Newsmakers

Out Offensive lineman Andrew Rodriguez of No. 21 Nebraska has been ruled out of the Capital One Bowl against No. 10 South Carolina because of a sprained foot. Coach Bo Pelini said Tuesday that the left guard didn’t make the trip with the team but could be at the bowl site late in the week. Rodriguez has missed the last three games. Tight end Ben Cotton, who has missed two games with a left shoulder injury, returned to practice and is expected to play in the game on Monday.

• Vancouver Cancuks left wing Chris Higgins has an undiagnosed hand problem that the coach says might be related to a foot infection. Higgins stayed home when the team left for a three-game California road trip. Coach Alain Vigneault said after practice that Higgins’ hand was so swollen he went to the hospital. Higgins’ foot ailment was originally described as a staph infection, forcing him to miss two games this month.

Suspended Milwaukee Bucks forward Drew Gooden was suspended without pay for the team’s first home game for his flagrant foul in the season opener. Gooden was ejected late in the third quarter Monday for clocking Gerald Henderson in the head with his arm as the Bobcats guard attempted to make a driving layup in Charlotte’s 96-95 win.

Claimed The New York Knicks have claimed guard Jeremy Lin off waivers. The Knicks are short-handed in the backcourt. Iman Shumpert could miss four weeks with a knee injury, Baron Davis might still be weeks away because of his bulging back disc and Mike Bibby missed the opener with a sore lower back. The 6-foot-3 Lin was released by the Houston Rockets on Sunday to make room for Samuel Dalembert.

Died A member of the Patriots’ 50th Anniversary Team, Houston Antwine, one of the team’s top defensive players in their early years, and his wife, Evelyn, have died, the team said. Antwine, 72, died Monday in Memphis, Tenn., of heart failure, and his wife died Tuesday of lung cancer, the team said. In 142 regular-season games from 1961-71 for the Patriots, he had 39 sacks, leading the team in that category during the 1967, 1968, and 1969 seasons, although sacks were not an official statistic then. Antwine spent the 1972 season with the Philadelphia Eagles.