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NBA Headlines
March 18
New Orleans Times-Picayune
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After getting medically cleared to begin running last week, New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul is now cutting and moving lateral during his pregame workouts. Though there is no set target date on his return, Paul said he is getting closer toward returning to the lineup after requiring knee surgery on Feb. 4. Paul could return this Saturday against Utah or on Monday night at home against the Dallas Mavericks. "It's amazing just weeks ago, I was like will I ever get back,'' Paul said. "But now to be almost there gives me a lot of hope and something to be excited about. I'm moving pretty good right now, but I still have a little ways to go.''"
March 18
The Deseret News
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When Utah Jazz point guard Deron Williams' left foot came down awkwardly on Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love's left foot after a jump shot with 10 seconds remaining in the first quarter on Wednesday night at EnergySolutions Arena, it didn't look good. The sold-out crowd held its collective breath as the Jazz All-Star, in obvious pain, hopped on his right foot past the bench and straight through the tunnel toward the team's locker room. Williams, himself, didn't think he would return to the game. But lo and behold, after getting his left ankle re-taped, Williams came back on the court to a hero's welcome with 6:09 left in the second quarter and led the Jazz to a 122-100 victory the ..."
March 18
Indianapolis Star
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Indiana Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said there is no timetable for forward Danny Granger's return to the lineup. Granger was examined and released from Methodist Hospital after a CT scan on his head and neck taken Tuesday night came back negative. "(The team's physicians will) evaluate him on a day-to-day basis," O'Brien said. "If he's capable of going, he'll go, but you never know when somebody gets hit that hard in the head area." Granger, who did not attend Wednesday's game at Cleveland, took an elbow to his cheek late in Tuesday's win over Charlotte. He had to be helped to the locker room. O'Brien said the Pacers are used to playing without Granger because of the amount of time he has ..."
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The N.B.A. board of governors on Wednesday unanimously approved Michael Jordan's purchase of the money-losing Charlotte Bobcats from Robert L. Johnson. The acquisition placed a $275 million value on the team, and Jordan is increasing his small stake to a majority one. Johnson became the first African-American to own a controlling interest of a sports team when he paid $300 million for the Charlotte expansion franchise in 2002. He is believed to have financed $80 million in team losses, which he no longer wished to do, and accumulated more than $100 million in debt. "Purchasing the Bobcats is the culmination of my post-playing career goal of becoming the majority owner of an N.B.A. ..."
NFL Headlines
March 18
Arizona Republic
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Arizona Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt said quarterback Derek Anderson will be given the chance to compete with Matt Leinart for the starting job, but he also made it clear that for now it's Leinart's job to lose. "Certainly Matt has earned the right to be the guy and that's the way we're going forward as we proceed," Whisenhunt said Wednesday, after the Cardinals announced they had signed Anderson to a two-year contract. A free agent released last week by the Browns, Anderson, 26, agreed to a deal worth $7.25 million, of which $3.25 million will be guaranteed. If he reaches maximum performance bonuses, the deal could be worth in excess of $18 million."
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Faith. That's what the Seahawks will place in Charlie Whitehurst as Seattle is expected to give up draft-day position this year, a third-round choice next year and more than $8 million over the next two years to acquire the Chargers' restricted free-agent quarterback. Faith. That's about all anyone has to go on with Whitehurst, too. In four years, the Chargers' third-string quarterback has taken only a handful of meaningful snaps and has yet to attempt a regular-season pass. But the Seahawks believe he can be a starting-caliber quarterback, someone who can be an eventual successor to Matt Hasselbeck. Seattle made that clear with everything it will give up to acquire the restricted free ..."
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One of the best free-agent kickers on the market is heading to Arizona for a free-agent visit. A source told FOXSports.com that Jay Feely is scheduled to visit this weekend with Cardinals officials. Feely, 33, is coming off a solid season with the New York Jets. He converted 30 of 36 field goals during the regular season and made all 32 of his extra-point attempts. Feely also served as New York's emergency punter during a first-round playoff victory against Cincinnati."
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General manager Jerry Angelo said three weeks ago at the NFL scouting combine that he planned to take Nathan Vasher to training camp. That, of course, was with the goal in mind of finally getting a return on the $28 million investment he made in the former Pro Bowl cornerback three years ago. That plan changed when the Bears signed Tim Jennings Tuesday and subsequently released the affable Vasher Wednesday in time for him to find another team. Vasher didn't collect the entire amount of his contract, but he did pocket more than $18.6 million over the last three seasons while making only 11 starts. He tore a groin muscle in Week 3 of the 2007 season and that cost him 12 games. He suffered a ..."
