Odom improved but still on life support

Lamar Odom didn't last long at the glittering intersection of championship success and Hollywood celebrity.

Cut loose by his beloved Los Angeles Lakers, followed everywhere by reality television crews, the humble kid from Queens who married into the Kardashian clan saw his life spiral out of control, and so did everyone else.

Khloe Kardashian tried to hide his addictions, then told the world she couldn't save him. The two-time NBA champion landed on Skid Row, a regular tabloid target.

Then he seemed to drop out altogether before he was found unresponsive in a brothel and hospitalized, bringing his estranged wife, his former teammates and the world's attention back to his side on Wednesday.

Hospital authorities would not comment on the condition of the 35-year-old former NBA forward, but the Rev. Jesse Jackson was among his visitors. Jackson said Odom was on life support and improving.

"Apparently from what the doctor said, he was much better off today than yesterday. He at least has some responsiveness now," Jackson said. "He's got tubes in him now but we felt inspired by his presence."

"We're just holding hands and hoping he can bounce back," Jackson added.

Golden State waived guard Ben Gordon, who was brought into camp on a tryout basis last month. … The Bulls cleared Derek Rose for noncontact activity, although the guard is still experiencing minor swelling around the fractured left orbital he had surgically repaired Sept. 30.

The FBI began an inquiry into the practices of booming daily fantasy sports sites after players and lawmakers made allegations of predatory tactics and questioned the use of inside information, according to players who said they have been contacted by investigators.

The FBI began contacting several prominent competitors in the contests shortly after an employee of DraftKings, one of the two major companies, admitted to inadvertently releasing data before lineups for the start of the third week of NFL games were locked in. The employee, a midlevel content manager, then won $350,000 at a rival site, although Draft­Kings said he did not have an advantage.

CBS Sports filled a big void on its golf broadcasting team by hiring Dottie Pepper, giving the network that covers the most PGA Tour events its first female voice. She replaces David Feherty, who left CBS to join NBC Sports.

That doesn't make her the next Feherty.

Pepper first received acclaim as the most prominent female golf analyst at NBC Sports from 2004 until 2012, when she stepped away to reduce her travel schedule. Pepper joined the board of directors at the PGA of America. That term expires next month.

She had been working for ESPN, which at the time had opening rounds of the Masters, U.S. Open and all of the British Open. The U.S. Open went to Fox Sports, and the British Open went to NBC. NBC and ESPN announced Monday that deal would start a year earlier than initially planned in 2016.

… Eugenie Bouchard filed a lawsuit against the United States Tennis Association after she slipped and fell in a locker room during the U.S. Open. In a lawsuit, Bouchard claims her fall was caused by a "slippery, foreign and dangerous substance" on the floor. Bouchard says she suffered a severe head injury.

College football: Florida freshman defensive back Deiondre Porter was suspended indefinitely following his arrest for allegedly firing a gun in the direction of his pregnant girlfriend.