Off the wire

LITTLE ROCK — HOCKEY

Radulov returns to NHL

Forward Alexander Radulov has reunited with the Nashville Predators after playing four years in Russia in the KHL, and he said “it’s about time” he returned to the NHL. General Manager David Poile presented Radulov with his No. 47 at a news conference Wednesday morning. The Predators held that number for Radulov hoping the 15th pick overall in the 2004 draft would return eventually. The end of his KHL contract combined with Radulov’s team Ufa Salavat Yulayev losing early in the playoffs. Other NHL teams are not happy Radulov did not have to go through waivers on his return. But Radulov remained under contract with Nashville, and the Predators lifted their suspension of Radulov on Wednesday morning.

Last season, Evgeni Nabokov chose to stay away from the New York Islanders. Now, after one season on Long Island, the veteran goalie likes it so much he is going to stick around for another year. The 36-year-old Nabokov agreed to terms Wednesday with the Islanders on a one-year, $2.75 million extension that will keep him from becoming a free agent this summer. Nabokov was claimed on waivers by the Islanders last season, after he finished playing in Russia’s KHL, but he decided against joining New York because he wanted to play for the Detroit Red Wings, with whom he had signed a deal. Instead of letting him out of his contract, the Islanders held on to him, and Nabokov joined the team for this season. Nabokov, who is earning $570,000 this season, is 17-18-3 with a 2.56 goals against average and a .912 save percentage in 40 games for New York.

Phoenix Coyotes forward Shane Doan has been suspended for three games because he elbowed Dallas’ Jamie Benn on Tuesday night. The NHL announced Doan’s punishment Wednesday night and said he will give up more than $166,000 in pay for the incident, which happened nearly six minutes into the second period of the game Dallas won 4-3 in a shootout. Doan was assessed a two-minute minor.

BASEBALL

Ex-Red Sox pitcher dies at 89

Mel Parnell, the left-handedpitcher who spent his entire 10-year career with the Boston Red Sox and faced some of the best hitters of the 1940s and early 1950s, has died. He was 89. Parnell, a New Orleans native, died Tuesday after a battle with cancer, said his son, Dr. Mel Parnell Jr. Mel Parnell was masterful at Fenway Park even though he pitched in front of the Green Monster, a home run hitter’s dream at only 310 feet down the left-field line. Parnell had a career record of 123-75, but he was 70-30 at Fenway. He still holds the club record for left-handed pitchers in games started, innings and victories. Parnell’s victories rank second in team history, behind CyYoung and Roger Clemens, who each had 192 victories. Parnell’s best season was 1949 when he went 25-7, leading the American League in victories, ERA (2.77), complete games (27) and innings (295 1/3). He helped the Red Sox pennant run that year, which came down to the final two games of the season. Boston lost both, 5-4 and 5-3, to the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.

TENNIS

Venus wins in first match back

Venus Williams won in her first singles match since August,dispatching Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-0, 6-3 at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla. She beamed wide, raised her arms in victory, then skipped to the net to shake’s Date-Krumm’s hand before twirling around and pumping her arms in a celebration worthy of winning the title, not just a first match. But other than playing a meaningless doubles match during the United States’ Fed Cup first round victory over Belarus in early February, she hadn’t played an official match since the U.S. Open first round. The 31-year-old Williams withdrew from her second round match against Sabine Lisicki at the U.S. Open after announcing she was diagnosed with a fatigue-causing, autoimmune disease known as Sjogren’s Syndrome.

BASKETBALL

Miami signs Ronny Turiaf

Ronny Turiaf wanted a place where he could win, and the Miami Heat wanted some extra inside help. So the sides turned to each other. Turiaf signed with the Heat on Wednesday, and the 6-10 center is aiming to practice with his new club for the first time today. Turiaf has played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State, New York and Washington so far in his seven-year pro career, and was waived by Denver earlier this month after being included in a three-team trade between the Wizards, Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers. Turiaf has appeared in only four games this season, the last of those coming Jan. 1 when he broke his left hand.

The Portland Trail Blazers have picked up forward J.J. Hickson off waivers. Hickson was waived by Sacramento on Monday. The Kings acquired him last June from Cleveland for forward Omri Casspi and a conditional future first-round draft pick. He played 35 games for the Kings, averaging 4.7 points and 5.1 rebounds in 18.4 minutes per contest.

Indiana Pacers center Jeff Foster retired Wednesday after 13 seasons in the NBA, all with Indiana, because of chronic back problems. Foster played just 142 minutes in 11 games this season, averaging 2.3 points. A highly popular player for his on-court hustle, he ranks in the top 10 in franchise history in eight statistical categories. He was the last remaining member of the Pacers team that reached the NBA Finals in 2000.

SOCCER Muamba’s heart stopped for 78 minutes

LONDON - Fabrice Muamba’s heart stopped beating for 78 minutes and “in effect, he was dead in that time,” Bolton’s team doctor said Wednesday.

The 23-year-old Bolton midfielder collapsed during an FA Cup match against Tottenham on Saturday after suffering from cardiac arrest. He was taken to London Chest Hospital and remains in intensive care.

Bolton’s Premier Leaguegame at Aston Villa on Tuesday was postponed. On Wednesday, with Muamba’s condition improving, the squad decided to go ahead with Saturday’s match against Blackburn.

Bolton also will make a return to White Hart Lane on Tuesday to play Tottenham in the FACup quarterfinal match that was abandoned after Muamba collapsed just before halftime.

Medics tried unsuccessfully to revive Muamba for 48 minutes Saturday before he arrived at the hospital, Bolton team doctor Jonathan Tobin said. It then took another 30 minutes, after 15 shocks from a defibrillator, before the player’s heart started beating again.

“They were working on him without his heart having a muscular beat,” Tobin said. “[Seventy-eight minutes] without hisheart beating and without him breathing. In effect, he was dead in that time ... throughout the whole resuscitation period you are worrying.

“You know the longer the resuscitation goes on the less chance there is of survival, but this is slightly different. This is a very fit 23-year-old.”

It took until Monday for the former England under-21 international to start breathing independently again and speaking.

Dr. Andrew Deaner, a cardiologist who was at the game Saturday, left his seat and rushed onto the pitch to help Muamba.

“If you’re going to use the term ‘miraculous,’ I guess it could be used here,” Deaner said. “He has made a remarkablerecovery so far.

“Two hours after [regaining consciousness] I whispered in his ear, ‘What’s your name?’ and he said, ‘Fabrice Muamba.’ I said, ‘I hear you’re a really good footballer’ and he said, ‘I try.’ I had a tear in my eye.”

The cause of the cardiac arrest is yet to be discovered. The doctors revealed that Muamba had undergone a routine screening for heart defects in August. He was checked again Sunday, with the test producing a “normal” result.