MLB: Orioles' Loewen to have season-ending surgery

Baltimore, MD (Sports Network) - Baltimore Orioles pitcher Adam Loewen has opted to have season-ending surgery on his left elbow after visiting with Dr. James Andrews on Wednesday
The left-hander spent a month trying to rehab from a stress fracture, but it was ultimately determined that surgery was the best course of action.
Loewen, the fourth overall pick in the 2002 draft, was 2-0 with a 3.56 ERA in six starts this season.
He is expected to be ready for Spring Training next season.

NFL: LB Armstead officially retires as a Giant

East Rutherford, NJ (Sports Network) - Linebacker Jessie Armstead signed a one-day contract with the New York Giants and officially retired with the team he spent nine years with.
Armstead, originally the 207th player chosen in the 1993 draft, played in the five straight Pro Bowls for New York and helped lead the team to Super Bowl XXXV. He never missed a game with the Giants, playing in 144 straight contests.
After being cut by the Giants in 2002, Armstead played two seasons with division-rival Washington. He signed with Carolina prior to the 2004 season, but injuries prevented him from taking the field.

NHL: Tampa Bay welcomes back Gratton for the third time

Tampa, FL (Sports Network) - The Tampa Bay Lightning reacquired forward Chris Gratton from the Florida Panthers on Wednesday in exchange for a second-round pick in either the 2007 or 2008 draft.
Gratton was the Lightning's first-round choice, third overall, in the 1993 entry draft. He played four seasons in his first stint in Tampa from 1993-97, then parts of two seasons in his second stint from 1998-2000, accumulating 88 goals and 236 points in 404 games. The 6-4, 220-pounder recorded career highs in goals (30), points (62), and penalty minutes (207) in 1996-97.
"We have been pursuing Chris for some time now," said Lightning executive vice president and general manager Jay Feaster. "He has great size and strength, he is very good on face-offs, he has excellent grit and is willing to take care of both himself and defend his teammates. They say in life that 'the third time is the charm,' and we truly believe that his third time in a Lightning uniform is going to be a great one for Chris and our team."
The 31-year-old native of Brantford, Ontario has bounced around the NHL during his 13-year career. He signed as a free agent with Philadelphia in the summer of 1997, then was sent back to Tampa in a December, 1998 trade. Following that tenure, he was acquired by the Buffalo Sabres late in the 1999-2000 season, spending parts of four seasons there until Phoenix acquired him in a deal for Daniel Briere in 2003.
He spent parts of two seasons with the Coyotes before moving onto Colorado at the tail end of the 2003-2004 campaign. Gratton signed with Florida in 2005, scoring 30 goals and 74 points in 157 games over the last two seasons.
Gratton has played in 1,008 games with six teams, scoring 204 goals, collecting 340 assists and amassing 1,549 penalty minutes.

Nascar: Its official, Earnhardt Jr. chooses Hendrick

Mooresville, NC (Sports Network) - On Wednesday, Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced that he would sign to drive for Hendrick Motorsports in 2008.
Earnhardt Jr., son of seven-time Nextel Cup champion Dale Earnhardt and the most popular driver in the series, has driven for the company his dad started, Dale Earnhardt Inc., since 1996. He has earned 17 wins and 114 top-10s in 269 Cup starts with DEI. He also won two Busch Series titles in 1998 and 1999.
But after Dale Earnhardt's tragic death in a last-lap crash at the 2001 Daytona 500, Teresa Earnhardt took over at DEI and the relationship between driver and stepmother/team owner has not been a smooth one.
Over this past winter, "Junior" demanded that he be given 51-percent ownership in the company so that he could have control of the operations. The current management team headed by Teresa Earnhardt and Max Siegel balked at the idea and on May 10th the driver announced that he would leave DEI.
Since then rumors as to his destination have been everywhere. The most popular idea is that he would drive for Richard Childress Racing, the same team his father drove for from 1981-2001 and won six championships.
Another was that he might take his own JR Motorsports team which runs in the Busch Series and make it a Nextel Cup team. Other teams that have shown interest in Earnhardt Jr. included Ginn Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing.
Interestingly, owner Rick Hendrick had said that he didn't have room for Earnhardt Jr. They had talked informally and Hendrick offered to supply "Junior's" Busch team with engines and chassis so they could go Cup racing.
Kyle Busch is the odd man out and the 2008 Hendrick Motorsports lineup will be Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Earnhardt Jr. and Casey Mears.

