Published Wednesday, February 04, 2009 6:05 AM

SPORTS IN BRIEF

Wire report

Yao, Scola team up to lift Rockets past Bulls

HOUSTON -- Yao Ming scored 28 points, Luis Scola (pictured) scored 13 points and matched a career high with 18 rebounds, and the Houston Rockets beat the Chicago Bulls 107-100 on Tuesday night.

Aaron Brooks scored 18 and Tracy McGrady added 16 for the Rockets.

Nuggets beat Spurs, who were missing stars

DENVER -- With Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili all sidelined Tuesday night, the Denver Nuggets took advantage for a 104-96 win over the San Antonio Spurs after frittering away most of a 17-point lead.

Ginobili has a bruised hip, and coach Gregg Popovich said he decided to give Duncan and Parker the night off in Denver following the Spurs' overtime win at Golden State Monday night.

Carmelo Anthony (pictured, left) scored 35 points for Denver.

Former coach Mumme has prostate cancer

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Former Kentucky and New Mexico State football coach Hal Mumme, who was once a finalist for the head coaching job at Bryan High School, has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

A biopsy on Jan. 9 confirmed fears from earlier blood tests. On Wednes-day, Mumme will undergo a procedure at the University of Kentucky's Markey Cancer Center that doctors believe will stop the disease before it spreads. Should all go according to plan, Mumme, who has been unemployed since New Mexico State fired him in December, can resume his search for a new coaching job as early as this spring.

Mumme was head coach at Kentucky from 1997-2000 and his teams were 20-26. He left amid a recruiting scandal that led to the football program being sanctioned by the NCAA.

He was fired by New Mexico State in December after a four-year stint in Las Cruces.

Ramirez rejects Dodgers' latest contract offer

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers are still trying to bring back Manny Ramirez. Only the enigmatic slugger doesn't like their latest deal.

He rejected their third offer -- for one year -- that would have made him baseball's second-highest paid player behind the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez.

That leaves Ramirez unsigned three months after deciding to test his value in the recession-plagued free agent market, with the Dodgers the only team to have confirmed making any offers.

The Dodgers open spring training in Arizona on Feb. 14.

-- Wire reports

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