer to Parise, a Twin Cities native. Parise has several offers to choose from around the league. Reports indicate Parise could make some sort of an announcement as soon as today.

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Nine players, including Minnesota's Kevin Love, have secured berths on the USA Basketball roster for this month's Summer Olympics in London. USA Basketball president Jerry Colangelo told Fox Sports Florida that LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love and Tyson Chandler are assured of a spot. That leaves six players fighting for three remaining roster spots. Those six players are Blake Griffin, Andre Iguodala, Rudy Gay, James Harden, Eric Gordon and Anthony Davis. Davis was the first-overall pick of the New Orleans Hornets in last week's NBA Draft. He sprained his ankle on Saturday and likely won't be on the squad. Team USA begins practice in Las Vegas this week.

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Here are Monday's results from the American Association:

St. Paul, idle

Fargo-Moorhead, idle

Sioux Falls 5, Gary 0 (final)

Kansas City 3, Lincoln 1 (final)

Grand Prairie 8, Amarillo 1 (final)

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Duluth 14, St. Cloud 4 (final - Game One)

Duluth 7, St. Cloud 6 (final - Game Two)

Alexandria 5, Willmar 4 (final)

Rochester 3, Thunder Bay 2 (final)

Mankato 5, Waterloo 2 (final)

Lakeshore 8, Wisconsin 1 (final)

Battle Creek 7, Wisconsin Rapids 6 (final)

LaCrosse 11, Green Bay 6 (final)

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The Oklahoma City Thunder and head coach Scott Brooks have agreed to a multi-year contract. Brooks guided the Thunder to a record of 47-19 this past regular season. OKC went on to win the Western Conference championship before losing to the Miami Heat in five games in the NBA Finals. In four seasons with the Thunder, the 46-year-old Brooks has posted a record of 174-125. Brooks spent two seasons as a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the early 1990's.

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WNBA star Seimone Augustus is one of three players up for "Best WNBA Players" honors at the ESPY awards sponsored by ESPN next week. The Lynx standout helped the Lynx to the league title last year. Fans can vote for the award through July 9th. The annual ESPY awards show airs on July 11th. The Lynx play at Los Angeles this Thursday.

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The NFL has eased rules on local television blackouts. Home teams now only have to sell out 85-percent of game tickets in order to broadcast games in their local markets. Teams previously had to sell out games or get an exception from the NFL to show games. NFL owners approved the move in May. The "Wall Street Journal" reports average game attendance is down four-point-five percent since 2007.

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Michael Phelps is cutting one event out of his Olympic schedule. The 16-time gold medalist won't swim in the 200-meter freestyle during the London Games. Phelps will still swim seven events, the 100 fly, 200 fly, 200 Individual Medley, 400 IM and all three relays. He won eight gold medals at the Beijing Games four years ago. Ricky Berens will take Phelps' place in the 200 free in London.

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