Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has recovered from foot injuries and should be ready to play when the team opens training camp Sept. 27. Embiid, 22, the No. 3 pick in the 2014 draft out of Kansas, has yet to make his NBA debut because of two surgeries on his right foot that stunted his progress and put a serious crimp in the 76ers’ rebuilding process. Coach Brett Brown said the 7-footer will play this season with yet to be determined restrictions to ease him into the NBA. One condition could include holding him out on the second night of back-to-back games. Embiid has wowed the organization in private workouts since the end of last season and his potential has Brown excited. ‘‘He needs to be the crown jewel, the centerpiece of our defense,’’ Brown said . . . Phoenix Suns forward P.J. Tucker had surgery on his lower back Thursday and is expected to be out 6-8 weeks. Tucker averaged 8.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 steals in 82 games last season.NHL

Sobotka stuck in stalemate

Vladimir Sobotka said he is no longer optimistic about returning to the St. Louis Blues after two years in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League because of frustrations over a contract holdup, which has lasted five months. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Wednesday that Sobotka, a former Bruin, was having ‘‘issues’’ getting back. Sobotka has a year left on his KHL deal, but Blues general manager Doug Armstrong had said the plan was for the 29-year-old forward to be back this season.

Colleges

Ward rallies No. 6 Houston

Quarterback Greg Ward Jr. returned from a one-game absence due to a sore shoulder and ran for fourth-quarter touchdowns of 12 and 3 yards to help No. 6 Houston rally from a 16-12 fourth-quarter deficit to a 40-16 road victory over American Athletic Conference foe Cincinnati . . . Penn State plans to mark the 50th anniversary of Joe Paterno’s first win during Saturday’s home game against Temple with hundreds of the late coach’s former players returning to State College for a private reunion. The milestone emerged as a sensitive issue given Paterno’s role in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal . . . Stanford’s football and softball teams were found guilty of multiple NCAA violations and fined $5,000 fine. One football player received about $3,500 in impermissible benefits and the softball team violated the participation rule that limits practice and playing time to 20 hours per week . . . Utah prosecutors filed rape charges against Osa Masina, 19-year-old Southern California football player, who was also under investigation along with USC teammate Don Hill for an alleged sexual assault July 14 in California involving the same victim. Masina was accused of sexually assaulting the 19-year-old woman after she passed out following a party July 25 in a Salt Lake City suburb.

BC hockey releases schedule The Boston College hockey team will open its 2016-17 season at the Icebreaker Tournament in Denver, where it will face off against Air Force on Oct. 7 then face either Ohio State or Denver the following night. BC’s schedule will include challenging nonconference dates at Wisconsin Oct. 14-15; vs. Colorado College in the home opener Oct. 21; against Arizona State Nov. 13 and Minnesota Nov. 27 at Conte Forum; and against defending national champion North Dakota Dec. 3 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Golf

Chun, Park share Evian lead

In France, South Koreans In Gee Chun and Sung Hyun Park birdied eight holes each as they carded rounds of 8-under-par 63 to share the first-round lead at the Evian Championship, the LPGA’s fifth and final major of the season . . . Shannon Johnson, 33, of Norton, Mass., finished runner-up to Julia Potter, 28, of Indianapolis in the US Women’s Mid-Amateur in Erie, Pa. Potter recorded her second career Women’s Mid-Am in four years after posting a 2-and-1 victory over Johnson at The Kahkwa Club . . . Wellesley Country Club will host a field of 132 players for the US Senior Women’s Amateur Championship Sept. 17-22.

Miscellany

Ex-NASCAR star in mourning

Former NASCAR driver Robby Gordon fought back tears and expressed disbelief at the deaths of his 68-year-old father, Robert, and 57-year-old stepmother, Sharon, after police found their bodies inside the couple’s hillside home in Orange, Calif. Police said Gordon’s father strangled his stepmother then fatally shot himself. “I’m so sad and I can’t believe it,’’ the driver told reporters near the gated home where the bodies were discovered . . . Carli Lloyd scored a hat trick, Alex Morgan added a pair of second-half goals, and Heather O’Reilly tallied in the fifth minute, marking her final goal in her final appearance with the US women’s national team, in a 9-0 blowout over Thailand in Columbus, Ohio.