In brief

BASKETBALL

Stern: Reducing teams
could be in NBA's future

NBA commissioner David Stern said Friday he thinks eliminating teams will be on the table during collective bargaining as a way to solve the league's financial woes.

"It's a sensitive subject for me because I've spent 27 years in this job working very hard not only to maintain all of our teams, but along the way add a few," Stern said during his preseason conference call.

"But I think that's a subject that will be on the table with the players as we look to see what's the optimum way to present our game and are there cities and teams that cannot make it in the current economic environment. I'm not spending a lot of time on it."

CBSSports.com first reported Thursday that the league would "continue to be open to contraction," after Stern said he wanted player costs reduced by $700 million to $800 million.

Also: Miami Heat swingman Mike Miller will be sidelined until January after undergoing surgery to repair a broken right thumb as well as ligament damage. Miller was injured in a freak accident at practice Wednesday.

The surgery came on the same day guard Dwyane Wade, who has missed virtually the entire preseason, began working out again with the Heat after an absence to let his strained right hamstring recover and deal with a custody trial in Chicago.

Philadelphia 76ers coach Doug Collins returned to practice after missing two preseason games because of symptoms related to a concussion he sustained on Memorial Day.

Former Georgetown and NBA player Charles Smith was hospitalized in serious condition after being shot at his Prince George's County home, Maryland police said.

Police were investigating a motive. A search of Smith's home turned up a large quantity of cocaine and evidence of a gambling operation, police said.

UCLA transfer Drew Gordon, who won't be eligible to suit up for New Mexico until Dec. 17, will miss practice for the next four weeks after an MRI exam revealed a torn meniscus in his right knee. Gordon had surgery for the same injury two years ago.

COLLEGE ATHLETICS

Autopsy: Slain football
player was legally drunk

A college football player was driving drunk when he was shot to death by police outside a bar after his homecoming game, a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press.

Danroy Henry's blood-alcohol level was measured during his autopsy at 0.13, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the autopsy report hadn't been released. The legal limit for driving in New York is 0.08.

Henry, a Pace University student from Easton, Mass., was shot in his car early Sunday after police responded to a disturbance outside a bar in suburban Thornwood, N.Y. Police said he sped away and hit two officers after a policeman knocked on his car window.

Also: NFL agent Drew Rosenhaus denies that an employee at his firm provided improper benefits to any North Carolina players.

In documents to the NCAA, the school said Rosenhaus employee Michael Katz was one of three people who acted as "prospective agents" by providing benefits to Tar Heels in connection with the ongoing NCAA investigation into the program. The school said Katz provided a wristband that gained entrance to a pool party.

Rosenhaus said he has spoken with Katz and "at no time did he provide any benefits of any kind to any college players whatsoever."

UNLV's football game at Hawaii on Dec. 4 will start at 7:30 p.m. PDT, the school announced.

The UNLV men's soccer team lost 2-1 to Mountain Pacific Sports Federation leader Cal State Bakersfield at Johann Memorial Field. Zach Kupfer scored a tying goal for the Rebels (5-8-1, 2-3-1 MPSF) in the 44th minute.

Top-seeded Mehdi Bouras of UNLV defeated Idaho's Alex Joitoiu 6-2, 7-5 to reach the round of 16 in the USTA/ITA Mountain Region Championships at the Darling Tennis Center.

The Rebels' other two remaining main-draw entries, Kyle Lynch and Johannes Markel, both lost in straight sets.

A college boxing meet today, featuring a team of UNLV and UNR fighters against a team from the three military academies, has been moved from the Hard Rock Hotel to the Rio's Crown Theater. The eight-bout card begins at 5:30 p.m.

MISCELLANEOUS

Police: Seau won't face
domestic abuse charge

Prosecutors in San Diego won't charge former NFL star Junior Seau after his live-in girlfriend alleged she was assaulted.

The San Diego County district attorney's office said it reached its decision after reviewing an investigation by Oceanside police. The office declined to elaborate in a brief statement.

Seau, 41, was arrested early Monday on suspicion of domestic violence. Police said his 25-year-old girlfriend reported that she was assaulted during an argument.

The former standout linebacker for the San Diego Chargers quickly posted bail. A few hours later, his SUV plunged down a seaside cliff. Seau escaped serious injury.

Also: A gun charge in Florida has been dropped against former San Francisco 49ers running back Glenn Coffee.

According to a court document, it was determined that Coffee did not violate the law by having a loaded pistol in the center console of his 2008 Cadillac during a traffic stop in Fort Walton, Fla., on Oct. 8.

The New York Mets have narrowed their search for a new general manager to longtime baseball executive Sandy Alderson and former Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes, the team said.

Vancouver enforcer Rick Rypien was suspended six games for grabbing a fan during the Canucks' loss to Minnesota on Tuesday.

Wayne Rooney ended a week of intense speculation about his soccer future by signing a new five-year contract with Manchester United.