Gooden released from Florida prison

Former All-Star pitcher Dwight Gooden was released from prison after finishing a sentence for violating his probation by using cocaine. The 41-year-old Gooden walked out of the Gainesville (Fla.) Correctional Institution and will not be on probation. With credit for time served in jail and in a secure drug treatment facility, Gooden's total prison time was about seven months. Gooden, a four-time All-Star, was the 1984 NL Rookie of the Year and the 1985 NL Cy Young Award winner while with the New York Mets . . . Yankees officials insisted George Steinbrenner was in good health, a day after Gary Sheffield said his future with New York would be secure if the owner's condition was better. Sheffield said "middle men" had blocked him from speaking with Steinbrenner and that "if it wasn't for his health, I'd have made that conversation happen." The Yankees exercised Sheffield's $13 million option last weekend rather than allow him to become a free agent, and they appear to be exploring trade possibilities.

Pitcher Tom Glavine, who went 15-7 with a 3.82 earned run average for the Mets last season, filed for free agency and won't exercise an option to return to New York for next season at a $7.5 million salary, his agent Gregg Clifton said. The Mets have until Nov. 20 to decide on their option to bring him back in 2007 at $14 million . . . Wade Miller, who missed most of last season recovering from shoulder surgery, agreed to a one-year contract to stay with the Chicago Cubs. The 30-year-old righthander made five starts at the end of the season for the Cubs, going 0-2 with a 4.57 ERA.

Boxer Orlando Salido, who won the IBF featherweight title, could be stripped of his title after testing positive for the banned steroid Nandrolone, said Keith Kizer, Nevada Athletic Commission executive director. Salido, 25, a Mexican citizen who trains in Los Angeles, improved his record to 28-9-2 with the unanimous decision Saturday night over Robert Guerrero, 23, of Gilroy, Calif. Salido has been temporarily suspended for two months pending a hearing, Kizer said.

Tiger Woods shot an even-par 72 and was seven shots back after the first round of the HSBC Champions in Shanghai, China, his first tournament in five weeks. India's Jyoti Randhawa made seven birdies and finished with a 65 to take a one-stroke lead over 2005 US Open champion Michael Campbell and two others . . . Gary Christian overcame back spasms, Andrew Buckle rallied with five consecutive birdies, and Cliff Kresge made a late eagle to grab shares of the first-round lead in the Nationwide Tour Championship in Richmond, Texas, all shooting 5-under 67s in the season-ending event at The Houstonian . . . Sergio Garcia shot a 4-under 68 to finish two shots off the lead after the first round of the Taiheiyo Masters in Gotemba, Japan.

D.C. United midfielder Christian Gomez was selected Major League Soccer's Most Valuable Player after leading his team with 14 goals and 11 assists during the regular season. Gomez, in his second full MLS season, made 28 starts and two reserve appearances for D.C. United. . . . Olympic ice dance silver medalists Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto of the United States stumbled into second place at the Cup of China in Nanjing. After the compulsory dance, Russians Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin, who finished ninth at the 2006 Olympics, lead with 36.86 points. The Americans were second with 36.75, and the Russian duo of Jana Khokhlova and Sergei Novitski is third with 31.61 . . . Amelie Mauresmo defeated Martina Hingis, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, at the WTA Championships in Madrid, setting up a final Yellow Group match with Justine Henin-Hardenne that Mauresmo must win to advance to the semifinals. Henin-Hardenne reached the semis with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Nadia Petrova. Kim Clijsters, who won the championships in '02 and '03, cruised past Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-1, 6-1, in 44 minutes in the only Red Group match . . . Vancouver Canucks defenseman Rory Fitzpatrick will miss the 4-6 weeks because of a hairline fracture in his left foot . . . Azerbaijan upset the United States in five sets in the second round of the women's world volleyball championships in Osaka, Japan. The Americans split the first two sets before losing, 25-19, 16-25, 25-22, 25-27, 15-13. The US, which lost to Olympic champion China Wednesday, fell to 2-3 and into fourth place in Pool F . . . Northeast-10 All-Stars Christine Sadowski and Alex Kearney combined for 27 kills to lead second-seeded Bentley (27-10) to a 3-0 win over No. 7 Bryant in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division 2 Northeast Regionals in West Haven, Conn.