Cubs plan to shift Soriano to left field

Baseball
Alfonso Soriano is expected to rejoin the Chicago Cubs' lineup tomorrow, and when he does, he'll be switched from center field back to left field, where he played last season. Soriano missed his fifth straight game yesterday after straining his left hamstring Monday, but after some pregame running, he said he was ready to return. Manager Lou Piniella said putting Soriano in left would take some of the strain off the hamstring . . . A 40-year-old man arrested at Shea Stadium Friday night is accused of trying to distract Atlanta Braves pitcher Tim Hudson and shortstop Edgar Renteria with a high-powered flashlight. Frank Martinez was charged with interference with a professional sporting event and second-degree reckless endangerment, Queens district attorney Richard Brown said. Authorities said Martinez flashed the light at the players in the bottom of the eighth inning from his seat behind home plate. He was quickly ejected from the game. If convicted, Martinez faces up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine . . . The Arizona Diamondbacks placed righthander Juan Cruz on the 15-day disabled list with a strained muscle below the back of his right shoulder and recalled righthander Dustin Nippert from Triple A Tucson. Arizona also said it will activate Randy Johnson from the disabled list to start Tuesday's game against the Padres . . . The Texas Rangers designated lefthander Bruce Chen for assignment and purchased righthander Willie Eyre's contract from Triple A Oklahoma . . . Harvard coach Joe Walsh picked up his 500th career win as the Crimson split a doubleheader with Brown in Providence.

Hockey

NHL scoring champion Sidney Crosby played the final 2 1/2 weeks of the regular season and the playoffs with a broken left foot, an injury the Pittsburgh Penguins star didn't disclose until yesterday. Crosby revealed the injury when he explained why he won't play for Team Canada in the World Championships in Moscow. Crosby believes he broke a bone in the foot while blocking a shot March 16 against Montreal, but he didn't miss any games. The Penguins were eliminated by Ottawa Thursday night . . . Bryce Lampman's two goals helped the Hartford Wolf Pack take a 5-2 road win over the Providence Bruins and a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven AHL playoff series.

Tennis

Roger Federer gets a fifth chance to beat Rafael Nadal on clay when the world's top two players meet for the second straight year in today's Monte Carlo Masters final in Monaco. Both players advanced without dropping a set. Federer downed Juan Carlos Ferrero, 6-3, 6-4, and Nadal followed by beating Tomas Berdych, 6-0, 7-5. Federer has lost four straight times to the second-ranked Nadal on clay, including last year's final at Monte Carlo . . . Kim Clijsters will not play at the US Open, making Wimbledon the last Grand Slam tournament of her career.

Miscellany

Ji Ting scored in the 90th minute to lift China to a 3-2 exhibition victory over the FIFA Women's World Stars in Wuhan, China. Cheryl Salisbury and Conny Pohlers scored for the Stars in a match that served as the warm-up for today's women's World Cup soccer draw . . . David Beckham returned to Real Madrid's lineup and set up the winning goal in his team's 2-1 victory over Valencia in the Spanish league. Beckham, who had sat out six weeks because of a knee injury, came on in the 65th minute and sent a free kick that Sergio Ramos headed into the net in the 73d minute . . . Former soccer star Diego Maradona was transferred to a private psychiatric clinic in Buenos Aires, where he is to undergo treatment for alcohol addiction after being hospitalized twice in less than a month . . . Nelson Lebo of Kenya won the Salt Lake City Marathon in 2 hours 21 minutes 17 seconds, with Maria Portilla of Peru the first female finisher at 2:40:46 . . . John Maluni won the Belgrade Marathon in 2:11:53, leading a 1-2-3 sweep for Kenya. Olivera Jevtic of Serbia captured the women's division in 2:35:46 . . . Rhys Lloyd tied an NFL Europa record with a 56-yard field goal to help the Frankfurt Galaxy to an 18-13 road win over the Cologne Centurions . . . Nick Saban's "debut" as Alabama's football coach drew 92,138 to the Crimson Tide's spring game, nearly doubling the school's A-Day attendance record . . . American Fred Rodriguez won a close sprint to edge Argentina's Juan Jose Haedo in the sixth stage of the Tour de Georgia. Janez Brajkovic of Slovenia remained the overall leader with the race ending today in Atlanta . . . Running straight into a strong wind down the stretch, Bershawn Jackson won the 400-meter hurdles at the Kansas Relays in 48.75 seconds, best in the world this year . . . Sophomore Alyssa Ritchie set Bentley's season scoring record in women's lacrosse with 68 points, in the Falcons' 13-11 win over Saint Michael's . . . West Indies captain Brian Lara played in his 299th and final international cricket match, with England winning by one wicket at the World Cup in Barbados . . . For the fifth time in six days, the Louis Vuitton Cup was postponed because of a lack of wind off the coast of Valencia, Spain.