Off the wire

LITTLE ROCK — BASKETBALL Yeguete out for season

No. 2 Florida will be without forward Will Yeguete for at least the rest of the regular season following knee surgery. Yeguete will have arthroscopic surgery today to remove loose particles, a potential blow to the team’s championship chances. Yeguete has been slowed by tendinitis all season, but Coach Billy Donovan said Thursday that the 6-7 junior’s knee had “significant swelling” in recent weeks. It really started bothering after a minute on the court in Tuesday’s loss at Arkansas. Tests revealed the extent of the injury. Yeguete, usually the first player off the bench, is averaging 6.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game this season. The Frenchman also is the team’s best front court defender.

Mississippi forward Demarco Cox will miss the remainder of the season because of a stress fracture in his left foot. The 6-8, 272-pound junior already has missed extended time because of the injury. He’s played in just seven games, averaging 1.6 points and 1.1 rebounds.

Atlanta Hawks guard Lou Williams has had reconstructive surgery on his right knee and will begin a long rehabilitation period that could leave his status in question for the start of next season. Williams tore the anterior cruciate ligament in the knee in the Hawks’ game at Brooklyn on Jan. 18, ending his season. Williams, in his first season in Atlanta, was third on the team with his average of 14.1 points. He signed with the Hawks as a free agent after averaging a career-best 14.9 points with Philadelphia last season.

Defending WNBA scoring leader Angel McCoughtry has re-signed with the Atlanta Dream. McCoughtry averaged 21.4 points per game and also led the league with 2.5 steals per game last season. She has played with Atlanta in each of her four seasons and also was a member of the 2012 U.S. Olympic gold medal team. Terms for the multi-year deal were not announced Thursday.

FOOTBALL Peterson has surgery

Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson had surgery Thursday to repair a sports hernia in his abdomen, an injury that bothered him for much of the last month of the season while he came up just 8 yards short of Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record. In the final few weeks of the season, Peterson acknowledged playing through an abdominal injury, but never let on just how much it was bothering him. On Thursday, the Vikings disclosed he had undergone surgery in Philadelphia to repair the hernia. Peterson topped 200 yards twice in the final five weeks of the season and hit 199 in the season ending victory over the Green Bay Packers that carried the Vikings into the playoffs. Peterson won the MVP award and also was selected the league’s offensive player of the year in a season in which he scored12 touchdowns, had eight runs of 40 yards or more and averaged 6.0 yards per carry.

The Philadelphia Eagles will hire Cleveland linebackers coach Billy Davis to be their defensive coordinator, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press. Davis previously served as defensive coordinator in Arizona and San Francisco. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team isn’t announcing any coaching hirings until new coach Chip Kelly completes his staff. Davis replaces Todd Bowles, who wasn’t retained after former coach Andy Reid was fired.

The New York Giants have resigned veteran defensive tackle Shaun Rogers. Rogers missed last season after developing a blood clot in his leg following a preseason game against Jacksonville. He had been signed as a free agent in April. Rogers has played with Detroit, Cleveland and New Orleans, recording 602 tackles, 37 1/2 sacks, 27passes defensed, 4 forced fumbles, nine fumble recoveries and an interception return for a touchdown. He has also blocked 14 field-goal attempts.

BASEBALL Indians, Aviles agree

The Cleveland Indians agreed to a two-year, $6 million contract with infielder Mike Aviles on Thursday. The deal includes a club option for 2015. Acquired from Toronto in November, Aviles projects to give the Indians depth at second base, shortstop and maybe the outfield. He spent last season as Boston’s primary shortstop, batting .250 with 13 home runs and 60 RBI in 136 games.

The Seattle Mariners have finalized a $1.5 million, one-year contract with catcher Kelly Shoppach, providing a needed backup to expected starter Jesus Montero. Seattle announced the deal Thursday. Shoppach played for Boston and the New York Mets last season, appearing in 76 games.

HOCKEY

Islanders acquire Thomas

Veteran goalie Tim Thomas, who has said he won’t play this season, was traded by the Boston Bruins to the New York Islanders on Thursday for a conditional second-round draft choice either next year or in 2015. Thomas chose to take this season off following the NHL lockout and was suspended by the Bruins after he didn’t report to training camp last month. The 38-year-old goalie is in the final season of a four-year deal that counts for $5 million against the salary cap. Thomas, a two-time Vezina Trophy winner as the NHL’s top goalie, has played in 378 regular-season games - all with the Bruins. He has gone 196-121-45 with a 2.48 GAA and 31 shutouts.

The Philadelphia Flyers have signed defenseman Kimmo Timonen on a one-year contract extension through the 2013-14 season. He has had 28 goals and 211 points in 407 career games with the Flyers.

FOOTBALL SEC breaks 7 million attendance mark

INDIANAPOLIS - Michigan was the national leader in college football attendance for the 15th straight year, and the SEC went over 7 million in total attendance for the first time after expanding from 12 to 14 teams.

The NCAA said Thursday that almost 49 million fans attended games in all divisions in 2012-2013. More than 37 million fans attended Football Bowl Subdivision games, where the average was 45,440 a game.

Michigan averaged a record 112,252 fans for six home games. The Wolverines broke the record of 112,179 they set over eight home games in 2011.

Three other teams averaged in six figures - Ohio State (105,330), Alabama (101,722) and Texas (100,884).

The SEC was the top-drawing conference for the 15th year in a row, with the addition of Missouri and Texas A&M helping the league total 7.48 million fans and average 75,538 a game.

The Big Ten (70,040), Big 12 (59,004), Pacific-12 (53,679) and Atlantic Coast (49,910) rounded out the top five in conference average attendance.

Attendance of 48.96 million for all divisions was the third-highest total in college football history and included home games, neutral-site games and postseason contests. The record of 49.70 million was set in 2011.

The Football Bowl Subdivision postseason featured 35 bowl games that averaged 49,224. Appalachian State led FCS attendance for the fifth time in six years with an average of 26,358 fans.

Grand Valley State led Division II for the second consecutive year, with 12,034, and St. John’s (Minn.) led Division III with 7,948.