NEW YORK — Blake Griffin and Andrew Bynum were voted Thursday to the NBA All-Star Game, joining Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul on the West’s roster.
Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant kept the West from being entirely an L.A. story by earning a forward spot for the Feb. 26 game in Orlando, Fla. Griffin and Bynum are first-time starters, while Bryant earned his record-tying 14th consecutive nod.
Dwight Howard of the host Magic was the leading vote-getter with 1.6 million. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are going together again from Miami, while MVP Derrick Rose of Chicago and New York’s Carmelo Anthony round out the East starters.
Bryant joins Shaquille O’Neal, Jerry West and Karl Malone with his 14th straight starting nod.
• Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collins is day to day because of a sprained left elbow.
• Charlotte Bobcats swingman Gerald Henderson will miss two to four weeks with a strained hamstring.
Manning cleared by doctors
INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning has been medically cleared to resume his NFL career by two doctors, according to an ESPN report. The four-time MVP missed the 2011 season because of lingering problems from a third neck surgery during the past two years.
The ESPN report cited a source saying Colts neurosurgeon Hank Feuer recently told Manning, “If you were my own son, I’d tell you to go play.”
Meanwhile, Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, expected to be the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, said he could co-exist as Manning’s teammate even though his preference would be to play immediately.
“I think every competitor wants to play, every down, every play,” Luck said when asked about starting as an NFL rookie. “So, of course, who wouldn’t want to start?”
• The Green Bay Packers promoted quarterbacks coach Tom Clements to replace Joe Philbin, who left to become the Miami Dolphins’ head coach last month.
• Commissioner Roger Goodell said if the NFL puts a team in Los Angeles, it is probable the league would expand to 34 franchises because “we probably don’t want to go to 33” teams by adding just one new club.
Rangers’ Hamilton has relapse with alcohol
DALLAS — Texas Rangers outfielder and recovering drug addict Josh Hamilton had a relapse this week when he drank alcohol at a bar, according to The Dallas Morning News. Hamilton, 31, was suspended for more than three years for drug and alcohol use while in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. He missed the entire 2004-05 seasons. He won the AL MVP in 2010.
• Right-hander Edwin Jackson, who went 12-9 with a 3.79 ERA last season for the Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals, agreed to a one-year contract with the Washington Nationals.
Also, the Nationals beat John Lannan in baseball’s first salary arbitration decision. The left-hander will receive the club’s offer of $5 million rather than his request for $5.7 million, a three-person panel ruled.
• Atlanta Braves right-hander Tommy Hanson said his right shoulder is feeling good and he expects to be on a regular routine for the start of spring training. He made only five starts after the all-star break due to persistent pain in the shoulder last season.
Footnotes
Ryan Palmer parred his final hole at dusk for a 7-under-par 64 and the lead in the suspended first round of the Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Ariz. Webb Simpson was a stroke back on the Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale.
• Lee Bo-mee of South Korea shot a 7-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead over U.S. Open champion So Yeon Ryu after the first round of the Australian Ladies Masters in Gold Coast, Australia.
• Syracuse center Fab Melo has been reinstated from an academic suspension and is expected to play Saturday at St. John’s.
