Pro basketball
FOOT FORCES PLAYER'S HAND: Todd MacCulloch always knew his career would end. He just never expected it to come to such a sudden and mysterious stop.
"I wish this was somewhere down the road," said MacCulloch, who retired Wednesday from foot problems that sidelined him the last 1 1/2 seasons. "I never envisioned this to happen at this point, but we don't always get to choose those kind of things."
MacCulloch hasn't played since Feb. 2, 2003, because of a disorder believed to be Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a genetic disorder that disrupts his balance and causes problems with his feet. MacCulloch, 28, had surgery in January on his left foot to free a crushed nerve, leaving him hopeful of a recovery and perhaps a similar procedure on his right foot. Instead, there was no progress.
WIZARDS GUARD OUT: Washington Wizards point guard Steve Blake will miss the first month of the season after injuring his ankle in a pickup game. Blake underwent surgery to remove a chipped bone from his right ankle and is expected to miss 10 to 12 weeks, which would rule him out of the first 13 games of the regular season. As a rookie last season, Blake played in 75 games, started 14 and averaged 5.9 points and 2.8 assists.
WILLIS BACK WITH ATLANTA: Kevin Willis joined his original NBA team Wednesday after a 10-year absence, looking to give the Atlanta Hawks inside depth at age 42. Willis is entering his 21st season in the league and is second among all active NBA players in games played. The 7-footer was a reserve for San Antonio last season and is expected to play behind center Jason Collier this year. In 11 years with the Hawks, Willis averaged 14.5 points and 10.0 rebounds. He was the team's first-round pick in 1984 and was an All-Star in the 1991-92 season.
ANOTHER YEAR FOR ELY: The Charlotte Bobcats picked up the option on center Melvin Ely for the 2005-06 season. The Bobcats acquired Ely in July with guard Eddie House in a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers. Charlotte had until Oct. 31 to pick up the fourth-year option on Ely, a first-round draft pick in 2002.
Olympics
GOLF CONSIDERED: Golf, rugby, squash, karate and roller sports are in the running for possible inclusion at the 2012 Olympics. The International Olympic Committee said Wednesday it notified those five sports' governing bodies that they will be "studied further" as part of a review of the Summer Games' competition schedule.
The list of sports will remain the same for the 2008 Beijing Games, with any modifications taking effect in 2012.
GOLD DUPLICATED: More than a month later, South Korean gymnast Yang Tae-young got his gold medal. Sort of. Yang, who lost the all-around title to Paul Hamm after a scoring error, received a replica gold medal from the Korean Olympic Committee on Wednesday and a $20,000 check — the same prize promised to South Korea's other gold medalists. Yang, who finished with a bronze, was wrongly docked a tenth of a point on his next-to-last routine, the parallel bars. He finished third.
DRUG BANNED: A drug used for prostate problems and hair loss was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency's list of banned substances. Finasteride, which also goes by the brand name Proscar, can work as a masking agent to conceal performance-enhancing drugs.
Tennis
SERENA NOT SHARP: Top-seeded Serena Williams struggled Wednesday, beating Russia's Dinara Safina 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the China Open quarterfinals in Beijing.
Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova had an easier time, routing fellow Russian Tatiana Panova 6-1, 6-1 to also advance to the final eight.
Williams dominated the first set with strong groundstrokes, but Safina surged ahead in the second by twice breaking serve. Safina was hurt in the third set by double-faults, including one that put her behind 5-3. Williams promptly served out the match.
Pro hockey
LEAGUE MOVING FORWARD: A hockey league formed for locked-out NHL players called off some preseason games but will proceed with its regular season, which is to start Oct. 7. The Original Stars Hockey League, however, disassociated itself from a news release Wednesday saying it had suspended preseason play. League president Randy Gumbley did acknowledge some games will not be played.