Keith Primeau suffers broken hand
SUNRISE, Fla., Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Philadelphia captain Keith Primeau suffered a broken bone in his right hand in Friday night's win over Florida and could be sidelined three weeks.
Primeau, a center who has four goals and nine assists in 38 games this season, was hit by a slap shot from Florida defenseman Jay Bouwmeester late in the first period and immediately left the game.
"The x-ray we all looked at, let it heal a little bit and then whenever he can play, he's probably going to have to play with some type of splint," Flyers Coach Ken Hitchcock said. "It could be three weeks before he's back, so we will just have to go with what we got and move along."
A 14-year veteran who has spent the last five seasons with Philadelphia, Primeau has 262 goals and 603 points in 883 games.
Dwayne Wade out two weeks
MIAMI, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade, who has been making a case for Rookie of the Year, will miss at least two weeks with a bone bruise in his right wrist.
Third among rookies in scoring behind highly touted LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, Wade was placed on the injured list Friday after undergoing an MRI. He is expected to wear a cast for at least two weeks.
"Once the swelling went down, then I really got a chance to see how sore it really was," Wade said. "I can't shoot or anything."
The 6-4 Wade is averaging 16.2 points and a team-leading 4.4 assists in 29 games this season. He also leads the Heat with a .453 field goal percentage and 1.28 steals per game.
The fifth pick in the 2003 draft, Wade originally hurt the wrist in a fall during Miami's win at Washington on Dec. 26.
Petra Mandula advances in Hopman Cup
PERTH, Australia, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Petra Mandula won her single's match as Hungary advanced to the main draw of the Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia, by eliminating Canada.
Mandula won her singles match, then teamed with Attila Savolt to capture the doubles portion of the international mixed team competition.
Ranked 43rd in the world, Mandula easily got by Maureen Drake, 6-3, 6-2, in her singles bout, evening the tie at a win apiece. She teamed with Savolt to edge Drake and Frank Dancevic in the decisive doubles match which uses a unique tiebreaker.
If the teams split the first two doubles sets, they go to a 10-point tiebreaker, which Hungary won, 10-3.
Earlier in the day, Dancevic bested Savolt, 6-4, 6-3. The event was supposed to feature the return of Serena Williams, who has been sidelined by a knee injury that required surgery on Aug. 1. Williams has not played since winning Wimbledon in early July.
But Williams, who teamed with James Blake to lead the United States to victory in Australia last year, opted not to play and was replaced by Lindsay Davenport.
Dick Vermeil to return for another season
KANSAS CITY, Mo., Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Dick Vermeil the NFL's oldest coach said he is "energized" and intends to coach the playoff-bound Kansas City Chiefs in 2004.
"I don't even know if it will be a one-year contract or not," said the 67-year-old Vermeil. "I just told (president) Carl (Peterson) that I wanted to stay."
Vermeil coached the Chiefs to a 13-3 record and the AFC West title this season. Kansas City will host a divisional playoff game on the weekend of January 10-11.
He is trying to become the first coach to take three different teams to the Super Bowl. He took Philadelphia to the Super Bowl in 1980 and guided the St. Louis Rams to the Super Bowl title in 1999.
Chiefs president Carl Peterson lured Vermeil out of retirement in 2001, signing him to a three-year, $10 million contract.
Vermeil went 6-10 in his first season with Kansas City and 8-8 in 2002 before guiding the Chiefs to their first playoff appearance in six years.
