Newsmakers

Concussed Los Angeles Lakers forward Ron Artest suffered a concussion and injured his left elbow after falling at his home. Artest didn’t travel with the Lakers to Saturday’s game at Sacramento, Calif., against the Kings after tripping over a box and falling down a flight of stairs at his home on Christmas night, the team said in a news release. He was treated at UCLA Medical Center, undergoing a CT scan and receiving stitches in the back of his head and his elbow.

Delayed Notre Dame freshman linebacker Manti Te’o said he will delay taking a Mormon mission and return next season. Te’o, who started the last eight games for the Irish and was fourth on the team with 63 tackles, said he’s not sure when he will take his two-year mission. Te’o said Brian Kelly being named the new Notre Dame coach after Charlie Weis was fired was not a factor in his decision.

Agree A person familiar with the negotiations tells the Associated Press that injury-plagued pitcher Kelvim Escobar and the New York Mets have reached a preliminary agreement on a $1.25 million, one-year-contract. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made. The deal could be announced today. Escobar, an 18-game winner in 2007, has missed nearly all of the past two seasons with the Los Angeles Angels because of shoulder trouble.

Wanted Police say a man wanted for cyberstalking may be the same person pretending to be Carolina Panthers left tackle Travelle Wharton. A misdemeanor cyberstalking warrant has been issued for Christon Brewer, who has lived in Charlotte and Monroe, N.C. The Panthers announced last week that a Wharton impostor defrauded a handful of people out of about $25,000 in bogus investment scams over the past year. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Sgt. Walter Bowling said Brewer used an alias of Travelle Wharton and is a “person of interest” relating to the impersonation investigation.

Died A crew member for Richard Childress Racing has died of complications from the H1N1 virus. Donald “DJ” Richardson died late Friday after a lengthy hospitalization for acute respiratory distress syndrome.