Halladay out 4-6 weeks after surgery

BASEBALL
Former Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay is expected to miss 4-6 weeks after having an emergency appendectomy yesterday, the latest bad break for the struggling Toronto Blue Jays. Halladay arrived at Rogers Centre looking pale and complaining of pain in his lower right abdomen. Trainer George Poulis recognized the symptoms and took Halladay to a local hospital for surgery. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list. "You've got to look at it as a chance for someone else to step up," general manager J.P. Ricciardi said. "We're not going to sit here and raise the white flag, say we're quitting." Halladay lasted only five innings and was hit hard in an 8-0 loss to the Red Sox Thursday. Adding to Toronto's woes, infielder Troy Glaus left last night's game against the Devil Rays with an apparent leg injury while running out a fly ball.

Infielder/outfielder Nick Swisher and the Athletics agreed on a $26.75 million, five-year contract that also includes a one-year club option for 2012. Swisher, 26, hit .254 with 35 home runs and 95 RBIs last season . . . The Mariners placed righthander Jeff Weaver on the 15-day disabled list because of shoulder tendinitis. Weaver has been a flop after signing a one-year, $8.3 million contract to be the Mariners' No. 5 starter. He is 0-6 with a 14.32 ERA in six starts. In 22 innings, he has given up 50 hits and 35 earned runs . . . Tigers righthander Jeremy Bonderman will miss his scheduled start tomorrow against Minnesota because of an injured middle finger on his pitching hand . . . San Diego slugger Phil Nevin, who had a mercurial career after being the No. 1 pick in the 1992 amateur draft, announced his retirement . . . The Diamondbacks purchased the contract of former Red Sox infielder Donnie Sadler from Triple A Tucson.

NBA

Dirk Nowitzki has been chosen as the NBA's MVP for leading the Dallas Mavericks to one of the best regular seasons in league history, a team official told the Associated Press. The formal announcement will come Tuesday at a news conference, said the team official, who requested anonymity. Nowitzki and the Mavericks went from a league-best 67 wins to a stunning first-round elimination by eighth-seeded Golden State, with the big German quite un-MVP-like for most of the series. Voting was completed before the playoffs. Nowitzki becomes the first MVP in 25 years not to win a playoff series; it last happened to Houston's Moses Malone in 1981-82 . . . Utah rookie guard Dee Brown missed Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals last night against Golden State after spraining his neck in a scary collision with teammate Mehmet Okur in Game 2. During a morning shootaround, he had difficulty turning his head. He hopes to play in Game 4 . . . The Mavericks exercised their option on center DeSagana Diop, keeping him with the team for the final year on his contract.

TENNIS

In a match delayed a day because of rain, second-seeded Amelie Mauresmo lost to Julia Vakulenko, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, sending the 53d-ranked Ukrainian to the quarterfinals of the German Open in Berlin. In another delayed match, Justine Henin also advanced by beating Maria Elena Camerin, 6-1, 6-3. Svetlana Kuznetsova reached the semifinals, edging defending champion Nadia Petrova, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 . . . Top-seeded Marion Bartoli advanced to the semifinals of the Prague Open with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Jarmila Gajdosova. Bartoli will face Klara Zakopalova, who beat Julia Schruff, 6-3, 6-1. Akiko Morigami reached the semis with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Camille Pin, and Victoria Azarenka cruised past Dominika Cibulkova, 6-1, 6-1.

MISCELLANY

Six months after Miami Hurricanes football player Bryan Pata was murdered, the University of Miami gave him a posthumous degree. University president Donna Shalala presented the degree to two members of Pata's family at commencement exercises . . . Top seed University of Massachusetts advanced to the semifinals in the women's varsity heavyweight eight at the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia . . . Boston College's softball season ended when it lost to Georgia Tech, 4-0, and North Carolina, 5-0, at the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Tallahassee. The Eagles finished 15-31.