Press Box: Bulls' Rose out for season

NBA

Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose is out for the season after suffering a torn ACL in his left knee late in a 103-91 Game 1 playoff victory over the visiting Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.

Rose was helped off the court with 1:10 left in the fourth quarter. He left the game with nearly a triple-double with 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.

The extent of the injury was not known right after the game, but the team announced the test result later.

"It might be one of the saddest wins we've ever had," forward Carlos Boozer said before he knew of the torn ACL. "Our prayers are with him, and we're hoping for the best. We'll see what happens."

"We're definitely worried," added Luol Deng. "If it was a little injury, he wouldn't go down like that. Like I said, it looked bad. Right now, we're hoping for the best."

Game 2 of the first round series is on Tuesday in Chicago.

Rose played in just 39 of 66 regular season games with a variety of injuries. A foot injury on March 12 slowed him down as he has not played in consecutive games since then.

--The money is with the Miami Heat.

The Heat is 2-1 favorites to win the NBA championship, according to pregame.com. USA Today reported the online oddsmakers picked the Heat ahead of the Chicago Bulls (4-1), Oklahoma City Thunder (9-2), San Antonio Spurs (5-1) and every other team in the NBA.

Miami is the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference; Chicago is No. 1. San Antonio is the top seed in the West and Oklahoma City is No. 2.

Of the 16 teams in the playoffs, the Utah Jazz, the No. 8 seed in the West, is the longest shot to win it all at 200-1.

LeBron James and company begin their first round series against the New York Knicks (40-1 odds) today in Miami.

--Boston Celtics guard Ray Allen is traveling with the team to Atlanta for the start of their first round playoff series, but it is unclear if he will play in Game 1 on Sunday against the Hawks.

Allen has not played for the past two weeks because of a sore ankle.

Allen told ESPN.com that he is still day-to-day, but Celtics coach Doc Rivers said he is doubtful that Allen will play on Sunday.

"Honestly, I don't think he'll play, but we'll find that out," Rivers said. "He can play, so I'm not saying he's not, and it would be very nice if he does, but he's just not moving well and we'll just find out."

Allen, who is not practicing on Saturday, said swelling in the injured right ankle has gone down but there is still pain and that he will need surgery at some point.

--Dallas Maverick guard Delonte West might miss Saturday night's playoff opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to an illness.

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle told ESPN Dallas that West had a stomach illness and was vomiting on Friday night.

If West is unable to play, he would most likely be replaced in the starting lineup by Vince Carter.

West averaged 9.6 points and 3.2 assists in 44 regular season games. He missed 1 1/2 months in February and March with a broken finger.

--Rookie Iman Shumpert of the New York Knicks was carried off the court after suffering a left knee injury in the third quarter of the Knicks' game against the Miami Heat on Saturday.

Shumpert was taken to a Miami hospital and was to undergo tests, and a team spokesman told ESPN.com it "didn't look good."

Shumpert was injured while trying to make a behind-the-back dribble. He clutched his knee and fell to the ground.

MLB

The Detroit Tigers placed outfielder Delmon Young on the restricted list on Saturday in relation to this arrest for a hate crime early Friday morning.

General manager Dave Dombrowski said Young will undergo alcohol and anger management evaluations on Monday, ESPN New York reported.

Young was arrested after allegedly attacking a pan-handler at a Manhattan hotel and using anti-Semitic remarks. Young is out indefinitely but he will not be docked any pay during his absence.

The league's commissioner's office and players union are appointing an independent party to conduct Young's evaluations, per Major League Baseball's Basic Agreement.

Depending on the results of the evaluation, Young could play as early as Monday night.

"This was a person that was not in a very good state as far as his sobriety," Dombrowski said. "That is not a good situation. That's all I know. I do know that he was in a skirmish. I do know that. Beyond that, I don't know anything else. Those situations themselves are concerning and not what you would like to see. If the allegations are true, that is also concerning and not something you'd like to see happen. I do not know what happened there."

Young released a statement on Friday apologizing for the incident.

The Tigers brought up outfielder Danny Worth from Class AAA Toledo on Saturday to take Young's roster spot while he is out.

Young posted a $5,000 bond and was released Friday evening. He faces a misdemeanor aggravated assault charge that includes targeting another person's religious beliefs. He could face a year in jail. He is due back in court on May 29.

--MLB.com reported via Twitter that Detroit Tigers outfielder Delmon Young has been placed on the restricted list in relation to his Friday arrest for a hate crime.

The move allows the club to recall outfielder Danny Worth from Class AAA Toledo while Young is out.

Young was arrested early Friday morning after attacking a pan-handler at a Manhattan hotel and using anti-Semitic remarks.

The club has not commented on the arrest but Young issued a statement apologizing for the incident.

--The Colorado Rockies placed right-handed starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie on the 15-day disabled list on Friday after falling off his bicycle on his way to the ballpark and injuring his pitching shoulder.

An MRI showed no structure damage, according to USA Today.

The chain fell off the bicycle he was riding on his way to Coors Field. It caused him to fall from the bike, landing on his right shoulder. Manager Jim Tracy said Guthrie would miss a couple starts.

The Rockies are hosting the New York Mets this weekend. Guthrie was scheduled to pitch on Saturday. He is expected to be replaced by Guillermo Moscoso, a Class AAA Colorado Springs call-up.

In 2005, Rockies shortstop Clint Barmes fell and broke his collarbone while carrying deer meat upstairs to his apartment. He was out for three months.

--The San Francisco Giants sent right-handed pitcher Eric Hacker to Class AAA Fresno after taking a 5-3 loss to the visiting San Diego Padres on Friday night.

