Sports briefs

Bulls sign draft pick Curry:

-- The Bulls signed second-round draft pick JamesOn Curry on Thursday. A 6-foot-3 guard from Oklahoma State, Curry averaged 9.4 points and 3 assists at the Orlando summer league, then 8.3 points and 3.3 assists in four games at the Rocky Mountain Revue in Salt Lake City. The Bulls' roster now stands at 14 players.

-- Mike McGraw

Michigan's Hart rips Harbaugh:

Michigan players and coaches are lashing out at Jim Harbaugh over remarks the former Wolverines quarterback and current Stanford coach made about his alma mater in a newspaper interview. Michigan tailback Mike Hart says he has no respect for Harbaugh.

"He's not a Michigan man, and I wish he had never played here," Hart said this week during the Big Ten media meetings in Chicago. "I've never met him, and I don't want to."

Harbaugh in May told the San Francisco Examiner that Michigan admitted athletes who were borderline academically, then steered them into less-challenging courses to keep them eligible.

"They're adulated when they're playing," Harbaugh was quoted as saying. "But when they get out, the people who adulated them won't hire them."

Harbaugh later told The Ann Arbor News that even serious student athletes are encouraged to take easier majors.

Coach Lloyd Carr called Harbaugh's comments "elitist" and "arrogant."

Moss misses Pats' practices:

A day after appearing to injure his left leg during a passing drill, Randy Moss missed two practices with the New England Patriots on Thursday. Moss, acquired from Oakland in a trade during the draft, pulled up midway through Wednesday's practice. Trainers applied ice to his upper left leg, and he later left the field under his own power.

"Randy's good," coach Bill Belichick said Thursday. "Day to day."

Asked about a timetable for Moss' return, Belichick said, "My crystal ball's no clearer than yours."

-- Minnesota Vikings rookie running back Adrian Peterson left Thursday's practice with an injury after taking an elbow to his hip while catching a pass in a drill, but he said it wasn't serious. "It's not a big deal at all," said Peterson, who called the injury a minor hip pointer. His status is day to day, but he's unlikely to participate in weekend scrimmages against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Penner, Ducks part ways:

The Anaheim Ducks cut ties with Dustin Penner on Thursday when the team opted not to match a five-year, $21.25 million offer sheet from the Edmonton Oilers for the 24-year-old left winger. The Ducks will receive picks in the first, second and third rounds of the 2008 draft from Edmonton as compensation. Penner, who was a restricted free agent, will get a huge raise from the Oilers, earning $4.25 million in each of the next five seasons.

Beckham likely to miss game:

David Beckham's left ankle likely will cause him to miss his scheduled Major League Soccer debut when the Los Angeles Galaxy plays at Toronto FC on Sunday night. Beckham has been limited to 16 minutes of play in an exhibition game since joining the Galaxy, a layoff that could rule out the 32-year-old midfielder from England's exhibition against Germany at Wembley on Aug. 22. Beckham will travel with the Galaxy to Toronto but likely won't play.

Etc. -- The Chicago Wolves re-signed center Matt Anderson. The 24-year-old forward made his professional debut last season after being signed to an amateur tryout contract on March 30. He appeared in 13 of the Wolves' 15 postseason games.

-- Concordia University of Chicago announced that former Bears all-pro tackle James "Big Cat" Williams will join the team as an offensive line coach. Williams, who made 134 consecutive starts for the Bears from 1994 to 2002, has worked as the radio color analyst for the Chicago Rush.

-- Northern Illinois University golfer Alex Wagner (St. Charles East High School) qualified for the U.S. Amateur tournament after finishing in a second place at the U.S. Amateur Qualifier at Oak Grove CC in Harvard. The junior-to-be totaled a 137 with a 70 in the first round and a 67 in the final round. Wagner advances to the U.S. Amateur Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco beginning Aug. 20.

-- Ohio State, which was ranked No. 1 entering the NCAA Tournament and went on to lose to Florida in the title game, will be one of the four early round hosts for the NIT Season Tip-Off. Syracuse, Washington and Texas A&M will be the other first- and second-round sites for the 16-team tournament.

-- Florida Marlins right-hander Josh Johnson will require elbow surgery and will likely be sidelined through the 2008 season. The Marlins anticipate that Johnson will need ligament replacement, known as Tommy John surgery, meaning he would be out 12-18 months.