Blue Jays waive unhappy Hillenbrand

July 20, 2006

Shea Hillenbrand, who has been critical of the Blue Jays organization, was designated for assignment last night after refusing to sit in the dugout with his Toronto teammates after he was chastised during a team meeting. Hours before, Hillenbrand criticized the organization and was upset nobody in Toronto's front office congratulated him for adopting a baby girl last weekend. He left the team last Friday to be with his family and didn't return until Tuesday . . . An official scoring change -- eight weeks after the original ruling -- lowered Chicago Cubs righthander Greg Maddux's ERA. Maddux was charged with one earned run instead of six in the May 24 game against the Florida Marlins, lowering his ERA to 4.60 from 4.99.

Thirty people were injured as high wind blew out press box windows, overturned portable concession stands, and ripped the tarp at new Busch Stadium last night before the Cardinals' game against the Braves. Five fans were taken to hospitals, one had a dislocated hip, another a dislocated shoulder, two had back injuries, and a fifth had a seizure apparently unrelated to the storm. The start of the game was delayed 2 hours 12 minutes as crews righted the concession stands, cleaned up debris, and mopped flooded areas. The $365 million ballpark opened this season in a lot adjacent to the old Busch Stadium, where the Cardinals spent the previous four decades . . . Third baseman Vinny Castilla was released by the San Diego Padres, an unpopular move in the clubhouse. Although his defense was solid, the 39-year-old Castilla was hitting .232 with four homers and 23 RBIs.

Duke quarterback Zack Asack was suspended for the season for plagiarism and coach Ted Roof dismissed three other players for breaking team rules, the school said. Asack, a sophomore from Newton, who went to Xaverian Brothers High School, will be eligible to return to Duke next summer . . . Ryan Owens, a 16-year-old junior at Henderson (Ky.) High School, died at Henderson Methodist Hospital about an hour after collapsing following football practice.

Stoughton's Ryan LaCasse, a seventh-round draft choice of the Baltimore Ravens, agreed to terms on a contract. LaCasse, a linebacker/defensive end, was selected 219th overall after playing for Syracuse. He played for Stoughton High from 1997-2000.

Philadelphia Flyers center Keith Primeau will try a comeback despite lingering symptoms from a concussion that sidelined him last season. The Flyers' captain sustained a concussion Oct. 25 after a hit from Montreal's Alexander Perezhogin. In other news on Broad Street, the Flyers signed left wing Geoff Sanderson to a two-year contract . . . The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired forwards Dominic Moore and Libor Pivko from the Nashville Predators for a third-round pick in next year's draft. Moore, who went to Harvard, was traded earlier in the day by the New York Rangers for right wing Adam Hall . . . Former New Jersey Devils Ken Daneyko was arrested for drunken driving in Sparta, N.J., in May and will face charges next month.

Dana Barros, the former Boston College and Celtics player, will not be working after all at Northeastern University as an assistant to first-year head coach Bill Coen. After spending about two months on the job at NU, Barros resigned June 30 to take a position with the City of Boston's Parks and Recreation Department . . . The wholly revamped US Olympic team opened two weeks of training in Las Vegas leading to an Asian tour and the world championships in Japan next month under coach Mike Krzyzewski . . . In the WNBA, Amber Jacobs scored a career-high 24 points to lead the Minnesota Lynx past the Chicago Sky, 90-82, in Minneapolis . . . Sheri Sam and Tangela Smith each scored 15 points to lead the Charlotte Sting past the Detroit Shock, 73-67, in Auburn Hills, Mich. . . . In Washington, Penny Taylor and Kelly Miller each scored 22 points to lead the Phoenix Mercury to a 96-83 win over the Mystics.

Carlos Alberto Parreira quit as coach of Brazil, three weeks after his team was eliminated by France in the quarterfinals of the World Cup. Parreira, who guided Brazil to its fourth Cup title in 1994, had a team laden with all-stars this year, making it a favorite to win the World Cup . . . Zinedine Zidane faces possible sanctions for ramming Marco Materazzi in the World Cup final. Zidane will appear before a FIFA disciplinary panel today in Zurich . . . Bob Gansler, the longest-tenured coach in MLS history, has been fired by the Kansas City Wizards . . . Chris Henderson and Jerrod Laventure scored as the New York Red Bulls downed the host Columbus Crew, 2-0 .

Jazil became the second winner of a Triple Crown race this year to suffer a leg injury. The Belmont Stakes winner suffered a bruised right hind canon bone and has been taken out of training for at least 30 days, according to the Daily Racing Form . . . Day to day for six straight days now, the reports on Barbaro have been good. Dr. Dean Richardson is looking way beyond those daily updates. ``[Barbaro's] condition is not likely to change really fast any time soon," said Richardson, Barbaro's chief surgeon at the New Bolton Center.