Wizards owner's words draw fine

Washington Wizards majority owner Ted Leonsis told local business leaders yesterday that he expects the NBA soon will have a hard salary cap similar to the NHL's model.

NBA commissioner David Stern said that's not necessarily true - and warned Leonsis could be punished for discussing private league business. The NBA later announced it had fined Leonsis $100,000 for "unauthorized public comments regarding the league's collective bargaining negotiations."

"We're negotiating and that was one of our negotiating points," Stern told the Associated Press before the fine was announced, "but collective bargaining is a negotiating process, and that was not something that Ted was authorized to say and he will be dealt with for that lapse in judgment."

Leonsis, who also owns the Washington Capitals, spoke to a group of business leaders before the Wizards' training camp session.

In other NBA news:

* Orlando Magic point guard Jason Williams will have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee today and miss about 4 weeks.

* The NBA Development League will use international goaltending rules and shorter overtime periods this season, experiments that could someday make their way into the NBA. The league said that overtime will last 3 minutes instead of 5.

* Three-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador tested positive for a banned steroid during this year's race and has been suspended by cycling's governing body.

* American Ryan Hall, 27, has withdrawn from next month's Chicago Marathon because of fatigue due to overtraining. Hall finished 14th at the Philadelphia Half Marathon on Sept. 19 with a time nearly 4 minutes off his U.S. record. He said in a statement that he had overtrained.