MLB Headlines
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The imposing one-two punch at the top of the Mariners' starting rotation appears to be on hold for a while. Cliff Lee's extracurricular activities in Tucson, Ariz., on Monday were penalized Wednesday, when Major League Baseball announced that the pitcher has been issued a five-game suspension, effective at the start of the regular season. Lee, who declined to comment on the issue Wednesday afternoon, was ejected for throwing at Arizona catcher Chris Snyder in the third inning, an incident that emptied both benches. With the suspension comes immediate confusion for the Mariners. The 2008 American League Cy Young Award-winning left-hander, expected to be the team's No. 2 starter behind last ..."
March 18
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
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Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington used cocaine last season and failed a random drug test, but team officials are convinced that he continues to be the right man to lead the club despite his actions. Washington, 57, told his players of his indiscretion during a team meeting Wednesday morning, then read a prepared statement and took questions for nearly 13 minutes during a late-morning news conference at Surprise Stadium. He insisted in both meetings that the drug use was a one-time mistake, but did not reveal the type of drug he took or specify when he made his mistake. Sources, though, said that Washington took cocaine, and that the timeline had its origin in July."
March 18
Arizona Republic
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Right-hander Brandon Webb feels his arm suddenly has come back to life, flipping his mind-set for the better and injecting some much-needed optimism into his road back from shoulder surgery. "It felt like I was throwing hard as hell," he said, recalling a throwing session he had with teammate Dan Haren on Sunday in Surprise. "It felt like I was throwing 95." Even better for his outlook: The doctor who performed his surgery in August was there watching him throw and came away so impressed he didn't even feel the need to examine him. "I was letting it go almost all the way," Webb said. "I felt like I had more left in the tank even. It was good, really good." As good as he feels, Webb seems ..."
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Elijah Dukes's tenure with the Washington Nationals ended Wednesday when the team unconditionally released him, a decision the team said was made for reasons pertaining only to baseball. The move left Dukes stunned and the Nationals without a set right fielder with the season less than three weeks away. General Manager Mike Rizzo called Dukes's release "a performance-based decision" and that "no singular incident" led to the decision. But Rizzo also implied that Dukes's presence in the clubhouse adversely affected the Nationals, saying they "will be a more cohesive group" without him. "The clubhouse will be more united," Rizzo said. "We'll have a better feel around the ballclub. We'll ..."
NHL Headlines
March 18
Chicago Sun-Times
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The undoing of the Blackhawks started with a violent hit -- one that coach Joel Quennevillle said "could kill a guy" -- and ended with another one Wednesday night against the Anaheim Ducks. First, Brent Seabrook was knocked out of the game by a jarring hit from ex-Hawk James Wisniewski early in the second period. Then, Brent Sopel was heaved to the ice during a mid-air play late in the third by the Ducks' Corey Perry, which ultimately resulted in Saku Koivu scoring the game-winner for the Ducks in their 4-2 win at the Honda Center. Deciding which play was more controversial is debatable. But the hit on Seabrook -- which occurred a game after Alex Ovechkin's injury-causing check on ..."
March 18
Vancouver Province
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One of Michael Grabner's challenges today will be to sidestep the tempting soccer ball that sits in the dressing-room entrance. The other will be to step up and prove he can skate and score in traffic and become much more than just a roster option for the Vancouver Canucks. With winger Mikael Samuelsson sidelined two to three weeks after suffering a third-period shoulder injury Tuesday, the onus has fallen on the recalled Grabner to put a freak soccer ritual accident behind him and deliver on the promise he showed in October. That's when the 2006 first-round draft choice had five points in nine games on a line with Ryan Kesler and Mason Raymond and appeared to have finally arrived. Grabner ..."
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The NHL is looking to establish a new rule against blind-side hits to the head as soon as possible, but any change for the rest of the regular season or playoffs would involve possible supplemental discipline but would not involve on-ice officials calling a minor or major penalty. "A penalty call on the ice [based on any new rule] would be a difficult thing to consistently administer at this time," said Colin Campbell, the NHL's Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations, during an appearance on NHL Live! radio. The alternative measure would be for any potential violation to be reviewed by Campbell and his Hockey Operations staff. Any questionable play would involve "a lateral, ..."
March 18
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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Center Evgeni Malkin, who has a bruised right foot, will not play in the Penguins' game against Boston tonight at the TD Garden. Malkin was on the ice briefly at an optional game-day skate today, but quickly adjourned to the locker room and confirmed that he will sit out his second game in a row."