Engel-Ecke » victory over the Cubs on Tuesday night, in

Top prospect Joel Embiid had surgery on the stress fracture in his right foot Friday, and now he waits. He waits to see how far he falls in the NBA draft Thursday night. He waits to see how long it will be before he can hit the court again. He waits to see how he responds to an injury that has a history of giving NBA big men problems. The Kansas centre, who was in the running to be taken No. 1 overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers, had two screws inserted into the navicular bone in his right foot at Southern California Orthopedic Institute, according to a release distributed by agent Arn Tellem. "The surgery went very well and Im confident that after appropriate healing he will be able to return to NBA basketball," said Dr. Richard Ferkel, who performed the surgery, said in the release. "Joel tolerated the surgery without difficulty and will begin his rehabilitation in the near future." While it is the same injury that Houston Rockets centre Yao Ming suffered twice and ultimately retired because of, its impossible to say how Embiid will recover this early in the process. Bill Walton also was slowed by the injury, but that was more than 30 years ago while Zydrunas Ilgauskas was able to make a full recovery from his broken navicular bone and resume a long and productive career. It is not immediately clear how long Embiid will be out, with estimations ranging from nine months to a full season depending on how the rehabilitation process goes. The lack of clarity has turned the top of the draft into a crapshoot. Kansas guard Andrew Wiggins and Duke forward Jabari Parker were the two names mentioned most often with Embiid at the top of the draft, with Australian point guard Dante Exum an intriguing, but largely unknown, long-shot possibility. A lithe and super-athletic 7-footer with nimble footwork and a soft shooting touch, Embiid has drawn comparisons to Hakeem Olajuwon and, after an impressive workout in front of NBA teams in California this month, seemed to be distancing himself from Wiggins and Parker in the eyes of many talent evaluators. But the Cavaliers passed on injured Kentucky big man Nerlens Noel with the No. 1 pick last year and are eager to get back into the playoffs after a four-year absence. So taking a chance on an injured Embiid may not be in their plans Thursday night and the Milwaukee Bucks, sitting at No. 2, could also use immediate help as they begin their first season under new ownership. That could drop Embiid to the Philadelphia 76ers, who are preaching patience in the second year of a massive tear-down and rebuild under GM Sam Hinkie. The Sixers acquired Noel, who was recovering from a torn ACL, on draft night last year and sat him out for the entire season. Could they take the same approach for a second straight season? Assuming a full recovery, an Embiid-Noel frontcourt with Michael Carter-Williams running the point could be a dynamic core to get the 76ers back to relevance in the wide open Eastern Conference. After the Sixers at No. 3, the Orlando Magic, Utah Jazz, Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers all wait in the wings. And so does Embiid. Wholesale Sneakers . You can catch all of the action LIVE on TSN2 at 6pm et/3pm pt. The Heat reached that mark Saturday night when they ruined the Philadelphia 76ers home opener. Cheap Sneakers Fast Shipping .The result meant Juventus will spend the winter break three points clear of Roma after the league leader beat Cagliari 3-1 on Thursday.Milan remained seventh ahead of the rest of the weekends fixtures, but was provisionally two points behind third-place Napoli in their duel for the final Champions League spot. http://www.cheapsneakersfromchina.com/ . Carey Price made 27 saves for Montreal (30-21-6) for his fourth shutout of the year and second in four games. David Desharnais added an empty netter for the Canadiens. Reto Berra stopped 25 shots for Calgary (21-28-7). Cheap Sneakers Authentic .Manager Brendan Rodgers told the Liverpool Echo on Friday that Sturridge pulled his calf muscle in training as he prepared to return from a five-week layoff due to a thigh strain. Wholesale Sneakers Supplier . The flanker began his comeback from a right shoulder injury by coming off the bench on Saturday when Wales opened with a victory over Italy. Warburton replaces Justin Tipuric, one of three changes