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From The Associated Press

Yao Ming out for season with stress fracture in left foot

HOUSTON—All-Star center Yao Ming is out for the season with a stress fracture in his left foot, a stunning blow to the surging Houston Rockets.

General manager Daryl Morey made the announcement Tuesday, hours before the Rockets put their 12-game winning streak on the line against the Washington Wizards.

Yao was having a terrific season, averaging 22 points and 10.8 rebounds per game.

“It is not an injury we feel he can play with,” Rockets team doctor Tom Clanton said.

If Yao chooses surgery, Clanton said, it would involve placing screws across the bone to hold it together. The second option would be to treat it with a cast and crutches. Both options involve a healing time of about four months.

Clanton would not say when Yao could play again, but said he doesn’t expect the center to miss the Beijing Olympics in August.

That possibility is weighing heavily on him though.

“If I cannot play in the Olympics for my country this time, it will be the biggest loss in my career to right now,” he said.

Vandy knocks off No. 1 Tennessee

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—The Tennessee Volunteers found out being No. 1 can be tougher than beating No. 1.

Shan Foster scored 32 points and No. 18 Vanderbilt knocked off top-ranked Tennessee 72-69 on Tuesday night — a day after the Vols moved into the top spot in the rankings for the first time in school history.

The Vols (25-3, 11-2 Southeastern Conference) beat then-No. 1 Memphis on Saturday night 66-62 on the western edge of Tennessee for their ninth straight victory to earn that spot themselves, then had to travel back to the middle part of the state to defend their top ranking for the first time.

Vanderbilt (24-4, 9-4) has hosted the No. 1 team nine times in its 56 years at Memorial Gym, and the Commodores improved to 6-3 overall in those games with victories in the past four, including then-No. 1 Florida last year. The Commodores also now have won all 18 home games this season and 31 of their last 32.

De La Hoya begins to plan exit strategy

CARSON, Calif.—Oscar De La Hoya plans to fight three times this year, then retire.

“I’m at that stage of my career now where I can’t take it further,” the 35-year-old De La Hoya said Tuesday. “I can’t go on for the next two years, three years. It’s just time to hang up the gloves.”

De La Hoya was speaking with a small group of reporters after a news conference to discuss his May 3 bout against Steve Forbes, a runner-up on television’s “Tournament of Contenders.”

A former champion in five weight classes and one of boxing’s most recognizable fighters, De La Hoya wants to meet Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a September rematch of their bout last May. Mayweather won by split decision.

A third fight, if all goes according to De La Hoya’s plan, would be determined afterward. He has a 38-5 record, with 30 knockouts, but has lost three of his last five.

De La Hoya got the nickname “Golden Boy” when he won the gold medal at the 1992 Olympics. He went on to become the biggest non-heavyweight draw of his generation.