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Center Ryan Hollins won’t be returning to the Dallas Mavericks. Hollins, a restricted free agent, signed an offer sheet with the Minnesota Timberwolves that the Mavericks do not plan to match.'Congrats to Ryan Hollins. Wish him the best w twolves,' Mavs owner Mark Cuban posted on his Twitter account.The Mavs have little reason to match. Hollins was reportedly offered a three-year deal worth $7 million, which would have translated to $14 million for Cuban because of the luxury tax. The Mavs last week signed veteran Drew Gooden to a one-year, $4.5 million deal. He is expected to compete with Erick Dampier for the starting center job.Hollins, 7-foot, was drafted out of UCLA by Charlotte in 2006. He played just over two seasons before the Mavs acquired him in January. He has career averages of 2.7 points and 1.8 rebounds. David Kahn, Timberwolves president of basketball operations, said Hollins will be a good fit on the frontcourt with Kevin Love and Al Jefferson.'We are excited abou

Upset by press reports that starting middle linebacker Stewart Bradley could miss the season with a knee injury, Eagles coach Andy Reid says he's not talking about it. The Eagles confirmed Sunday night that Bradley suffered a knee injury in practice. On Monday, reports surfaced that the third-year pro has a torn ACL. After practice, Reid criticized the media instead of discussing the injury.

Even though Andre' Goodman and Renaldo Hill are in a new setting, they find themselves on familiar ground. The Denver Broncos defensive backs only hope it has a similar ending. Goodman and Hill were part of a reclamation project in Miami, helping the Dolphins rebound from a disastrous 1-15 campaign in 2007 to becoming a playoff squad last season. Now, the good friends are eager to orchestrate a similar turnaround in Denver, joining a team that has missed the playoffs the past three seasons.

By CLARENCE E. HILL JR. SAN ANTONIO — Rarely has so much been expected of someone who has done so little.Yet, wide receiver Miles Austin, a former undrafted free agent from Monmouth with 18 career catches, is crucial to any success the Dallas Cowboys hope to have in the passing game this season.Never mind the supposed competition between Austin, Sam Hurd and Patrick Crayton for the No. 2 receiver position behind No. 1 target Roy Williams.All three receivers are going to play for the Cowboys, but only Austin has the skill set — size and speed — to provide the vertical threat the passing game lost with the departure of Terrell Owens.Owner Jerry Jones has gone so far as to cite Austin’s potential and ability to make the big play as a reason the Cowboys could finally rid themselves of Owens.Austin, who has three receiving touchdowns in the past three years, is expected to pick up the slack from Owens, who caught 38 touchdown passes during that same time period.Rece

By JEFF WILSON OAKLAND, Calif. — The big news Monday was that the Texas Rangers did not make a roster move to help keep their pitching staff together as they trudge through the most serious rash of injuries this season.The Rangers had called up a pitcher from Triple A or put someone on the disabled list five of the previous six days. They’ve been working short ever since Kevin Millwood could log only two innings July 26, but things appear to be falling in place.Millwood (strained left gluteus muscle) threw a bullpen session at McAfee Coliseum and is scheduled to pitch Saturday. The Rangers will have eight relievers available by then and will stick with an extra pitcher until they feel as though they’ve survived this rough stretch.'Right now, we’re still trying to straighten out our bullpen,' manager Ron Washington said. 'I’d rather have more pitching than not enough. I hope that doesn’t last until the end of August.'Neftali Feliz, who was added to t

The way manager Ron Washington sees it, the inconsistencies that plagued Derek Holland before his only outing last week are a thing of the past.The left-hander turned in the best start of his rookie season Thursday, limiting Seattle to one hit in eight innings and coming within an out of a two-hit shutout.That performance, which the Rangers know was well within Holland’s capabilities, should serve as the blueprint for future success. He won’t be expected to pitch eight or nine innings each start, but the belief is he has turned a corner.'You don’t reach where he reached the last time he took the ball and start going backward,' Washington said. 'You might stabilize. You might get there again. It might be a 5-3 ballgame, but he’s not going backward.'Holland (4-6) has been learning on the job, Washington said, and has applied everything he has been told from pitching coach Mike Maddux and his teammates.But Thursday won’t be on Holland’s mind tonight in

Upset by press reports that starting middle linebacker Stewart Bradley could miss the season with a knee injury, Eagles coach Andy Reid said Monday he's not talking about it. The Eagles confirmed Sunday night that Bradley suffered a knee injury in practice. On Monday, reports surfaced that the third-year pro has a torn ACL is likely lost for the season. After practice, Reid criticized the media instead of discussing the injury.

ABERDEEN, Md. - The Staten Island Yankees are gaining a full head of steam as the New York-Penn League passes the midway point and begins the final five weeks of the regular season.

By JEFF WILSON OAKLAND, Calif. — The target for two years has been 2010, the season when club brass expected the Texas Rangers to blossom into a serious contender in the American League.Of course, the 2009 Rangers have had something to say about that since May and find themselves in position to win their division or claim the wild-card berth.But the pieces expected to be a part of the 2010 push have found their way onto the roster a year early, a trend that started with giving Elvis Andrus the job at shortstop to open the season.Derek Holland followed and is a member of the starting rotation. Center fielder Julio Borbon got his first taste of the big leagues just before the All-Star break.Neftali Feliz blew into the mix Monday night. Holy smokes.The hard-throwing right-hander made his major league debut against Oakland and dominated the Athletics for two innings. He struck out four and hit 101 mph on his final pitch.He appears to be someone who could stay on the big-league roste

No surprise, but Tyler Colvin was named Southern League Player of the Week. There's some other news out of the greater Knoxville area, too. Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs were run down by the New Orleans Zephyrs, 3-2. Starter Mitch Atkins went six innings and allowed two runs on seven hits. Atkins walked two (one intentionally), hit a batter and struck out four. He also hit a solo home run in the sixth inning. Vince Perkins took the loss in relief. Perkins pitched a scary but scoreless eighth and started the ninth with the first two batters reaching--one reaching on an Aaron Miles error and the other by a walk. The walk eventually came around to score after he left the game. Perkins allowed one run on two hits over one plus innings. Perkins walked three and struck out one. Tennessee Smokies The Smokies filleted the Carolina Mudcats, 7-2. That Andrew Cashner is good. Tonight Cashner lowed his combined ERA on the season to 1.24 in 72.2 innings by pitching six innings and allowing only one unear