NEW YORK — Knicks forward Antonio Davis was suspended five games by the NBA for entering the stands during a game in Chicago to confront a fan he thought was harassing his wife.

While the penalty showed the NBA accepted Davis' argument that he believed his wife was in trouble during Wednesday night's game, it also made clear that entering the stands would not be tolerated, no matter the circumstances.

MELBOURNE, Australia — Andy Roddick had 17 aces in a 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 win over French qualifier Julien Benneteau on Friday, hustling through the third round as temperatures started rising at the Australian Open.His next opponent is Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus, who beat Denis Gremelmayr 6-2, 6-1, 6-2.Women's No. 1 Lindsay Davenport held off Maria Kirilenko 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, and Maria Sharapova routed Jelena Kostanic 6-0, 6-1, setting up a possible fourth-round showdown with Serena Williams.No. 6 Nadia Petrova and 2004 U.S. Open winner Svetlana Kuznetsova had straight-set wins over Italians Maria Elena Camerin and Mara Santangelo, respectively.No. 11 David Ferrer beat No. 18 Mario Ancic, and Fabrice Santoro overcame No. 8 Gaston Gaudio in an entertaining match that lasted 3 hours, 47 minutes.

ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Rams hired Miami offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, the sixth first-time NFL head coach to land a job in the last two weeks.Linehan helped the Dolphins finish 9-7, winning their last six games. He has never been a head coach at any level, but spent three years as offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings where he helped produce the top-ranked offense in 2003.

PALM DESERT, Calif. — Chad Campbell shot a 6-under par 66 to take a four-shot lead through two rounds of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.Campbell, who tied for second in Hawaii last week, remained bogey-free through 36 holes of the 90-hole Hope and was at 15-under 129.Pat Perez struggled to a 73 and was tied for second with John Senden, who had a 63 to go to 11 under.Phil Mickelson, the 2002 and 2004 Hope champion, shot a 69 at PGA West that left him six shots off the lead at 135. Mike Weir, the 2003 champion, shot 69 and was in a group another stroke behind.

BOSTON — Theo Epstein is rejoining the Boston Red Sox, 21/2 months after he turned down a three-year, $4.5 million offer to remain as general manager.Epstein and Red Sox management said he will return to the organization full-time, but they did not specify his capacity except to say it will be in baseball operations.