PGA Tour: Pinehurst to host 2014 US Open

Far Hills, NJ (Sports Network) - The United States Golf Association announced that Pinehurst will host the 2014 U.S. Open championship
The revered North Carolina course has hosted eight USGA championships, including two Opens in 1999 and 2005.
The 2014 US Open will be played from June 12-15.
"The USGA is excited to return to North Carolina and the classic setting of Pinehurst, the site of two successful Opens in the past eight years," said Jim Hyler, chairman of the USGA championship committee. "The previous championships at Pinehurst No. 2 featured exceptional play and incredible support from the community, which truly embraced its role as host. The course provides a stern but fair test for our national championship and lends itself nicely to the scope of all operational aspects. We believe the 2014 Open at Pinehurst will be another great experience."
After this year's Open in Oakmont, PA, the event will be played at Torrey Pines Golf Club in San Diego, CA in 2008; at Bethpage State Park's Black Course in Farmingdale, NY in 2009; at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, CA in 2010; at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, MD in 2011; at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, CA in 2012; and at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, PA in 2013.

WTA: Schiavone falls in Barcelona

Barcelona, Spain (Sports Network) - Top-seeded Italian Francesca Schiavone was among Wednesday's second-round upset victims at the inaugural $145,000 Barcelona KIA tennis event.
Hungarian qualifier Agnes Szavay drubbed Schiavone in 6-1, 6-1 fashion at this clay-court event. Another upset came when Romanian Edina Gallovits disposed of fifth-seeded Spaniard Lourdes Dominguez Lino 6-4, 6-2.
Five other seeds avoided upsets, including third-seeded Frenchwoman Emilie Loit and sixth-seeded American Meghann Shaughnessy. Loit leveled her countrywoman Camille Pin 6-1, 6-1, while Shaughnessy got past Spanish wild card Laura Pous Tio 7-5, 6-4.
Fourth-seeded Estonian Kaia Kanepi handled Argentine qualifier Maria Emilia Salerni 6-3, 6-0, while seventh-seeded Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano held off Hungarian Melinda Czink 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 6-2 and eighth-seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta dismissed German Tatjana Malek 6-3, 6-4.
One other second-round result saw Russian Alla Kudryavtseva erase Swiss Emmanuelle Gagliardi 6-0, 6-4.
Thursday's quarterfinals will pit Loit against Pennetta, Kanepi versus Gallovits, Shaughnessy against Szavay and Razzano versus Kudryavtseva.

ATP: Nadal wins; Hewitt bows out in London

London, England (Sports Network) - Top-seeded Rafael Nadal posted a second- round victory, while defending champion Lleyton Hewitt came up a loser Wednesday at The Artois Championships, a grass-court Wimbledon tune-up.
The reigning three-time French Open champion Nadal made a smooth transition to grass with a 6-4, 6-4 win against promising Argentine Juan Martin del Potro on Day 3 at The Queen's Club. The Spanish Nadal won 40-of-46 points on serve en route to victory.
The 2006 Wimbledon runner-up Nadal is fresh off his championship at Roland Garros, where he defeated the great Roger Federer in the final for a second straight year.
The sixth-seeded Hewitt, meanwhile, was stunned by big-serving French qualifier Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-2). The former world No. 1 and former Wimbledon champion Hewitt topped American James Blake in last year's Queen's Club finale and also captured this event back-to-back-to-back from 2000-02.
Three other stars avoided Day-3 upsets here, as third-seeded Chilean Fernando Gonzalez snuck past Serbian Janko Tipsarevic 7-6 (9-7), 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), fourth-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic overcame American Robert Kendrick 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 and seventh-seeded Russian Dmitry Tursunov doused Canadian Frank Dancevic 7-5, 6-1. Gonzalez was January's Aussie Open runner-up to Federer, while Djokovic was a semifinal loser against Nadal at Roland Garros last week.

