Sports

Briefs

Mom's illness pulls Gretzky out of worlds

By wire services
Published March 22, 2005

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CALGARY - Wayne Gretzky will not run the Canadian team at hockey's world championships in Austria next month because his mother is being treated for lung cancer.

The hockey great said in a statement Monday he was disappointed he could not be with the team, citing the "personal situation surrounding my mother's illness."

"I would not be able to put in the 100 percent that is needed for Hockey Canada," he added.

Vancouver Canucks assistant general manager Steve Tambellini will be Canada's general manager, with Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland his assistant. Canada will try to successfully defend its title at the April 30-May 15 tournament in Innsbruck and Vienna.

Gretzky said that while he will not be with the team, "I am available to provide my opinion at any time, if needed."

National team coach Marc Habscheid will be behind the bench, ending speculation that Toronto Maple Leafs coach Pat Quinn will resume his role from the Olympics and World Cup.

This year's worlds have assumed greater importance because of the lockout wiping out the NHL season. Elite hockey countries hope to field a who's who of NHL stars although some big names - Markus Naslund , Mats Sundin and Mario Lemieux - have said they won't play.

Still, the likes of the Lightning's Vinny Lecavalier and Brad Richards , along with other NHL standouts Robyn Regehr , Martin Brodeur , Dany Heatley and Shane Doan are among the World Cup returnees expected to suit up for Canada.

TENNIS

Hewitt out of Nasdaq-100

Lleyton Hewitt withdrew from this week's Nasdaq-100 Open in Key Biscayne with a toe injury, a day after losing the Pacific Life Open final to Roger Federer . No.2-ranked Hewitt hurt the toe during his semifinal victory over Andy Roddick at Indian Wells, Calif., and aggravated it during Sunday's final against Federer.

KOURNIKOVA DISPUTE: Anna Kournikova and her parents are trying to settle their dispute regarding the ownership of a $5-million waterfront home in Miami Beach, the attorney for the tennis star's parents said. Sergei and Alla Kournikova sued their daughter in Miami-Dade Circuit Court last year, saying they wanted money for their share of the house that they alleged Anna took over. David Leacock , the parents' attorney, said the two sides were working toward a settlement and he noted that the judge has taken the case off the trial docket.

HORSES

Zito heads Hall nominees

Trainer Nick Zito , jockeys Jose Santos and Eddie Maple and 1997 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Silver Charm lead the class of nominees for induction into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame.

Zito trained Birdstone to a Belmont win last year, adding the final leg of the Triple Crown to his earlier Kentucky Derby victories with Strike the Gold (1991) and Go for Gin (1994) and his Preakness victory with Louis Quatorze (1996).

Santos, a four-time earnings leader nationwide, helped propel Funny Cide onto the national scene in 2003, riding to victories in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness before his shot at the Triple Crown fell short in the Belmont.

Maple has more than 4,000 career wins, including two Belmonts and Secretariat 's final race.

ARKANSAS DERBY: Afleet Alex is expected to run in next month's race and is receiving treatment for a lung infection. John Velazquez will be aboard if the 3-year-old colt runs in the April 16 race at Oaklawn Park, a major prep for the Kentucky Derby.

BOXING

Chavez, 42, to fight again

Julio Cesar Chavez , who beat Frankie Randall nearly a year ago in what he said was his final fight, has another lined up.

The 42-year-old Chavez (106-5-2, 88 knockouts) fights Ivan Robinson in a 10-round super-lightweight fight May 28 at Staples Center that is being billed as the Mexican's "Adios" to Los Angeles.

"I can barely walk," Chavez said, joking during an announcement at Staples, a few miles from Olympic Auditorium, site of his first WBC super-lightweight world championship in 1984.

"A lot of people will think why am I going to fight again?" Chavez said through an interpreter. "It's unbelievable the way people have been sending me mail and calling. They really want me to say goodbye in the ring."

ET CETERA

OLYMPICS: A member of Paris' bid committee for the Games was among 47 people who went on trial in a major political corruption case. Guy Drut , also an IOC member and former French sports minister, is accused in a party funding scandal dating to the 1990s. Drut denies wrongdoing. The case centers on a secret deal in which companies reportedly funneled millions of dollars in kickbacks to France's major political parties in exchange for contracts to build and renovate schools. Paris is considered the front-runner for the 2012 Games.

TRIATHLON: German Nina Kraft 's two-year ban was cut in half because of a legal technicality. Kraft was banned for two years in December by the German Triathlon Union after admitting she used the endurance-boosting drug EPO.

[Last modified March 22, 2005, 01:22:12]

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