The Rockets have named Shane Battier and Chuck Hayes their co-captains for the 2009-10 season.

"I'm a captain?" Hayes asked the Houston Chronicle. "I didn't know I was. That's news to me. Wow. I can't remember the last time I was a captain. I guess as far as the captain is concerned, I'm more of the Robin to Shane's Batman."

There was no vote or ceremony to honor the pair.

"I think my captaincy is by default," Battier said. "We (he and Hayes) have been here the longest, so I think they thought we'd do it."

The Rockets officially exercised the option on point guard Aaron Brooks' contract, according to a report from the local Fox affiliate in Houston.

Rockets general manager Daryl Morey told FOX 26 on October 1 that the club planned to do just that.

The Houston Rockets settled on taking a passenger ferry across the San Francisco Bay to play the Warriors on Wednesday evening due to the closure of the Bay Bridge.

?Trevor Ariza said, ?Are you kidding me?? ? Rockets trainer Keith Jones said. ?Tracy McGrady was laughing. It will be a new experience, but they will enjoy it.?

Teams staying in San Francisco typically need 30-45 minutes to make the trip to Oakland by charter bus, but the Bay Bridge has been closed for emergency repairs.

Rockets coach Rick Adelman came away impressed with Greg Oden on Tuesday night.

Portland defeated Houston 96-87 at the Rose Garden. Oden had just 2 points, but added 12 rebounds and 5 blocks.

"He (Oden) looks more confident. He looks like he's asserted himself more than last year. When we played them in the playoffs he had a couple of games when he looked liked that," Adelman told Beyond The Beat.

"He looks like he's in good shape. A guy like that misses a whole year and comes back, it's hard. It's hard for big guys. He's a big son of a gun. I've liked what I've seen. Rebounding ? that's what they need from him."

The Rockets waived guard Brent Barry on Friday.

Barry didn't join the team in training camp. Houston reached an agreement with him on a buyout of the remaining season on his contract.

He hasn't announced his retirement, but has begun to work with NBA TV.

If he does retire, he, his brother, Jon, and their father, Rick, will have all completed their careers with the Rockets.

The Rockets made their first roster cuts of the preseason Wednesday, releasing guards Garrett Temple and Romel Beck.

Not including Brent Barry, who will be traded or released, the Rockets have one more roster cut to make.

Jerry Stackhouse might be the most prominent free agent left on the market.

Marc Stein of ESPN.com writes that Stackhouse is still on the market because he is waiting for a firm offer from the Rockets.

Stackhouse was called by Houston earlier this month when they decided not to sign Rashad McCants, according to sources.

However, the veteran passed when the Rockets asked him to come in and compete with Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Will Conroy and Garrett Temple for their final roster spot.

The Hawks, Heat and Nuggets are believed to be teams Stackhouse would consider joining.

The Raptors wanted to keep forward Pops Mensah-Bonsu this summer, but all their deals made it nearly impossible.

Instead, Mensah-Bonsu signed with the Rockets as a free agent.

"We would have loved to have him back," Toronto general manager Bryan Colangelo told the Houston Chronicle. "We talked to him all the way to the very end when he made the decision to go to Houston. Part of our complication was all the varied deals that were in play. With all the transactions that happened ? nine new players from last year?s end-of-season roster, 12 from the start of training camp last year ? I wasn't sure how many spots I was going to have left to give another guaranteed deal. I always presented it as it was going to be a last-minute decision.

"I was very interested in bringing him back, not only because he was very much a fan favorite, but because he added that element we were looking to have last year. He was a great tonic for our roster and our situation last year. He brought energy. He brought hustle. He brought enthusiasm. He helped us down the stretch, when we won nine of 13 games."

The Rockets intend to keep their full training camp roster for at least another week.

Many of their non-guaranteed players have impressed and coach Rick Adelman stressed the importance of having options in practice.

"I think we need the bodies for practice," Adelman told the Houston Chronicle. "We're trying to get up and down the court. When you do that, the more bodies you have, the better it is."

Rockets forward Luis Scola sprained his left ankle in the second quarter of Monday night's preseason tilt with the Bucks.

Scola left the game, but doesn't believe that he'll miss any time.

"I just twisted it a bit, but it will be OK," Scola told the Houston Chronicle. "I was ready to come back in, but there was no reason for it. The first five minutes I was a little bit concerned, but I put some ice on it and it wasn't worse and it wasn't swelling, so it was no big deal."