Briefs | NBA: Memphis ignores Portland's threat, re-signs Darius Miles

NBA

If Miles plays two more games, it will cost Portland: The Memphis Grizzlies re-signed forward Darius Miles on Saturday, despite a threat of legal action by the Portland Trail Blazers.

Trail Blazers president Larry Miller said Friday he believed other teams wanted to sign Miles because it would cost Portland money, not because they thought he would help on the court.

Miles is coming back from major knee surgery. If he plays two more games, Portland will be on the hook for the $18 million left on his contract. That would count against the Blazers' salary cap and force the team to pay luxury tax.

Memphis, which waived Miles last week, signed him to a 10-day contract. General manager Chris Wallace insists the 27-year-old Miles can be a plus.

Miller sent an e-mail to fellow NBA executives Thursday night, aware Miles was to clear waivers the next day.

"We were hearing a lot of rumblings and rumors that there were teams out there planning to sign Darius Miles specifically and maliciously to hurt our organization," Miller said.

Miller defended his tactics, even after the National Basketball Players Association announced plans to file a grievance against the Blazers.

Miles' contract would become guaranteed for the rest of the season if he plays in 10 games. He already has played in eight — six exhibitions for Boston and two games for Memphis.

Thunder wins in OT: Kevin Durant scored 28 points, Nick Collison added a season-high 21 and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the host Chicago Bulls 109-98 in overtime.

Tennis

Defending champion Sharapova is recovering from shoulder injury: Defending champion Maria Sharapova of Russia has withdrawn from next week's Australian Open because of her slower-than-expected recovery after a shoulder injury. Sharapova said she resumed training a few weeks ago and "am just not near the level I need to be to compete at the highest levels."

Murray wins Qatar Open again: Andy Murray of Scotland downplayed talk he is a favorite heading into the Australian Open after his successful defense of the Qatar Open title in Doha.

The fourth-ranked Murray defeated No. 8 Andy Roddick of the United States 6-4, 6-2 to win the ninth ATP Tour title of his career.

Team Americas wins exhibition: Venus Williams of the United States dominated Russia's Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6-2 to give Team Americas the victory over Russia in the Hong Kong exhibition team tournament.

Earlier in the day, Argentina's Gisela Dulko rallied to beat Anna Chakvetadze 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to give Team Americas a 2-1 lead over Team Russia in the best-of-five final.

NHL

Shanahan agrees to return to Devils: Less than two weeks shy of his 40th birthday, Brendan Shanahan is headed back to where his NHL career started.

The all-but-certain Hall of Fame forward agreed in principle to a deal with the Devils that will return him to New Jersey — the team that made him the second player taken in the 1987 draft.

Shanahan hasn't played since finishing his second season with the New York Rangers last spring. Shanahan, who will turn 40 on Jan. 23, also talked to the Philadelphia Flyers.

"I had no desire to leave my team, but it didn't work out," Shanahan said of the Rangers.

Shanahan has 650 goals in 21 seasons.

Marleau leads Sharks past Canucks: San Jose captain Patrick Marleau — a former WHL Seattle Thunderbird — scored on a power play midway through the third period and added his second goal with 2:06 left, lifting the Sharks to a 4-2 victory over the host Vancouver Canucks. San Jose leads the league with 67 points.

U.S. under-18 women's team triumphs in OT: The defending champion United States won the world women's under-18 championship, defeating Canada 3-2 on Kendall Coyne's goal 6:47 into overtime in Fussen, Germany.

Coyne is from Palos Heights, Ill.

Baseball

Saito signs with Dodgers: Takashi Saito signed a one-year contract with the Boston Red Sox, his departure from the Los Angeles Dodgers solidifying 24-year-old Jonathan Broxton's status as the Dodgers' closer.

Saito, 38, saved 81 games and had a 1.95 earned-run average over the last three seasons for the Dodgers.

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