Mariners' Hernandez to miss 2-3 starts

Baseball

Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez will likely miss two to three starts with a muscle strain inside his right elbow and forearm. Mariners medical director Ed Khalfayan said yesterday the 21-year-old righthander will not throw for five days, then will play catch. Hernandez had allowed just four hits in 17 scoreless innings -- including a one-hitter at Fenway Park last week -- before he left his start Wednesday night against Minnesota after just one-third of an inning. "That's encouraging," manager Mike Hargrove said. "It's certainly a lot better news than what we all expected when he walked off the mound."

Yankees starter Carl Pavano has a mild strain in his right elbow and is expected to begin throwing off flat ground within the week. Meanwhile, righthander Chien-Ming Wang allowed three runs and five hits over five innings in a rehab start for Single A Tampa. Wang is expected to rejoin the Yankees for his first start of the season Tuesday at Tampa Bay. Another injured Yankees pitcher, minor league righthander Humberto Sanchez, had elbow ligament-replacement surgery Wednesday and will miss the rest of the season. Sanchez was among the prospects obtained from Detroit in the Gary Sheffield trade . . . The Yankees' value increased 17 percent in the past year to $1.2 billion, Forbes magazine said in its annual estimates of franchise worth. The Red Sox were ranked third ($724 million) behind the Mets ($736 million). Despite the record evaluation for the Yankees, Forbes said they were the only team to post an operating loss after paying $70 million in revenue sharing for 2006 . . . An MRI on Braves reliever Mike Gonzalez's ailing left elbow reported no major problems and he expects to miss only a couple of games . . . Suspended Braves infielder Willy Aybar will meet with baseball officials in Boston today. After Aybar failed to report this week for treatment on his sprained right hand, the Braves suspended the 24-year-old indefinitely. Aybar's agent, Luis Valdez, indicated that his client, in Boston to visit a family member, was battling a substance abuse problem . . . Arizona's Randy Johnson gave up two runs in six innings for Triple A Tucson in his final rehab tuneup.

Football

Todd Sauerbrun agreed to a one-year contract with the Broncos, the team that jettisoned him last October after he was suspended for violating the NFL's drug policy. The deal came less than 24 hours after an arbitrator ruled his contract with the Patriots was void. "The Patriots stepped up last year when nobody else would and Todd is very appreciative of that," agent David Canter said. "But the reality is the best opportunity for Todd is in Denver." . . . Top NFL prospects Calvin Johnson, Gaines Adams, and Amobi Okoye admitted to marijuana use during interviews with teams in February, according to a report in Pro Football Weekly, which cited anonymous sources . . . Starting right guard Jake Scott has agreed to a one-year tender and will stay with the Colts, but they'll lose cornerback Jason David unless they match an offer made to him by the Saints . . . Browns offensive lineman Eric Steinbach underwent an appendectomy Wednesday but the team said he'll be ready for June minicamp . . . George Webster, the battered former Michigan State All-American and pro football star who lost a US Supreme Court attempt to have his NFL disability pension increased, died in Houston. He was 61. He played his final three NFL seasons with the Patriots . . . Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus is suing the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, asking that he be given control of the award that is given in his name.

Hockey

The Columbus Blue Jackets fired president and general manager Doug MacLean, whose teams didn't come close to making the playoffs in the franchise's six seasons. MacLean was the architect of a team that had gone 172-258-62 since joining the league in 2000 and 33-42-7 this season . . . Colin Wilson (Greenwich, Conn.) and Ian Cole each scored twice and the United States beat Slovakia, 7-2, in Tampere, Finland, to advance to a semifinal matchup against Canada in the World Under-18 championships.

Miscellany

Rafael Nadal extended his winning streak on clay to 64 matches and Roger Federer cruised to victory in the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco. Nadal scored 21 straight points in the second set to beat Kristof Vliegen, 6-1, 6-1. Federer defeated Lee Hyung-taik, 6-4, 6-3 . . . The start of the Louis Vuitton Cup was postponed for the fourth straight day because of a lack of wind off the coast of Valencia, Spain. Organizers moved the first eight flights of challengers series racing to two reserve days and the start of the second round-robin stage . . . Janez Brajkovic took the overall lead in the Tour de Georgia, finishing 11th in the fourth stage. American Levi Leipheimer won the trial at 44 minutes 51.78 seconds. Tyler Hamilton is nearly 30 seconds behind Brajkovic . . . The Houston Dynamo acquired All-Star midfielder Richard Mulrooney in a trade that sent defender Kevin Goldthwaite and a first-round pick to Toronto FC . . . Jeff Gordon won the pole for tomorrow's Subway Fresh Fit 500 in Phoenix . . . Four-time Olympic gold medalist Janica Kostelic retired from skiing.