Horse Racing: Pletcher has two in Stephen Foster Handicap

Louisville, KY (Sports Network) - Belmont Stakes winning trainer Todd Pletcher has the expected morning-line favorite for Saturday's $750,000 Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs. Master Command, undefeated this year, is the probable favorite versus seven rivals in the 1 1/8 mile race.
Master Command has picked up victories this year in the Mineshaft, New Orleans and National Jockey Club Handicaps. John Velazquez, who has been aboard for all three races, is back after his win in the Belmont Stakes. Horse and jockey will start from post two.
Owned by Aaron and Marie Jones, Master Command has won eight of 15 career starts for $1.1 million. Last year his two stakes wins were in the William Schaefer Handicap and Meadowlands Breeders' Cup.
Pletcher also sends out Magna Graduate in the Foster Handicap. The five-year- old will be ridden by Garrett Gomez from post three. Velazquez is the usual rider on Magna Gratuate.
Magna Graduate is owned by Elisabeth Alexander and is on a two race win streak. He is coming off a victory in the Excelsior Handicap after taking the Razorback Handicap. In 22 lifetime starts, Magna Graduate has won nine times for better than $2 million.
Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito will saddle local winner Wanderin Boy. The six- year-old will start from post six with Corey Nakatani riding.
Wanderin Boy is coming off a win in the Alysheba Handicap here in his first start of the year. Owned by Arthur Hancock, Wanderin Boy won the Brooklyn Handicap in 2006 and was second in the Pimlico Special to Invasor as the favorite. He has earnings of $722,215 in 16 career starts with eight victories.

NHL: Ducks sign Moen and Parros

Anaheim, CA (Sports Network) - The Anaheim Ducks have signed left wing Travis Moen and right wing George Parros each to a two-year contract extension.

Both players are now under contract through the 2008-2009 season. Per club policy, no financial terms were disclosed.

Moen, 25, played a critical role in Anaheim's 2007 Stanley Cup title run. In the 2007 playoffs Moen scored three game-winning goals, including the championship-clinching goal in Game 6 which brought the Ducks their first- ever title. In 82 regular season games for the Ducks, Moen scored 11 goals and had 10 assists for 21 points, setting career highs in all three categories.

Parros, 27, was scoreless in five appearances for the Ducks in the 2007 playoffs. In 32 regular season games for Anaheim, he scored one goal and led the team with 102 penalty minutes.

WNBA: Lawson leads Monarchs past winless Comets

Houston, TX (Sports Network) - Kara Lawson scored 24 points on 8-of-10 shooting to boost Sacramento to an 82-67 win over Houston.
Nicole Powell tallied 17 points, Rebekkah Brunson 14 and Yolanda Griffith 10 for the Monarchs, who won for the fourth time in five games. Ticha Penicheiro had 10 assists for Sacramento, which shot 54.5 percent from the field and made 10-of-20 three-pointers.
Tina Thompson had 33 points for the Comets, who at 0-7 remained one of two winless teams in the league. Washington is the other. Thompson missed just one of her 18 foul shots and the Comets went 29-of-32 at the foul line, but were undone by going 18-of-41 from the field and committing 27 turnovers.
The Monarchs scored the game's first eight points and never relinquished the lead. Thompson's layup had the Comets within 32-28 in the opening minute of the third quarter, but Sacramento rattled off the next nine points.

MLB: Zambrano leads Cubs over Astros

Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - Carlos Zambrano pitched eight strong innings and aided his cause with a home run, as Chicago edged Houston, 2-1, in a make- up game of a postponed contest from earlier this season at Wrigley Field.
The two clubs were originally set to wrap a three-game series on April 11, but the contest was postponed due to snow and rain.
Zambrano (7-5) gave up an unearned run on three hits for the Cubs, who ended a two-game slide. Zambrano also fanned eight and walked just one while Ryan Dempster pitched a scoreless ninth to record his 13th save of the season.
Mike Fontenot went 2-for-3 with a double and run scored in the victory for Chicago.
Woody Williams started for Houston and was the tough-luck loser, allowing two runs on four in seven innings. Williams (2-9) struck out five and walked two.
Lance Berkman, Luke Scott and Brad Ausmus had the only hits for the Astros, who have dropped two straight.
The Cubs went up 1-0 in the second after Fontenot doubled and scored on Ryan Theriot's base hit to right-center field.
Zambrano helped himself in the third inning, leading off the frame with a home run into the seats in left to make it 2-0.
Zambrano then dominated Houston's hitters, retiring nine straight at one point before Berkman led off the seventh with a single for just the Astros' second hit of the contest.
The Astros got on the board in the eighth as Mike Lamb walked to start the inning and pinch-hitter Scott poked a single to center. A fielder's choice by Ausmus brought Lamb home to make it 2-1 as Fontenot's throw after a force at second got past Derrek Lee at first. Zambrano though battled back and struck out Orlando Palmeiro and got Craig Biggio to fly out to end the inning.
In the ninth, Dempster walked Berkman with one out, but got Carlos Lee to ground into a double play to end the game.

