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After receiving pushback from the federal government for visa issues, Iranian center Hamed Haddadi (or Ehadadi or Hadadi, depending on the source; the league is going with "Haddadi") got permission to join the NBA, and Memphis has signed him. It's not known whether it's a guaranteed deal, based on the Grizzles' press release.

Will Haddadi help? Memphis has a weird, weird frontcourt. Marc Gasol played well but not amazing in Spain last season, and will be a rookie. Darko Milicic is ... Darko Milicic. Hakim Warrick is a livewire who will still be raw when he's a 12-year veteran. Darrell Arthur is only 20 years old, and couldn't play center in Billy Knight's dreams. And then there's that shooting guard masquerading as an occasional power forward Antoine Walker. Oodles of fun.

I don't know what Marc Iavaroni will be thinking in a month. Darko and Warrick looks right, but if I'm a Grizz fan I'm praying Gasol and Arthur develop quickly. Where does Haddadi fit into that? I imagine on "the bench" is the right answer, though we'd all love to be surprised.

Good news for both the Denver Broncos and Brandon Marshall (and better news for fantasy owners who took a gamble and drafted him) broke Thursday evening, as it appears that the only receiving threat in the Rockies will miss just one game.

Originally slated to miss three games for a domestic violence incident (among other things), Marshall will now be back in time for the Broncos first home game against the Chargers.

"I am glad the NFL took a second, good hard look at the case," [Marshall's lawyer Harvey] Steinberg told ESPN.com's Bill Williamson. "I am very pleased with the results."

Marshall flew to New York on Tuesday to meet with commissioner Roger Goodell. Goodell said originally that the three-game suspension would be reduced to two if Marshall kept in touch with a league-appointed counselor and stayed out of trouble.

And, bonus for everyone involved. Although it is a little disturbing, as Clayton pointed out in his article, that drunken driving doesn't apply to the Roger Goodell Iron Fist Rules of Off Field NFL Behavior. It's not dangerous, after all, like hanging out in strip clubs.

Morality discussions aside, this is a huge bonus for the Broncos because offensively, they absolutely need Marshall on the field.

Fantasy Spin: Bump him the mess up in your drafts (if you're drafting late tonight, you best be pulling while no one's looking) and bump Jay Cutler up a few notches too. He was going about the same time as Eli Manning, and well, that's ridiculous. Both of these guys could be in store for huge seasons and you can still get them at a reasonable discount because of Marshall's off-field concerns.

"It could have been me." No, seriously. It could have. I have season tickets for the Single-A Greensboro Grasshoppers minor league baseball team. And it was at a Hoppers game where Carroll Master, a 50 year old minor league baseball fan, got clocked in the face with a foul ball.

The result was partial blindness and a non-existent left eye, crushed by the impact of the baseball.

Master visited the concession stand first and was stepping over his seat from the row behind, handing out sodas and french fries, when the ball hit him.

He doesn't remember how he got out of the stands for paramedics to reach him. He does remember being sure his eye was completely gone and being astounded to hear the game continuing.

I literally cringe every time I read that description. And yet, the Hoppers don't seem all that sympathetic, particularly Donald Moore, the team president (who may be revoking my season tickets right about ... now).

Could Randy Couture end his legal battle by fighting Brock Lesnar at UFC 91?

It's an extreme long shot. It's probably not going to happen. And yet it's a rumor that is picking up enough steam in the MMA community that it's worth at least passing along.

Couture, the UFC's heavyweight champion, is engaged in a protracted legal dispute with the UFC as he attempts to get out of his contract so he can fight Fedor Emelianenko. That dispute is currently in arbitration in Nevada, and there are rumors that the dispute could be settled with an agreement that Couture would fight one more time in UFC and then become a free agent.

When I first heard those rumors I didn't think they sounded credible, but MMAJunkie.com reported today that multiple sources close to Couture say it could happen.

The Boston Red Sox believe they can win the World Series again this year, despite a four game deficit to the Tampa Bay Rays and a slim lead in the AL Wild Card race. Hence, their trade for Mark Kotsay.

