In Brief

PRO FOOTBALL

Favre says he can still play at 'high level' -- if he returns

Brett Favre says he can still play at a "high level" if he returns to the Vikings for a 20th NFL season.

Favre has not yet said if he plans to play, but he's not sounding like a retired quarterback. Favre told the Sun Herald on Thursday on the Mississippi newspaper's website he would "love to go beat the Saints" in the season opener Sept. 9. New Orleans beat Minnesota in the NFC title game in January.

The Sun Herald also reported Favre is healing on schedule from surgery on his left ankle and that cycling is part of his rehab.

Favre's agent, Bus Cook, was asked by The Associated Press if the 40-year-old quarterback has made a decision on playing. His reply? "Nope." The Vikings declined comment.

Also: The Minnesota Court of Appeals rejected the NFL's request to expedite its handling of the case of Minnesota Vikings defensive tackles Kevin Williams and Pat Williams, which means they might get to play the entire upcoming season.

The players are fighting a closely watched legal battle that so far has blocked the NFL from suspending them for four games apiece for testing positive for a banned diuretic in 2008.

The Williamses, who are not related, were in training camp when they took a weight loss supplement called StarCaps, which contained the diuretic bumetanide but did not list it on the label. The NFL bans bumetanide because it can mask the presence of steroids, though the league never accused them of taking steroids.

In its order, the appeals court said the NFL has not demonstrated the case should get higher priority than others.

An apologetic but defiant Steve Smith expressed regret for breaking his left forearm playing flag football and also took shots at critics who questioned the Carolina Panthers receiver's judgment.

Smith called into Charlotte, N.C., radio station WFNZ-AM, acknowledging he had been a regular participant in an adult flag football league at a Charlotte YMCA. He was injured Sunday when he slipped and used his left arm to brace his fall. Smith broke the same arm, but in a different spot, at the end of last season.

"Obviously, I put my team and myself in a bad situation by playing," Smith said. "But that wasn't my intention and wasn't what I thought the outcome was going to be."

Veteran cornerback Walt Harris, who missed last season while recovering from a knee injury, agreed to a one-year deal with the Baltimore Ravens.

The team also reached an agreement on a three-year deal with fifth-round draft pick David Reed, a wide receiver out of Utah.

The San Diego Chargers signed safety Darrell Stuckey and tight end Dedrick Epps to four-year contracts.

Stuckey was a fourth-round draft pick out of Kansas, and Epps was a seventh-rounder out of Miami.

GOLF

Kerr fires 68, in three-way tie for lead in LPGA Championship

Cristie Kerr shot a 4-under-par 68 for a share of the first-round lead with Stacy Lewis and Seon Hwa Lee in the LPGA Championship, the Tour's second major of the season.

Relying on her clutch putting, Kerr had five birdies and a bogey on the Locust Hill Country Club course in Pittsford, N.Y. She won the LPGA State Farm Classic two weeks ago for her 13th LPGA title.

Former Bishop Gorman High School and UNLV standout Inbee Park joined Mika Miyazato and Lindsey Wright with opening-round 69s.

Also: Justin Rose birdied five of his final six holes for a 6-under 64 and a share of the first-round lead in the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Conn.

Rose, the Memorial winner three weeks ago who failed to qualify for the U.S. Open last week at Pebble Beach, missed a 12-foot birdie putt on 18, leaving him tied with morning starters Padraig Harrington, Charlie Wi and Mathew Goggin.

Bradley Dredge of Wales and Peter Whiteford of Scotland led the BMW International Open in Munich by one shot after shooting 8-under 64s in the first round.

Four players had 65s: Ariel Canete of Argentina, Jeppe Huldahl of Sweden, Chapchair Nirat of Thailand and Phil Price of Wales.

Curtis Cup player Cydney Clanton beat 14-year-old qualifying medalist Ariya Jutanugarn 1-up to advance to the quarterfinals in the Women's Amateur Public Links Championship in South Bend, Ind.

MISCELLANEOUS

Canadian doctor's aide takes plea deal, could be key witness

A Canadian doctor's assistant whose arrest at the U.S. border raised suspicions about the doctor's treatment of pro football and baseball players pleaded guilty as part of a deal that makes her a key witness against her former boss in exchange for the chance to avoid prison.

Mary Anne Catalano, 32, admitted to a single count of lying to border agents, telling the judge in Buffalo, N.Y., she'd had a "lapse of judgment" when she agreed to bring medical equipment and vials of drugs, including human growth hormone, into the United States for Dr. Anthony Galea to use on athletes.

Catalano told investigators that Galea, who'd had trouble getting the items across the border himself, had instructed her to lie to border officers and say the supplies were for a conference, according to the plea agreement.

Also: An NCAA committee wants to prohibit scholarship offers to recruits before July 1 of their junior season of high school.

Under the proposal, coaches would need to acquire five semesters or seven quarters of a high school transcript before making an offer.

The Portland Trail Blazers fired general manager Kevin Pritchard less than an hour before the start of the NBA Draft, the team confirmed afterward.

Pritchard had spent six seasons with the team but had fallen out of favor with billionaire owner Paul Allen.

Minnesota Lynx guard Candice Wiggins will miss the rest of the WNBA season after rupturing her left Achilles' tendon.

Wiggins was hurt late in a game at New York on Tuesday. Surgery is set for today.

Craig Ramsay was named the fifth coach in Atlanta Thrashers history.

The 59-year-old Ramsay, an assistant with the Boston Bruins from 2007 to 2010, replaces John Anderson.

The Boston Bruins signed defenseman Johnny Boychuk to a two-year contract extension.

The 26-year-old Boychuk had five goals, 10 assists and 43 penalty minutes in 51 regular-season games for Boston in his first full NHL season.

The Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks traded center Colin Fraser to the Edmonton Oilers for a sixth-round draft pick.

Fraser, 25, had 36 points (13 goals, 23 assists) and 108 penalty minutes in 157 regular-season games with the Blackhawks over the past four years.

NHL owners unanimously agreed to penalize blindside hits to the head with major penalties and ejections.

The new rule was the biggest development from the league's board of governors meeting in Los Angeles.

Natasha Watley's RBI single in the top of the seventh inning helped the United States to a 1-0 victory over China in both teams' opener at the world softball championship in Caracas, Venezuela.