Roy might play Saturday for Blazers

Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy could return from his hamstring injury as early as Saturday, when Portland hosts the Golden State Warriors.

The Blazers have gone 2-2 while their All-Star has been injured.

Roy, averaging 23 points a game, was cleared for practice after he was checked out by team doctors on Wednesday night. But he was not given the green light to play in Portland's 84-83 victory over the Detroit Pistons as a precaution.

Roy hasn't played since Dec. 27 against Toronto.

His life certainly hasn't been uneventful during his rehabilitation. Roy and his fiancee Tiana Bardwell had their second child, Mariah Leilani Roy, on Monday.

At Wednesday's game at the Rose Garden, a fan held a sign: "Welcome Mariah! (Baby Roy)."

• MILES UPDATE: Darius Miles, trying to make an NBA comeback, was waived by the Memphis Grizzlies earlier this week after playing in two games.

That's a concern for the Blazers, because Miles could count against the team's salary cap if he plays in a total of 10 NBA games.

Miles had microfracture surgery on his right knee in November 2006, and did not play again for the Blazers, who waived him at the end of last season.

Right now, Portland is off the hook for the final $18 million of Miles' deal because an independent doctor said his knee injury was career ending.

However, if he plays in 10 games, his salary counts again for Portland.

Miles also appeared in six preseason games with the Boston Celtics. According to a Yahoo Sports report, those games count toward Miles' 10-game total. That means Miles has to appear in just two more games to go back on Portland's books.

A spokesman for the NBA confirmed to The Associated Press on Thursday that the Boston games do count as part of Miles' total.

• RUDY'S PITCH: Rudy Fernandez sings and even plays a little guitar — badly — as part of his bid to be included in the NBA's slam dunk contest during All-Star festivities.

Fernandez is one of three players — along with Joe Alexander and Russell Westbrook — vying for the chance to go up against Dwight Howard (the defending champion), Rudy Gay and Nate Robinson.

The catch is that the final contestant will be decided by fans. Fernandez made some campaign videos, posted on NBA.com.

In one he sings, "Vota mi, por favor," making it clear he should stick with basketball as a career choice. Although, arguably, he's a better singer than Greg Oden was this summer when he butchered an 'N Sync song and the video popped up on YouTube.