Elbow injury puts Devils' Brodeur on ice

Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur, the 36-year-old four-time Vezina Trophy winner who is on the verge of becoming the NHL's all-time winningest goaltender, will be sidelined until at least February after tearing a distal biceps in his left elbow Saturday against Atlanta. Brodeur will undergo surgery tomorrow. "It's shocking because you expect my knee is going to go or my groin or my thumb, something I use as a goalie," Brodeur said yesterday. "I didn't expect my biceps could be a big factor in an injury. It was a freak accident. I just extended my arm real quick and I just felt a pop, and a tapping kind of feeling in my biceps." He stayed in the game for another minute before being replaced by Kevin Weekes. Brodeur has 544 career wins, eight shy of breaking Patrick Roy's record of 551.

The NHL players' association filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board regarding negotiations with clubs over European player releases. The union lost a grievance challenging the NHL's institution of defected player status on drafted and unsigned European players. That came about because of a lack of an International Ice Hockey Federation transfer agreement between the NHL and hockey federations in some European countries. The union's loss gives teams permanent rights to European players as long as there is a lack of an IIHF transfer agreement. The NHLPA is trying to avoid reverting to a time when the NHL controlled the rights of European players forever.

The Brewers hired Dale Sveum as hitting coach, bringing back the interim manager who led Milwaukee to its first playoff berth in 26 years. The former Red Sox third base coach had been a managerial candidate, but general manager Doug Melvin picked former Athletics skipper Ken Macha last week . . . Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter had surgery to transpose a nerve in his right elbow, the same procedure St. Louis slugger Albert Pujols had last month . . . Jose Canseco has pleaded guilty in federal court in San Diego to a misdemeanor offense of trying to bring a fertility drug across the border from Mexico. The onetime Red Sox was sentenced to 12 months' unsupervised probation by US Magistrate Judge Ruben B. Brooks. Canseco told the judge he had gone to Tijuana looking for a substance to restore his testosterone levels in an attempt to reverse damage done by his admitted steroids use.

Venus Williams rolled over No. 2 seed Dinara Safina, 7-5, 6-3, in round-robin play at the WTA's season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, Qatar. Top-ranked Jelena Jankovic defeated Ana Ivanovic, 6-3, 6-4, and No. 9 Vera Zvonareva defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-2, 6-3. Today, Ivanovic faces Zvonareva, Venus Williams plays Elena Dementieva, and Safina plays Serena Williams . . . Rafael Nadal has tendinitis in his right knee and could be in doubt for Spain's Davis Cup final against Argentina Nov. 21-23. Spain team doctor Angel Ruiz-Cotorro said the top-ranked player would undergo treatment through Saturday . . . Lennart Bergelin, who coached Bjorn Borg for 12 years and captained Sweden to its first Davis Cup title, died in Stockholm. He was 83.

Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni and team president Donnie Walsh said they will not waive, trade or buy out Stephon Marbury and his $21.9 million salary. They also will not let him play in games, unless there is an injury to one of their guards . . . Suns swingman Alando Tucker had arthroscopic knee surgery and is expected to be sidelined four weeks. Team physician Thomas Carter removed loose material from his left kneecap . . . Hasim Rahman (45-6, 36 KOs) has stepped in to challenge Wladimir Klitschko (51-3, 45 KOs) for his International Boxing Federation heavyweight title. Promoters announced that Rahman will replace Alexander Povetkin, who pulled out of the Dec. 13 fight in Mannheim, Germany, because of an ankle injury . . . World Boxing Council light heavyweight champ Adrian Diaconu postponed his first title defense indefinitely because of a hand injury. Diaconu (25-0), who injured his right hand while sparring Monday, was scheduled to face 42-year-old Italian Silvio Branco (57-9-3) Nov. 15 in Bucharest.