NL MVP Howard eyes return this week

Baseball
Ryan Howard, on the disabled list with a left quadriceps strain, fielded grounders yesterday and is on target to return to the Philadelphia Phillies this week. The NL MVP said he felt fine after taking ground balls for nearly 45 minutes and planned to play at Atlanta when he's activated from the DL Friday. Howard slumped this year after hitting .313 with 58 homers and 149 RBIs in one of the best seasons for a sophomore player. He's batting .204 with six homers and 23 RBIs, and has 39 strikeouts in 98 at-bats . . . The Chicago White Sox activated Jim Thome, who'd been on the DL since April 29 with a strained muscle in his rib cage, and optioned outfielder Ryan Sweeney to Triple A Charlotte. Thome, who is batting .340 with five homers and 10 RBIs, walked in a pinch-hit appearance and scored a run in yesterday's win over the Cubs . . . After watching the White Sox bullpen squander leads in consecutive games to the Cubs, general manager Kenny Williams sounded off, saying the team's overall play has been "embarrassing." . . . Jason Giambi might lose his spot on the Yankees' roster if it's determined he used performance-enhancing drugs, according to a New York Daily News report that cited unnamed sources . . . Rookie outfielder Josh Hamilton, who has made an inspirational comeback from drug and alcohol addiction, was sent back to Cincinnati from Cleveland by the Reds to be checked out by team doctors one day after he was diagnosed with a stomach ailment.

Track and field

Meseret Defar of Ethiopia won the women's 2-mile run with a world-record time at the Adidas Track Classic in Carson, Calif., while pole vaulter Jenn Stuczynski and javelin thrower Breaux Greer set American records. Defar, the Olympic 5,000 champion, won in 9 minutes 10.47 seconds, lowering the mark of 9:11.97 set by American Regina Jacobs in 1999. Stuczynski won the women's pole vault at 15 feet 10 1/2 inches, taking down Stacy Dragila's three-year-old mark of 15-10. Greer lowered his American mark in the javelin on his first throw of 297-7. His previous best was 287-8 in 2004.

NFL

The Patriots released former Air Force safety Denny Poland. The team had signed Poland as an undrafted rookie free agent May 14 following his tryout at rookie mini camp . . . Jets cornerback Justin Miller was arrested early yesterday and charged with third-degree misdemeanor assault after he allegedly punched a woman in a New York City nightclub, according to an ESPN report. Police said Miller was swinging at a man, but hit the woman after the man ducked. The woman has a laceration on her face and swelling and pain in her knee, ESPN reported.

Soccer

Roberto Carlos scored a minute into stoppage time and David Beckham set up a goal as Real Madrid edged Recreativo, 3-2, to stay atop Spain's La Liga. Barcelona, which thrashed Atletico Madrid, 6-0, behind two goals from Lionel Messi, is tied with Real Madrid with 69 points with three matches remaining but Madrid has the better head-to-head record, the first tiebreaker. Sevilla is two points back following a 2-1 win at Deportivo La Coruna . . . Landon Donovan's second-half goal enabled the Los Angeles Galaxy to tie Chivas USA, 1-1, in Carson, Calif. From 16 yards out, Donovan settled the ball after a failed clearing attempt and slipped it into the left corner of the net . . . Chris Gbandi scored the winning goal in the 82d minute to give host FC Dallas a 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake.

Tennis

This time, Pete Sampras didn't need to overcome three match points to beat Todd Martin in a title match. Two weeks after winning a decisive tiebreaker against Martin at Agganis Arena for the Champions Cup Boston title in his return to competitive tennis, the 14-time major champ, playing in his ancestral homeland, relied on his still powerful serve to defeat Martin, 6-3, 1-6, 10-6, in the Athens Champions Cup final.

Miscellany

Erin Thorn scored a career-high 28 points to rally the new-look New York Liberty to an 83-71 victory over the visiting Chicago Sky in the season opener for both teams. The Liberty matched a franchise record with 13 3-pointers, including a career-best seven by Thorn. The Liberty, playing their first regular-season game since trading Becky Hammon in the offseason, snapped a seven-game losing skid in season openers . . . Kara Lawson scored 19 points and the Sacramento Monarchs beat the host Minnesota Lynx, 74-64 . . . Wacey Rabbit, a fifth-round pick by the Bruins in the 2005 NHL draft, scored in the third period as the host Vancouver Giants beat the Lewiston Maineiacs, 2-1, at the Memorial Cup. The victory assures the host Giants of a berth in the semifinals of Canada's junior hockey championship . . . Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps lost for the first time in six individual finals at the Eric Namesnik Memorial Grand Prix in Ann Arbor, Mich., finishing second to Club Wolverine teammate Erik Vendt in the 1,500 freestyle . . . Kevin Harvick scored a $1 million jackpot by beating Jimmie Johnson to the finish line of the Nextel All-Star Challenge Saturday night in Concord, N.C., temporarily kicking Hendrick Motorsports out of Victory Lane. Hendrick drivers had won eight of the last nine points races and Johnson had won seven times since 2003 at Lowe's Motor Speedway . . . Roberto Moreno joined Richie Hearn and rookie Phil Giebler as last-chance qualifiers for next Sunday's Indianapolis 500. Jimmy Kite, who began the day with the slowest speed (214.528 miles per hour) among the 32 drivers already in the lineup, was the only driver bumped out.