Los Angeles Clippers starting forward Corey Maggette had an MRI that revealed a slight tear of the lateral meniscus cartilage in his right knee.

Maggette practiced Monday, though, and is likely to start Wednesday when the Clippers play their first road game this season against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Claxton expected out 8-12 weeks
SAN ANTONIO -- Spurs guard Speedy Claxton is expected to miss eight-to-12 weeks with a dislocated right shoulder.

Claxton will have surgery to repair a torn labrum, but his surgery date hasn't been set, the Spurs said Tuesday.

Claxton, injured during Friday's 91-72 victory over Toronto, averaged 7.7 points and 3.3 assists in three games this season.

Blazers' TV network shuts down
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Action Sports Cable Network has ceased operations, a company official said.

Owned by Paul Allen, the 24-hour regional sports network was launched in 2001 with much fanfare. Plans called for the airing of 25 Portland Trail Blazers games along with select Portland Fire games and Seattle Seahawks preseason games.

But AT&T Cable, Oregon's largest cable operator, refused to put the station on its basic cable lineup, citing the lack of compelling programming other than the Blazers.

AT&T offered to put ASCN on its digital spectrum, an offer the Blazers refused due to the lack of digital cable subscribers.

The sides remained at an impasse, even waging a public relations war through a series of commercials urging fans to call each other's customer service department to complain.

ASCN was available through other cable operators, but only a few thousand homes in the Portland area could get it.

''Unfortunately, ASCN was never able to achieve sufficient distribution of its product to allow it to remain in business,'' ASCN vice president Harry Hutt said in a statement.

The decision to stop operating is effective immediately.

If the Trail Blazers don't find another outlet for this season's ASCN games, they would have the fewest televised games in the NBA.

Former NBA star Theus volunteer assistant at Cal State
LOS ANGELES -- Two-time NBA All-Star Reggie Theus on Wednesday was named a volunteer assistant coach at Cal State-Los Angeles.

A Los Angeles native and product of Inglewood High School, Theus will assist coach Dave Yanai.

"Obviously, Reggie brings a tremendous amount of playing experience with his collegiate and lengthy professional career and having been voted to the NBA's All-Star Team," Yanai said. "He will be an invaluable teacher on the practice floor as well as an experience coach on game day."

Theus, 45, spent 13 seasons in the NBA with Chicago, Kansas City-Sacramento, Atlanta, Orlando and New Jersey. He was runner-up for Rookie of the Year honors in 1979 and made All-Star appearances in 1981 and 1983.

When Theus retired following the 1990-91 season, he ranked 22nd on the league's all-time scoring list with 19,015 points, averaging 18.5 per game. He spent one season in Italy before serving as an NBA television analyst.

Disappointed Thomas, Rockets fail to extend contract
HOUSTON -- Houston Rockets forward Kenny Thomas, who sat out the team's season-opener this week with a fractured right thumb, has failed to reach an agreement on a contract extension.

Thomas, 25, will play out the fourth season of his rookie contract, worth $1,557,683, that the Rockets extended with the standard team option.

The Rockets, which passed on a Thursday deadline for their exclusive right to negotiate an extension of up to six years, will hold the right to match any offer Thomas receives as a restricted free agent after the season.

"I feel like I have to prove myself again,'' Thomas told the Houston Chronicle in a copyright story published in Friday's editions.

"Things haven't gone my way this summer,'' the former New Mexico standout said. "I have a lot of high expectations for myself. Once I get my next contract, I will relax and just play the game. I'll still take care of my body. And I'll still have my expectations. I want to be an All Star.''

Ted Williams' son sued by sports promoter
LAWRENCE, Mass. -- The son of Hall of Famer Ted Williams is being sued by a promoter who contends he is owed more money from the sale of NBA sports memorabilia.

Jury selection began Monday. The case is expected to last up to two weeks.

Lane Forman is suing John Henry Williams for his portion of the profits for the sale of products bearing pictures of Charles Barkley and Larry Bird. Forman said he was promised 5 percent of the gross profits in agreements signed with Williams' Grand Slam Marketing from 1992-94.

Williams says he paid Forman $2,500. Forman says he received one payment of $1,710 and is seeking $250,000 in damages.

Forman's lawyer said he has never been able to calculate how much profit Williams made off the Bird and Barkley deals because Williams' lawyers will not turn over financial records.

Ted Williams died in July. His son and other children have been in a dispute over whether the former Red Sox star should be cremated or frozen.

Stockton helps build basketball facility in hometown
SPOKANE, Wash. -- An old warehouse across the street from Gonzaga University has been converted into a basketball facility whose investors include former Bulldogs star John Stockton of the Utah Jazz.

The Basketball Cornerstones Facility has five courts that can be used for hoops or volleyball.

Stockton, a Spokane native, is among investors who purchased and refurbished the building.

One of the courts is a former Utah Jazz basketball floor that Stockton purchased when the Salt Palace was torn down.

''It's really awesome,'' said Samantha Patrick, 13, after playing a game on the old NBA floor. ''It feels really cool.''

Bucks exercise option to keep Przybilla next season
MILWAUKEE -- The Milwaukee Bucks exercised their option on Joel Przybilla, keeping the center under contract through next season.

The Bucks had to exercise their option by Thursday, or the 7-foot-1 Przybilla would have become a restricted free agent after this season.

Przybilla, on the injured list recovering from ankle surgery, averaged 2.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.66 blocks and 15.9 minutes last season.

Hawks place Mohammed on IL
ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Hawks placed center Nazr Mohammed on the injured list with a stress fracture in his right foot and signed free-agent forward Amal McCaskill on Thursday.

McCaskill was waived earlier this week by Portland. He averaged 3.8 points and 2.6 rebounds in five exhibition games with the Trail Blazers.

The 6-foot-11 McCaskill played 27 games with San Antonio last season, averaging 1.9 points and 1.3 rebounds.

Originally selected by Orlando in the second round of the 1996 draft, McCaskill averaged 1.6 points and 1.3 rebounds during the 1996-97 season. He also played professionally in Spain, Venezuela, Greece and the Continental Basketball Association.

Warriors add Rucker to help depleted squad
OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Golden State Warriors bolstered their depleted roster by signing forward/center Guy Rucker on Thursday.

Rucker was cut by the Los Angeles Lakers during training camp. The 6-foot-11 Rucker played three seasons at Iowa, and professionally in Europe.

The Warriors beat San Antonio 106-98 on Wednesday night in their opener with 11 players in uniform. Bob Sura and Chris Mills began the season on the injured list, while forward Danny Fortson has been away from the team for more than a week after his father died.

In addition, guard Steve Logan is holding out in a contract dispute with the Warriors, who drafted him with the first pick of the second round last summer. Coach Eric Musselman hasn't been able to hold full-court scrimmages for more than a week.

The Warriors also claimed Venezuelan forward Oscar Torres off waivers from Houston on Tuesday.

The acquisitions of Torres and Rucker represent a change in policy for Golden State. The Warriors often didn't sign players to replace their injured regulars in recent years, usually because the franchise wanted to save money.

Several times during the past two seasons, Golden State played with eight or nine players in uniform -- barely reaching the NBA minimum.