On the first trip to his parents' native Taiwan since emerging from basketball obscurity to become one of the NBA's biggest stars, Jeremy Lin has pledged to remain true to himself and not be overwhelmed by the fame that accompanies "Linsanity."

Showing his modesty, Lin said Sunday he hopes to inspire other people to play basketball, just as former Chinese NBA star Yao Ming inspired him.

Lin recently left the New York Knicks for Yao's former team, the Houston Rockets. Lin was born and raised in the United States, attending Palo Alto High and Harvard. But his maternal grandmother is from China and his parents are from Taiwan.

Lin, in Taipei, evaded the touchy question of whether he's Chinese or Taiwanese, saying only "there's a lot of history behind who I am."

NFL

All week, Andrew Luck heard the rave reviews at Indianapolis Colts camp. They came from the likes of former Colts coach Tony Dungy and Pro Bowl receiver Reggie Wayne. The consensus: Luck is no ordinary rookie.

Luck, the No. 1 overall draft pick out of Stanford, disagrees.

"I feel like a scrub rookie every day, so far," he said.

Luck, the $22.1 million man, took most of the snaps at practice this week. The next step comes Aug. 12 when the Colts host St. Louis in their first exhibition game.

"Andrew's going to be good, really good," Wayne said.

  • Tom Brady turned 35 on Friday, earning the
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    veteran quarterback a few birthday serenades from fans at New England's training camp. After practice Sunday, Brady (Serra High-San Mateo) wouldn't put a number on how many more years he'd like to play, just reiterating he would "like to play for a long time."

    CFL

    Hamilton signed running back Brandon Rutley (Alhambra High) and defensive end Bruce Davis to the practice roster. Rutley ran for 1,779 yards and 21 touchdowns while catching 70 passes for 668 yards and one TD over four seasons at San Jose State. Davis suited up for four NFL teams, including the 49ers and Raiders.

    Baseball

    Former Saint Mary's pitcher Martin Agosta was scheduled to make his first pro start Sunday with the Giants of the Arizona League (Rookie). They played the Cubs. Agosta, who went 9-2 with a 2.18 ERA for the Gaels in 2012, was a second-round pick in June's draft.

    Tennis

    Two weeks after winning her first professional tournament singles title, senior Mallory Burdette did it again. She beat Jessica Pegula 6-3, 6-0 at the Vancouver Open, a USTA Pro Circuit event in British Columbia. With the win, Burdette earned a wild card in the U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 27 in New York.

    Horse racing

    Shudacudawuyda, ridden by Julien Colten, beat Ain't No Other and Russell Baze by a neck in the $50,000-added Jess Jackson Handicap at the Sonoma Fair. The Lloyd Mason-trained Shudacudawuyda ran five furlongs on turf in 58.04 seconds. Control Seeker, ridden by Francisco Duran and trained by Keith Nations, won the $50,000-added Joseph T. Grace Handicap by 11/2 lengths in 1:44.84.

    Wire services contributed to this report.