San Francisco recalled reliever Steve Edlefsen from Fresno on Saturday morning, according to CSN Bay Area.

Hacker was brought up to make one start so the rest of the staff could have its regular rest. Tim Lincecum, today's scheduled starter, would have had to pitch on three days' rest on Friday.

Hacker allowed three runs in six innings against the Padres.

Edlefsen gives the Giants a seven-man bullpen to go with their five-man starting rotation.

Edlefsen had a 9.53 ERA in 11 1/3 innings after he was called up in August of last year.

--The Houston Astros recalled right-hander Jordan Lyles from Class AAA Oklahoma City on Saturday and will start him on Sunday at the Cincinnati Reds, the club announced.

Lyles is 4-0 with a 3.46 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 26 innings for Oklahoma City this season.

The Astros placed right-hander Kyle Weiland on the 15-day disabled list on Friday with a sore right shoulder.

Lyles made 15 starts for the Astros last year.

--Miguel Cabrera became the sixth youngest player in Major League Baseball history to collect 1,000 RBI in his career.

The 29-year-old reached the milestone during Friday night's 7-6 loss to the New York Yankees, MLB.com reported.

Mel Ott (27 years, 94 days), Jimmie Fox (27 years, 229 days), Alex Rodriguez (28 years, 282 days), Ken Griffey Jr. (28 years, 298 days) and Lou Gehrig (28 years, 302 days) were the only players younger than Cabrera when they drove in their 1,000th career run.

Cabrera was 29 years, 9 days old on Friday.

Ott made his major league debut 86 years ago to the day that Cabrera knocked in his 1,000 run.

--The San Diego Padres placed outfielder Jeremy Hermida on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with a strained left adductor and recalled outfielder Blake Tekotte from Triple-A Tucson.

The DL move is retroactive to April 27.

Hermida, 28, is hitting .250 (6-for-24) in 13 games this season.

Tekotte, a third-round pick in 2008, made his major-league debut last year and appeared in 11 games.

NFL

Free agent quarterback Matt Leinart is scheduled to visit the Oakland Raiders next week.

Leinart will compete with Terrelle Pryor for the backup quarterback spot to Carson Palmer, according to ESPN, but Leinart would have an inside track on the job ahead of Pryor.

If Leinart signs with Oakland, he will reunite with offensive coordinator Greg Knapp, who coached him in Houston. Palmer and Leinart both won Heisman Trophy awards at USC.

--The Philadelphia Eagles will retire the jersey of former safety Brian Dawkins.

Team owner Jeffrey Lurie told NFL.com on Saturday that Dawkins' No. 20 jersey will be retired during week four of the regular season.

Dawkins signed a one-day contract last Sunday to retire as an Eagle. He played the last three seasons with the Denver Broncos.

"I enjoyed my time in Denver ... but I needed to come back," said Dawkins, a nine-time Pro Bowler with the Eagles.

The Eagles play the New York Giants on NBC in week four.

Dawkins played 16 seasons in the NFL with 911 tackles, 37 interceptions, 26 sacks and three touchdowns.

--The Washington Redskins are releasing quarterback John Beck, who started three games for them last season.

The move comes after the team drafted Baylor's Robert Griffin Jr. No. 2 overall on Thursday and selecting Kirk Cousins of Michigan State in the fourth round on Saturday, ESPN.com reported.

Cousins won 27 games in three seasons for the Spartans. Griffin is expected to be the Redskins starting quarterback.

Beck, a former second round draft choice, threw for 858 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions last year for Washington.

Golf

Tiger Woods will answer fans questions by video next week in preparation for the upcoming Wells Fargo Championship.

Woods usually holds a press conference before events he plays, but he will skip the media and address fans who submit questions via Facebook and Twitter. The video will posted on his web site on Monday, according to ESPN.com.

"We've been thinking about this for a couple of months now," his agent Mark Steinberg said Friday. "We wanted to have a little bit more direct interaction with fans, and they've been very good to him over the years. We're probably a little bit behind with social media and this is a way to do that."

Steinberg denied Woods was bypassing the media for negative coverage of his 40th place finish in the Masters earlier this month in which he was criticized for kicking a club after a bad shot during the second round.

Steinberg said it is just a chance for Woods to interact with fans. The agent said Woods will do something similar to this a few times this year.

The Wells Fargo Championship will be the first tournament Woods has played since the Masters ended on April 8.

College football

University of Texas-San Antonio will join Conference-USA in 2013, according to NBC Sports' College Football Talk.

The Roadrunners were expected to join the Western Athletic Conference, but will apparently join C-USA, along with Texas State, instead.

The move is still pending approval from the University of Texas System Board of Regents, CBS Sports reported.

UTSA and C-USA started talks in March.

UTSA would not have to pay an exit fee to the WAC but would pay a $2 million entry fee to join C-USA.

Current WAC schools Utah State and San Jose State are candidates to join the Mountain West Conference. Those potential moves, along with UTSA changing its plans and Louisiana Tech also looking at C-USA, would severely weaken the WAC.

C-USA is also looking at picking up North Texas and Florida International.

College basketball

Donnie Tyndall agreed to a four-year deal to coach Southern Mississippi's men's basketball team.

Tyndall got the job over Mississippi Valley's Sean Woods and former UTEP and Nebraska coach Doc Sadler, according to ESPN.

Tyndall led Morehead State to an NCAA Tournament victory over Louisville in 2011.

He will replace Larry Eustachy, who left Southern Miss to coach at Colorado State.