For The Record

Banned
From the NBA for violating its substance-abuse policy, Hornets center Chris Andersen (above). The league did not specify which drug was found in Andersen's system, but under the collective bargaining agreement a player can be banned after one positive test only if it is a "drug of abuse," such as amphetamines, cocaine or heroin. ( Andersen, 27, has no prior suspensions.) Andersen--who signed a four-year, $14 million extension last summer--has been a fan favorite for his leaping ability, though he will be long remembered for needing eight attempts to make his final slam at the 2005 dunk contest. He cannot apply for reinstatement for two years. He is the first NBA player banned for drugs since 1999.

Chosen
As the name of the newest MLS team, Houston 1836, a nod to the year in which the city was incorporated. But 1836 was also the year that Texas launched a bloody war of secession from Mexico, a fact that has upset many Houston Latinos, a community that the club, which played in San Jose for the past 10 years, does not want to alienate. Rumbo de Houston, a Spanish-language paper, called the choice an "own goal." Team president (and former Houston Oilers quarterback) Oliver Luck told The New York Times, "We were aware of the possibility of the double entendre, but ... by no means was it intended as a slight."

Filed
Against Redskins safety Sean Taylor, two additional assault charges stemming from an incident last summer in which he allegedly threatened three people with a gun in a confrontation over an all-terrain vehicle. Taylor, 22, was previously charged with one count of assault and one misdemeanor battery charge. The new counts, which each carry a maximum of 15 years in prison, mean that Taylor now faces up to 46 years. In the Redskins' playoff win over Tampa Bay last month, Taylor returned a fumble for a touchdown before being ejected for spitting at Buccaneers running back Michael Pittman. His trial is scheduled to begin in March.

Accused
Of sexual harassment by former Knicks senior vice president for marketing and business operations Anucha Browne Sanders, team president Isiah Thomas (above). Browne Sanders (inset) was fired on Jan. 19 after five years on the job. She says that Thomas made unwanted sexual advances and abused her verbally, and that when she complained, she was let go. Browne Sanders, a 43-year-old married mother of three, filed a lawsuit against the team last week; she reportedly refused a $250,000 settlement. Thomas, 44, denied the charges, saying, "I will not allow her or anybody, man or woman, to use me as a pawn for their financial gain."

Arrested
On charges of kidnapping and battery, former NBA player Isaiah Rider. The fifth pick in the 1993 draft, Rider, who last played in 2001, for the Nuggets, allegedly got into an argument with a female acquaintance in Marion ( Calif.) County on Jan. 25 and drove off with her in his car against her will. The woman, who was not injured, began screaming and attracted the attention of police. Rider, who averaged 16.8 points per game in his career, was to have appeared in court on Tuesday.

Withdrew
From next month's World Baseball Classic, Barry Bonds. The Giants' slugger, 41, pulled out last week, raising concerns about the health of his right knee, which sidelined him for most of the 2005 season. (In 14 games he hit five homers, leaving him 47 short of Hank Aaron's career mark of 755.) "In the end I decided that I can't take any chances that might jeopardize my season," Bonds wrote on his website in announcing the news.

Circulated
By Steelers fans, two petitions to have beloved radio analyst Myron Cope come out of retirement to call Super Bowl XL. Cope, who broadcast Pittsburgh games for 35 years and invented the Terrible Towel, retired after the 2004 season. Two online petitions drew more than 2,400 signatures, but Cope, 77, who was hospitalized recently with pneumonia, is unlikely to be able to attend the game.

Reported
To begin her five-month prison sentence, Sherrie Miller Daly (below), the wife of golfer John Daly. In November 2004 Miller Daly, who became Daly's fourth wife in 2001, pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy charge related to her involvement in a drug ring and gambling operation. She was ordered to report to prison in Lexington, Ky., on Jan. 25, just as Daly was preparing for the Buick Invitational in La Jolla, Calif., and the golfer wasn't happy with the short notice. "If I had known two or three weeks ago, I wouldn't be here," Daly said. "It was very tacky on the prosecuting attorney's part. Usually you get two or three weeks so we can at least prepare." Daly shot an opening-round 69 on Thursday en route to a 63rd-place finish.

Died
At age 88 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease, hall of fame boxing writer Jack Fiske, who covered the sport for the San Francisco Chronicle for more than 40 years. He'd chew on a toothpick as he watched a fight, then dictate his stories into a pay phone from notes scribbled onto a single sheet of paper. Fiske also wrote a column called Punching the Bag, in which his phrases jabbed and hooked. "If he had to hurt somebody's feelings, he didn't mind doing that," former trainer Emanuel Steward told the Chronicle. "He told it like it was."