Cavs' Hughes expected to miss Game 4

Basketball
Cleveland starting guard Larry Hughes will likely sit out tonight's Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against Detroit after he tore the plantar fascia in his left foot during the Cavaliers' 88-82 win in Game 3. Hughes, who didn't play in the fourth quarter Sunday night, described his chances of playing tonight as "pretty slim" and "doubtful." The Cavaliers, who trail, 2-1, in the best-of-seven series, listed Hughes as doubtful on their official medical update and diagnosed Hughes's injury as a strain of the left foot plantar fascia, but Hughes said otherwise. "It's a tear," he said. "It's not just sore. I haven't been faced with something this painful. I can hardly put any pressure on it." . . . Former Villanova star Howard Porter died from multiple blunt-force injuries, authorities said, but police were still trying to determine what happened in the hours before he was found, bloodied and beaten, in a Minneapolis alley May 19. He died Saturday night at North Memorial Medical Center. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office said the injuries caused the 58-year-old's death, but no further information was released about the injuries or how they were inflicted.

NHL

The Phoenix Coyotes will hire former New York Rangers forward Don Maloney as their general manager, a person familiar with the decision told the Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had not yet made an announcement. The Coyotes have scheduled a news conference today to announce the move. Maloney, 48, is the Rangers' assistant general manager and vice president of player personnel. He has spent the past nine years in the Rangers' front office after 10 1/2 seasons as a left wing for the team . . . Veteran defenseman Andrei Markov is staying in Montreal after signing a $23 million, four-year deal with the Canadiens. Markov, 29, was fourth in team scoring this season with six goals and 43 assists in 77 games . . . Commissioner Gary Bettman said that even if the sale of the Nashville Predators goes through, the franchise "is not going anywhere." Craig Leipold has signed a letter of intent to sell the Predators to Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie for $220 million. The terms of the sale, which must be approved by three-fourths of the NHL's board of governors, call for the deal to be completed by June 30.

Baseball

Clay Buchholz whiffed eight over 5 2/3 innings, becoming the first Sea Dog with at least seven strikeouts in eight straight starts, as host Portland completed a four-game sweep of the Reading Phillies with a 4-0 victory. Buchholz (2-1) walked three and allowed two singles in breaking Josh Beckett's franchise record of consecutive seven-strikeout games . . . The day after Kirk Saarloos failed to retire any of the seven batters he faced in Cincinnati's 14-10 loss to Pittsburgh, the Reds optioned the righthander to Triple A Louisville and recalled lefthander Bobby Livingston. "I don't feel like I'm the problem," Saarloos said. "I think I've had three bad innings this year. I felt like, in the other 20 appearances, I was throwing the ball pretty good." Saarloos was 0-4 with a 7.04 ERA . . . Third baseman Andy Marte was optioned to Triple A Buffalo by the Cleveland Indians, who added lefthander Rafael Perez to their bullpen . . . Rookie third baseman Akinori Iwamura was activated from the 15-day disabled list by Tampa Bay and outfielder Jonny Gomes was optioned to Triple A Durham . . . The Chicago White Sox placed utilityman Pablo Ozuna on the DL with a fractured right fibula and a torn right deltoid ligament. He is expected to be out about three months . . . The Texas Rangers signed veteran lefthanded pitcher Mark Redman and assigned him to Triple A Oklahoma. Redman was released by Atlanta last week after going 0-4 with an 11.63 ERA . . . The Los Angeles Angels optioned outfielder Tommy Murphy to Triple A Salt Lake and purchased the contract of outfielder Nathan Haynes. To make room for Haynes on their 40-man roster, the Angels put lefthander Phil Seibel on waivers . . . The Toronto Blue Jays optioned infielder Ryan Roberts to Triple A Syracuse and purchased the contract of righthanded reliever Brian Wolfe.

Miscellany

David Beckham's return to the England national team picture (he trained with the starting midfielders yesterday) may not be a cause for celebration in North America, where the superstar is expected to join Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy in July. Galaxy general manager Alexi Lalas has warned England coach Steve McClaren he will not be happy if Beckham is picked for international friendlies later this season that would prevent him from playing for Los Angeles, the BBC reported. Aside from friendlies, England has four crucial Euro 2008 qualifiers during September and October. Meanwhile, the Daily Mail reported Beckham is heading for a showdown with the Galaxy over a possible deal that could see him play again in England's Premiership on a three-month loan after the MLS season ends. "He won't be going on loan anywhere," Galaxy coach Frank Yallop told the newspaper . . . Michael Andretti will leave the driver's seat to focus on running Andretti Green Racing after finishing a disappointing 13th in the Indianapolis 500. The second retirement of Andretti's career comes after his 16th -- and apparently last -- appearance at the Brickyard Sunday . . . Formula One team McLaren is being investigated for a possible rule breach at the Monaco Grand Prix after Fernando Alonso finished first ahead of McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton. Alonso finished 4.095 seconds ahead of Hamilton, who was told by McLaren to slow down. World motorsport's governing body, FIA, said McLaren was being investigated for "a possible breach of the International Sporting Code."