Paterno may need hip replacement

Penn State coach Joe Paterno may have hip replacement surgery the day after the regular season ends. After his team's 34-7 win yesterday over Indiana, the 81-year-old coach said he would not be on the sidelines for next week's season finale against No. 15 Michigan State. "I'm probably going to get a hip replacement or something like that, I don't know," he said. Paterno was hurt in August after trying to demonstrate an onside kick in a typical end-of-the-week practice ritual

Steelers chairman Dan Rooney and his son will likely buy a controlling interest in the team from Rooney's four brothers. "It's not really [that] a deal has been reached, but we're coming along very well," Art Rooney Jr., one of the brothers, said yesterday. "You're dealing with five people who are very private. There are a lot of ideas and nuances. There's still things that have to be worked out, but it's headed that way." Dan Rooney was the only person interested in buying the team, which the brothers want to see remain in the family, said Art Rooney Jr. Dan Rooney declined to comment. Art Rooney Jr. would not confirm that he and brothers Patrick, Timothy, and John Rooney would get about $750 million after business debt is subtracted. That was the figure the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported on its website Friday night. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported a price of $800 million . . . Quarterback Chad Pennington was added to the Miami Dolphins' injury report because of a sore foot, and he's listed as probable for today's game against Oakland. The Dolphins didn't elaborate on the injury. Rookie Chad Henne could make his first NFL start.

Nikolay Davydenko reached today's Masters Cup final in Shanghai with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Andy Murray. Davydenko will play Novak Djokovic, who rallied to oust Gilles Simon, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, in nearly three hours.

Anaheim Ducks defenseman Francois Beauchemin will miss about six months after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. An MRI revealed the tear that Beauchemin sustained in an overtime loss to Nashville Friday. He will be placed on long-term injured reserve . . . Brian Rolston, the Devils' top offseason free agent signing, had a setback in the recovery from a high ankle sprain and has stopped skating . . . Mathieu Darche scored twice for the host Portland Pirates in their 5-2 win over the Providence Bruins. Tuukka Rask stopped 30 shots for the P-Bruins.

Annika Sorenstam made up five strokes on leader Angela Stanford in the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Guadalajara, Mexico, shooting a 5-under-par 67 to cut her deficit to just a stroke with one round left. Making her second-to-last start before leaving the LPGA Tour, Sorenstam eagled the par-5 10th and added six birdies. Sorenstam will need to get past Stanford (72), who has four straight top-five finishes . . . Chapchai Nirat had three birdies and an eagle in 12 holes to move to 9 under, two strokes ahead of Simon Dyson, Thomas Bjorn, and Lam Chih Bing at the Singapore Open before Round 3 was called for darkness with half the field on the course. Phil Mickelson shot 4 under through 14 holes, putting him four strokes off the leader . . . Erik Compton, playing six months after a second heart transplant, failed to advance by one shot in the second stage of PGA Tour qualifying after he closed with a 1-over 73 (6-under 282, tied for 22d) in Brooksville, Fla. Todd Demsey, who returned to the PGA Tour this year after surgery to remove a tumor from his brain, closed with a 68 to share medalist honors with Camilo Benedetti at 13-under 275.

Denver Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin was fined $20,000 by the NBA for his actions after being ejected from a game. Martin was penalized for verbal abuse of an official and failure to leave the court in a timely manner following an ejection in a loss at Cleveland Thursday. Martin was thrown out following a flagrant foul for slamming his shoulder into Cleveland forward Anderson Varejao . . . Jermain Taylor dominated Jeff Lacy to win a 12-round unanimous decision in a World Boxing Congress super middleweight eliminator in Nashville . . . David Beckham was dropped from England's team for next week's exhibition game in Germany because his coach says he's not in shape. Beckham has been a late substitute in all four of England's World Cup qualifying victories. If England advances to the 2010 championship in South Africa, Beckham is in good position to make the team. But coach Fabio Capello said the former captain will not play against the Germans because the Los Angeles Galaxy's season is over.