In brief

Giacomo likely is done for '05 with ankle chip

By wire services
Published June 18, 2005

Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo has a bone chip in his left front ankle and is likely sidelined for the rest of the year, trainer John Shirreffs said Friday.

The 3-year-old colt is scheduled for surgery at Hollywood Park next week.

"The prognosis is excellent," Shirreffs told the Associated Press. He said he hopes Giacomo can return by year's end or early in 2006.

The injury was discovered when X-rays were taken Wednesday, after jockey Mike Smith said Giacomo had displaced his palate and could not breathe properly during Saturday's Belmont Stakes, in which Giacomo finished seventh after fading in the stretch.

SCRAPPY T SKIPS TURF: Preakness runnerup Scrappy T will not enter the Grand Slam of Grass in Providence Forge, Va. "He just didn't take to it," trainer Rob Bailes said after watching a mile workout on turf.

The NHL and its union wrapped up 28 hours of talks for the week and plan to resume discussions Monday in Toronto in the hopes of ending the league's nine-month lockout.

TEAM SALES: The Mighty Ducks will introduce new owners Henry and Susan Samueli and their management team at a news conference Monday. Their purchase of the team from the Walt Disney Co. was unanimously approved Thursday by the NHL's Board of Governors. ... Wal-Mart heirs Bill and Nancy Laurie plan to sell the Blues, citing tens of millions of dollars in losses.

Kim Clijsters beat defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in the semifinals at Eastbourne, England. The seventh-seeded Belgian fought off three break points in the final game. Clijsters faces unseeded Vera Douchevina in today's final. The Russian beat Roberta Vinci of Italy 2-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3.

WIMBLEDON: Seventh-seeded Guillermo Canas of Argentina and Sjeng Schalken of the Netherlands pulled out of the event that starts Monday. Officials did not immediately give reasons. Both played grass tuneup tournaments in the past week.

ORDINA OPEN: Mark Philippoussis reached the semifinals, beating Davide Sanguinetti 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-0) in Den Bosch, Netherlands, and defending champ Michael Llodra beat Lars Burgsmuller 6-2, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3.

10TELE.COM OPEN: France's Richard Gasquet beat American Taylor Dent 6-4, 6-2 to reach the final in Nottingham, England. Gasquet faces Max Mirnyi, who defeated No. 7 seed Olivier Rochus 6-4, 7-5.

Gaither High will become the first Hillsborough County public school to install an all-weather, rubberized track, county athletic director Vernon Korhn said. Korhn said New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner contributed $10,000, the county's facilities department added $30,000 and Gaither and the county's athletic maintenance department spent $10,000 apiece. Gaither, like every other public high school in the county, has an asphalt track.

CYCLING: Rookie Linus Gerdemann of Germany won his first career stage and Australian Michael Rogers kept the leader's yellow jersey after Stage 7 of the Tour de Suisse. Gerdemann completed the 120-mile stage between Einsiedeln and Lenk im Simmental in 4 hours and 25 minutes. Rogers maintained his 20-second overall lead over defending champion Jan Ullrich of Germany, who was forced to change a wheel after 34 miles.

DRUGS: Weightlifter Amanda Hubbard of Marrietta, Ga., took a three-month deferred suspension and was disqualified from this year's U.S. national championships. She tested positive for marijuana on May 6 at a meet in Cleveland, Ohio, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said.

[Last modified June 18, 2005, 00:48:45]