NEW YORK [bar] Al Arbour has one more milestone to reach behind the New York Islanders' bench.
Already with 739 Islanders wins - the most for a coach with one team in NHL history - and four straight Stanley Cup championships from 1980-83, Arbour will return to Long Island for one night to lead the club for a record 1,500th time.
The Islanders announced Thursday that Arbour will coach the team Nov. 3 - two days after his 75th birthday - at home against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
IN OTHER NHL NEWS
Ty Conklin, a veteran goalie who split last season with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Buffalo Sabres, signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.
nba
Rockets bring back Francis
HOUSTON [bar] Steve Francis is returning to the Rockets.
Francis has agreed to a deal with Houston, his agent Jeff Fried said Thursday.
Before he was traded to Orlando in 2004 as part of a multiplayer deal that brought Tracy McGrady to the Rockets, Francis spent his first five seasons with the Rockets.
Fisher to rejoin Bryant in L.A.
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. [bar] Derek Fisher is going back to Los Angeles and will rejoin Kobe Bryant in the Lakers' backcourt.
Fisher, who turns 33 on Aug. 9, cleared waivers Thursday, and the Lakers scheduled a news conference for today to announce his signing. The contract reportedly is a three-year deal worth about $14 million.
IN OTHER NBA NEWS
Chris Mihm has re-signed with the Los Angeles Lakers after missing last season following reconstructive ankle surgery.
Gerald Wallace signed a six-year, $57 million contract with the Charlotte Bobcats on Thursday.
baseball
U.S. might not get to play for gold
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil [bar] The U.S. team might not be able to play for the baseball gold medal at the Pan American Games.
A previous commitment for the team to play a series of games back home against China could lead to a forfeit of the final against Cuba.
The Americans must leave Rio tonight to go to Mobile, Ala., for games with China. With heavy rains dousing the Pan Am's fields, it's possible the gold medal game scheduled for 10 a.m. EDT today won't come off at that time.
IN OTHER BASEBALL NEWS
Chris Carpenter, St. Louis righthander and 2005 NL Cy Young winner, will miss the rest of the season and part of next year after he undergoes elbow ligament replacement surgery next week.
Jim Edmonds, St. Louis Cardinals center fielder, was activated from the disabled list Thursday after he missed 26 games with a pinched nerve in his lower back.
Cesar Izturis, a Chicago Cubs backup shortstop, was traded along with cash to Pittsburgh on Thursday in a deal that could free the Pirates to trade former All-Star Jack Wilson.
golf
Former hokie tied for U.S. Bank lead
MILWAUKEE [bar] Brendon de Jonge, a PGA Tour rookie and former Virginia Tech player, shot a 7-under-par 63 to tie Jeff Maggert for the lead Thursday in the first round of the U.S. Bank Championship.
De Jonge, a native of Zimbabwe, holed out a chip shot from 100 yards away to eagle the par-4 second hole.
IN OTHER GOLF NEWS
Annika Sorenstam outlasted 62nd-seeded Katherine Hull in 20 holes to win her first-round match at the HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship in New Rochelle, N.Y.
Sam Saunders, the grandson of golfing great Arnold Palmer, shared the lead with three others at 8-under after the second round of the Southern Amateur championship in Pinehurst, N.C.
college basketball
Iowa State sends top scorer packing
AMES, Iowa [bar] Iowa State dismissed suspended guard Mike Taylor, the Cyclones' leading scorer last season, after a series of arrests.
