Cuban sees the pros to another league

Football
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is part of a group considering formation of a football league that would compete with the NFL for players drafted lower than the second round. The league, still very much in the preliminary stage, would play its games on Friday nights. "It's a pretty simple concept," Cuban said in an e-mail to the Associated Press yesterday. "We think there is more demand for pro football than supply." The proposal was first disclosed by The New York Times on its website, which said it was the idea of Bill Hambrecht, a Wall Street investor who was a minority partner in the Oakland Invaders of the USFL. The new United Football League would require a $30 million investment for each of the eight initial franchises, which would be placed in cities without NFL teams . . . Miami Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter pleaded no contest and paid a $1,000 fine for punching Cincinnati Bengals offensive lineman Levi Jones at a casino in Las Vegas in March . . . The Dolphins signed backup quarterback Cleo Lemon to a one-year contract worth $1.3 million.

Baseball

The St. Louis Cardinals will be without catcher Yadier Molina for 4-6 weeks because of a fractured left wrist. The team's medical staff described the injury as a non-displaced fracture that will be splinted and immobilized. Molina left Tuesday night's game against the Rockies in the fourth inning after being hit by a foul tip an inning earlier. The Cardinals placed Molina on the 15-day disabled list and purchased the contract of catcher Brian Esposito from Triple A Memphis . . . Joe Mauer's return from the disabled list has been delayed by the Minnesota Twins. The reigning American League batting champion, who was hitting .353 when he strained his left quadriceps earlier this month, showed up sore for the second straight day. The Twins still hope to activate Mauer for tomorrow's game at Oakland . . . Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz, who left his start Tuesday night in Milwaukee after tweaking his pitching shoulder and aggravating a pinkie injury, felt fine after playing catch and will throw on the side tomorrow to assess his ability to start Sunday . . . New York Mets reliever Guillermo Mota returned from his 50-game suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance . . . Michael Restovich homered and scored three times as the Columbus Clippers beat the PawSox, 8-4, in Pawtucket, R.I. . . . Connecticut Defenders starter Alexander Hinshaw held visiting Portland to two hits over five innings and the Sea Dogs fell, 5-2, to break a six-game winning streak.

Auto racing

NASCAR is considering opening up its restrictive testing policy, which several teams already have skirted this season. