Lakers sign free agent G Jordan Farmar
Lakers sign free agent G Jordan Farmar
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The Los Angeles Lakers have signed free agent guard Jordan Farmar, who returns to the team that drafted him in 2006 and that he helped win back-to-back NBA titles.
Farmar played last season in Turkey, where he averaged 13.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists for Anadolu Efes Istanbul in the Euroleague.
Farmer spent his first four NBA seasons with the Lakers, averaging 6.9 points and 2.1 assists during 301 career games. He was part of their 2009 and 2010 NBA title teams. He was taken as the 26th overall pick out of UCLA.
Farmer, a Los Angeles native, played two seasons with the now-Brooklyn Nets after leaving the Lakers.
Bucks sign free agents Delfino, Pachulia
MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Bucks have signed free agents Carlos Delfino and Zaza Puchulia.
The Bucks announced the signings Wednesday. Terms were not disclosed.
Delfino returns to the Bucks after spending last season with the Houston Rockets, where he averaged 10.6 points in 67 games.
Delfino played for the Bucks for three seasons from 2009-2012. He averaged 10.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists while shooting 36.6 percent from 3-point range in 178 games with Milwaukee.
Puchulia returns for his second stint with the Bucks after also spending the 2004-05 season in Milwaukee. The native of Tbilisi, Georgia, averaged 6.2 points and 5.1 rebounds in 74 games for the Bucks. He spent the past eight seasons with Atlanta.
Lions release injured running back Best
ALLEN PARK, Mich. — The Detroit Lions released running back Jahvid Best on Wednesday after concussion problems prevented the former first-round draft pick from playing at all in 2012.
Best hasn’t played since October 2011, and his return was looking increasingly unlikely. Best agreed to a five-year deal with the Lions after they drafted him in 2010, but he’s played only 22 games.
“Jahvid is as fine a person and professional as I have ever worked with,” Lions general manager Martin Mayhew said. “He was the consummate teammate and always did everything asked of him. We wish Jahvid the very best in all his future endeavors and have no doubt that he will be successful in whatever path he chooses.”
Best accounted for 1,000-plus yards and six touchdowns as a rookie, but he was limited to six games during the 2011 season after what he said was the third concussion of his football career. He hasn’t played since a loss to San Francisco in 2011.
Bucs sign former Giants PK Lawrence Tynes
TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Connor Barth will miss the upcoming season with a torn Achilles tendon and the team has signed two-time Super Bowl winner Lawrence Tynes as his replacement.
The Bucs announced Wednesday that Barth was injured last week in his hometown of Wilmington, N.C., and underwent successful surgery on Monday. He will be placed on the non-football injury list.
Tynes is a ninth-year pro who spent the past six seasons with the New York Giants, helping them win NFL titles in 2007 and 2011. He was a Pro Bowl alternate last season.
Barth signed a four-year, $13.2 million contract extension in 2012, when he was designated as the club’s franchise player. Over the past four seasons, he converted a team-record 84.3 percent of his field goal attempts.
Tynes appeared in 81 games with the Giants, converting 122 of 146 field goals for an 83.6 percent success rate. Both times New York reached the Super Bowl, he kicked game-winning field goals in overtime to win the NFC championship game.
Cuban ballplayer tells newspaper he is defecting
DES MOINES, Iowa — Cuban pitcher Misael Siverio told a Spanish-language newspaper he has defected to the United States and is going to try to make it to the major leagues.
Siverio was part of the Cuban national team that traveled to Iowa for an exhibition game against a collegiate all-star team from the U.S. But he apparently left the delegation at some point after it arrived in Des Moines on Tuesday afternoon.
“Leaving behind your country is not easy, but this was a decision that I gave a lot of thought,” Siverio told El Nuevo Herald in Miami. “Of course, my dream is to play in the majors, and from now on I will start taking the first steps to make it happen.”
New Blue Jacket Horton undergoes shoulder surgery
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbus Blue Jackets forward Nathan Horton has undergone surgery to repair a shoulder injury suffered during the Stanley Cup finals, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen announced on Wednesday.
The surgery was performed by Dr. Jon Warner at the Boston Shoulder Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Horton signed a seven-year, $37.1-million contract with the Blue Jackets on July 5. He has 198 goals and 204 assists for 402 points with 543 penalty minutes in 591 career NHL games with the Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins. This past season, he had 13 goals and nine assists in 43 games with the Bruins before picking up seven goals and 12 assists in 22 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Horton is expected to miss the start of the season during rehab.
Raptors set to buy out Camby’s contract
TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors have agreed to buy out center Marcus Camby’s contract and place him on waivers.
Camby, acquired as part of the trade that sent Andrea Bargnani to the New York Knicks, was owed $7.5 million over the final two years of his contract.
The 39-year-old center appeared in just 24 games last season for the Knicks, averaging 1.8 points per game. Camby was picked second overall by Toronto in the 1996 draft and has played 973 games during his career.
He expressed a desire to play for a contending team.
The Raptors announced Tuesday they were using their amnesty provision on forward Linas Kleiza.
Federer rallies to win at German Championships
HAMBURG, Germany — Roger Federer rallied to beat Daniel Brands 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 Wednesday at the German Tennis Championships in his first match since his second-round loss at Wimbledon last month.
Federer will play qualifier Jan Hajek of the Czech Republic, who beat 15th-seeded Ernests Gulbis of Latvia 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
Tommy Haas outlasted qualifier Blaz Kavcic of Slovenia 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 to advance to the third round.
Fourth-seeded Jerzy Janowicz of Poland, a Wimbledon semifinalist, prevailed 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (4) over Robin Haase of the Netherlands.
Defending champion Juan Monaco of Argentina, seeded fifth, beat Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-4.
Four other seeded players lost — No. 6 Andreas Seppi, No. 10 Tommy Robredo, No. 13 Mikhail Youzhny and No. 16 Martin Klizan.
Four players into Swedish Open quarters in Bastad
BASTAD, Sweden — Fifth-seeded Lourdes Dominguez Lino, No. 8 Johanna Larsson, Klara Zakopalova and Virginie Razzano reached the quarterfinals of the Swedish Open on Wednesday.
Dominguez Lino rallied past Teliana Pereira 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, and Larsson defeated Nina Bratchikova 6-2, 6-3 at the clay-court tournament on Sweden’s west coast.
Zakopalova broke serve five times to beat Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-3, 6-1, and Razzano came from behind to down Alexandra Dulgheru 3-6, 6-0, 6-4.
Also, second-seeded Simona Halep advanced to the second round by beating Rebecca Peterson of Sweden 6-4, 6-0. The Romanian has recently surged in the rankings after winning three WTA titles in five weeks.
Top-seeded Barthel out of Gastein with injury
BAD GASTEIN, Austria — Top-seeded Mona Barthel of Germany pulled out with a shoulder injury while trailing 6-2, 4-3 to the 725th-ranked Lisa-Maria Moser in the second round of the Gastein Ladies on Wednesday.
Playing in her first WTA event, Moser broke twice to take the opening set and the Austrian wildcard was a break up in the second when the 31st-ranked Barthel withdrew.
In the quarterfinals, Moser will play Andrea Hlavackova of Czech Republic, who rallied to beat Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland 5-7, 6-1, 6-0.
Also, No. 8 Karin Knapp of Italy advanced to the last eight after beating Alexandra Cadantu of Romania 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-1. Knapp will face second-seeded Annika Beck of Germany or Mandy Minella of Luxembourg.
Kevin Anderson advances in Claro Open Colombia
BOGOTA, Colombia — Second-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa beat Ecuador’s Emilio Gomez 6-3, 7-6 (2) on Wednesday night in a rain-delayed match in the Claro Open Colombia.
Anderson set up a third-round match against sixth-seeded Santiago Giraldo of Colombia, a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 winner over Australia’s Chris Guccione in the hard-court tournament.
Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic also advanced, beating third-seeded Igor Sijsling of the Netherlands 6-3, 7-6 (14).
From wire sources