Wood can't shoulder load, put on DL

Kerry Wood is back where he started this season: on the disabled list. Hoping to nurse him through a phase of uncertainty in his comeback from shoulder surgery, the Cubs put the righthander on the 15-day DL yesterday. Wood needed two extra days of rest before his last start, then gave up four runs in only 3 2/3 innings of a 4-1 loss to Houston Tuesday. He flew to Cincinnati and was examined by Dr. Timothy Kremchek, who repaired his rotator cuff and reinforced his labrum in a one-hour operation last Aug. 31. Kremchek said the stiffness that Wood feels occasionally is part of the recovery process. The Cubs called up righthander Angel Guzman from Triple A Iowa to take Wood's roster spot . . . The New York Mets traded slumping second baseman Kaz Matsui and $4.5 million to the Colorado Rockies for utilityman Eli Marrero. The Rockies optioned Matsui to Triple A Colorado Springs and recalled outfielder Jorge Piedra . . . Cleveland Indians reliever Scott Sauerbeck was designated for assignment 10 days after he was arrested and accused of fleeing police along with a woman charged with driving his car while drunk. The Indians have 10 days to trade, release, or send the 34-year-old Sauerbeck to the minors . . . Lefthander Casey Fossum (groin strain) was activated from the 15-day DL and will start for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays today against the Kansas City Royals . . . Sherborn's Pat Bresnehan, a fifth-round draft choice of the Pittsburgh Pirates, agreed to terms on a contract and will forgo his final season at Arizona State. Bresnehan will start his career with Williamsport of the Single A New York/Penn League . . . Daniel Bard, selected by the Red Sox earlier this week in the first round of the amateur draft, will try to pitch North Carolina into the College World Series when he faces Alabama tonight in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Alabama must beat the Tar Heels twice to advance.

St. Louis Rams running back Marshall Faulk is not attending the team's final minicamp this weekend while contemplating retirement because of knees that have been slow to recover from offseason cleanup surgery. Faulk, 33, the 2000 NFL MVP, is ninth on the career rushing list with 12,279 yards. But he had a career-low 292 yards rushing last year and made only one start . . . Quarterback Daunte Culpepper, in his first public workout since joining the Miami Dolphins, impressed teammates with his progress. Culpepper had surgery in November to repair three torn ligaments in his right knee. Dolphins coach Nick Saban said Culpepper is ahead of schedule . . . The Buffalo Bills terminated starting left guard Bennie Anderson's contract. Anderson, who started 15 of 16 games last season, had two years left on the deal . . . Nick Hartigan, Division 1-AA's leading rusher last season at Brown, signed with with New York Jets.

Nevada forward Nick Fazekas, projected as a late first-round or early second-round selection, said he has withdrawn his name from the NBA draft and will return for his senior season. Fazekas finished 16th in the NCAA in scoring this past season averaging 21.8 points, and was 15th in rebounding with 10.4 per game.

Andy Roddick, who has dropped to No. 5 on the ATP Tour , wants Jimmy Connors to give him a hand. Connors, who won eight Grand Slam singles titles, would serve as a mentor for Roddick, rather than a traveling coach. Connors might be available to start working with Roddick after Wimbledon, according to Ginger Roddick, the player's publicist and sister-in-law . . . Northwestern reinstated its women's soccer program after it was suspended for hazing, but several players are on disciplinary probation and the team will be required to perform community service . . . China and the US signed an agreement to increase athlete and coaching exchanges in the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Games . . . Joe Cannon notched his first shutout of the season and Nicolas Hernandez scored in the 16th minute, lifting the Colorado Rapids past Real Salt Lake, 1-0, in Denver . . . The Los Angeles Galaxy fired their assistant coaches, dismissing Billy McNicol, Steve Rammel, and Gerhard Benthin two days after hiring Frank Yallop as head coach . . . The New England Riptide tied, 3-3, with the Chicago Bandits when the softball game was halted by rain after six innings. The game will continue tonight in Lowell.