The Los Angeles Lakers welcomed their seven-foot center back into the game with a 103-89 victory over the Washington Wizards. Andrew Bynum, in his first game back following a knee injury in July, scored seven points and two blocks in less than twenty minutes. Bryant scored 24 as well. “Everything was cool for the first game of the season,” Bynum said. “It was a good test, but I need more.” Bynum averaged 15 points and 8.3 rebounds last year.
The Oakland A’s have signed a one-year contract with free agent slugger Hideki Matsui. Last year, while playing on the Angels, the left-handed 36 year old batted .274 with 21 home runs and 84 RBIs in less than 150 games. He spent his first seven years of baseball with the Yankees before switching to the west coast.
The Minnesota Vikings will be battling the Bears in the great outdoors next week, following the collapse of the Metrodome’s inflatable roof during a snowstorm earlier this week. The game will take place in the University of Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium instead. “We are committed to playing Monday night’s game in Minnesota in front of our fans,” the Vikings announced. “We appreciate the tremendous cooperation of the University of Minnesota and look forward to completing preparations for the game and turning this into a memorable experience for the state of Minnesota and Vikings fans.”
The Giants swept the Minnesota Vikings (-minus Brett Favre) in Detroit last night, ending the game at 21-3. They are now tied with the Philadelphia Eagles at the top of NFC East. Favre, 41, missed his first game since 1992 because of a shoulder injury. He told reporters that there’s “relief in one sense. It’s probably been long overdue. I won’t play again if I can’t feel my hand. It’s been a great run. I’m proud of it.”
The hockey game between Michigan and Michigan State set a world record of attendance yesterday. Over 113,411 fans were present to watch the Wolverine’s 5-0 victory at Ann Arbor. The latest attendance record at a hockey game was 77,803 at t he world championship in Germany.
The Red Sox may have just become the best team in baseball. While the NY Yankees made an offer to Cliff Lee and the LA Angels handled their trade for Adrian Gonzalez, the Red Sox made arrangements with Carl Crawford, the talented left fielder who can lead them right to the top. Crawford will make $142 million over the course of seven seasons. The Red Sox have added two left-handed batters and two Gold Glovers to the team, and by adding the former Tampa Bay Ray player, they have added the second-most stolen bases; 409.
Mike Tyson, Julio Cesar Chavez and Actor Sylvester Stallone, who wrote the scripts for the Rocky Balboa films, were chosen for induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and Museum. Nine others will join them in the class of 2011. 
The NY Yankees have finally come to an agreement with their shortstop and captain Derek Jeter, after a strained and even hostile debate. Although Jeter had asked for no less than $24 million per year, the negotiations ended with a four-year deal (three years and one option) during which Jeter was guaranteed to make at least $56 million. The Yankees ‘victory’ was in getting Jeter to accept a cut in pay from last season’s $21.5 million. In fact, not only did he drop to a more reasonable average of $17 million per year, he agreed also to defer an amount of his salary to ease the Yankee’s payroll tax throughout the next three seasons. Jeter, on the other hand, has maintained the status of baseball’s highest paid shortstop. 
Michael Jordan is finally going to be inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame on December 14th. Considering his record, it is incredibly hard to believe that he isn’t there already. In fact, he was elected by the board of directors in 1993, but was playing basketball and never personally accepted the invite, which is required.
Three games after taking the place of Marian Hossa in the Hawks lineup, Jeremy Morin has made a significant impact on the team and their game against the Blues. Although he didn’t score a goal, his determination was enough to create openings for his fellow teammates. He also got his first NHL assist, first NHL fight, and first NHL stitches.