announced on Tuesday by coach Warren Gatland. CHICAGO -- Paul Konerko is a spot starter and pinch hitter in his 18th and final major league season, and he is determined to succeed in his new role. He looked very comfortable Wednesday night. Konerko had a big three-run double and Gordon Beckham homered for the second straight game, leading the Chicago White Sox to an 8-3 victory over the sliding Chicago Cubs. "Its a good attack. I mean we feel like one through nine we can score runs at any moment," Konerko said. Jose Abreu collected three more hits as the White Sox roughed up Travis Wood on their way to their fourth straight win, extending their season-best streak. The rookie slugger doubled twice to run his major league-best total to 24 extra-base hits. The White Sox also got a nice game from shortstop Alexei Ramirez, who singled in a run in the first and made a great over-the-shoulder catch to rob Welington Castillo of a hit in the ninth. Ramirez then threw to first to double off Starlin Castro for the second out. "Just an awesome play," said Beckham, who was standing near second when Ramirez grabbed the ball in short centre field. "Just fun to watch." The last-place Cubs dropped their fourth consecutive game. Frustrated rookie manager Rick Renteria was ejected for arguing with home plate umpire Tom Woodring after he pulled Wood (2-4) with no outs in the fifth. Mike Olt hit his fifth homer for the Cubs, who have managed just five runs and 12 hits in the first three games of the city series against the White Sox. Luis Valbuena and Emilio Bonifacio each had a run-scoring double. "I think we still have to put ourselves back in the situation where we continue to get better at grinding out at-bats," Renteria said. "Putting balls in play with some impact in hitters counts, which are things that we talk about. Things that are being addressed on a daily basis." Bonifacios sharp grounder off the glove of diving third baseman Marcus Semien got the Cubs within 4-3 in the fifth and put runners on second and third with one out. But John Danks (3-2) limited the damage by striking out Junior Lake and Anthony Rizzo to end the inning. The White Sox then put the game away iin the bottom half.ddddddddddddThe first three batters reached before Konerko hit a rope into the left-field corner for his second double, chasing Wood and giving him five RBIs in limited action in his final season. Konerko advanced on a groundout and scored on Semiens single, giving the White Sox an 8-3 lead. Konerko doubled again in the seventh in his seventh start of the season. "Its the same name on the back and all that, but nothing this year is connected to the past," said Konerko, a .300 hitter in 75 career games against the Cubs. "This is a new thing and Im trying to be good at it. Its taking some practice and I think Im getting better at it." Wood allowed a season-high eight runs and matched a career high by issuing five walks in his shortest outing of the year. The left-hander, who made the All-Star team last season, was 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA in two previous starts against the White Sox. "I dont like walking anybody let alone as many as I did," Wood said. "I dont even know how many I had, but I know it wasnt good." Danks had a season-high eight strikeouts in six innings. The lefty gave up three runs and four hits while stopping a two-game losing streak. Danks got a lift in the fourth when Beckham drove a 1-0 pitch from Wood over the wall in centre for a three-run shot, making it 4-1. Beckham had four hits in a 5-1 victory over the Cubs on Tuesday night, including a tiebreaking solo homer with two out in the eighth. NOTES: White Sox 3B Conor Gillaspie was activated from the 15-day disabled list. He had been sidelined with a bruised left hand. To make room on the roster, OF Jordan Danks was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte. ... The Cubs placed RH reliever Pedro Strop on the 15-day disabled list with a moderate left groin strain. LHP Zac Rosscup was promoted from Triple-A Iowa for his third stint of the season with the major league club. ... Iowa Cubs pitcher Chris Rusin threw a no-hitter in a 3-0 victory over New Orleans. The 27-year-old left-hander struck out three and walked two while throwing 118 pitches. ... Cubs RHP Jake Arrieta (0-0, 0.00 ERA) takes on White Sox RHP Scott Carroll (1-1, 0.68 ERA) in the series finale on Thursday night. ' ' '