In Brief

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Auburn's Newton plans full
participation in NFL combine

Cam Newton plans to fully participate in the NFL combine, which begins later this week, saying he wants "to be transparent" through the whole draft process.

Newton intends to work out for NFL teams in Indianapolis and said he is ready to answer any questions they might have for the quarterback who won the Bowl Championship Series national title and Heisman Trophy in his only season at Auburn, where he played in a spread offense instead of taking snaps under center.

"I don't have nothing to hide, and I'm a competitor," Newton said Monday night in Fort Worth, Texas, before accepting the Davey O'Brien Award that recognizes the nation's top college quarterback. "I'm going to go out here and do what I've been working on this whole time and preparing for this moment right now."

Newton has been working with a quarterback coach in San Diego and getting mentoring from Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon.

Also: A $500,000-per-year pay raise recently awarded to Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville through 2015 has angered university faculty members, who have been asked to accept a pay freeze in 2011.

Facing an 8 percent reduction in state funding and with more funding cuts possible, Tech officials killed $3 million in faculty raises for 2011.

However, Tuberville's new five-year, $11 million contract guarantees the coach at least $2 million per year. That's up $1.5 million from the contract he signed in 2010.

PRO BASKETBALL

Heat's Wade says ankle fine,
plans to play today vs. Kings

Dwyane Wade's sore right ankle is not sore enough to present a problem for the Miami Heat.

Wade was able to practice Monday and pronounced himself ready to go when the Heat return from the All-Star break at home tonight against the Sacramento Kings.

"I don't want to miss any time," Wade said. "It's not serious enough to miss any time."

Wade aggravated the ankle midway through the third quarter of Sunday's All-Star Game when he tried an acrobatic pass and landed awkwardly. He left moments later and did not return.

Wade acknowledged that he was worried for a few moments Sunday night, but once the acute pain subsided, it was clear that the problem was minor.

"I think he's more tired than he is sore," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "I think this was a tough turnaround for these guys to get in at 7 a.m. today and bounce back at a 5 p.m. practice."

Miami (41-15) is percentage points behind Boston (40-14) for the East's best record, is two games ahead of Chicago in the conference race and 5½ ahead of Orlando in the Southeast Division.

Also: Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah appears ready to return to action after being sidelined for more than two months by a thumb injury.

Coach Tom Thibodeau told ESPNChicago.com that Noah will play at Toronto on Wednesday. Noah underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb and has not played since a win at Toronto on Dec. 15.

In an article posted Monday, Thibodeau said the big man "is coming back" and "was cleared to go last week."

New Orleans Hornets backup point guard Jarrett Jack was arrested and charged with drunken driving in suburban Atlanta.

Snellville Police Chief Roy Whitehead said in an e-mail that the 27-year-old former Georgia Tech star was pulled over early Sunday by an officer who clocked him at 66 mph in a 45 mph zone. Police said Jack's Mercedes was also weaving.

MISCELLANEOUS

Wozniacki reclaims No. 1 spot
in women's tennis rankings

Caroline Wozniacki officially reclaimed the No. 1 ranking in women's tennis, one week after surrendering it to Kim Clijsters.

The 20-year-old Dane won her first singles title of 2011 on Sunday, beating Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-3 in the Dubai Championships final.

Also: Top-seeded Andy Roddick withdrew from this week's Delray Beach Tennis Championships in Boca Raton, Fla.

The eighth-ranked American complained of feeling ill before winning the Memphis title over Milos Raonic 7-6, 6-7, 7-5 on Sunday.

Former streetball standout and Louisville basketball player Troy 'Escalade' Jackson has died. He was 35. Fred Corral with the Los Angeles County Coroner's office said Jackson was found unresponsive in a hotel room shortly before noon Sunday. An autopsy is pending.

UNLV outfielder Rance Roundy was named Mountain West Conference baseball player of the week after helping the Rebels open the season with a four-game sweep of Maine.

Roundy went 8-for-19 in the series, with four home runs, two doubles, nine RBIs and nine runs scored.