Injured McLeod waits for OK to return to Utah's lineup

Jazz starting point guard Keith McLeod is eligible to come off the injured list tonight.

But he won't.

Rather than play against New York — instead, Raul Lopez will start again — McLeod will continue to rehab his strained right hamstring.

McLeod worked out Saturday, but did not practice with the team Sunday.

He hopes to be back in less than a week — after facing the Knicks tonight and Denver on Tuesday, the Jazz do not play again until Friday night vs. Minnesota — but really isn't certain when the return will come.

"Whatever I feel," McLeod said, Jazz trainer "Gary (Briggs) will evaluate it from there and decide whether he's ready or he's not ready.

"Because if it was up to me," he added, "I'd probably be playing (today)."

McLeod has been out since getting hurt in the final seconds of a Jan. 23 game at Seattle.

RADIO/TV MOVES: CBS play-by-play man Craig Bolerjack will sign a five-year contract this week to call televised Jazz games on both KJZZ-TV Ch. 14 and Fox Sports Net beginning next season.

The move will end the Jazz's long-running radio-TV simulcast broadcasts, an NBA rarity.

Hot Rod Hundley, the franchise's only play-by-play voice since its inception in New Orleans, will continue to work beyond this season, making radio-only calls in the future.

Hundley's longtime partner, analyst Ron Boone, will become Bolerjack's TV partner. Boone also will sign a five-year deal.

Bolerjack, who calls NFL and college football and basketball games for CBS, formerly was a sports anchor at KSL-TV Ch. 5 and currently is an afternoon-drive host on sports-talk radio station KZN-AM 1280.

MALONE DECISION PENDING: According to Sunday's San Antonio Express-News, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich and two-time NBA MVP Tim Duncan were the San Antonio reps ex-Jazz star Karl Malone met with Saturday in Texas.

The two made a case to try to convince Malone that rather than retirement, as he has been leaning toward, the league's No. 2 all-time scorer should choose to pursue an NBA title by signing with San Antonio.

A decision is pending, and should come soon — perhaps during the Feb. 18-20 NBA All-Star Weekend, if not before then.

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E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com