IN BRIEF

Hornets bring Brown back to help backcourt

The New Orleans Hornets turned to a familiar face to fill an opening in their backcourt, signing Devin Brown on Friday.

Brown, formerly of the Cleveland Cavaliers, played with New Orleans two seasons ago and was brought back to bolster the depth in the backcourt. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Brown averaged 7.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 78 games with Cleveland last season.

Also: The San Antonio Spurs re-signed guard Michael Finley. Terms of the deal were not released.

Finley, 35, started 61 games last season. He averaged 10.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists, playing in all 82 games in his 13th NBA season.

The Denver Nuggets re-signed restricted free agent J.R. Smith to a multiyear contract.

The 22-year-old guard averaged 12.6 points for the Nuggets over the past two seasons.

The Boston Celtics signed forward Darius Miles, who missed the last two NBA seasons because of knee injuries.

Miles played for Portland in the 2005-2006 season. The Trail Blazers waived Miles after it was determined his right knee was damaged enough to qualify as a career-ending injury.

FOOTBALL

Lions sign struggling quarterback Henson

The Detroit Lions signed quarterback Drew Henson, a high school and college standout who has struggled at the professional level in baseball and football.

Terms of the signing, announced on the team’s Web site, were not disclosed.

Henson was signed after second-year quarterback Drew Stanton sprained the thumb on his throwing hand in practice Thursday. Stanton will be sidelined about a month.

Henson, 28, shared quarterbacking duties at Michigan with Tom Brady. He played three seasons as a third baseman in the New York Yankees’ organization before the NFL’s Houston Texans drafted him in the sixth round, 192nd overall, in 2003.

Also: The San Francisco 49ers finally decided on J.T. O’Sullivan as their starting quarterback for the regular season.

O’Sullivan clinched the job with a strong performance in Thursday’s 37-30 exhibition victory over Chicago, and coach Mike Nolan said it was time to make O’Sullivan’s status official after a summer of uncertainty surrounding the position.

Buffalo Bills starting quarterback Trent Edwards won’t play in Sunday’s preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts because of a bruise above his right kneecap.

Edwards missed his third straight practice since knocking knees in a collision with running back Marshawn Lynch on Tuesday.

Backup J.P. Losman will get the start against the Colts.

Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck probably will miss Seattle’s preseason game Monday at San Diego and probably won’t see any action until the regular season because of ongoing back stiffness.

Coach Mike Holmgren all but ruled his Pro Bowl quarterback out of his second consecutive preseason game.

With the exhibition finale three days later against Oakland, Hasselbeck remains unlikely to play until Seattle’s opener Sept. 7 at Buffalo.

Former NFL cornerback Michael Richardson, who won a Super Bowl with the Chicago Bears in 1986, faces up to 13 years in prison if a court finds he violated terms of a probation granted after his 21st drug conviction.

Richardson was charged this week in Santa Ana, Calif., with associating with a known drug user — his girlfriend — and failing to register as a drug offender.

Georgia freshman linebacker Charles White will miss the season because of an Achilles’ tendon injury.

Notre Dame tight end Mike Ragone, expected to vie for the starting position, will miss the season after undergoing surgery for a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

UNLV will play a mock game at 7 p.m. today at Sam Boyd Stadium.

The game is free and open to the public, but this is a rehearsal for the Aug. 30 opener against Utah State and not a scrimmage.

GOLF

Stricker leads Mahan at midpoint of Barclays

Steve Stricker shot a 7-under-par 64 to take a three-stroke lead over Hunter Mahan after two rounds of The Barclays, the FedEx Cup playoff opener in Paramus, N.J.

The 41-year-old Stricker, 21st in the FedEx Cup standings, had a 10-under 132 total.

Mahan, 31st in the FedEx Cup standings, followed his opening 62 with a 73.

Also: Mark Wiebe birdied four of his first five holes and added two on the back nine to shoot 67, giving him a share of the first-round lead with Scott Simpson at the Champions Tour’s Boeing Classic in Snoqualmie, Wash.

Angela Park, winless on the LPGA Tour, shot a 6-under 66 to take a one-stroke lead over six golfers after the first round of the Safeway Classic in Portland, Ore.

University of Georgia teammates Adam Mitchell and Patrick Reed advanced to the U.S. Amateur semifinals in Pinehurst, N.C., and kept alive the possibility of an all-Bulldog championship round.

Mitchell rallied to defeat Charlie Holland 2 and 1 in one quarterfinal, and Reed defeated Graham Hill 4 and 3 to reach a semifinal matchup today against perhaps the field’s hottest player: fellow 18-year-old Danny Lee.

MOTOR SPORTS

Keselowski captures Nationwide victory

Brad Keselowski passed Clint Bowyer with 24 laps to go and pulled away for his second victory of the season in NASCAR’s Nationwide Series, capping a remarkable run from the 37th starting position at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tenn.

Bowyer dominated the race after he slipped by Dario Franchitti for the lead on lap 107, but appeared to wiggle while exiting the second turn on the 227th lap as Keselowski went past him.

Also: Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen set the pace in practice for the European Grand Prix, with drivers getting their first experience on the new Valencia, Spain, street circuit.

The Finnish world champion had a best lap of 1 minute, 39.477 seconds on the 3.4-mile course to edge Renault driver Fernando Alonso, who was 0.02 behind.

MISCELLANEOUS

Pyro, Da’Tara headline field for Travers Stakes

Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown isn’t around, yet other notable 3-year-olds will take a shot at the 139th Travers Stakes today at Saratoga in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Pyro, winner of the Louisiana Derby and a Derby runner, is the 7-2 favorite in a field of 12.

The field includes Da’Tara, upset winner of the Belmont Stakes, and five others that started in at least one leg of the Triple Crown series.

Also: Vitali Klitschko’s long-awaited comeback against WBC heavyweight champion Samuel Peter will take place in Berlin on Oct. 11.

The title fight will be Klitschko’s first since he announced his comeback from injuries last year.

The UNLV women’s soccer team opened its season with a 1-1 double-overtime tie against Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles.

Sophomore forward Ashleigh Shouhgro scored for the Rebels in the 17th minute.

College of Southern Nevada baseball coach Tim Chambers has been named the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Region 18 Coach of the Year after leading the Coyotes into the postseason last spring, the American Baseball Coaches Association announced.