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LeBron says he could help out the Cleveland Browns

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CLEVELAND -- LeBron James watched the Cleveland Browns get shut out by Baltimore on Monday night and came to one simple conclusion: He could help.

"If I put all my time and commitment into it, if I dedicated myself to the game of football, I could be really good," the Cavaliers superstar said before facing the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night. "No matter what team I was on."

The Browns have one of the NFL's most anemic offenses, a key problem during their 1-8 start. The NBA's reigning MVP certainly couldn't make things any worse.

James was an All-Ohio wide receiver at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School before quitting football after his junior year to focus on basketball. But he still follows the game closely and believes he could have been a hybrid tight end/receiver in the mold of San Diego's Antonio Gates or Atlanta's Tony Gonzalez.

Gates, who played basketball in college and not football, is listed at 6-foot-4 and 260 pounds. James is listed at 6-8 and 250 pounds.

"They're not always lined up next to the tackle," James said. "Sometimes they go against strong safeties and linebackers. It's tough to match up with those guys because they're so athletic."

* Basketball

Out indefinitely: Purdue point guard Lewis Jackson is out indefinitely after surgery Tuesday to repair a foot injury he suffered in practice last week.

Jackson started 30 games as a freshman last season and averaged a team-best 3.3 assists per game. He was expected to return from two suspensions in time for the No. 7 Boilermakers to play South Dakota State on Friday at the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands.

Avoid three-game streak: Kobe Bryant scored 40 points for the 100th time in his career, and the Los Angeles Lakers avoided a rare three-game losing streak with a 106-93 victory over Detroit.

Cavs hold off Warriors: LeBron James had 31 points and 12 assists, J.J. Hickson added a career-high 21 points and Cleveland held off a gutsy effort by the short-handed Golden State Warriors, 114-108.

Surgery set: Orlando Magic point guard Jameer Nelson needs surgery again. The All-Star will have arthroscopic surgery today on torn cartilage in his left knee, the team said. He is expected to miss four to six weeks.

* Baseball

Back home: Sandy Alomar Jr.'s baseball career has brought him back home. The Indians' popular former All-Star catcher has been hired by new Cleveland manager Manny Acta as the team's first-base coach. Alomar had spent the past two seasons as a catching instructor for the New York Mets. He will also mentor Cleveland's catchers.

The 43-year-old Alomar played 20 seasons in the majors -- 11 in Cleveland -- before retiring in 2007.

Starting over: Wally Backman wants another chance to manage in the majors.

The former Mets second baseman, fired after four days with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2004, was introduced Tuesday as manager of the Brooklyn Cyclones, New York's Class-A farm team in the New York-Penn League.

* Hockey

Loan out Filatov: The Columbus Blue Jackets have loaned promising forward Nikita Filatov to CSKA of the Kontinental Hockey League for the remainder of the 2009-10 season.

The 19-year-old was Columbus' first pick -- and the sixth overall -- in the 2008 draft. He scored two goals in 13 games this season.

Shanahan retiring: Brendan Shanahan is retiring from the NHL after 21 seasons and an almost certain Hall of Fame career.

The 40-year-old forward scored 656 career goals, ranking 11th on the league's career goals list and is the only player with 600 goals and 2,000 penalty minutes.

* Elsewhere

Nine suspended: Nine members of two high school girls' soccer teams have been suspended for their roles in a fight that sparked a brawl in the bleachers.

The suspensions were announced Tuesday by the Rhode Island Interscholastic League. They range from two games to one year. Coaches from both Woonsocket and Tolman high schools also were issued unspecified sanctions.

World champion: A Michigan man has won the world Rock Paper Scissors championship in Toronto. Tim Conrad of Taylor clinched the title after five hours of play and nine matches at the Steam Whistle Brewery.