Geiger Out 4-6 Weeks After Knee Surgery

Philadelphia 76er center Matt Geiger had arthroscopic surgery Friday on his left knee.

Jack McPhilemy, the team physician, performed the surgery at Graduate Hospital in Philadelphia.

Geiger, expected to be sidelined four to six weeks, suffered torn cartilage and a sprained ligament after stepping on Toni Kukoc’s foot during practice Tuesday. Geiger sat out the first 17 games of last season because of an injury to the same knee.

Geiger averaged 9.7 points and 6.0 rebounds in 65 games last season.

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Chris Gatling, upset at being traded five times in the last 18 months, ended his holdout and reported to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Gatling, a nine-year veteran, was part of the Aug. 30 trade that sent Shawn Kemp from Cleveland to the Portland Trail Blazers and brought Gatling and Clarence Weatherspoon to the Cavaliers from the Miami Heat.

Gatling never wore a Heat uniform before being dealt by Miami.

After arriving Friday morning, Gatling went to the Cleveland Clinic for a physical before practicing with his Cavalier teammates for the first time Friday night.

“It’s good to be somewhere,” Gatling told reporters afterward.

Gatling, in the final year of a contract that will pay him $5.4 million this season, reportedly was concerned that the Cavaliers were renting him for a season and were interested in clearing out salary-cap space once the 33-year-old forward’s contract runs out.

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New Jersey Net shooting guard Lucious Harris, a former Long Beach State standout, will be sidelined six to eight weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a hernia.

A seven-year veteran, Harris played in 77 games last season, averaging 6.7 points and 1.3 assists. He has averaged 5.5 points in three seasons with the Nets.

While Kendall Gill is the starting shooting guard, the Nets are thin behind him, with Harris sidelined and Kerry Kittles’ status for this season uncertain because of a knee injury.

Harris’ hernia was discovered during a physical examination prior to the opening of training camp this week, and the laproscopic surgery was performed at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital in New York on Friday.

Center-forward Jamie Feick also is scheduled to have surgery on his left ankle, where he has chronic Achilles’ tendinitis and a calcium deposit. It is not known how long he will be sidelined.

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The second time around, Kerry Ryman’s basketball turned out to be a lot less appealing to bidders.

Ryman’s prize from Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game sold at auction for $67,791 on Friday, nearly half a million dollars less than it attracted in its original sale last April. The first sale for $551,844 was canceled when questions were raised about the authenticity of the ball.

Ryman would have received about $490,000 from the first sale. He will get just under $59,000 from the second one.

“I’m kind of relieved it’s over,” he said in a telephone interview from his home in Annville, Pa. “I’m not disappointed. What’s money?”

Leland’s spokesman Marty Appel said the ball was purchased by a prominent East Coast sports memorabilia collector and that the person who made the successful bid in April did not participate this time.