Kings Gain Some Depth, Sign Forward Valeri Bure

The Kings, who have lost out on a handful of upper echelon free-agent forwards, have signed veteran forward Valeri Bure to a one-year contract.

Bure, 31, could give the Kings depth up front. He had 22 goals and 52 points with Florida and Dallas during the 2003-04 season. Bure scored 88 goals during a three-season stretch with Calgary, from 1998 to 2001, but also feuded with coaches over work ethic.

A second-round pick by Montreal in 1992, Bure has also spent much of his career in the shadow of older brother Pavel Bure, who was one of the NHL’s top goal-scorers in the 1990s.

The Kings also signed forward Mike Cammalleri to a one-year contract and forward Noah Clarke to a two-year deal. They signed goaltender Adam Hauser to a one-year contract and defensemen Richard Petiot and Marty Wilford and goaltender Yutaka Fukufuji to two-year contracts.

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The King-Duck exhibition game Sept. 17 at Staples Center will be free to the public. Tickets will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m., at the Staples Center box office and at www.ticketmaster.com with no service charge. There is a limit of two free tickets per customer.

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Chris Foster

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Duck left wing Mike Leclerc, who missed most of the 2003-04 season because of a knee injury, accepted the team’s $1.14-million qualifying offer.

Leclerc, 28, sat out the first 55 games after having surgery to remove torn cartilage from his left knee and sat out the final 17 because of recurring pain.

“I just focused on getting my leg strong again [during the lockout],” said Leclerc, who had a career-high 20 goals and 44 points in 2001-02.

The Ducks also signed defenseman Joe DiPenta.

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Eric Stephens

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Eric Lindros signed a one-year, $1.55-million contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The oft-injured Lindros passed the Maple Leafs’ medical tests. The shoulder injury that limited Lindros to 39 games with the New York Rangers in the last NHL season is completely healed, he said.

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The Boston Bruins re-signed star center Joe Thornton to a three-year contract. Thornton, a restricted free agent, will get $6.66 million for each of the three years.

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Roberto Luongo is being taken to arbitration by the Florida Panthers, a move that ensures the record-setting goaltender will be under contract when the team opens camp next month.

Boxing

Flyweight boxer Brian Viloria of Hawaii, who will fight on the Sept. 10 boxing card at Staples Center that features Erik Morales of Mexico and Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines in separate bouts, said Thursday that he has dedicated his fight to Ruben Contreras. Viloria beat Contreras in a May 28 fight at Staples. Contreras collapsed afterward and suffered severe brain damage that necessitated emergency surgery.

Contreras is now recovering and undergoing rehabilitation in Los Angeles. Viloria, who said he has been unable to contact Contreras despite several attempts, said at a news conference that he hopes his public dedication of his upcoming fight against Eric Ortiz of Mexico will convince Contreras to return to Staples as his guest. “I want him to know I think about what happened every day, and if he can, I want him there with me when I fight the next time,” Viloria said.

Tennis

Andre Agassi had little trouble with error-prone Nicolas Kiefer, routing him, 6-4, 6-2, to reach the quarterfinals of the Montreal Masters.

Agassi, seeded No. 4, will face sixth-seeded Gaston Gaudio. Also advancing to the quarterfinals was Rafael Nadal, who overpowered Sebastien Grosjean, 6-4, 6-4.

Former French Open winner Anastasia Myskina rallied to beat Camille Pin, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-1, to move into the quarterfinals of the Nordic Light Open tournament at Stockholm.

College Football

The Emerald Bowl and the Pacific 10 Conference have reached a four-year agreement that will bring the Pac-10’s No. 4 or 5 team to the bowl game from 2006 through 2009. The Emerald Bowl is played in San Francisco.

The Emerald Bowl currently matches the Pac-10’s No. 6 selection vs. the Mountain West’s No. 2 or 3. Last week, the bowl announced a new affiliation with the Atlantic Coast Conference beginning in 2006.

Each year from 2006 to ‘09, the Emerald Bowl will share the Pac-10’s No. 4 and 5 selections with the Las Vegas Bowl.

WNBA

Nykesha Sales scored 20 points, leading five Connecticut starters in double-figures, and the Sun beat the Washington Mystics, 80-65, at Washington.

Katie Smith scored 13 points against her former team, and Deanna Nolan had all 12 of her points in the second half to lead the Detroit Shock past the Minnesota Lynx, 72-66, in overtime at Auburn Hills, Mich.

Tamika Catchings shrugged off a slow start and finished with a team-high 11 points, leading the Indiana Fever past the Silver Stars, 57-50, at San Antonio.

Miscellany

Chellsie Memmel outperformed pre-meet favorite Nastia Liukin, finishing first in women’s preliminaries at the U.S. gymnastics championships at Indianapolis. Memmel scored 38.382 points, putting her almost a point ahead of Liukin. Liukin, hurt by a major slip on the balance beam, is third with 37.515 points.

Jana Bieger, third behind Liukin in last year’s junior division, is second with 37.615 points.

Justin and Troy Dumais won the 3-meter synchro gold medal at the U.S. national diving championships at Huntersville, N.C. Nancilea Underwood and Cassidy Krug won the women’s 3-meter synchro, Jevon Tarantino won the gold in men’s 1-meter springboard, and Kelci Bryant won the women’s 1-meter