US PresswireLinebacker Lofa Tatupu was scheduled to make more than $4 million last season before the Seattle Seahawks released him during the summer.

The 29-year-old three-time Pro Bowler had started 16 games for the Seahawks the season before, but a source close to Tatupu tells National Football Post that his absence was due to a knee injury. "It was just injury-related," the source said, according to the site. "He wasn't 100 percent and didn't feel he was ready to go."

Now he's ready to make his return and some teams have already expressed interest, the site reports, but it doesn't look like it'll be with the Seahawks.

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US PresswirePlaxico Burress scored the winning touchdown the last time the New York Giants and New England Patriots met in the Super Bowl. He'll be visiting his former employer, the Giants, this week, according to former teammate and old pal Brandon Jacobs, ESPN reports. Jacobs also said that Burress had hoped to be back with the Giants this season after spending 20 months in jail.

"Oh, no question, I know he did," Jacobs said, according to the site. "I know he wanted to come to the Giants. We just didn't think it was going to be able to be done financially. But he may be [back] next year, who knows?"

Burress had 45 receptions for 612 yards and eight touchdowns last season for the Jets, a team Jacobs doesn't see Burress re-signing with. "I don't see him back with the Jets next year at all," said Jacobs, ESPN reports. "I don't know what he's thinking, but I don't see that. They've got a lot of things going on over there, and I don't know if he wants to be part of that."

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US PresswireRichard Hamilton has a deep thigh bruise and some "lingering left groin issues" that will continue to keep him out of the lineup for the Chicago Bulls, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The team plans to hold Hamilton out till he's fully healthy since he missed eight games after playing on Jan. 4. He played Sunday against the Miami Heat and then skipped Monday's game against the Washington Wizards.

"It's frustrating, but I have to get healthy," Hamilton said, according to the Trib.

The paper points out that forward Luol Deng, who has a torn ligament in his left wrist, may return to action before Hamilton since doctors are telling him he can't make the injury worse and it is now simply about managing the pain.

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said Deng will return soon, possibly as early as Thursday against the New York Knicks.

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US PresswirePortland Trail Blazers small forward Nicolas Batum was "very scared" that he would be going the way of Greg Oden and Brandon Roy with a serious knee injury after watching the play in which he suffered his injury Monday night over and over, the Oregonian reports.

Batum's other fear, the paper points out, is that he wouldn't be healthy enough to play for France in the Olympics this summer. "That was my main goal, my purpose," Batum said, according to the paper. "I was thinking I'm going to miss the Olympics."

But Batum's MRI Tuesday shows that he "does not have a serious injury," according to the paper. What he does have is a bone contusion, the paper notes, which will keep him out of the team's game against the Charlotte Bobcats Wednesday.

"I was so happy after that, " Batum said, the Oregonian reports, and he plans to travel with the team Thursday to take on the Sacramento Kings (though it isn't clear if he'll be ready to play).

The 23-year-old is averaging 11.4 points and 4.1 rebounds

US PresswireKenyon Martin can't join an NBA team until the one he signed with in China, Xinjiang Gyang Hui, is finished for the season. That could happen by Feb. 18, Yahoo! Sports Marc J. Spears reports, and he may make his decision on where he'd like to be in the NBA by this weekend.

Six teams have expressed interest in bringing Martin aboard, Spears reports: the Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks.

"He's a veteran guy who knows how to win at a high level and in a playoff environment," one NBA general manager said, according to Spears. "He also plays multiple positions. If you get him to a situation where he can be an Antonio McDyess-type of guy, that's a heck of a guy to add to your roster."

The 34-year-old Martin, averaged 8.6 points and 6.2 rebounds in 48 games with the Denver Nuggets last season. Like every other guy in the NBA, "Martin wants to join a winning team that gives him consistent minutes," Spears notes.

Don't

US PresswireZach Parise has spent his entire seven-year NHL career playing for the New Jersey Devils, but the captain may find himself as an unrestricted free agent for the first time this summer.

The Newark Star-Ledger reports that Parise hasn't had any extension talks with the team even though Parise doesn't think having them would distract him in the slightest from the season at hand. The Devils are currently in fourth place in the Atlantic Division, 10 points behind the first-place New York Rangers, after beating their rivals in a shootout Tuesday night.

"I try not to think about it," Parise said, according to the paper. "It can't interfere with what's ahead."

The 27-year-old left wing has 16 goals and 25 assists so far this season. Last year, he only appeared in 13 games because of torn meniscus in his right knee, scoring three goals and notching three assists.

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US PresswireThe San Antonio Spurs took a big hit on Jan. 2 when Manu Ginobili broke his left hand. The San Antonio Express-News reports that Ginobili has had his post-surgery splint removed and he's allowed to do some basketball activities with his other hand.

"He's shooting mid-range shots," coach Gregg Popovich said Monday, according to the paper. "He'll be cleared to go one-on-one in a week or so."

The 13-9 team has gone 10-7 without the 34-year-old native of Argentina and he's expected to return at some point during the Spurs' nine-game road trip next month, according to the Express-News.

In the five games he's played this season, Ginobili has averaged 17.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and three assists per game.

The other injured Spurs guard, T.J. Ford, who tore his left hamstring on Jan. 10, won't be back till after Ginobili, the paper reports.

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US PresswireCuban defector Yoenis Cespedes is now free to sign with any team he would like and his agent, Adam Katz, told Fox Sports Monday that his client is expected to do just that before spring training camps open in a few weeks.

"We are aware of the [spring training] dates," Katz told Fox. "We expect him to be in camp with one of the clubs."

Of course, Katz may have a lot of sifting to do before then. The word has been that pretty much everybody who has seen Cespedes pick up a bat has some interest in signing the 26-year-old. Katz termed the market for Cespedes as "meaningful and aggressive" to Fox.

ESPN's Jim Bowden reports that it's expected that Cespedes will come to the United States from his new home in the Dominican Republic in the next 7-10 days and that six teams are "seriously negotiating" for him at this point.

Five of those teams are believed to be the Miami Marlins, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles and Detroit Tigers.

While Cespedes batted only .143 in a short