ANAHEIM, Calif. — Center Brendan Morrison, who has had 50-plus points in six of the past seven NHL seasons, signed a one-year contract with the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday. Morrison, 32, played in 542 consecutive games for Vancouver from 2000-07 before wrist and knee injuries limited him to 39 games with the Canucks last season, when he had nine goals and 16 assists.
• The Canucks retained Steve Bernier by matching the one-year, $2.5 million offer sheet the forward signed with the St. Louis Blues.
• Forward Mark Recchi signed a one-year, $1.25 million contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning. A seven-time all-star, Recchi had 14 goals and 48 points in 72 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Atlanta Thrashers in 2007-08.
• The Ottawa Senators signed defenseman Jason Smith to a two- year, $5.2 million contract.
• The Montreal Canadiens re-signed goalie Jaroslav Halak to a two-year, $1.55 million contract.
• Philadelphia Flyers forward Patrick Thoresen rejected a final contract offer to temporarily return to European hockey.
• The Columbus Blue Jackets signed defenseman Andrei Plekhanov to a two-year contract and defenseman Clay Wilson and left wing John Vigilante to one-year deals.
Hammon sparks Silver Stars past Liberty
SAN ANTONIO — Former CSU star Becky Hammon scored 27 points against her former team and Sophia Young added 23 as the San Antonio Silver Stars won their fifth consecutive game with an 83-79 victory over the New York Liberty.
“We’re just doing whatever it takes to win the game,” said Hammon, who hit 14-of-15 free throws. “I just pick what they’re giving me.”
In other WNBA games:
• Diana Taurasi hit a 3-pointer with 42.6 seconds left, then blocked a shot on the other end to help lift the Phoenix Mercury over the Houston Comets 99-94.
Taurasi scored 30 points and got into the WNBA record books, reaching 3,000 career points in fewer games than any other player.
Taurasi needed 151 games to reach that mark. Seattle’s Lauren Jackson held the record, hitting 3,000 in 162 games.
• The Detroit Shock beat the Connecticut Sun 88-82 in a matchup of the Eastern Conference’s top teams.
• The Washington Mystics rallied past the Indiana Fever 50-48.
• Lauren Jackson had 17 points and nine rebounds to lead the Seattle Storm to a 79-64 victory over the Sacramento Monarchs.
Footnotes.
Florida State’s inexperienced offensive line took a hit when projected starting guard Evan Bellamy announced he’ll miss the 2008 season because of a blood clot in his lower left leg.
• Curlin, the reigning horse of the year, will run in the $500,000 Man o’ War Stakes over the turf at Belmont Park on Saturday.
• Belmont Stakes runner-up Denis of Cork will not race the rest of the year because of a hairline fracture to his right rear leg.
• Clem McSpadden, a grand nephew of Will Rogers who went on to serve in Congress as well as become one of rodeo’s premier announcers, died Monday after fighting cancer. He was 82.
The Associated Press
