Houston Rockets All-Star center Yao Ming is confident that he'll be ready for the start of the regular season after a team doctor declared his surgically repaired foot fully healed.
Yao missed last season after undergoing complex surgery on his left foot in July 2009. Team doctor Tom Clanton has cleared Yao to resume basketball activities.
"I am very excited," Yao said Tuesday. "I am just looking forward to playing a great season. I think I can count on my foot now."
Bobcats sign Brown: The Charlotte Bobcats thought the answer to their depth problems at center was to waive Erick Dampier to clear salary-cap space and then re-sign him for less money.
When Dampier wouldn't agree to a new contract, the Bobcats looked at the next-best option. It just so happened to be Kwame Brown, considered Bobcats owner Michael Jordan's worst move as an executive.
Jordan signed off anyway, and now they're reunited - nine years after Jordan's much-criticized decision to draft Brown No. 1 overall.
Charlotte's strange offseason continued Tuesday when Brown signed a one-year, $1.3 million deal, then met the media while wearing shorts with Jordan's Jumpman logo on the side.
Meanwhile, Bobcats GM Rod Higgins says they'll try to trade Dampier next month.
SAS field filling up
The SAS Championship announced two major commitmentsTuesday for the Champions Tour tournament next month at Cary's Prestonwood Country Club.
Bernhard Langer, who won the British Senior Open and U.S. Senior Open on back-to-back weeks this year, will play the event, tournament organizers said. The SAS Championship also received a commitment from Fred Funk, who won the Jeld-Wen Tradition, also a major title on the Champions Tour, last week.
Langer is the tour's leading money winner this year with more than $1.78 million.
The SAS Championship is set Sept. 24-26. Tom Pernice Jr. is the defending champion in the $2.1 million event.
Golfer's death ruled suicide: The Clark County coroner's office ruled Tuesday that 25-year-old professional golfer Erica Blasberg's death was a suicide.
Blasberg died May 9 at her home in Henderson, Nev., about 15 miles southeast of the Las Vegas Strip. She was found with a plastic bag secured over her head.
The coroner's office said Blasberg died of suicide due to asphyxia, coupled with the presence of toxic levels of prescription medication in her system, including prescription headache, cough, pain and anti-anxiety medications.
Blasberg grew up in Southern California, and was in her sixth season on the LPGA Tour when she died. Her best year on the tour was 2008, when she earned more than $113,000.
Blasberg played one event this season, tying for 44th in the April 29-May 2 Tres Marias Championship in Morelia, Mexico.
Weir has elbow injury: Mike Weir has a partially torn ligament in his right elbow and is likely out for the rest of the season.
Wozniacki top women's seed
Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark was seeded No. 1 at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time Tuesday, getting the top spot at the U.S. Open because Serena Williams pulled out with a foot injury.
Wozniacki, ranked No. 2 behind Williams by the WTA, was the runner-up at Flushing Meadows last year and is the first woman since 2003 to be seeded No. 1 at the U.S. Open without already having won a major championship.
The men's seedings were announced Monday, with Rafael Nadal at No. 1, and Roger Federer at No. 2.
Pilot Pen: Elena Vesnina was upset by Maria Kirilenko 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 in the first round in New Haven, Conn., a year after making it to the finals.
On the grandstand court, Marion Bartoli of France needed three sets to get by Alona Bondarenko (bahn-dah-RENK'-oh) 6-7 (4), 7-6 (2), 6-3.
Predators sign Hornqvist
The Nashville Predators have signed their top goal scorer, forward Patric Hornqvist, to a three-year, $9.25 million contract.
Hornqvist, 23, is Nashville's first draft pick to score 30 goals, and he led the team with his 30 goals last season. That also marked the fourth highest total in franchise history.
RailHawks at Rowdies
The Carolina RailHawks (8-7-7, 31 pts.) meet the Rowdies (6-8-9, 27 pts.) at Steinbrenner Stadium tonight in Tampa, Fla. The match is set for 7:30 p.m. and can be seen on www.fctampabay.com.
The RailHawks return home to host the Puerto Rico Islanders at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
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Derrick Rose can afford to take a night or two off with the way the Chicago Bulls are playing - especially when the opponent is the worst team in the NBA. 
Russell Westbrook scored 28 points and Kevin Durant had 19 points to help the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Utah Jazz 101-87 on Friday night. 
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Rudy Gay scored 21 points, Marreese Speights added a season-high 19 points and nine rebounds and the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Indiana Pacers 98-92 on Friday night. 
Twelve-year-old Thomas Boston of Conover is a chatterbox. Even after breaking his arm in a middle-school football practice, he kept cracking jokes to keep his mother calm. 
Former Duke star Luol Deng learned Thursday he'd been selected for his first All-Star Game. That would have been a thrill no matter what, but Deng found it special because of all he's been through. Keep up with the latest sports stories with our free e-mail newsletters, delivered to your inbox!
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