Lecavalier gets an 11-year extension

All-Star center Vincent Lecavalier signed an 11-year, $85 million contract extension yesterday that he hopes will keep him in a Tampa Bay Lightning uniform for the remainder of his career. "Not only is Vincent one of the most dynamic players in the NHL, he's one of the classiest people you'll ever meet off the ice, as well," Lightning vice president of hockey operations Brian Lawton said in a team statement. The 28-year-old Lecavalier, who helped Tampa Bay win its only Stanley Cup championship four years ago, had one season left on a four-year, $27.4 million contract.

Brett Favre's fans came to his defense, rallying outside Lambeau Field to pressure the Green Bay Packers to reinstate him as the starting quarterback. The crowd of more than 100 chanted "We want Brett," and carried signs reading, "Favre for President" or "Favre Forever." Many in the parking lot wore No. 4 jerseys, tossed footballs, and grilled. "We've always appreciated the passion of our fans," the Packers said in a statement. Team spokesman Jeff Blumb said there would be no other comment. Another rally is planned for tonight in suburban Milwaukee and every Sunday thereafter at Lambeau Field until Favre is back. Favre retired March 6 after 16 seasons with the team. He changed his mind and asked for his release because it appeared the Packers were not receptive to having him play again. On Saturday, general manager Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy said they didn't plan to grant Favre's request. And while Thompson said Favre could rejoin the team in a "different role," the Packers were committed to going with Aaron Rodgers as their starter.

The Cubs tied the National League record for most players on an All-Star team with eight when reliever Carlos Marmol was selected to replace injured teammate Kerry Wood (blister on right index finger) in the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium tomorrow night. Marmol was picked because he was the relief pitcher with the highest vote total on the player ballot. He is the only pitcher in the game who isn't a starter or a closer. The NL record was set by the 1943 Cardinals, and equaled by the 1956 Reds and 1960 Pirates. Before this year, the most All-Stars for the Cubs was six, in 1936 and 1988. The 1958 Yankees hold the major league mark with nine . . . Minnesota's Justin Morneau was selected for the All-Star Home Run Derby, completing the eight-man field for tonight's contest. He joins Tampa Bay rookie Evan Longoria, Texas's Josh Hamilton, and Cleveland's Grady Sizemore from the AL. The NL derby lineup has Houston's Lance Berkman, Milwaukee's Ryan Braun, Florida's Dan Uggla, and Philadelphia's Chase Utley . . . Jeff Bailey went 4 for 6 and Charlie Zink (11-2) allowed one run over seven innings as the Pawtucket Red Sox routed the visiting Norfolk Tides, 10-3 . . . Longtime Cardinals coach Dave Ricketts, who played in the 1967 World Series against the Red Sox, died early yesterday in St. Louis. He was 73.

Gilbert Arenas officially signed his six-year, $111 million contract with the Wizards, securing the return of a franchise player who is accepting less money than previously offered so the team could sign other players. Arenas and the Wizards agreed to the deal July 3, but both sides waited until Arenas returned from an overseas trip to settle the details . . . Nikki Blue scored a career-high 13 points, including two key free throws in the final minute, and the Mystics held off the Connecticut Sun, 69-64, in a WNBA game in Washington. Lindsay Whalen scored a career high-tying 33 points for the Sun (13-8), who shot just 33 percent from the field . . . Jia Perkins and Candice Dupree scored 18 points apiece to help the Chicago Sky snap a four-game losing streak with a 79-66 victory over the visiting Atlanta Dream.

Raquel Kops-Jones and Amir Hadad knocked off Robin Stephenson and Brian Wilson, 5-4, in mixed doubles to secure a 23-17 victory for the Boston Lobsters over the New York Sportimes at Ferncroft CC in Middleton. The Lobsters dropped both the men's and women's singles matches, but won all three doubles to improve their record to 3-4 . . . Victor Hanescu won his first career title with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Igor Andreev in the Swiss Open in Gstaad . . . Juan Martin del Potro won his first ATP Tour title, upsetting second-seeded Richard Gasquet, 6-4, 7-5, in the clay-court Mercedes Cup final in Stuttgart, Germany . . . Tommy Robredo defeated Tomas Berdych, 6-4, 6-1, to win the clay-court Swedish Open in Bastad . . . Alize Cornet won the Budapest Grand Prix, defeating Andreja Klepac of Slovenia, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, for her first victory on the WTA Tour.

The United States women's soccer team prepared for the Olympics with another shutout. Amy Rodriguez scored in the 71st minute and the US women posted their sixth straight shutout, a 1-0 win over Brazil in an exhibition match in Commerce City, Colo. The US is 20-0-1 in 2008. The teams meet again Wednesday in San Diego in their last match before the Olympics . . . Usain Bolt, the 100-meter world record-holder, ran the fastest time in the 200 this year, winning in 19.67 seconds in Athens. The 21-year-old Jamaican's time was the sixth-best ever. In the 100, Derrick Atkins of the Bahamas won in 10.10, finishing ahead of Darvis Patton and Mark Jelks of the US. American Sanya Richards won the women's 400 in 49.86 seconds, and countryman Brad Walker won the pole vault by clearing 19 feet 4 1/4 inches . . . Argentina's Oscar Galindez won the men's event in an Ironman triathlon in Providence in 3:54:04, and Lisa Bentley of Canada took the women's title in 4:27:50 . . . Bobby Sands, a 3-year-old colt trained by Hall of Famer Nick Zito, ran off with a convincing 7-length victory in the featured race at Suffolk Downs.