Kings reinstate suspended center Cousins
SACRAMENTO, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins is back in good standing with the team after an "indefinite" suspension that turned out to be one game.
Cousins was missing from the lineup Sunday as the Kings bested the Portland Trail Blazers following his suspension for unprofessional conduct for a reported profanity-laced tirade aimed at Coach Keith Smart.
But the team announced Monday Cousins had been reinstated immediately and rejoined the team for practice, The Sacramento Bee reported.
It was the third one-game timeout this season for Cousins -- who is averaging 16.6 points and 9.5 rebounds per game this season. He was sanctioned for striking Dallas guard O.J. Mayo in the groin this month, while in November he was banned for a verbal altercation with San Antonio Spurs announcer and former player Sean Elliott.
Miami Heat's Chris Bosh returns to lineup
MIAMI, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Miami Heat center Chris Bosh is healthy again after missing the team's last game with flu symptoms, Coach Erik Spoelstra said Monday.
Bosh and backup center Josh Harrellson both were absent during Saturday's victory over the Utah Jazz but should be ready to go for the Heat's nationally televised Christmas Day matchup against Oklahoma City Thunder, the coach said after Monday's practice session.
"C.B. was back and they were able to get up and down, so they look better, should be able to go," Spoelstra told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
"It was nothing too unique or anything. I just felt like crap, stayed in bed for a couple of days, and I was really thinking about how exciting it would be to play at 100 percent on Christmas.
"So I kind of kept [Tuesday] in mind a lot."
Teammate Dwyane Wade said the flu bug has been hitting the Heat hard.
"Everybody on our team's been hit with the bug," he told the newspaper. "The good thing is that it didn't last too long and he was able to get back our here."
Ex-Rangers owner Corbett dies at 75
ARLINGTON, Texas, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Former Texas Rangers owner Brad Corbett, known for quickly replacing managers in the 1970s, has died at age 75, friends said Monday.
Corbett owned the team for six years from 1974-80, hiring and firing six managers during his span in the owner's suite.
He died peacefully in his sleep, The Dallas Morning News reported.
A New Yorker who moved to Fort Worth, Texas, in 1968, he made a fortune with his company Robintech Inc., which manufactured plastic pipe for the oil industry, before running into financial troubles within a few years after purchasing the team from Bob Short in 1974, the newspaper said.
Corbett went through four managers -- Frank Lucchesi, Eddie Stankey, Connie Ryan and Billy Hunter -- in an eight-day span in 1977 as the Rangers posted a then-club record 94 wins, finishing second in the American League West.
His money problems, however, led to series of six trades for cash and minor leaguers the following year and the Rangers didn't make the playoffs until 1996.
Corbett sold his majority stake in 1980 to Eddie Chiles.
Steelers' Heath Miller tears knee ligament
PITTSBURGH, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Heath Miller has sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and will need surgery, the team said Monday.
Miller also damaged the medial collateral and posterior cruciate ligaments in the knee, Coach Mike Tomlin said.
"Unfortunately his season comes to an end," Tomlin said in a statement. "He has been rock solid for us and we really appreciate his efforts. We understand injuries are a part of the game, but unfortunately it brings his season to a close."
Miller suffered the injuries in Sunday's loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, which eliminated the Steelers from playoff contention.
He ended the season with 71 receptions for a career-high 816 yards and eight touchdowns.
