Knicks' Stoudemire to miss 6-8 weeks

New York Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire will miss up to eight weeks to start the season due to an injured left knee, the team announced Tuesday. The Knicks star will undergo a "debridement" surgery, in which loose bodies in his knee would be removed. The news came after Stoudemire had missed time in the preseason with what had been diagnosed as a ruptured a popliteal cyst behind the knee, which he sustained during an Oct. 19 exhibition game against Toronto. ESPN reported Stoudemire had received the second opinion from Phoenix Suns team doctor Thomas Carter, who had performed surgery on the same knee in 2005. The Knicks are set to open the season Thursday at Brooklyn. The team signed Stoudemire to a five-year, $100 million contract in 2010 despite a history of knee problems. Because of that, the contract is uninsured, the broadcaster said.