Sports briefs 11/22/04

Syracuse point guard Billy Edelin returned to the team on Sunday for the first time in nine months.

Edelin, who had not practiced this fall because of academic problems, went through drills at Manley Field House. There was no word when he might make his season debut.

The fifth-ranked Orange (4-0) have a week off before playing at Siena next Saturday. They beat No. 12 Mississippi State on Thursday and No. 24 Memphis on Friday to win the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.

Edelin started the first 16 games last season and averaged 13.8 points and a team-high 5.4 assists before suddenly leaving the team for what head coach Jim Boeheim termed "personal issues."

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson doesn't want the famed soccer club taken over by Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Malcolm Glazer.

This is the first time Ferguson, manager of Man United since 1986, has backed supporters in their fight to stop a hostile takeover by Glazer.

"We don't want the club to be in anyone else's hands," Ferguson told the United Web site in answer to a fan's question.

"There is a stronger rapport between the club and the fans than there has ever been," he added.

Glazer owns 28 percent of United's 260 million shares. As the second-largest shareholder, he helped vote three members off the board at the annual general meeting Nov. 12.