Sports briefs: Bulls' preseason schedule set
Bulls' preseason schedule set: The Bulls have announced their 2007-08 preseason schedule, including four home games at the United Center.
The preseason will get under way on Oct. 9 when the Bulls travel to La Crosse, Wis., to face the host Milwaukee Bucks at 7 p.m.
The Bulls will tip off their home preseason schedule when they entertain the Dallas Mavericks at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 12. Other home games are against Washington on Oct. 16, Indiana on Oct. 20, and Milwaukee Bucks on Oct. 25, all at 7:30 p.m. The Bulls will also travel to preseason games at Toronto on Oct. 19 and at Dallas on Oct. 23. The regular-season opener is Oct. 31 at New Jersey.
Tickets for every home game will go on sale at 10 a.m. Oct. 6 at the United Center box office, Ticketmaster locations, online at www.bulls.com, or by calling 1-800-4NBA-TIX.
Beckham to play tonight: David Beckham said he'll play for the Los Angeles Galaxy tonight when it hosts D.C. United at Carson, Calif., in a SuperLiga tournament semifinal.
The English superstar practiced Tuesday for the first time since joining the team a month ago. He has seen limited game time.
he 32-year-old midfielder's nagging left ankle injury isn't completely healed, although Beckham pronounced himself "about 78 percent" ready to go.
"It's not perfect yet, but I think I can at least play half a game tomorrow,"he said. "It still feels unstable to a certain extent, but it feels stable enough to actually play in a game and see how far I can take it."
Adu makes European debut: Freddy Adu made his European debut Tuesday, drawing cheers when he entered as a first-half substitute for Benfica of Portugal during its 2-1 Champions League victory over FC Copenhagen at Lisbon, Portugal.
The 18-year-old American came on about 10 minutes before halftime after Copenhagen had tied the score 1-1 in the first-leg, third-round qualifying game. Benfica coach Fernando Santos had said he intended to ease Adu gently into the team after he arrived in Lisbon at the end of last month. Adu missed all Benfica's preseason games.
Florida A&M fires men's coach: Florida A&M University fired men's basketball coach Mike Gillespie on Tuesday, less than three months after he was charged with misdemeanor stalking.
"This employment action is in the best interests of the men's basketball program and the university," said James Ammons, who became the Tallahassee school's president six weeks ago.
Associate athletic director Alvin Hollins said a committee would be formed to hire a new head coach. No decision has been made on the current assistants, which include Gillespie's son, Mike Gillespie Jr. The school will use an interim coach, Hollins said.
Etc. -- An autopsy on pro wrestler Brian "Crush" Adams failed to show a specific cause of death in Tampa, Fla. The Hillsborough County medical examiner's office said Tuesday it will now conduct tissue and toxicology tests to try to determine what killed the 44-year-old wrestler. A completed autopsy report is expected in six to eight weeks.
-- Masumi Kuwata, the 39-year-old former Japanese star who finally reached his goal this season of pitching in the major leagues, was designated for assignment by the Pittsburgh Pirates. The team has 10 days to trade him, release him or send him to the minors outright.