sports in brief

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Aug 23, 2008

Local & state: Former Wildcat Walker inks deal with Celtics

The Celtics have signed second-round draft pick Bill Walker.

Celtics general manager Danny Ainge praised Walker's "hard work and skill development" during the summer in announcing the signing Friday.

Boston obtained the rights to the 6-foot-6 forward out of Kansas State for cash after he was chosen with the 47th pick by Washington in this year's NBA draft.

Walker had minor arthroscopic surgery on his right knee last month after injuring it in a pre-draft workout in June.

He missed the Celtics' rookie camp because of the injury. Walker had surgery on the same knee as a high school freshman.

In two seasons with the Wildcats, Walker averaged 15.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in 37 games.

Terms of the deal were not announced.

Jordan Bedore, Kansas State center, and Ryan Cantrell, Kansas center, were named to the 2008 Rimington Trophy watch list.

The 9-year old Rimington Trophy is presented annually by the Boomer Esiason Foundation to the nation's top center.

Football: Merriman says he has ligament damage to left knee

San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman, who has missed more than a week of practice because of a sore left knee, said Thursday night that he has ligament damage and is evaluating his options.

The trouble is "a loose ligament and (I'm) waiting to get more info on what I need to do," Merriman said in an e-mail to the North County Times.

Merriman underwent surgery to repair cartilage damage five months ago but has had persistent pain in the knee during training camp. He traveled this week to Birmingham, Ala., so the knee could be examined by Dr. James Andrews, who performed the operation.

J.T. O'Sullivan will start at quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers when the NFL regular season begins next month.

O'Sullivan clinched the job with a strong performance during Thursday night's 37-30 exhibition victory over Chicago, and 49ers coach Mike Nolan said it was time to make O'Sullivan's status official after a summer of uncertainty.

Gene Upshaw, Hall of Fame player and longtime NFL union head, will be remembered this weekend with a moment of silence at NFL exhibition games.

A new policy requiring Missouri football donors to also pay for stadium parking has some fans crying foul.

Missouri is now charging donors a $100 fee on top of their donation and season-ticket costs for a parking space in any reserved parking lots. Those spaces had always been complimentary.

"There's no sense hiding behind it. We want to generate more revenue," said Whit Babcock, senior associate athletic director. "We are the last school in the Big 12 North to implement a charge for reserve parking in our donor lots."

The Detroit Lions have signed quarterback Drew Henson, a high school and college standout who has struggled at the professional level in baseball and football.

Terms of the signing, announced on the team's Web site, weren't disclosed.

Basketball: Nuggets re-sign Smith to multiyear contract

The Denver Nuggets re-signed restricted free agent J.R. Smith to a multiyear contract on Friday.

The 22-year-old guard averaged 12.6 points for the Nuggets during the past two seasons.

He shot nearly 40 percent from 3-point range, the best percentage in team history for players with at least 100 3-pointers.

The Boston Celtics signed forward Darius Miles, who missed the last two NBA seasons because of knee injuries.

Lisa Miceli, 35, who claims Michael Jordan fathered her son, is still in jail because a judge says she hasn't promised not to bother the former NBA star.

A Crawford County judge barred the Pennsylvania woman of Meadville from contacting Jordan, his family or his representatives. But the judge who jailed Miceli last week, says a letter she wrote promising to comply wasn't good enough.

The Spurs have re-signed guard Michael Finley.

The New Orleans Hornets signed Devin Brown on Friday.

The Miami Heat re-signed forward Dorell Wright on Thursday.

Golf: Georgia teammates advance to semifinal round

Adam Mitchell and Patrick Reed are giving the Georgia Bulldogs something to cheer besides football.

The Georgia teammates advanced to the U.S. Amateur semifinals Friday and kept alive the possibility of an all-Bulldog championship round.

Mitchell rallied to defeat Charlie Holland 2 and 1 in one quarterfinal, and Patrick Reed defeated Graham Hill 4 and 3 to reach a Saturday semifinal matchup against perhaps the field's hottest player: fellow 18-year-old Danny Lee.

The Associated Press