Wang to start Yankees' playoff opener

Chien-Ming Wang will start the New York Yankees' playoff opener Tuesday and will be followed by Mike Mussina in Game 2. Randy Johnson, bothered by a bad back, will pitch Game 3 on the road, Yankees manager Joe Torre said yesterday. Torre didn't say whether Jaret Wright or Cory Lidle would start Game 4, if it's needed . . . Rookie righthander Ian Snell, one victory short of becoming the Pittsburgh Pirates' first 15-game winner in seven years, will miss Sunday's scheduled start against Cincinnati because of tightness in his right elbow. Snell was the losing pitcher in Tuesday's 7-4 loss to Houston, giving up six runs, four earned, in five innings . . . The World Baseball Classic was an important step in baseball's international development but is no consolation for the elimination of the sport from the Olympics, the president of Cuba's Olympic Committee said. Jose Ramon Fernandez urged the International Baseball Federation to unite all its forces in the fight to get baseball back on the Olympic roster. The International Olympics Committee eliminated baseball and softball from the 2012 London Olympics during a vote last year.

Tour de France chief Patrice Clerc said he considers Floyd Landis a cheater who has discredited cycling's showcase race. ``For me, the sermon has been read. Landis did not win the Tour because he cheated," Clerc said in an interview with sports daily L'Equipe. Landis tested positive for elevated testosterone after winning this year's Tour de France and was fired by his Phonak team in August. The tour director, Christian Prudhomme, previously said he no longer considered Landis the champion. Landis could become the first cyclist in the 103-year history of the Tour de France to lose his title over doping allegations. Landis's legal team claims major mistakes were made in the tests that came up positive for synthetic testosterone. A review board has recommended the US Anti-Doping Agency move forward in the disciplinary process against Landis.

Goalie Dan Cloutier has agreed to a two-year extension with the Los Angeles Kings, putting him under contract through the 2008-09 season. The Kings acquired Cloutier from Vancouver July 5 for a second-round selection in next year's NHL entry draft and a conditional pick in the 2009 draft. Cloutier, 30, played in only 13 games with the Canucks last season, recording an 8-3-1 record with a 3.17 goals-against average before sustaining a season-ending knee injury Nov. 20 in a game at Anaheim . . . Although the Philadelphia Flyers could be without goaltender Antero Niittymaki for up to two months, the team is in no hurry to acquire a proven NHL backup. Niittymaki, who tore the labrum in his left hip during a practice Tuesday morning, is awaiting results of tests and an examination to determine if surgery will be required. General manager Bob Clarke said he had been contacted by the Tampa Bay Lightning about goalie Sean Burke, a former Flyer, but Clarke declined the offer. Burke cleared waivers Tuesday.

New Hampshire wide receiver David Ball, who led the Wildcats over Dartmouth, 56-14, and Springfield quarterback Chris Sharpe, whose record-tying performance lifted the Pride over Alfred, 41-34, last weekend, received the Boston Globe Gold Helmet Awards. Ball, the Division 1-AA winner, tied Jerry Rice's 1-AA record of 50 touchdowns and caught 12 passes for 179 yards and three touchdowns. Sharpe, the Division 2-3 winner, rushed for 235 yards and tied a school record with five touchdowns.

Top-seeded Martina Hingis coasted into the second round of the Korea Open in Seoul with 6-3, 6-2 win over teenager Caroline Wozniacki. In second-round matches, fifth-seeded Vera Zvonareva downed Emma Lane, 6-4, 6-0; Akiko Morigami defeated Aiko Nakamura, 7-5, 6-2; and Eleni Daniilidou rallied to beat Vera Dushevina, 1-6, 6-1, 6-0 . . . Third-seeded James Blake breezed to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over wild-card Marin Cilic to advance to the second round of the Thailand Open in Bangkok. Tim Henman ended his losing streak against fourth-seeded Andy Murray with a 6-4, 6-2 win . . . Venus Williams made a successful return after almost three months out with injuries as she upset sixth seed Ana Ivanovic, 6-3, 6-4, in the first round of the Luxembourg Championship. Top-seeded Elena Dementieva beat Samantha Stosur, 7-5 6-1. Third seed Patty Schnyder crushed Chanda Rubin, 6-0, 6-3, to reach the last eight, and fourth-seeded Dinara Safina edged Daniela Hantuchova, 7-5, 6-3.

The Chicago Fire won their fourth Open Cup title, getting goals from Nate Jaqua and Andy Herron in the first 16 minutes and a late score from Thiago to beat the Los Angeles Galaxy, 3-1, in Bridgeview, Ill. The US Open Cup is the oldest team sports tournament in the United States, dating to 1914 without interruption . . . Olympic gold medalists Ted Ligety and Julia Mancuso headlined the US Alpine team roster released in Park City, Utah. Bode Miller, the former World Cup overall champion and two-time Olympic silver medalist, also was added for another season. He's one of 16 Alpine skiers from the Turin Olympics who are returning to the team. Dane Spencer, a 2002 Olympian who is recovering from a near-fatal crash that broke his pelvis last winter, was also selected to the ``A" team . . . Second-round draft pick Hassan Adams signed with the New Jersey Nets after passing a physical on his recently broken right foot. The Arizona guard is the only player in Pac-10 history to record 1,800 points, 700 rebounds, and 200 steals in a career . . . Second of June was euthanized after injuring his right hind ankle during a workout at Churchill Downs. The 5-year-old colt, a son of Louis Quatorze, whose injury-plagued racing career included a number of high finishes in major stakes races, was near the end of a mile workout when he came up lame.