Despite ankle, James ready for Game 2

Basketball
Cavaliers star LeBron James says his sprained left ankle -- swollen, sore, and stiff -- won't keep him out of the playoffs. He spent most of yesterday getting treatment after twisting his ankle Sunday during the third quarter of Cleveland's 97-82 win over Washington in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. James inadvertently stepped on the right foot of Wizards forward Etan Thomas, and despite extreme initial pain, stayed in the game. James said there's no doubt he'll play in Game 2 tomorrow . . . Wizards forward Caron Butler had the cast removed from his broken right hand and was told to avoid contact for 7-10 days . . . Chicago Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich was fined $25,000 by the NBA for throwing his mouthpiece into the stands during Saturday's Game 1 victory over the Miami Heat . . . North Carolina freshman Brandan Wright plans to enter the NBA draft in June. The 6-foot-9-inch forward said he doesn't intend to sign with an agent yet -- a move that would keep open the possibility of a return to school next year . . . Utah State guard Jaycee Carroll also will enter the NBA draft but hasn't hired an agent . . . Morehead State's Matthew Mitchell will be Kentucky's next women's coach, the first male coach in the 36-year history of the program . . . Penn State hired Notre Dame assistant Coquese Washington as women's coach . . . Marshon Brooks, a 6-5 swingman from Tucker, Ga., signed a national letter of intent to play at Providence.

Receiving 101 of a possible 127 first-place votes, no one was catching the "Brazilian Blur" for the NBA's Sixth Man Award. Phoenix Suns guard Leandro Barbosa finished with 578 points in the balloting, far outdistancing runner-up Manu Ginobili of San Antonio (269 points) and Dallas's Jerry Stackhouse (210). Barbosa averaged a career-high 18.1 points and 4.0 assists in his fourth season . . . Ginobili will honor the Spurs' request and sit out Argentina's Olympic qualifying in Las Vegas in August . . . New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul had a screw inserted in his left foot and will likely be unable to train with the US national team this summer, his agent said.

Baseball

Just when Rich Harden was hoping for a healthy, full season, he got hurt again. The Oakland Athletics placed their ace righthander on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right shoulder and also put center fielder Milton Bradley (hamstring) on the DL. Harden, who was limited to nine starts last season because of injuries, threw a bullpen outing Sunday to test his stiff throwing shoulder and was put on the DL as a precautionary measure . . . Another ace from the American League West, Seattle Mariners righthander Felix Hernandez, was sent to the DL because of a muscle strain in his right elbow and forearm. The move is retroactive to April 19 . . . Oft-injured Chicago Cubs pitcher Mark Prior will have exploratory arthroscopic surgery today on his ailing right shoulder. The Cubs also put pitcher Wade Miller (back) on the 15-day DL . . . Texas Rangers closer Eric Gagne made his second trip to the DL this season with a hip injury suffered Sunday . . . Top Yankees pitching prospect Phil Hughes is expected to make his major league debut Thursday against Toronto. Lefthander Chase Wright, who took the loss against the Red Sox Sunday night, was optioned to Double A Trenton when the Yankees activated left fielder Hideki Matsui from the DL . . . New Haven junior Michael Moras tied an NCAA record with two grand slams among his three home runs and fell one RBI shy of the NCAA record with 12, carrying the Chargers to a 35-12 win over Assumption in Worcester.

Football

The Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts had their Rose Garden ceremony with President Bush. Referring to quarterback Peyton Manning, Bush joked that White House workers "wanted to see a guy who gets more air time than I do." . . . Guard Stacy Andrews signed a one-year contract with the Cincinnati Bengals, who had made him one of their restricted free agents . . . UConn coach Randy Edsall announced that senior wide receiver Brandon McLean has been suspended for three games for unbecoming conduct.

Miscellany

Lorena Ochoa replaced Annika Sorenstam as the No. 1 women's golfer in the world, the first time the Swede has been dethroned since the official rankings were introduced early last year. "This is a huge accomplishment for me," said Ochoa, who is defending her Corona Championship title this weekend in her home country of Mexico. Sorenstam, who is sidelined because of neck and back injuries, dropped to No. 2 . . . Tournament officials announced Michelle Wie has accepted a sponsor's exemption to play in the LPGA's new $2.6 million Ginn Tribute, which starts May 28 . . . Atlanta Thrashers captain Scott Mellanby is expected to announce his retirement today after 21 NHL seasons . . . Detroit Red Wings forward Tomas Holmstrom is day-to-day with an eye injury after Calgary's Craig Conroy hit him with his stick in Sunday's series-clinching win . . . The US national team added Nashville defenseman Ryan Suter, Minnesota forward Adam Hall, and St. Louis goalie Jason Bacashihua to its roster for the world hockey championships beginning Friday in Moscow . . . Chivas USA defender Carlos Llamosa is expected to miss the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery . . . The US Figure Skating Championships are headed to NBC in a multiyear deal that involves no rights fees for the national governing body . . . David Halberstam, 73, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author who penned several books on baseball, was killed in a car crash in Menlo Park, Calif. Story, A1 . . . An unidentified 22-year-old man who fell ill after finishing Sunday's London Marathon died . . . The Louis Vuitton Cup was postponed again because of a lack of wind off the coast of Valencia, Spain . . . Kristen Kowalik (soccer) and Patrick Mahady (crew) received Northeastern's top scholar-athlete honors for the 2006-07 season.