BRIEFLY : PHOENIX OF WNBA HIRES MILLER TO COACH.

The new Phoenix WNBA franchise, weeks away from choosing a name, gave itself an attitude and instant identity Monday by hiring Cheryl Miller as coach and general manager.

``Run, run, run, run, run,'' Miller said about her kind of team. ``Play some outstanding defense. I want this team to be physical, I want them to know the game.''

Sort of a capsule of the coach herself.

Miller, 33, helped take USC to two national championships as a player, helped the 1984 U.S. women win an Olympic gold medal, was a three-time NCAA Player of the Year, and is one of 11 women in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

She also coached USC's women to a 44-14 record from 1993-95, winning a Pac-10 championship her first year.

Miami Heat forward Kurt Thomas, who has already missed 25 games this season because of injuries, fractured his right ankle when he misstepped on a stairway. Thomas will be sidelined indefinitely, the team said.

Geno Carlisle of Northwestern and Thomas Kilgore of Central Michigan have transferred to California and are eligible to play in December, coach Ben Braun said.

HOCKEY: The Pittsburgh Penguins traded right wing Tomas Sandstrom to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for center Greg Johnson. Sandstrom, 32, is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. He has nine goals and 15 assists in 40 games with the Penguins this season. He has 361 career goals and 428 assists in 814 games with Pittsburgh, the Kings and the New York Rangers.

Former New York Islander Gerry Hart was arrested in Smithfield, R.I., and charged with punching a referee and striking a 14-year-old player during a hockey tournament last weekend. Hart, who played 15 seasons in the NHL with the Islanders and three other teams, was charged with two counts of simple assault, a misdemeanor.

TENNIS: Australian Open champion Pete Sampras set an ATP Tour record for most points in the rankings, breaking the total Andre Agassi established two years ago. Sampras has 5,774 during 14 tournaments in the past 12 months. Agassi's old record was 5,652 in the one-year period ending Aug. 28, 1995.

FOOTBALL: Mayor Bob Lanier rejected the Houston Oilers' suggestion they trade their 7.1-acre practice facility in exchange for an early release from their Astrodome contract, allowing them to move to Tennessee a year early.

BASEBALL: Terry Pendleton agreed to a minor-league contract that guarantees him $350,000 but could bring him as much as $1.4 million.