After a long wait in free agency, Erick Dampier is getting what he wanted all along -- a contract from the Miami Heat.

Sources close to the situation told ESPN.com on Monday that Dampier, who spent the past six seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, has emerged as the Heat's top choice to replace Udonis Haslem in the wake of Haslem's foot injury. Dampier had arrived in Miami by Monday night, sources said, and will be signed as early as Tuesday as long as he passes a physical.

According to sources close to the situation, the Heat have released Jerry Stackhouse to make the necessary room to sign Dampier to a one-year deal worth a pro-rated portion of the league's $1.4 million veteran minimum.

Haslem went down with a torn ligament in his left foot Saturday in Memphis that will sideline him for at least six weeks and likely much longer, with one source close to the situation saying Sunday that Haslem is potentially out until at least the All-Star break in February. One NBA medical expert told ESPN.com on Monday that such injuries are generally "slow healing" and the team has confirmed that the veteran big man will have surgery Tuesday.

Heat president Pat Riley, in response, acknowledged at a charity event Sunday night that he would likely have to make a signing to address the loss of Haslem, saying: "We need more rebounding, and we need obviously somebody that is going to have a big body in the paint that can make a difference and have an impact. We will consider something like that."

After the Mavericks traded him to Charlotte during the summer and since his release by the Charlotte Bobcats in September, Dampier has been courted by several teams and nearly signed with the Houston Rockets earlier this month before the Rockets unexpectedly backed away from a verbally agreed-upon one-year deal worth $2 million.

Yet sources close to the process maintain that Dampier has been holding off on a decision -- after flirtations with teams such as Toronto, Phoenix, Portland and Milwaukee -- largely because the 35-year-old was determined to land with his No. 1 choice in Miami or another title contender.

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NEW YORK -- Terry Collins inherits a New York Mets team coming off back-to-back losing seasons, but the new manager believes it has the talent to win in 2011.

"I want to win and there is no doubt in my mind we have the talent to win," Collins, 61, said. "I know from working first-hand with our prospects that this organization is filled with potential for the future. It's my job to help transform this team into the winner that our fans deserve, and I'm excited to get started."

Collins was introduced on Tuesday morning as the 20th manager in Mets history. The team announced that he has signed a two-year contract with a club option for 2013.

Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said Collins' experience as a major league manager, his "fiery demeanor," and his time spent as the Mets minor league field coordinator separated him from a field of 10 candidates. Alderson chose Collins over fellow Mets employees Bob Melvin, Chip Hale and Wally Backman. Collins succeeds Jerry Manuel, who was fired along with general manager Omar Minaya in October, and will try to revitalize a club that languished near the bottom of the NL East the past two seasons.

"Terry's a lifelong baseball man who comes with the entire package -- leadership, preparation, emotional commitment, and the drive to win," Alderson said. "We believe Terry's knowledge of our players, intensity and direct approach will make an immediate, positive impact both in the clubhouse and on the field."

Collins spent six years as a major league manager, with the Astros from 1994-96 and the Angels from 1997-99, compiling an overall record of 444-434. He left Anaheim with 29 games remaining in the 1999 season after player infighting divided the clubhouse. He spent two seasons managing in Asia before returning to serve as the Mets' minor league field coordinator in 2010.

His understanding of the Mets' farm system and of players such as Ike Davis, Josh Thole and Ruben Tejada assuredly helped in his hiring.

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LAS VEGAS -- Quebec poker professional Jonathan Duhamel said he worked a series of bad jobs before getting into cards and making his living online at tables with $5 and $10 minimums.

Now -- if he wants -- he might never have to work again.

Duhamel won the World Series of Poker title and $8.94 million on Monday night, becoming the first Canadian to take down the no-limit Texas Hold 'em main event in Las Vegas.

"It is surreal. I could never dream of that. It's so huge -- so big -- it's a dream come true for me," Duhamel said after winning the gold bracelet. "I don't know what to think right now, I don't even know what I feel. It's just -- it's amazing."

Duhamel, who said poker has been his primary income for the past two years, was spending the night partying like a high roller with 125 friends and family in an unrentable suite at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. Many in his group donned Montreal Canadiens jerseys in an ode to their hometown and national pastime.

The Sin City suite reserved for celebrities and gamblers who easily lose tens of thousands of dollars in a single blackjack hand is a far cry from the Montreal suburbs, where the French speaking, NHL-loving Canadian said he plays hockey several times a week and hones his poker skills online.

"I was aggressive on the final table, so I wanted to mix it up a little bit," he said. "I didn't fold at all, but I limped a little bit just to try to confuse him and have a good balance in my game."

It didn't hurt that Duhamel started the night with a big chip lead and put away John Racener before the 24-year old tournament specialist could pick up good cards.

"He was patient and kind of threw me off a little bit," said Racener, of Port Richey, Fla., who got his start in poker by turning a $50 stake from his mom into $30,000 within six months.

"I was like, 'Wow, you know, this is going to be harder than I thought," Racener said.

With many of poker's biggest names watching, Duhamel took the last of Racener's chips after 43 hands.

Racener was never better than a 4-1 underdog in chips in a session that lasted just over an hour -- the finale for a tournament that started July 5 with 7,319 players paying $10,000 to enter.

On the last hand, Duhamel pushed Racener all-in and Racener called with a suited king-eight of diamonds. But Duhamel had an unsuited ace-jack, giving him a 60 percent shot to win.

A flop of two fours and a nine helped neither player; and Racener didn't improve with a six on the turn and a five on the river. Duhamel won the hand -- and the tournament -- with an ace high.

"The only thing that I was thinking for the past four months was to be sure that my game is sharp and that I play good on the final table," Duhamel said.

Racener won $5.55 million for second place, never finding real traction in the biggest heads-up card match of his life.

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FORT WORTH, Texas -- It didn't take long for crew chief Chad Knaus to make up his mind about pit crew changes to Jimmie Johnson's team for the final two races.

Hendrick Motorsports announced on Monday that Jeff Gordon's over-the-wall crew will replace the crew for the four-time defending Sprint Cup champion for the final two races at Phoenix and Homestead-Miami.

The change is limited to the seven over-the-wall members of the teams. No other team member roles will be affected.

"We felt like that was the best decision for the performance of the team at that point," Knaus said Tuesday. "They did a fantastic job. Everybody on both teams handled themselves in a very difficult situation very, very well. There was nothing but a team environment. It was really what we preach here. It shows that what we've been standing for and what we've been doing since this deal started in 2002 holds true."

Knaus said he got everyone together Monday to announce the change.

"It was a difficult decision, for sure," he said. "There's always emotions involved. The thing everybody has to realize is when we set up this team it was a one-team situation. That's what we are, always have been.

"We love our guys. We eat, sleep, drink with them. We room with them, we lose with them. We do whatever it is with them. But ultimately it isn't seven guys. We're 520 people strong here with this team, and we're 80-plus strong with people in this building."

Knaus made the switch to Gordon's crew during Sunday's race at Texas Motor Speedway, where pit road mistakes were a part of Johnson going from a 14-point lead in the Chase standings to a 33-point deficit to race winner Denny Hamlin.

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