Of course, part of those postseason plans probably don't include not having Josh Beckett. Which might be a legitimate scenario, as the Sawx ace didn't receive any good injury news today.

Following manager Terry Francona's postgame press conference in the wake of a 3-2 Sox loss at Yankee Stadium, Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein announced today that Josh Beckett has been scratched from tomorrow's scheduled start in order to visit with renowned specialist James Andrews in Birmingham, Alabama.

Translation: Start worrying again.

Uh yeah. That seems like a safe prognostication. Epstein mentioned something about Beckett's elbow not being "100%", which also seems reasonable, since he's headed to see Andrews.

I know we've all seen plenty of heroically styled September and October behavior from the Red Sox over the past few years, but in all honesty, if the Sox lose Beckett for the season -- not too far-fetched an idea with DJA involved -- I think we can all go ahead and call of any more Beantown celebrations.

Ana Ivanovic, the No. 1 player in the world, is out of the U.S. Open before the first weekend.

The 25-year-old Coin is ranked 188th in the world and has never played in a Grand Slam before, and this is already being called the biggest upset in U.S. Open history. Coin broke Ivanovic three times in a match that lasted nearly two hours, finally winning 6-3 4-6 6-3.

The Serbian Ivanovic looked like the next big thing in tennis when she won the French Open this year, but she has been disappointing since. She lost in the third round at Wimbledon, withdrew from the Olympics with a thumb injury and had a mediocre showing in a three-set win over Vera Dushevina on Tuesday. Now she's out of the U.S. Open.

Coin, who is from France but played NCAA tennis at Clemson, will play Amelie Mauresmo in the third round.

Here's a shocker for the end of the work day: Just a couple of hours after Ottawa Senators GM Bryan Murray announced that the team had been unable to come to an agreement on a new contract with restricted free agent defenseman Andrej Meszaros, Adam Proteau of The Hockey News is reporting that Meszaros has signed an offer sheet with an unidentified NHL team.

Apparently, it's a multi-year deal with an average salary exceeding $5 million per season. As to who it might be, I guess it's time to get out your spreadsheets and start guessing. Our colleague James Mirtle lists possible destinations as St. Louis, Toronto, Montreal, Columbus, the Islanders, Phoenix and Atlanta. Mirtle also cites LA as a possible destination thanks to all their cap room, however, they would need to reacquire a third round draft pick in order to make it happen.

Losing Meszaros and Wade Redden in the same offseason couldn't have been part of the plan for Murray and the rest of the Ottawa front office. A defense that was deep and solid just two seasons ago during a run to the Finals now looks horribly vulnerable. What's worse, while the Sens might be thin on the blue line, they're still loaded up front, which makes taking the draft picks and embarking on a rebuild program something of a non-starter.

If I'm Sens owner Eugene Melnyk, I'm getting ready to ask Murray some very difficult questions about the future of the franchise.

I guarantee, this will be the best nine-minute long rap video dedicated to the 1989 NBA All-Star Game you'll see all week! (And, I'm guessing, the only time Mark Eaton and Mark Price were ever name-checked in a rap lyric, which makes it both historical and hysterical.) What makes this especially awesome is that this was apparently from the actual telecast and not just something hacked together by a YouTube wizard decades later. Well done, 1980s television execs, well done.

Update: Actually, "well done, Ultramagnetic MC's." Chest bump to Shoals for ID'ing the men behind the mic.

Score that two former USC players running smack ahead of the Ohio State game. Everyone's favorite not-so-slightly doughy back made sure to let everyone know what he thinks of Ohio State before ESPN cameras. There's some context of course, as it was a friendly -- if random -- comment as the Jim Rome show followed Titans lineman Kevin Mawae for a feature.

Audio

Sayeth Rome: "White's comment was a complete non sequitur"

The segment will broadcast Friday on "Rome Is Burning" (4:30 p.m. Eastern, ESPN), the game will be played Sept. 13th in Los Angeles. The Trojans would probably be heavy favorites with White, but the continued noise coming from former USC players can only have the effect of working against USC in Las Vegas.

(Via: Sports by Brooks)