August 29 2009
Sports Bites

A fan was stabbed during large scale violence before West Ham met Millwall on Tuesday while the English League Cup match was interrupted by several pitch invasions. Metropolitan Police said hundreds of fans were involved in the disorder before the game between the London neighbors at Upton Park. One man, said to be aged 44, was stabbed close to the stadium and taken to a hospital. Police said he was in a stable condition. The violence was condemned by the Football Association.

Free agent forward Joe Smith is the Atlanta Hawks' free-agent answer to the team's lack of inside depth. The Hawks have signed Smith, a 14-year veteran and unrestricted free agent. The 6-foot-10, 225-pound Smith will join center Zaza Pachulia as the top inside backups behind starters Al Horford and Josh Smith for the Hawks, who advanced to the second round of the playoffs last season. Terms of the deal were not released on Tuesday. Smith, 34, played 21 games with the Cleveland Cavaliers last season after starting the season with Oklahoma City.

Michael Vick has looked sharp zipping uncontested passes to open receivers and racing past defenders who aren't allowed to touch him in practice. Vick made his Eagles debut in a preseason game in Philadelphia on Thursday night. The three-time Pro Bowl quarterback hasn't played in an NFL game since Dec. 31, 2006, with the Atlanta Falcons — against the Eagles on the same field.

Five-time defending champion Federer received the No. 1 seed for the U.S. Open, but Andy Murray — who recently attained the world's No. 2 ranking — is the next in line. Nadal, coming off a long layoff, is the No. 3 seed after slipping to that same spot in the rankings. Dinara Safina is seeded No. 1 on the women's side. The U.S. Tennis Association announced the tournament seedings Tuesday.