Beasley falls hard, taken to locker room

MIAMI (AP) — Michael Beasley's return to Miami ended painfully for the Minnesota forward, who was helped to the locker room after a hard fall while driving for a score against his former team.

Beasley landed awkwardly after making a layup with 8:10 remaining until halftime, immediately grabbing his left hip after falling on his side to the court. He got up and took a few steps, face writhing in pain, before going down again near the Timberwolves' bench and needing assistance to reach the locker room.

Beasley was quickly diagnosed with a bruise and was getting X-rays, which were negative, the Timberwolves said.

It was Beasley's first game back in …

Jaime Ayovi leads Ecuador over US 1-0

HARRISON, New Jersey (AP) — Substitute Jaime Ayovi scored in the 79th minute to give Ecuador a 1-0 away win over the United States in a friendly on Tuesday.

Ayovi broke free of defender Tim Ream and headed Walter Ayovi's cross to the left of goalkeeper Tim Howard in one of the few scoring chances for either team.

The U.S. has won only once in five games under new coach Jurgen Klinsmann.

Ayovi also scored the first goal Friday as Ecuador opened World Cup qualifying with a 2-0 home win over Venezuela.

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Lineups:

United States: Tim Howard, …

CITY DESK

BOISE WEEKLY PUBLISHER CALLS FOR SALARY CUTS

On Friday, Dec 5, Boise Weekly publisher Sally Freeman asked the staff at Idaho's only alternative weekly newspaper to take a 10 percent cut in pay through the end of February, optimistic that revenue would rebound by spring. Freeman told the staff the cuts were necessary to make up for a shortfall in November advertising revenue and a bleak outlook for the coming months.

After the quick announcement at BW's regular Friday staff meeting, Freeman cried briefly and offered to meet with each employee individually. When Freeman bought the paper with thenhusband Bingo Barnes in August 2001, she faced an even more daunting …

Builders Put Headquarters Up for Sale

How bad is the housing market? Bad enough that a cash-strapped builders' group is forced to sell its own home.

Three years after moving into its posh, new $3.5 million headquarters, the Home & Building Association of Greater Grand Rapids is putting the building up for sale.

Chief Executive Judy Barnes said the association is hampered by the weak economy, a sluggish residential building industry and declining membership. The setbacks have resulted in some pledges made toward paying for construction of the 15,000-square-foot headquarters going unfulfilled.

The association spent $1.5 million of its own money on the building. The remainder was to …

Czech Republic takes 2-1 lead over US in Fed Cup

Lucie Safarova beat Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-3, 6-1 Sunday to give the Czech Republic a 2-1 lead over the United States in the Fed Cup semifinals.

The Czech Republic needs just one more win in the best-of-five series to reach its first Fed Cup final since the country came into existence after the break up of Czechoslovakia in 1993.

"It would be fantastic to reach the final," Safarova said. "We need three points and I believe that we'll make it."

Czechoslovakia won five Fed Cup titles, the last in 1988.

Safarova broke Mattek-Sands in the opening game of the first set and again in the ninth when she converted her …

Marinades Put Extra Pizzazz in Grilled Chicken

It's perfect. It's quick and easy, relatively cool, cheap andreadily available, ideal for just about every summer meal.

What is this magic formula? You may already have it in yourrefrigerator and your backyard. It's chicken on the grill, and itshour has come.

"Chicken is particularly good on the grill," said ThomasIngalls, co-author with David Barich of the new book Chicken on theGrill (HarperPerennial, $17). It's lean and tasty, and it's easilyenhanced with other flavors through marinating and basting.

Grilling, Ingalls and Barich note in their introduction, has along history in the United States, "from the planked and smoked fishof the Northwest …

LA pushing to become nation's mass transit leader

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The region famous for jilting the street car to take up a love affair with the automobile is trying to rekindle its long ago romance with commuter rail.

If successful, the novel plan to borrow billions from the federal government, led by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, would result in the largest transit expansion project in the nation.

Los Angeles County voters agreed two years ago to pay a half-cent sales tax over the next 30 years to extend train and rapid bus lines, projects that would routinely require federal assistance.

But the mayor, who sits on a county transportation board, wants a loan instead of Washington handouts to get the …