WTA: Schiavone, Shaughnessy reach second round in Spain

Barcelona, Spain (Sports Network) - Top-seeded Italian Francesca Schiavone and sixth-seeded American Meghann Shaughnessy highlighted Monday's first-round winners at the inaugural $145,000 Barcelona KIA tennis event.
Schiavone was leading fellow Italian Romina Oprandi 6-2 when Oprandi retired due to a right arm bruise at this post-French Open clay-court event. Shaughnessy, meanwhile, handled Spanish crowd favorite Nuria Llagostera Vives 6-3, 6-4.
Third-seeded Emilie Loit of France moved on by beating Swiss Timea Bacsinszky 7-5, 6-3.
In other Day-1 action, German Tatjana Malek was leading Iveta Benesova 5-2 when the Czech retired due to a right lumbar disfunction.

ATP: Bjorkman, Mathieu, Ginepri move on at Queen's Club

London, England (Sports Network) - Swedish veteran Jonas Bjorkman, 12th-seeded Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu and 15th-seeded American Robby Ginepri were among Monday's first-round winners at The Artois Championships, a grass-court Wimbledon tune-up.

The 11th-seeded Bjorkman, a 2006 Wimbledon semifinalist, held off American Justin Gimelstob 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, while Mathieu snuck past Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3 and Ginepri handled Brit Richard Bloomfield 6-4, 6-2 at The Queen's Club.

Fourteenth-seeded Frenchman Arnaud Clement also advanced by besting Spaniard Ivan Navarro Pastor 7-6 (7-2), 6-4.

Mild upsets came when Colombian Alejandro Falla took out 10th-seeded Frenchman Julien Benneteau 7-5, 6-3, Brit Alex Bogdanovic beat 13th-seeded Korean Hyung- Taik Lee 6-4, 6-4 and Belarusian Max Mirnyi erased 16th-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-3.

Argentine Juan Martin del Potro dismissed former Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson of Sweden 6-2, 6-4, while Czech Radek Stepanek bested Italian Davide Sanguinetti 6-2, 2-0, retired.

LPGA: Pettersen up eight spots in rankings; Webb new No. 2

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Suzann Pettersen won the McDonald's LPGA Championship on Sunday and moved up eight places to No. 4 in the latest Rolex Rankings for women's golf.
Karrie Webb finished runner-up for the second year in a row and knocked Annika Sorenstam from the No. 2 position. Sorenstam, the longtime No. 1 before Lorena Ochoa supplanted her earlier this season, is the new No. 3.
Morgan Pressel, Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr, Juli Inkster, Ai Miyazato and Se- Ri Pak round out the top 10.
Mi Hyun Kim, Brittany Lincicome, Jeong Jang, Shiho Oyama, Stacy Prammanasudh, Jee Young Lee, Yuri Fudoh, Mi-Jeong Jeon, Ji-Yai Shin and Pat Hurst held positions 11-20.
Further down, three surprising top-five finishers from Sunday received huge bumps in the rankings.
Rookie Na On Min finished third and was up 201 places to No. 80; Lindsey Wright was fourth and moved up 31 spots to No. 62; and another rookie, Angela Park, placed fifth to advance 15 spots to No. 41.

Formula 1: Polish driver injured in spectacular crash

MONTREAL (AP) -- Robert Kubica broke his right leg during a spectacular crash Sunday near the midway point of the Canadian Grand Prix.
Kubica, a 22-year-old driver from Poland, is one of the rising stars of Formula One.
Medical personnel removed him from the car and took him to the track's medical facility. He was transferred by helicopter to a hospital for further examination. Team officials said he never lost consciousness.
Kubica was racing with the Toyota of Jarno Trulli and the Ferrari of Felipe Massa when he suddenly veered off course into the grass as they drove toward the hairpin turn.
Kubica's BMW Sauber slammed into the inside concrete wall, then somersaulted across the track in a shower of debris. It hit the outside wall and came to rest with what was left of his car on its side.

