August 29, 2008
Mets' Wright takes A. Soriano's All-Star spot
Third baseman David Wright of the New York Mets will replace injured Alfonso Soriano of the Chicago Cubs on the National League All-Star roster.
All-Star manager Clint Hurdle of the Colorado Rockies made the announcement yesterday. Colorado outfielder Matt Holliday, originally selected as a reserve, will replace Soriano in the starting lineup.
Soriano, on the disabled list since June12 with a broken left hand, will attend the festivities.
Wright, who was batting .288 with 17 home runs and 70 RBIs when he was selected, will be making his third consecutive appearance in the game.
•More baseballLos Angeles Angels right-hander Kelvim Escobar will have season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum in his pitching shoulder. Escobar, who won 18 games last season, was diagnosed with the injury in March but held off on surgery in hopes he would be healed with rest and rehabilitation. ... Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez was activated from the 15-day DL. He pitched five innings against Kansas City, striking out eight, allowing three earned runs and taking the loss in his first start since spraining his left ankle June 23. He is 6-6 with a 2.95 ERA.
•LacrosseAttackman Andrew Feinberg (McDonogh) and midfielder Nick Elsmo (Severn) each scored four goals as Team USA routed England, 25-5, late Thursday in a semifinal of the International Lacrosse Federation under-19 World Championship in Coquitlam, Canada. The United States will face Canada in today's gold medal match.
•Auto racingNASCAR's BAM Racing team has presented Barack Obama's presidential campaign with a potential sponsorship deal in the Sprint Cup Series later this year, but Obama officials say there is no agreement in place. BAM spokesman Rhett Vandiver said the team has made an offer to the Democratic presidential hopeful's campaign and has made similar proposals to the campaign of Republican John McCain and at least one third-party candidate. ... Helio Castroneves took the pole for today's Firestone Indy 200 at Nashville Superspeedway by averaging 204.519 mph over four laps during qualifying in Gladeville, Tenn.
•Horse racingHorse of the Year Curlin is set for his turf debut in today's $500,000 Man o' War Stakes at Belmont Park.
•HockeyJay Feaster resigned as general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning, four years after the team he helped assemble won the franchise's only Stanley Cup championship. ... The Washington Capitals re-signed forward Boyd Gordon to a one-year contract. Gordon, 24, won 55.8 percent of his faceoffs last season, ninth-best in the NHL.
•Pro basketballKatie Smith scored 23 points to lead the WNBA's Detroit Shock (14-6) over the visiting Washington Mystics, 79-66. Coco Miller had 15 points for the Mystics (7-12). ... The New Jersey Nets reached agreements with free-agent forwards Eduardo Najera and Jarvis Hayes.
•Track and fieldRussian Yelena Isinbayeva improved her pole vault world record, jumping 16 feet, 6 inches at the Golden Gala meet in Rome, breaking her old mark of 16-5 1/4.
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