Herschel Walker and Ricardo Mayorga yesterday threw their hats into the mixed martial arts ring.

Walker, the 47-year-old former NFL running back, said he has signed a multifight contract with promoter Strikeforce. Walker, who played for the Eagles from 1992 to '94, will begin a 12-week training camp next month in San Jose, Calif. The 1982 Heisman Trophy winner already holds a fifth-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

Mayorga, 35, is a former welterweight and super-welterweight world champion in boxing. He said he anticipates his first MMA fight early next year. Mayorga currently is in a legal dispute with promoter Don King and seeks a release from his boxing contract for an opportunity at an MMA career, although he said he has not retired from boxing. Mayorga's last fight was a 12th-round knockout loss against Shane Mosley in September 2008.

Hockey

* New York Islanders forward Pascal Morency has been suspended for the remainder of the preseason and five regular-season games after leaving the bench to start a fight in a game against Calgary on Thursday.

* A federal bankruptcy judge has scheduled an emergency hearing tomorrow on a request by Phoenix Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes to force the NHL into mediation over the contentious issues surrounding the sale of the team.

* The New York Rangers' Sean Avery suffered a knee injury during the morning skate that kept him out of last night's preseason game but it was not believed to be serious.

Olympics

* Rio de Janeiro officials announced the city's hotels are planning to make available nearly 2,000 additional rooms for the 2016 Olympics, addressing one of the key issues that had prompted criticism of the city's bid by the International Olympic Committee. The announcement came less than 2 weeks before the Oct. 2 vote in Copenhagen, Denmark, to decide who will host the games.

* As Michelle Obama prepares to make a highly personal appeal in Denmark on behalf of Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics, the White House is leaving open the possibility that President Obama will make a last-minute decision to join her.

Auto Racing

* Renault escaped severe punishment for ordering former driver Nelson Piquet Jr. to deliberately crash in a race, receiving only a suspended ban from Formula One. The team would be permanently disqualified if it were to again break the FIA's rules within the next 2 years. Flavio Briatore, who quit as team principal last week, was banned indefinitely from any F1 activities by the World Motor Sport Council. Engineering executive director Pat Symonds, who also left Renault last week, was banned for 5 years.

* NASCAR asked a federal judge to order a mental and physical examination on suspended driver Jeremy Mayfield to determine if he has a substance-abuse problem and/or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. NASCAR suspended Mayfield for failing a random drug test collected May 1 and said he twice tested positive for methamphetamines. Mayfield has denied using the illegal drug. He is now suing NASCAR, alleging his positive test came from the mix of the prescription drug Adderall for ADHD and the allergy medication Claritin-D.

Philly File

* The Independence will get first pick today in the Women's Professional Soccer international draft.

Sport Stops

* Former top-ranked player Justine Henin will announce her return to competitive tennis today, Belgian newspapers reported.

* Anheuser-Busch announced that it is not renewing its sponsorship of the LPGA's Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill in Williamsburg, Va., after 7 years.