IN BRIEF

BASEBALL

Cubs pick up option on right-hander Harden

Rich Harden's $7 million option for next year was exercised Wednesday by the Chicago Cubs, one day after a test showed the right-hander had no structural damage in his pitching shoulder.

The Cubs acquired Harden from Oakland on July 8. He was the losing pitcher in Game 3 of the National League division series Saturday as Chicago was swept in three games by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Harden, 26, went a combined 10-2 with a 2.07 ERA in 25 starts for the Athletics and Cubs this season.

Also: George Kissell, a former major league coach who had been with the St. Louis Cardinals organization since 1940, died in Florida following a car accident. He was 88.

Kissell died Tuesday night at Tampa General Hospital, Pinellas Park Police Capt. Sanfield Forseth said. Police said Kissell's daughter was driving her parents Monday night when she apparently ran a red light and was hit by another car.

BASKETBALL

Wizards' Haywood to have surgery on wrist

Washington Wizards center Brendan Haywood will have surgery for a torn ligament in his right wrist, but it was not clear how much of the regular season he will miss.

Haywood's operation has not been scheduled, and the team said it wouldn't have a timetable for his return until after the surgery.

Washington did get some good medical news about another starter, though: All-Star forward Antawn Jamison has a bruised right knee and is expected to be ready for the start of the regular season.

Also: Portland Trail Blazers forward Martell Webster fractured a bone in his left foot Tuesday in a preseason victory over Sacramento.

The Trail Blazers said Webster will be evaluated to determine the best course of treatment. A timetable for his return was not set.

Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson was at practice one day after missing the team's preseason opener because of soreness and swelling in his lower legs.

Team spokesman John Black said Jackson felt better, but he hadn't decided whether he would travel to Fresno, Calif., for tonight's game against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers was not with the team for its exhibition opener against the Philadelphia 76ers in Amherst, Mass., so he could return to his home in Orlando, Fla., for a personal matter.

North Carolina senior swingman Marcus Ginyard will miss eight weeks after having surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left foot, robbing the Tar Heels of a player who started every game last season.

GOLF

Ex-UNLV star Campbell commits to local event

Former UNLV star Chad Campbell, who helped the United States regain the Ryder Cup last month, has committed to play in next week's Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin, along with U.S. Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger and fellow veterans Fred Couples and John Daly.

Azinger, who will be making his 18th appearance in Las Vegas, was the 1987 Panasonic Las Vegas Invitational winner.

Campbell, who helped UNLV to the 1998 national championship, has played in Las Vegas five times, with his best finish coming in 2006 when he tied for 16th.

Also: UNLV junior Eddie Olson has been selected as the Mountain West Conference Men's Golfer of the Month for September.

Olson shot three of six rounds in the 60s and five of six rounds under par.

MISCELLANEOUS

Struggling Auburn fires offensive coordinator

Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville fired offensive coordinator Tony Franklin seven games into his tenure, pulling the plug after the Tigers' rocky attempt to adapt to his spread offense.

The 20th-ranked Tigers have struggled offensively all season after entering as the favorites to win the Southeastern Conference Western Division.

Auburn (4-2) is ranked 104th in total offense out of 119 major college teams.

Also: Cycling's governing body is relaxing its rules to allow Lance Armstrong to make his comeback at a road race in Australia in January.

The International Cycling Union said the seven-time Tour de France champion can compete in the Jan. 20 to 25 Tour Down Under, his first race since coming out of retirement after three years.

The Breeders' Cup is heading back to the home of the Kentucky Derby.

Churchill Downs will host the world championships for a seventh time Nov. 5 and 6, 2010, the event's first trip to the track since the Cup expanded to a two-day format in 2007.

Churchill last hosted the Breeders' Cup in 2006.

Two former No. 1 players, Ana Ivanovic and Amelie Mauresmo, lost in the second round at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow.

Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia staved off two match points to upset Ivanovic, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4). Mauresmo lost 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-4 to second-seeded Dinara Safina.