European PGA Tour: Green downs Remesy in playoff to win at Fontana

Vienna, Austria (Sports Network) - Richard Green bogeyed the final hole of the BA-CA Golf Open on Sunday to slip back to 16-under-par 268 and create a playoff with Jean-Francois Remesy, which he won.
Green closed with a one-under 70 Sunday, while Remesy fired a seven-under 64 to force the extra session. Remesy never had a piece of the lead until Green's bogey at the last.
In the playoff, the two returned to the par-five 18th at Fontana Golf Club where Green walked off with his first win since the 1997 Dubai Desert Classic.
"I've had that self-doubt in me for quite a long time," Green stated. "I've got myself into position and played three rounds great, but not four, so to get across the line is a huge relief. I was probably as nervous as I've ever been on the 18th green and I think that showed with the three putts. I was fortunate that I got into a playoff and still had a chance."
Chris Gane closed with a six-under 65 to end in a tie for third at 15-under- par 269. He was joined there by Michael Jonzon (66) and Miguel Angel Jimenez (67). Stephen Gallacher took sixth at minus-14 thanks to a closing 65.
Green was in trouble early. He found the rough off the tee at the par-four third, then three-putted his way to a double-bogey. That dropped him to 13- under, one clear of the field.

Champions PGA Tour: Haas coasts to three-stroke win in Des Moines

West Des Moines, IA (Sports Network) - Jay Haas stumbled to bogeys on the final two holes Sunday, but it didn't matter as he still claimed The Principal Charity Classic by three strokes.
Haas closed with a two-under 69 to finish at 12-under-par 201. The win was his third of the season and ninth of his Champions Tour career.
He matched Hale Irwin's hot start to a Champions Tour career. Irwin, and now Haas, both picked up nine wins in their first 49 tour starts.
"It's a thrill holding off some great players," said Haas, who earned $240,000 for the win. "Brad Bryant and R.W. Eaks came on there and David Edwards made a nice couple of birdies coming in. It was a long day, but it never seemed like the 18th hole was going to get here."
Eaks fired a seven-under 64 in the final round to end in a share of second place at nine-under-par 204. He was joined there by Bryant (67). Jay Sigel joined Edwards and Mark James in fourth place at minus-eight.
Haas, the reigning Champions Tour Player of the Year, got off to a solid start to put things out of reach. He dropped in a six-foot birdie putt at the first.
The 53-year-old drained a 15-footer for birdie at the fourth to move six clear of the field at 12-under. Two holes later, Haas converted a three-footer for birdie.

NBA: Nuggets' Smith injured in car crash

Millstone Township, NJ (Sports Network) - Denver Nuggets forward J.R. Smith was injured Saturday when the sport utility vehicle he was driving hit another car.
The Newark Star-Ledger reported that Smith and a passenger were both ejected from the SUV in the crash. Smith was taken by ambulance to Neptune's Jersey Shore University Hospital and was listed in fair condition. His father told the newspaper that he expects Smith home sometime Sunday.
The passenger suffered serious head wounds and was airlifted to the same hospital, where he was listed in extremely critical condition.
The driver of the second vehicle along with a second passenger in Smith's SUV also received minor injuries during the crash.
Smith averaged 13 points and 2.3 rebounds in 63 games with Denver last season but struggled badly in the team's first-round playoff loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

Formula 1: Hamilton captures Canadian GP

Montreal, Canada (Sports Network) - Rookie Lewis Hamilton captured Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix and in the process won his first career Formula One race. The No.2 McLaren Mercedes driver crossed the finish line 4.3 seconds ahead of Nick Heidfeld.
Alexander Wurz, Heikki Kovalainen, Kimi Raikkonen, Takuma Sato, Fernando Alonso and Ralf Schumacher completed the top-eight.

ATP: Nadal topples Federer again for French crown

Paris, France (Sports Network) - Rafael Nadal continued his sensational success at the French Open, capturing his third consecutive championship with a four-set triumph over Roger Federer in Sunday's title match.
The second-seeded Nadal posted a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory to remain undefeated on the red clay at Roland Garros. The Spaniard has won all 21 matches he has played at the French Open and became the first man to three- peat since the great Bjorn Borg won four in a row from 1978-81.
Not only did Nadal keep his incredible streak intact, but he denied Federer a place in history. The top-seeded Swiss superstar was trying to complete a career Grand Slam and a victory would also have made him the first player to hold all four men's major championships at the same time since Rod Laver captured each in 1969.
The French Open is the only Grand Slam event Federer has not won and Nadal has been the main reason. He lost to Nadal in the semifinals two years ago and dropped a four-setter in last year's title match. After losing last June, Federer went on to capture the Wimbledon crown and the U.S. Open to close out 2006, then won this year's first Grand Slam at the Australian Open in January.