The Rockets could be close to adding shooter Casey Jacobsen to their retooled backcourt, potentially giving them five guard additions since last season.

Jacobsen, a first-round pick out of Stanford by the Phoenix Suns in 2002, was offered a partially guaranteed contract with the Rockets after a strong season with European power Tau Ceramica (Vitoria, Spain) and in the Las Vegas Summer League.

Jacobsen, who is not likely to sign until the middle of next week, would join Vassilis Spanoulis, Kirk Snyder, John Lucas III and Kelenna Azubuike as backcourt additions since last season.

After three years working with Jeff Van Gundy on the sidelines in Houston, Patrick Ewing has resigned as assistant coach of the Rockets, KRIV in Houston reported on its Web site.

Ewing is leaving the team to spend more time with his family, the station reported, citing sources close to the team. The sources also said that the organization does not intend to replace Ewing, which would mean an increased role for assistant coach Charlie Ward, a former teammate of Ewing.

Vasilis Spanoulis and Greece used full-court pressure to climb out of an early hole and blasted China 95-64 on Sunday at the World Basketball Championship.

The win sends Greece into a quarterfinal matchup with France on Wednesday and sends China home to begin preparation for a deeper run at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

"I cannot say it was a great success for our team," said Yao. "All we did was to make our lowest goal. We made it out of the first round and reached the first elimination game. Then we were eliminated."

Lonny Baxter's plans for a playing career in Italy could be over after the forward was sentenced to two months in jail for firearms offences.

"We haven't reached a decision on Baxter but to tell the truth we weren't expecting there to be such a serious sentence," Montepaschi Siena general manager Ferdinando Minucci told The Associated Press on Thursday. "We will be speaking with him to reach a solution."

Baxter ? who signed for the Italian team from the Charlotte Bobcats for this season ? was sentenced to two months in jail Wednesday after pleading guilty to charges of carrying a gun and firing it into the air a few blocks from the White House.

The former Toronto Raptors forward was originally scheduled to join Siena for training camp on Monday ahead of the start of the Italian league season on Oct. 8. His prison sentence will delay his arrival.

Seeking to liven up the atmosphere at the Toyota Center, Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy has purchased 50 season tickets, the majority of which will be given to fans judged to be the rowdiest at tryouts this weekend.

The Rockets went 34-48 last season and won only 15 home games. Van Gundy has said he wants the arena to become a more intimidating place for opponents.

On Saturday, the Rockets will hold open tryouts at the Toyota Center in search of "the loudest and rowdiest Rockets fans in Houston," the team said. Candidates will have 30 seconds to audition in front of a judging panel -- which will not include Van Gundy.

Some experts believed that the Rockets may have given up too much, Rudy Gay and Stromile Swift, in order to acquire Shane Battier, but Yao Ming doesn't appear to be one of them.

"I'm happy that now he is with me," Yao said of Battier. "You always have to know where he is when he is playing defense."

Charlotte Bobcats player Lonny Baxter was arrested early Wednesday after reports of shots fired from a vehicle about two blocks from the White House, a Secret Service spokesman said.

Baxter, 27, was taken into custody around 2:30 a.m. after a witness flagged down a Secret Service officer and reported shots fired from a white sport-utility vehicle, said Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren. Officers stopped the vehicle near the intersection of 17th and I streets in Northwest Washington.

"There were spent shell casings in plane view inside the vehicle," Zahren said. Officers also recovered a handgun.

Both Baxter and another man in the vehicle, 35-year-old Irvin Martin, were charged with carrying a pistol without a license and other firearms charges.

Both men were being held by District of Columbia police.

A 300-bed hospital which Dikembe Mutombo donated $15 million to, will open on September 2nd in Congo.

"We were very close," Mutombo said Monday in a telephone interview. "To do something of this caliber in the name of your beloved mom, it will mean a lot not just to me but to the people of Congo."

Yao Ming returned after a four-month layoff from a foot injury, revitalizing China in an 82-73 loss to Dirk Nowitzki and Germany on Friday in a warmup game leading to the world championships.

Yao scored 11 points but was no match for Nowitzki, who gave the Rockets center a playful slap on the chest at the start. Nowitzki finished with 27 points, including 18 in the final quarter, and 12 rebounds. The German star of the Mavericks scored nearly at will against Yao and almost every other Chinese player.

Rockets' forward Chuck Hayes was shocked during a charity softball tournament hosted by Tracy McGrady on Saturday.  Hayes was sitting next to a water cooler in a dugout.

He was taken to the hospital, but all tests performed on Hayes showed no injuries.