Mateo arrested after domestic dispute

Baseball

Seattle Mariners pitcher Julio Mateo was arrested yesterday following a dispute at a Manhattan hotel that left his female companion needing five stitches to her mouth, police said. Police initially identified the woman as Mateo's wife, but later said it was unclear if that was true. The 6-foot, 220-pound reliever was arrested on a charge of third-degree assault and was awaiting arraignment, police said. The incident occurred around 2:30 a.m., police said, shortly after the Mariners defeated the New York Yankees, 15-11. He was not at the hotel when police arrived, police spokesman Sergeant Mike Wysokowski said, but voluntarily turned himself in last evening. The woman was treated for her injuries at St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan, according to Wysokowski. After Seattle's 8-1 loss, Mateo was sent down to Triple A Tacoma . . . Toronto Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi revealed in a recent radio interview that the team wasn't up front about closer B.J. Ryan's injury during spring training. Ricciardi said it wasn't a back injury that initially sidelined the pitcher in Florida, the Toronto Globe and Mail reported. "It was his elbow that was bothering him," Ricciardi said during the interview. "So we said it was his back, so we could have a bit more time."

Hockey

The Avalanche's Paul Stastny scored two goals and helped set up another to give the United States a 3-0 win over Germany and a place in the quarterfinals at the hockey world championships in Mytischi, Russia. The victory gave the US team 9 points in Group F. US goalie John Grahame of the Carolina Hurricanes made 23 saves for the shutout, while Hurricane teammate Erik Cole assisted on all three goals. The Americans face Canada tomorrow for the top spot in the group . . . The NHL and International Ice Hockey Federation agreed on a four-year deal in which all transfers from Europe to the NHL would be regulated with compensation and a signing deadline. The IIHF member national associations have until midnight Tuesday to ratify the agreement.

Football

Olympic 100-meter champion Justin Gatlin, facing a track and field suspension of up to eight years for failing a drug test last summer, is trying to launch a career in pro football as a wide receiver with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. "If [his speed] can transfer to football, you have a real threat," Bucs coach Jon Gruden said. "If it can't, then it won't work." Gatlin, who is participating in the Bucs' rookie mini-camp this weekend, said he last played football during his freshman year at Tennessee . . . Kicker Billy Cundiff signed a one-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons after playing six games with New Orleans last season.

Tennis

Top-ranked Justine Henin beat fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic, 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, to reach the final of the clay-court J&S Cup in Warsaw. In today's final, Henin will play unseeded and 40th-ranked Alona Bondarenko, who upset third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) . . . Novak Djokovic defeated second-seeded Tommy Robredo, 7-5, 6-1, in Oeiras, Portugal, to reach the men's final at the Estoril Open, where he will play Richard Gasquet, who won when Paul-Henri Mathieu withdrew after 18 minutes with a right hip injury. In the women's final, Victoria Azarenka will play Greta Arn. Azarenka reached her first career final by beating third-seeded Lucie Safarova, 6-4, 6-0. Arn beat Nuria Llagostera Vives, 7-6 (7-0), 6-2 . . . Philipp Kohlschreiber reached the final of the BMW Open by beating fourth-seeded Marcos Baghdatis, 6-2, 6-3, in Munich. The German will face his doubles partner, third-seeded, Mikhail Youzhny, who beat second-seeded Tomas Berdych, 6-4, 6-3.

Miscellany

World and Olympic champion Jeremy Wariner led a 1-2 American finish in the men's 400 meters at the IAAF Japan Grand Prix in Osaka, defeating Darold Williamson by more than a half-second. Wariner, 23, finished in 44.02 seconds, Williamson in 44.68. World champion Bershawn Jackson defended his 400 hurdles title in 48.13 seconds, despite hurting his left hamstring jumping the third hurdle. Fellow American James Carter was second (48.22) . . . Providence's Demetrius Andrade beat Dallas's Charles Hatley, 4-1, at 152 pounds in the Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions in Chattanooga, Tenn.