Amar’e Stoudemire thinks there is a “great chance’’ he can play in Game 4 of the Knicks’ series against Miami Sunday despite cutting his left hand hitting a fire extinguisher case out of frustration following Monday’s 104-94 loss to the Heat at Miami. Stoudemire is out for Thursday’s Game 3 after a surgeon repaired a muscle in his hand Tuesday. The Knicks are calling Stoudemire doubtful for Game 4, but Stoudemire said Wednesday he’s “not totally sure yet.’’ Stoudemire denied his diminishing role in the offense led to his injury. He also said he swung his arm backward and hit the case, which he said was around 85 percent metal and 2 percent glass.

Tampa Bay signed paralyzed defensive tackle Eric LeGrand. LeGrand, who played at Rutgers, broke two vertebrae and suffered a serious spinal cord injury Oct. 16, 2010, during a kickoff return against Army. His coach at Rutgers, Greg Schiano, now is coach of the Buccaneers. Schiano called the signing a “small gesture . . . to recognize his character, spirit, and perseverance.’’ He added: “The way Eric lives his life epitomizes what we are looking for in Buccaneer Men.’’ Tampa Bay will not pay LeGrand, according to the 21-year-old, who deemed the signing a “symbolic gesture.’’ . . . Minnesota’s governor, Mark Dayton, pronounced the months-long state push to help build a new Minnesota Vikings stadium a “fiasco,’’ as the Legislature’s Republican leaders proposed a significantly smaller state contribution to the project . . . The Bears agreed to a four-year contract with second-round draft pick Alshon Jeffery, a receiver from South Carolina.

Colin Fleming’s career-high four goals and Will Manny’s career-high five assists lifted No. 1 UMass past Towson, 10-3, in Amherst in the CAA lacrosse semifinals. The Minutemen host Drexel in the title game Saturday . . . Butler is leaving the Horizon League and joining the Atlantic 10 beginning with the 2013-14 season, university president James Danko announced. The Atlantic 10 lost Temple, which will join the Big East in football this fall . . . The Sun Belt Conference said Texas State will join the league in July 2013 and begin conference play for the 2013-14 academic year. Texas State is going into its first season at the Football Bowl Subdivision level in 2012, when it will spend its only season in the Western Athletic Conference . . . Connecticut men’s and women’s basketball teams agreed to play in next season’s Jimmy V Basketball Classic . . . A Pennsylvania judge will hear arguments May 9 from two school districts and a charity seeking to have defense subpoenas thrown out in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse case . . . . . . Former Miami football coach Randy Shannon is suing the university, saying it is not paying him all he is owed.

Fiorentina manager Delio Rossi was fired for physically attacking Adem Ljajic after the forward protested his first-half substitution during a 2-2 tie against Novara. As Ljajic walked toward the bench, he put his thumb up to sarcastically praise Rossi for the substitution. When the player sat down, Rossi ran over and appeared to slap Ljajic in the face . . . In MLS action, Chris Wondolowski scored twice to take over the league lead with 10 as the San Jose Earthquakes beat D.C. United, 5-3, at Santa Clara, Calif. In another MLS game, Eddie Johnson scored for the second straight game as host Seattle beat Los Angeles, 2-0 . . . UEFA will not lift the suspensions preventing six players from appearing in the Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Chelsea despite an appeal from the global soccer players’ union to change the rule . . . American forward Jozy Altidore sustained a head and back injury in AZ Alkmaar’s 1-1 tie at NEC Nijmegen. Altidore clashed with defender Pavel Cmovs in the 29th minute and was knocked unconscious on the sideline. The extent of Altidore’s injury was not known . . . Lionel Messi broke Gerd Mueller’s 39-year-old record for goals in a European club season, scoring a hat trick for Barcelona against Malaga to raise his total to 68 . . . The Montreal Canadiens hired Marc Bergevin as general manager to replace the fired Pierre Gauthier.