sports in brief

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Oct 25, 2008

Basketball: Chalmers hits winning 3-pointer at buzzer

Mario Chalmers made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Miami Heat a 96-93 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night in the final preseason game for both teams.

In April in the NCAA championship game, Chalmers hit a last- second 3-pointer that forced overtime as Kansas rallied to beat Memphis.

Michael Beasley scored 19 points for Miami (2-5). Udonis Haslem added 18 on 8-of-10 shooting, and Daequan Cook had 17 points. Chalmers, 3-for-3 from 3-point range, had 11 points. Tony Parker led San Antonio (3-4) with 16 points.

Arizona has selected Russ Pennell as the interim replacement for retired coach Lute Olson.

The 47-year-old Pennell, a native of Pittsburg, Kan., is a former assistant to Rob Evans at Arizona State and served last year as a Sun Devils radio analyst.

The university turned to Pennell, who has never been a college head coach, after failing to reach an agreement with Olson's top assistant, Mike Dunlap.

Derrick Rose, the former Memphis star selected first overall in the NBA draft, left the Chicago Bulls' exhibition finale against Milwaukee because of a hip injury Friday night.

Guard Kirk Hinrich replaced Rose and scored 11 points through the balance of the quarter as Chicago jumped to a 35-16 lead.

NFL: TV report says players have violated steroids policy

New Orleans Saints veterans Deuce McAllister and Will Smith reportedly are among several players who have violated the NFL steroids policy.

Fox 31 television in Denver, citing an unnamed source, reported Friday there are between six and 10 positive tests in the NFL for a weight-loss diuretic. The only names the station mentioned were the two Saints, who are in London for Sunday's game with the San Diego Chargers.

ESPN.com, citing two unnamed sources, reported the number is more than 10 and may exceed 15.

New York Giants receiver Plaxico Burress was fined $45,000 by the NFL for verbally abusing an official and tossing a ball into the stands during last weekend's game against San Francisco.

Burress was fined $20,000 for comments to head linesman Phil McKinnely after the official called him for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the second quarter, and $20,000 for inappropriate comments after the game on the officiating.

A staph infection in a bursa sac in Peyton Manning's left knee led to the surgery that kept him out of much of the Indianapolis Colts' preseason training camp, the team confirmed Friday.

But team officials denied reports Manning had a highly virulent form of staph infection that is difficult to treat called methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs insisted Friday the team didn't have a bounty on rookie running back Rashard Mendenhall and receiver Hines Ward of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In an interview last week on an Atlanta radio station, Suggs was asked if there was a bounty on Mendenhall. He replied, "The bounty was out on him and the bounty was out on (Ward). We just didn't get him between the whistles."

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Willie Parker unexpectedly didn't practice Friday because of ongoing problems with his sprained left knee and is unlikely to play Sunday against the New York Giants.

Wide receiver Santonio Holmes also was held out of practice and will be deactivated Sunday after city police stopped his car and smelled burning marijuana Thursday.

Roger Goddell is leaving open the possibility that suspended cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones could play again in the NFL, but made it clear the oft-troubled player must first work through his off- field issues.

Golf: Ballesteros undergoes third round of brain surgery

Seve Ballesteros underwent a third operation for a cancerous brain tumor, a 6 1/2-hour procedure Friday that went "better than expected."

Doctors removed the rest of the tumor and reduced brain swelling. The 51-year-old Spanish golf great was in stable condition in the intensive care unit at Madrid's La Paz Hospital.

"The operation went better than expected and Seve will now be under close observation for 48 hours in the intensive care unit," the hospital said.

Arron Oberholser shot a 6-under 64 on Friday for an 11-under 129 total and a one-stroke in the Frys.com Open, the fifth of seven stops on the PGA Tour's Fall Series at Scottsdale, Ariz.

Laura Diaz shot a 9-under 63 to take a three-stroke lead after the first round of the Grand China Air, the LPGA Tour's first tournament in Haikou, China.

Mark James birdied the first six holes on the back nine and shot an 8-under 63 -- the best round of his Champions Tour career -- to take a one-stroke lead over Dan Forsman on Friday at San Antonio in the AT&T Championship.

Sergio Garcia shot a 6-under 65 on his home course for a share of the second-round lead in the Castello Masters at Castellon, Spain.

The Associated Press