Storrs, Conn. ? Connecticut basketball coach Jim Calhoun, coming off a year marred by health problems, an NCAA investigation and a disappointing performance on the court, signed a five-year, $13 million contract, the school announced Friday.

The Hall of Fame coach will be paid $2 million retroactive to last season and $2.3 million next season. Calhoun, who turns 68 on Monday, had been making $1.6 million under a contract that was set to expire on June 30.

Calhoun expressed relief at signing the contract, which took almost a year of negotiations to complete.

“We need to be moving forward,” Calhoun said at the news conference. “Any time you stand still, other folks are catching you, and matter of fact, bypassing you. We don’t want that happening at UConn.”

Calhoun took a medical leave of absence in January, missing seven games due to an undisclosed condition. The Huskies (18-16) lost to Virginia Tech in the second round of the NIT.

Athletic Director Jeff Hathaway said there were complexities in the contract that caused the delay, but said Calhoun’s off-the-court issues played no role in the talks.

“Jim’s age never played into these conversations,” he said. “Jim’s health never played into these conversations. The NCAA review never played into these conversations. Jim is an all-in 110 percent person. And when he’s not all-in and when he’s not 110 percent, he’s going to tell me, I’m not going to have to tell him.”

Calhoun said the contract will allow him to finish his coaching career at Connecticut. But he said that doesn’t mean he plans to retire in four years, and joked that he has been consulting with Joe Paterno, Penn State’s 83-year-old football coach.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Seton Hall players returning

South Orange, N.J. — Seton Hall says three of its top basketball players will return to school instead of entering the upcoming NBA Draft. Assistant athletic director Matt Sweeney confirmed Friday that guard Jeremy Hazell and forwards Jeff Robinson and Herb Pope have filed the paperwork to withdraw their names from the draft.

GOLF

Westwood leads at Players

Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. — Lee Westwood ran off three straight birdies to start his back nine at The Players Championship on Friday on his way to a 7-under 65 and a one-stroke lead over Heath Slocum (66), Francesco Molinari (65) and Ryuji Imada (66).

Westwood was at 12-under 132, the lowest score to lead after 36 holes at The Players Championship since 1994, when Greg Norman was at 14 under on his way to setting the 72-hole record. But as the wind picked up and the temperatures rose late in the afternoon, there were signs that the TPC Sawgrass was starting to get firm after two days of relatively soft conditions.

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will be around for the weekend, which is about all that could be said for golf’s two biggest stars. Woods overcame one tee shot that flew off to the right at a 45-degree angle and gave him double bogey for a 1-under 71. Mickelson flirted with the cut line late in the day until making a tough chip look easy for birdie on the 16th. He shot a 71. They were at 3-under 141, nine shots behind.

Fan Tasered at Players

Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. — A 36-year-old man attending the second round of The Players Championship was subdued by a Taser on Friday. Travis Parmelee, of Jacksonville, was charged with disorderly intoxication and resisting arrest without violence, said St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Dave Messenger.

Messenger said course marshals notified officers that Parmelee was yelling at players and being belligerent near the 11th hole. Officers responded and attempted to calm Parmelee down, but they said he became more combative.

Kim to miss two majors

Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. — Anthony Kim played hurt for two months in hopes of piling up as many Ryder Cup points as possible before the pain in his left thumb kept him from competing. Two days after surgery, Kim said he would miss the next two majors — the U.S. Open and the British Open.

NFL

Texans LB suspended

Houston — Texans linebacker Brian Cushing was suspended for four games on Friday for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.

The 2009 Defensive Rookie of the Year will miss the first four games of the upcoming season and be eligible to return during the week of Oct. 4. The Texans play Indianapolis, Washington, Dallas and Oakland during his suspension. Cushing can participate in preseason practices and games.

Haynesworth absent

Ashburn, Va. — Albert Haynesworth was absent again Friday when the Washington Redskins opened their second voluntary minicamp under new coach Mike Shanahan.

The two-time All-Pro defensive tackle remains unhappy with the Redskins’ switch to a 3-4 defense and would prefer to be traded. He also has irked Shanahan by working with his own trainer and staying away from all of the team’s voluntary offseason conditioning sessions.

NBA

Arenas out of halfway house

Great Falls, Va. — Gilbert Arenas has arrived home from the halfway house where he lived for nearly a month as part of his sentence for bringing guns into the Washington Wizards locker room.

Arenas left the work-release facility in the Maryland suburbs of Washington and arrived at his house in Great Falls, Va., on Friday morning. His sentence also includes two years of probation, a $5,000 fine and 400 hours of community service that can’t be performed at basketball clinics.

Artest silent on comments

El Segundo, Calif. — If Ron Artest criticized Lakers coach Phil Jackson on Twitter, he isn’t exactly owning up to his tweets.

Five disjointed, grammatically challenged messages appeared on Artest’s latest Twitter page late Thursday night, expressing frustration that Jackson had spoken to the media about Artest’s play before talking to the veteran forward personally. But Artest wouldn’t say whether he had written the tweets when asked Friday before the Lakers departed for Utah, where they’ll play Game 3 of their second-round playoff series with the Jazz today.

AUTO RACING

Hamlin edges Busch

Darlington, S.C. — Denny Hamlin raced to his third straight Nationwide victory at Darlington Raceway, pulling away from teammate Kyle Busch with five laps left.

Hamlin started from the pole and led much of the race Friday night. Still, it was a side-by-side drag race with Busch on the last restart. Busch looked as if he had the stuff to prevail, moving about half a car length in front. But Hamlin’s Toyota quickly regained the lead and moved out to about a half-second edge.

Busch was second. Jamie McMurray, the pole winner for the Sprint Cup Southern 500 earlier Friday, finished third.

McMurray tops qualifying

Darlington, S.C. — Jamie McMurray set a track record at Darlington Raceway to lead qualifying for the Southern 500 on Friday.

McMurray made it around the 1.366-mile egg-shaped superspeedway at 180.370 mph to surpass Matt Kenseth’s record run from a year ago.

Jeff Gordon was second fastest, and Brian Vickers was third for tonight’s Sprint Cup event.

BASEBALL

Indians activate Wood

Cleveland — Kerry Wood is eager finally to make his first pitch of the season. The Cleveland Indians activated the veteran closer from the disabled list Friday.

Strasburg nearly flawless

Syracuse, N.Y. — If one outing in Triple-A ball can serve as a barometer, Stephen Strasburg will have a short stay with the Syracuse Chiefs.

Strasburg, the top pick in the 2009 draft by the Washington Nationals, allowed just one hit and no runs in six innings in winning his first outing in the International League on Friday night. He threw 65 pitches, 45 for strikes, against the Gwinnett Braves, striking out six and walking one in facing 20 batters.

SOCCER

Montreal to join MLS in ’12

New York — Montreal will join Major League Soccer as its 19th team in 2012, and commissioner Don Garber hopes to add a second New York club as early as 2013.