Braves sold; Aaron to get bigger role

Baseball
Hank Aaron will take on an increased role with the Atlanta Braves following the team's sale yesterday from Time Warner Inc. to Liberty Media Corp. The deal, which Braves chairman Terry McGuirk said values the franchise at $450 million, was unanimously approved by baseball owners at a special meeting called to beat a midnight change in tax laws. "Hank Aaron is going to be a critical part of all this. It was very important to me, and I know it's very important to Terry and to Bill," commissioner Bud Selig said at a news conference with McGuirk and Braves chairman emeritus Bill Bartholomay. John Schuerholz will remain as general manager . . . Lino Urdaneta will miss 50 games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance, the second Mets minor league pitcher in a week to be suspended . . . Mets prospect Lastings Milledge, currently at Triple A New Orleans and on the disabled list, is in trouble with the organization for helping to make a rap CD that uses a racist term for blacks and language derogatory to women. "We don't approve of the lyrics," said Mets GM Omar Minaya. David Rodriguez, the manager for the rap artist Manny D, who performs the song with Milledge, told Newsday that the song was only a demo and was never meant to be public . . . The Mets placed outfielder Moises Alou on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained left quadriceps and called up Jason Vargas to start today against the Cubs.

Rookie Jesse Litsch, who beat Baltimore in his major league debut Tuesday night by giving up one run over 8 2/3 innings, will remain in the Blue Jays' rotation. He'll pitch again Sunday in Philadelphia. Moving to the bullpen is righthander Tomo Ohka, who is 2-4 with a 5.52 ERA in eight starts . . . Twins righthander Jesse Crain, who was placed on the 15-day DL yesterday, has a torn rotator cuff and a torn labrum . . . Roger Clemens threw in the outfield at the Yankees' minor league complex in Tampa, Fla., a 71-pitch session as he prepares for his first minor league start tomorrow for Single A Tampa . . . Devil Rays outfielder Rocco Baldelli will return to St. Petersburg, Fla., to undergo an MRI on his left hamstring . . . Manny Delcarmen pitched two perfect innings in relief of Abe Alvarez, helping host Pawtucket edge Durham, 7-4, in International League play.

Football

The Patriots will sell individual-game tickets May 25 beginning at 10 a.m. Tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or by calling 617-931-2222 or 508-931-2222. No tickets will be sold at Gillette Stadium and fans must pay with a Visa credit or debit card . . . Packers quarterback Brett Favre has changed his mind and now is expected to attend the team's mandatory minicamp this weekend, the Associated Press reported . . . The Chicago Bears expect to see starting defensive end Alex Brown at their minicamp this weekend even after Brown told Sirius NFL Radio that he asked the Bears for permission to work out a trade . . . Bears defensive tackle Tank Johnson met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss legal problems that landed the player in jail, but no discipline was immediately handed down.

Hockey

Anaheim defenseman Chris Pronger was suspended for one game by the NHL for his hit on Detroit's Tomas Holmstrom Tuesday night. Pronger will miss Game 4 of the Ducks-Red Wings series tonight in Anaheim. He leads the Ducks with 12 points during the playoffs.

Colleges

Amherst rolled past Sewanee, 5-0, to advance to the final of the Division 3 women's tennis championships in Fredericksburg, Va. Amherst will meet Washington & Lee, a 5-0 winner over Williams, in today's final . . . Middlebury fell to Emory, 5-4, in an NCAA Division 3 men's tennis semifinal in St. Louis, ending the Panthers' season at 21-2 . . . Josh Jacobs and Ryan Kravontka each drove in two runs in a seven-run seventh inning, lifting Western New England College past Williams, 10-5, in the first round of the NCAA Division 3 baseball regional in Harwich. In other games in Harwich, Keene State scored five runs in the 10th to beat Curry, 9-4, and Eastern Connecticut rolled past Saint Joseph's of Maine, 10-2. In Auburn, N.Y., Trinity downed Manhattanville, 15-6.

Miscellany

A Federation Cup tennis semifinal between the United States and Russia will be held at the Topnotch Resort and Spa in Stowe, Vt., July 14-15 . . . Rafael Nadal extended his record winning streak on clay to 78 matches by beating Oscar Hernandez, 7-5, 6-1, to reach the third round of the Hamburg Masters in Germany . . . With the WNBA season days away, Seattle made a surprising roster move, releasing forward Barbara Turner, the Storm's first-round pick out of UConn a year ago . . . Winthrop basketball player DeAndre Adams, 20, died four days after sustaining head injuries in a car accident in Rock Hill, S.C. . . . Glen Johnson stopped Montell Griffin in the 11th round in Hollywood, Fla., making him the mandatory challenger to the International Boxing Federation light heavyweight title, currently held by Clinton Woods . . . Sevilla became only the second team to win consecutive UEFA Cup titles, beating Espanyol, 3-1, in a shootout in Glasgow . . . Andy Welsh scored in the 25th minute and host Toronto FC downed the Houston Dynamo, 1-0, in Major League Soccer play.