Sports briefs 9/3/05

Basketball

• Free agent Michael Finley officially signed with the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs on Friday.

The 32-year-old swingman had been courted by several rising powers in the league, including San Antonio, Phoenix, Miami and Minnesota.

Finley became a free agent last month when the Mavericks waived him under the league's new one-time amnesty clause. He's still owed nearly $52 million in salary from the Mavs, but the team is no longer obligated to match it in luxury taxes.

The former All-Star's scoring average has dropped five years in a row -- from a career-best 22.6 points per game in 1999-2000 to 15.7 last season.

College basketball

• Brandon Rush has been cleared by the NCAA Clearinghouse to play basketball this year for the University of Kansas, university officials announced Friday.

Rush, who pulled his name from the NBA draft in June, enrolled last week but had been waiting for a review of his transcripts from three Kansas City high schools and Mount Zion Academy, where he graduated.

"I'm very happy about coming to school and getting this out of the way," said the 6-foot-6 Rush.

Rush averaged 21 points, six rebounds and five assists last season at Mount Zion.

-- From wire reports