IN BRIEF

BASKETBALL

'Serious' knee infection takes Pierce's teammates by surprise

The Boston Celtics don't expect Paul Pierce back any time soon.

Pierce was in so much pain from a right knee infection that coach Doc Rivers says the All-Star forward called team trainer Ed Lacerte on Wednesday around 3 a.m. Lacerte went to Pierce's house and took him to a hospital, where fluid was drained from Pierce's knee.

Teammates said Thursday that Pierce's injury was "serious" and a "freak situation." He is expected to miss at least two weeks.

The injury surprised the Celtics.

Pierce leads the team with 18.2 points per game. He complained of soreness in his knee after Tuesday night's game, when he missed his first 10 shots against the Indiana Pacers but wound up scoring 21 points in the win.

The team left the arena thinking he was fine. "It's amazing: He won the game for us the night before, and he woke up in the middle of the night hurting," Rivers said.

Also: The Washington Wizards say Gilbert Arenas stored unloaded firearms in a locked container in his locker, and the NBA also is looking into the situation.

The Wizards say there was no ammunition in the container, and Arenas and the team have notified authorities and the league.

Trail Blazers center Joel Przybilla is out for the season after undergoing surgery to repair a ruptured right patellar tendon.

Przybilla hurt his leg in Portland's 85-81 win at Dallas on Tuesday. He went up for a rebound and came down awkwardly with 3:12 left in the first quarter.

Texas A&M senior guard Derrick Roland is heading home for Christmas -- with a rod and three screws in his leg.

Dr. Chris Wahl, the surgeon who repaired the multiple fractures in Roland's right leg early Wednesday, said that he cleared Roland to leave Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and return home because his wound and fracture are healing well.

But because the leader of the No. 19 Aggies still feels weak and has yet to tolerate regular food since his surgery to repair a broken tibia and fibula, he is waiting until today to return to Texas on a medical transport plane.

The Aggies' defensive stopper and second-leading scorer, Roland snapped his leg on a fall early in the second half Tuesday in a loss at No. 22 Washington.

BASEBALL

Nationals sign former Pirates closer Capps to one-year deal

Reliever Matt Capps reached a preliminary agreement on a $3.5 million, one-year contract with the Washington Nationals.

The 26-year-old Capps became a free agent this month when the Pirates decided not to offer him a contract for 2010. The right-hander earned 27 saves last season, while going 4-8 with a 5.80 ERA.

Also: Right-hander Justin Duchscherer has reached a preliminary agreement on a one-year contract that would keep him with the Oakland Athletics.

Duchscherer, a 32-year-old two-time All-Star, missed all of the 2009 season because of an elbow injury and was treated for clinical depression. He has spent the last six of his seven major league seasons with Oakland, becoming a full-time starter in 2008.

Chan Ho Park has sued his former Dodgers batterymate Chad Kreuter, accusing him of failing to fully pay off a $460,000 loan.

Park filed the lawsuit Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming breach of promissory note and negligent misrepresentation.

OBITUARY

Longtime sportscaster Michael dies at age of 70 of leukemia

George Michael, a mainstay on the Washington, D.C., sports television scene for decades who reached a national audience with "The George Michael Sports Machine" highlights show, has died. He was 70.

Michael's daughter, Michelle Allen, said Michael died Thursday morning from complications of chronic lymphocytic leukemia at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington.

His show, which began as a late-night local feature, ran from 1980 to 2007. The trendsetting program became the first nationally syndicated sports highlights show in 1984 and was eventually broadcast in 194 markets across the United States and in 10 foreign countries.