Oden out 2-4 weeks with foot sprain

Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden will miss 2-4 weeks because of an injury to his right foot. The team said yesterday that MRI and computerized axial tomography scans confirmed Oden has a mid-lateral foot sprain. Oden, who missed last season after knee surgery, injured his foot in the first quarter of the Blazers' 96-76 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday night. "I was trying to go get a rebound, and kind of came down on Derek Fisher's foot on like the third play of the game. I kind of fell and didn't think twice about it," Oden said. Oden missed four field goals and two free throws in 13 minutes of play. The 7-foot center was the top pick in the 2007 draft. But his rookie season was postponed by microfracture surgery on his right knee . . . Spurs forward Fabricio Oberto will miss the first two games of the season after undergoing treatment for an irregular heartbeat. Oberto told trainers at practice Tuesday while he was lifting weights that he felt a fluttering in his heart. A test confirmed atrial fibrillation. He underwent a procedure Tuesday night to restore his heart's normal rhythm. Oberto will have daily heart tests for the next five days . . . The Golden State Warriors signed Don Nelson to a contract extension. Terms were not revealed, but Nelson said they were roughly the same as his first contract, meaning he'll make about $12 million in the deal.

For the third straight year, the Toronto Maple Leafs are the most valuable team in the NHL, worth $448 million. The Leafs increased in value by 9 percent and easily were ahead of the New York Rangers ($411 million) in Forbes' rankings. The biggest increase was made by the Pittsburgh Penguins, who made the Stanley Cup finals last spring and boast stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Pittsburgh is worth $195 million, up 26 percent. Twelve teams had a negative operating income, including the Philadelphia Flyers (minus $1.8 million) and the Bruins (minus $3 million).

Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and defending champ David Nalbandian reached the third round of the Paris Masters without dropping a set. Nadal topped Florent Serra, 6-2, 6-4, and Nalbandian downed Nicolas Kiefer, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3. Federer had the most trouble, saving two set points in the tiebreaker to beat Robin Soderling, 6-4, 7-6 (9-7). Other second-round winners were Nikolay Davydenko, Gilles Simon, James Blake, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Houston wide receiver Patrick Edwards said he holds no animosity toward Marshall, a day after he ran into a service cart and broke his leg against the Thundering Herd in Charleston W.Va. Edwards, Houston's leading receiver with 634 yards on 46 catches, suffered a compound fracture and had a rod inserted in his lower right leg during surgery, said Houston associate athletic director Chris Burkhalter. The freshman was going after a pass at full speed when his right shin hit the metal cart in the back of the end zone. Edwards said he didn't see the carts. He doesn't blame Marshall but said Conference USA officials should have ensured the carts were moved. Marshall AD Bob Marcum said the carts, used by Marshall's band, will be relocated. Edwards's mother, Patricia Edwards, told a Houston TV station she is considering legal action. "I thought I didn't have a son anymore, the way he flipped. I thought we had lost him. He could have been paralyzed or something."

A pair of seniors, Harvard linebacker Eric Schultz and Williams tailback Brian Morrissey, received this week's Gold Helmet awards from the New England Football Writers. The 5-foot-11-inch, 215-pound Schultz was a force in the Crimson's 24-20 comeback win at Princeton, making a career-high 16 tackles, including a key sack in the fourth quarter. A 5-9, 195-pound graduate of Governor's Academy, Morrissey was immense in a 14-7 NESCAC win over Hamilton. He rushed for 201 yards (on 42 carries), including the go-ahead touchdown with 2:12 remaining . . . Harvard senior cornerback Andrew Berry is one of 15 recipients of the National Football Foundation's National Scholar-Athlete Award and will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship. He is a finalist for the Draddy Award, presented to the national scholar-athlete of the year.

Golfer John Daly was taken into custody Sunday by Winston-Salem, N.C., police after he was found drunk outside a Hooters restaurant. Daly, who had lost consciousness at one point, "appeared extremely intoxicated and uncooperative," police said . . . A minor league pitcher accused of throwing a ball that hit a fan in the forehead was indicted on two counts of felonious assault in Dayton, Ohio. Julio Castillo, 21, who was pitching for the Peoria Chiefs (Midwest League), is accused of throwing into the stands during a July 24 game that featured a benches-clearing brawl. The fan was treated for a concussion. Castillo was attempting to hit a Dayton player in the dugout. He will plead not guilty, his lawyer said . . . Mets pitcher Ambiorix Burgos was released from a Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, jail following a car crash that killed two women. A judge ordered him to pay $57,000 and appear every two weeks before a magistrate until a court date is set . . . The proposed loan of David Beckham to AC Milan prompted the Los Angeles Galaxy to postpone their Dec. 11 game against Australia's Queensland Roar in Brisbane before tickets went on sale. "To avoid disappointment for the many fans that were expected to travel to Brisbane from all parts of Australia, it was decided to postpone this game before tickets went on sale," said business operations president Tom Payne . . . Diego Maradona will become Argentina's soccer coach next week, the Argentine Football Association website says.