Honolulu – Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan was sidelined by an injured right ankle Wednesday for the second straight day of practice, but he’s hopeful of playing Saturday against Charleston Southern.
Wearing a light brace and using crutches, Brennan watched from the sideline as backup Tyler Graunke worked out with the first-team offense.
Brennan said he’s “dying to play,” but the ankle still needs to heal. An MRI on Monday revealed no serious damage, he said.
“Every day, the ankle gets better and the swelling goes down, a little less pain,” he said. “I’m just trying to rest up as much as possible.”
Brennan was injured last Friday but still played Saturday, leading Hawaii to a 49-14 victory over UNLV.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Troy reinstates defensive end Mainor
Troy defensive end Kenny Mainor has been reinstated for Saturday’s Sun Belt Conference opener against Louisiana-Monroe after serving a two-game suspension, coach Larry Blakeney said. Mainor was suspended after his arrest for marijuana possession.
NHL
Facial cut hospitalizes Chicago’s Stokes
Blackhawks defenseman Ryan Stokes was hospitalized after suffering a severe cut on his face, presumably by a skate, during Chicago’s 4-3 preseason loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Stokes bled on the ice late in the third period after he tried to check Columbus forward Jared Boll. He fell in a pile along the boards and then skated off.
Earlier in the game, rookie center Jonathan Toews, Chicago’s first-round pick in last year’s draft, broke his right index finger. He is expected to be sidelined two to three weeks.
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Petr Sykora will miss at least two preseason games because of a broken nose and probably won’t resume practicing until next week. Sykora’s nose was broken during a collision with Pittsburgh defenseman Brooks Orpik during the Penguins’ 5-2 exhibition victory in Montreal on Tuesday night. Sykora scored Pittsburgh’s third goal.
“When I got hit, I immediately felt for my teeth. I was happy to have them,” Sykora said.
NBA
Blog: Kirilenko wants trade from Jazz
An entry attributed to Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko on www.sports.ru says the former all-star wants to be traded from Utah, where he has gone from being the keystone of a rebuilding team to a frustrated role player.
“The last season was unsuccessful for me and was seriously disappointing. I’ve thought a lot about this and come to the decision that I want to quit Utah,” according to the blog entry.
Kevin O’Connor, Jazz vice president for basketball operations, said he was familiar with the blog but would not talk about how it could affect Kirilenko’s future.
“He’s got a contract and we expect him to honor it,” O’Connor said.
FOOTNOTES
Real Salt Lake rallies to tie Galaxy
Landon Donovan scored on a penalty kick to give the Los Angeles Galaxy a late lead but Real Salt Lake rallied for a 2-2 tie in Salt Lake City.
Candace Parker scored 15 of her 23 points in the second half to lead the U.S. women’s basketball team to a 70-66 win over Australia in a warm-up game for next week’s FIBA Americas Olympic qualifying tournament.
The Canada-Australia Group C match and the China-New Zealand Group D match of the Women’s World Cup in China were rescheduled for today, a move made necessary by Typhoon Wipha.
