Patrick Ewing Jr., whose famous dad was a star in New York basketball for years, has joined the Knicks squad after a recent trade. The younger Ewing was swapped from the Rockets, in exchange for Frederic Weis. “Coming to the Knicks, and hopefully being able to contribute, means a lot to me,” Ewing Jr. said in a statement. “It has always been my dream to play for this team. My goal is to show the coaches that I can play and do all that I can to help the team win some games.” The elder Ewing, who’s set to join the NBA Hall of Fame next week, wishes his son “a long and productive career” in New York.Browns receiver recovers from bizarre foot injury. Braylon Edwards will start in Cleveland ’s high-profile opener this week versus Dallas after returning to his team’s line-up Monday. Edwards had been sidelined since Aug. 9 when he was gashed in the back of his foot by a teammate’s cleats as they raced after practice, Edwards in his socks. The player hasn’t spoken to media about the circumstances of his injury and won’t be available for questions until Wednesday. He received stitches for the gash and stayed overnight at a hospital after the incident. The banged-up Browns have suffered in the pre-season without their star receiver and quarterback Derek Anderson. “I missed ya’ll, man,” Edwards told teammates Monday.

Bengals star legally changes his name

Back in the day, boxer Cassius Clay became Muhammad Ali for religious reasons. NBA star Lloyd Bernard Free became World B. Free to make a political statement. NFL receiver Chad Johnson? He’s Chad Javon Ocho Cinco now. “Have I ever had a reason for why I do what I do?” he asks. “I’m having fun.” The Bengals star has legally changed his name to the Spanish translation of his jersey number 85. The Bengals have no comment on Cinco’s re-invention – understandably.                                                                                       

Venus, Serena may be headed for another tennis face-off. Venus and Serena Williams didn’t get that Wimbledon rematch they seemed headed toward during the Beijing Olympics. Both sisters were eliminated from singles competition before they combined to win doubles gold. The U.S. Open, however, presents another possibility for the pair to go head-to-head after Venus took the title several weeks ago. Both sisters advanced this past weekend and will face each other in the Open’s quarter-finals this week if they each get one more win. “I think that, definitely, the Wimbledon win helped me…if I don’t have a perfect practice, I don’t get really upset about the whole tournament,” Venus says. The sisters are the only two former champions still competing in the tournament.

Matt Murphy has a new apartment, stock investments and plans to go into the sneaker biz, all thanks to a $752,000 net from the sale of Barry Bonds’ home run ball. Murphy, 22, was at the San Francisco Giants game last summer when Bonds hit homer No. 756 to break legend Hank Aaron’s long-standing career record. Along with his other plans, Murphy and two friends are opening a Manhattan restaurant this week. Meanwhile, Bonds, who showed up this past weekend at the Giants’ anniversary ceremony, says he’s not retired, despite having no contract to play this season.

Braylon Edwards receives foot stitches. A star Cleveland Browns receiver is recovering from a weird pre-season injury following a race in which he wore only socks. Braylon Edwards was sprinting recently against teammate Donté Stallworth, who opened the back of Edwards’ foot with his cleats, creating a gash that required stitches. No explanation was given for why Edwards didn’t wear shoes during the race. But the injury happened after Saturday’s practice, so Edwards may have been jokingly showboating. The injury isn’t thought to be serious, but the receiver spent a night in the hospital as a precaution.