Harbaugh stands by words


Say this about new Stanford football coach Jim Harbaugh: He stands by what he says and doesn't back down from anyone. That includes the bullies of the Pacific-10 Conference, the USC Trojans .

Harbaugh got into a little hot water late last week when he told CBS SportsLine.com that he heard USC coach Pete Carroll was leaving the school after next season.

But rather than claim he was misquoted, Harbaugh has said in subsequent interviews that he was only repeating what he heard.

"It's been widely publicized that he has interviewed for other jobs, and that is what I've heard," Harbaugh said Monday. "I definitely said that. But we bow to no man. We bow to no program here at Stanford University."

Harbaugh was talking about the importance of having a stable coaching staff when he made his initial comments about Carroll. He pointed out that Carroll has had a lengthy stay at USC, but added, "He's only got one more year, though. He'll be there one more year. That's what I've heard. I heard it (from) inside the staff."

Naturally, the comments didn't sit well with the man who returned USC to national prominence. "If he's going to make statements like that, he ought to get his information right," Carroll told the Los Angeles Times. "And if he has any questions about it, he should call me."

Monday, Harbaugh said, "I gave Pete Carroll a compliment, really. He's created a great program at USC and, you know, I said what I've heard, that he won't be there past

next year. I don't claim to be the definitive source on what Pete Carroll is going to do next year."
Stanford visits USC on Oct. 6.

The exhibition game scheduled for China in August was postponed Monday by the NFL, which said it wanted to concentrate its "global resources" on next October's regular-season game in London.

The game had been set for Aug. 9 in Beijing, the second of two consecutive contests between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, who had been scheduled to meet in Seattle the previous week. NFL spokesman Michael Signora said Monday that game also had been called off.

Although San Francisco and Arizona met in Mexico City in 2005, the NFL has never played a regular-season game outside North America. The first will take place in London on Oct. 28 between the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins, with Miami designed the "home" team.

Indianapolis Colts defensive end Darrell Reid was arrested over the weekend in New Jersey on suspicion of possessing marijuana, borough police said.

BASKETBALL

Seeing Dwyane Wade drive toward him during a scrimmage Monday, Dorell Wright backed away, taking every precaution not to hit his superstar teammate's still-healing left shoulder.

Wade was not happy about that.

"Dorell is a great shot blocker. I saw him look at me and just jump out of the way," Wade said. "I told him, 'Ain't nothing wrong with my body.'"

Wade began trying to prove that Monday, when he returned to practice with the Miami Heat nearly six weeks after suffering the dislocation that threatened to end his season. He worked out on-court for 90 minutes, absorbing some contact for the first time, and followed with weights and physical therapy.

Most importantly, he was pain-free, another sign he'll be able to start playing games before the playoffs.

The Dallas Mavericks signed 44-year-old center Kevin Willis to a 10-day contract, making him the oldest active player in the NBA. Willis has played 20 seasons with seven teams, most recently Atlanta for 29 games in 2004-05. He didn't play last season.

HOCKEY

Glen Metropolit and Doug Weight scored in a 17-second span in the second period to help St. Louis stop Dallas' four-game winning streak.

Mike Ribeiro and Brenden Morrow scored for the Stars, who remain at 102 points, four behind the Pacific Division-leading Anaheim Ducks.

Dallas had gone 10-1-1 over its previous 12 games to put the pressure on Anaheim, but the Stars have only three games left to overtake the Ducks.

Claude Julien was fired as coach of the first-place New Jersey Devils and replaced by general manager Lou Lamoriello with less than a week to go in the regular season.

Lamoriello will coach the final three regular-season games, starting tonight against Ottawa, and the playoffs. It marks the second straight season he has taken over behind the bench. Last year, he replaced Larry Robinson in December.

TENNIS

World sport's highest court has been ordered to review the doping case of Guillermo Canas.

Following an appeal by Canas, the Swiss Federal Tribunal last week annulled a year-old ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport confirming his ATP doping ban in 2005.

Canas, who beat top-ranked Roger Federer in back-to-back tournaments and lost in the final of the Sony Ericsson Open on Sunday to Novak Djokovic, ranked as high as eighth before serving his suspension that ended last summer. He was 143rd at the start of the year but has climbed to No.29 with his recent success.

SOCCER

Diego Maradona will remain in the hospital for at least two more weeks while he recovers from an illness caused by excessive eating, smoking and drinking.

The soccer hero's personal physician, Alfred Cahe, told radio Mitre that he at first feared Maradona was suffering from pancreatitis but it turned out to be alcoholic hepatitis.

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