In Brief

Afleet Alex's racing career over

By wire services
Published December 2, 2005

PHILADELPHIA - Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner Afleet Alex was retired Thursday because of a new leg bone injury, ending a career in which his gritty ride in the second leg of the Triple Crown was one of the highlights of the racing season.

The injury was discovered before the horse was shipped to Gulfstream Park this week. An ankle injury had sidelined him since his victory in the Belmont on June 11.

Afleet Alex finished third in the Kentucky Derby by a length, won the Preakness after nearly being knocked down by Scrappy T in the turn for home and won the Belmont by 7 lengths.

He retires with eight wins in 12 starts and earnings of $2,765,800. He had been purchased for $75,000 by trainer Tim Ritchey for the Cash Is King group.

McEnroe to rejoin tour

John McEnroe plans to play doubles with the big boys again. The 46-year-old will team with Jonas Bjorkman at the SAP Open in an ATP doubles event in February, his first on U.S. soil since the 1992 U.S. Open. He retired after the 1992 season. "We are coming to play San Jose for one reason - to win the SAP Open doubles title," McEnroe said. "Jonas and I are not doing this just for fun. We think that this will be great for the game of tennis."

DAVIS CUP: Goran Ivanisevic might get a Davis Cup title without setting foot on the court. The 34-year-old former Wimbledon champion, who came out of retirement for the Cup, was not selected in Thursday's draw for the best-of-five series between the first-time finalists, Ivanisevic's Croatia and Slovakia, today in Bratislava. He is listed as No. 4 on the team.

Miller off course again

Hannes Reichelt of Austria won a super-G race for his first World Cup win less than nine months after tearing knee ligaments, and American Bode Miller skied off course in snowy and windy conditions at Beaver Creek, Colo. It was the third straight disappointing showing for the reigning super-G and overall World Cup champion.

RETIREMENT: Nine-time speed-skating world champion and Olympian Monique Garbrecht-Enfeldt of Germany retired, saying she wasn't ready for the 2006 Turin Olympics. She finished 22nd and 23rd at a World Cup meet 10 days ago.

HOCKEY: Gillian Apps scored on a pass from Hayley Wickenheiser with 3:40 to play, and Canada beat the U.S. women 3-1 in Chicago for its seventh win in the last eight games between the teams.

SAILING: ABN AMRO One took the first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race, winning by 56 miles on the run from Vigo, Spain, to Cape Town, South Africa. The 70-foot monohull yacht, skippered by New Zealander Mike Sanderson , completed 7,360 miles in 19 days, 24 minutes, 2 seconds.

[Last modified December 2, 2005, 01:14:18]