Sports

Celts' Perkins cleared for drills, no contact


Published: October 1, 2008

The Celtics won their record 17th NBA championship last season, the first after team President Danny Ainge brought in Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to team with Paul Pierce in a new Big Three. The June 17 clincher left them with a short summer, and because Rivers told his veterans not to show up at the practice facility until about a week ago, they were a little more out of shape than usual.

But unlike last year when the majority of the roster was new, coach Doc Rivers has just five new players in camp and all of them are role players.

"Last year, we had to teach everybody something new," the coach said. "Compared to last year, I think we're further along."

The notable exception is center Kendrick Perkins, who will be kept out of scrimmages during training camp because of offseason surgery on his left shoulder.

"He can run up and down the floor, as long as no one else is running up and down the floor with him," Rivers said.

Perkins injured his shoulder in Game 4 of the NBA finals against the Los Angeles Lakers and sat out Games 5 and 6. He had surgery July 3, then spent the rest of the summer stretching and working out on a stationary bicycle.

Yesterday in Newport, R.I., Perkins ran sprints the width of the court with the rest of the team during the portion of practice reporters were watching.

Perkins said doctors told him he would be ready to handle contact in practice in about a week. He is shooting for the third exhibition game, on Oct. 11, to get back in uniform.

But Rivers said he wanted to hold Perkins out for four exhibition games, meaning he would return Oct. 16. The coach said he wasn't worried about Perkins' availability for the Oct. 28 opener. ...

Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol might sit out some of the Los Angeles Lakers' preseason games after a hectic offseason. Bryant helped lead the United States to a victory over Gasol and Spain in the gold medal game in the Summer Olympics. Bryant and Gasol each took only a few weeks off before reporting for the first day of training camp yesterday.

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Pro football: Raiders fire Kiffin 4 games into second season

When Al Davis finally broke his silence about Lane Kiffin on the day he fired his coach, he had plenty to say in response to the one-sided verbal attack Kiffin had been launching at the organization for months.

Davis detailed acts of what he called insubordination by Kiffin, read a warning letter he gave his coach more than two weeks ago and said he made the decision to fire Kiffin yesterday because the coach was "a flat-out liar."

"I just couldn't go on much longer with what I would call the propaganda, the lying that had been going on for weeks and months and a year and time," Davis said in his first news conference in nearly 14 months.

Kiffin had a 5-15 record since being hired last year, losing his final game 28-18 on Sunday to San Diego. Offensive line coach Tom Cable will take over on an interim basis. The team has a bye this week before Cable coaches his first game at New Orleans on Oct. 12. ...

More pro football: Bulger restored as Rams starting QB

St. Louis Rams quarterback Marc Bulger ducked the media last week, afraid of what he might say after getting benched by Scott Linehan. Bulger got his job back yesterday, the biggest development of new coach Jim Haslett's first full day in charge of the winless team. The highest-paid player in franchise history, who ran the scout team offense last week, also broke his silence.

But he exercised care, declining several opportunities to torch his former coach. Linehan was fired on Monday after four straight lopsided losses to start the season and was 11-25 overall in two-plus seasons. ...

Baltimore running back Willis McGahee has a rib injury and his status for the Ravens game against the Tennessee Titans Sunday is unclear. McGahee suffered the injury during Baltimore's 23-20 overtime loss Monday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was limited to just one yard on his only second-half carry after injuring his ribs in the final minutes of the first half. ...

A preliminary hearing on a drunken-driving charge for Tennessee defensive end Jevon Kearse has been continued until Jan. 6. The hearing had been scheduled for yesterday, but Kearse's attorney Roger May said neither he nor the district attorney general's office had seen video of the June 22 arrest. Kearse was arrested by Vanderbilt University police and charged with driving under the influence and refusing a breath test.

Pro baseball: GM Cashman, Yankees agree at 3-year extension

Brian Cashman figures he has more work to do with the New York Yankees. After a sustained run of success, he wasn't about to leave on the heels of a failed season.

Cashman is staying on as general manager of the Yankees, agreeing yesterday to a three-year contract that runs through 2011.

"I've got a job to finish here," Cashman said in a statement. "That's the bottom line." New York missed the playoffs this year for the first time since 1993. Cashman took over as GM in 1997 and his current deal was set to expire at the end of October. ...

Brad Lidge has a shot to cap his perfect season with a World Series ring. Cliff Lee should be ready to clear room in the trophy case for a Cy Young Award. First, the two pitchers received a different honor yesterday when they were selected Comeback Players of the Year.

Lee was 22-3 with an American League-leading 2.54 ERA for the Cleveland Indians and could be their second consecutive Cy Young winner. He went 5-8 with a 6.29 ERA last year and was demoted to the minor leagues. Lidge was a perfect 41 for 41 in save opportunities as the NL East champion Philadelphia Phillies' closer. In 2007, he converted just 19 of 27 for the Houston Astros and lost his spot as an elite closer. Lee was hurt last season, demoted to the minors and relegated to a relief role when he returned. Lee was even left off the Indians' postseason roster. ...

Manager Lou Piniella plans to stick with the Chicago Cubs for a while. The Cubs picked up their $4 million option on Piniella's contract for 2010 yesterday, a day before the NL Central champions open the playoffs against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 65-year-old Piniella guided the Cubs to a 97-64 record, the best mark in the league.

Auto racing: Menard leaving DEI for Yates Racing

Paul Menard is heading to Yates Racing at the end of the season in a switch certain to hurt Dale Earnhardt Inc. DEI is losing both a driver and a sponsor at a time when a bleak economic outlook has made funding difficult. Menard is winless through two Sprint Cup seasons driving the No. 15 for DEI. He's 28th in the standings with one pole and a season-best finish of 11th at Michigan in June.

He called it a "great opportunity" at Yates, where his sponsorship will come from his father's hardware chain. Menard pointed to the success of owner Doug Yates and the Ford Motor Company.><p>

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College basketball: Indiana braces for possibility of more penalties

The Indiana University men's basketball program has already taken some big hits from its NCAA infractions case. More could come within a month. In the school's response to the latest NCAA allegation, that it failed to monitor coach Kelvin Sampson, university officials argued the self-imposed penalties have been strong enough — even though they are bracing for additional sanctions from the phone-call scandal that rocked the school's signature program.

"The university recognizes that a probationary period will likely be imposed and suggests that it begin on the date of the (June) hearing," the report said.

It's unclear whether the university anticipates a postseason or television ban. But, clearly, Indiana believes the infractions committee will hand down harsher punishment when it rules on the case, probably sometime in October.

The case stems from more than 100 impermissible phone calls made by Sampson and his staff, and the accusation that Sampson provided false and misleading testimony to investigators. Sampson has repeatedly denied providing false and misleading testimony and said he was unaware the phone calls were not allowed under the probation he incurred for a similar scandal at Oklahoma.