Guard Earl Watson is expected to be ready in time for the debut of Oklahoma City’s new NBA franchise following surgery on his right thumb.
General manager Sam Presti said Friday that Watson’s surgery the previous day in Los Angeles was successful and the seven-year NBA veteran will make a full recovery.
Watson, 29, averaged career highs in points (10.7), assists (6.8), rebounds (2.9) and minutes (29.1) last season with the Seattle SuperSonics, who announced this week that they will be moving to Oklahoma City.
Watson is expected to help tutor first-round pick Russell Westbrook of UCLA this season.
Watson injured his thumb Monday while playing a game in Los Angeles.
Pujols fifth-fastest
to hit 300 homers
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Albert Pujols hit his 300th career home run Friday night, becoming the fifth-youngest player to reach the milestone.
The Cardinals slugger lined his 18th homer of the season on a 2-2 pitch from the Cubs’ Bob Howry in the eighth inning, the ball banging off the foul pole in left field. He beat Hall of Famer Mel Ott for the fifth-fastest by one day.
Pujols reached the mark at 28 years, 170 days. Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees is the youngest player to reach 300 homers at 27 years, 249 days.
Pujols is 5-for-9 with two homers in his career against Howry.
Helton placed on disabled list for back
DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Rockies placed first baseman Todd Helton on the 15-day DL with a sore back on Friday and recalled Joe Koshansky from Triple-A Colorado Springs.
Helton, a career .332 hitter coming into 2008, is hitting .266 with seven home runs and 29 RBIs. Over his past 22 games Helton is hitting .182 (14-for-77) and was moved from the cleanup spot to hitting second in the lineup.
The 34-year-old Helton sat out Thursday’s game against Florida, and Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said his back felt worse Friday.
Kitajima criticizes rival
TOKYO (AP) — Double Olympic champion Kosuke Kitajima didn’t mince words when assessing longtime rival Brendan Hansen’s failure to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team in the 200-meter breaststroke.
“For a swimmer of his level it shouldn’t be that difficult to qualify,” Kitajima said Friday on his official Web site. “He didn’t seem to set his goals and rise to the challenge just one month before the Olympics.”
Kitajima watched the U.S. swimming trials on TV and said that Hansen didn’t swim up to his potential.
“His timing was off,” Kitajima said. “He didn’t swim in his usual powerful style.”
Hansen finished fourth in 2 minutes, 11.37 seconds — nearly 3 seconds slower than his American record, which also stood as the world’s fastest time until Kitajima broke it June 7 with a 2:07.51.
Riis reinstated
BREST, France (AP) — Tour de France organizers have put 1996 champion Bjarne Riis’ name back in the record books after having removed it following his confession that he doped.
Riis, who owns Team CSC Saxo Bank, had been deliberately omitted from the Tour’s official guide after the Dane admitted in a news conference last year that he had used banned substances such as EPO during his career.
Riis was never officially removed as champion, however, by the UCI, cycling’s governing body.
Former soccer star
released from detention
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Former Yugoslavia soccer star Dragan Dzajic was released from a five-month detention Friday after being investigated on fraud charges.
Dzajic, who has played the most games for Yugoslavia with 85, and two other former Red Star Belgrade officials were arrested in February over the sale of several players to foreign teams. Prosecutors have said three men illegally received about $9 million from the deals.
It was not clear if Dzajic and the two others will be formally charged.
Dzajic left Red Star several years ago after leading it to the 1991 European Cup title as the club’s president. He played on the left wing for Red Star in the 1960s and ’70s.
Scheidt named Brazil’s Olympic flag bearer
BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Two-time Olympic sailing champion Robert Scheidt will be Brazil’s flag bearer in the opening ceremony at the Beijing Games.
Scheidt, an eight-time world champion in the Laser class, received the national flag from Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a ceremony to bid farewell to the nation’s Olympic athletes Friday.
Scheidt, who will participate in his fourth Olympics, won gold in the Laser class in Atlanta in 1996 and Athens in 2004. He won a silver medal in Sydney in 2000.
Duhon verbally agrees to deal with Knicks
Chris Duhon verbally agreed to a deal with the New York Knicks on Friday, the point guard and his agent told The Sporting News.
“I am just excited, I am ready to get to work for the Knicks,” said Duhon, the former Duke player who averaged 6.9 points and 4.5 assists in four seasons for Chicago. “It’s a big stage, playing in New York. It’s something every player in the NBA wants.”
Duhon’s agent, Kevin Bradbury, told The Sporting News that he couldn’t comment on terms of the deal, but the magazine cited an unidentified source in its Web site report as saying Duhon will get a two-year deal starting at the full mid-level exception. The mid-level exception will be announced July 9, when contracts can officially be signed.
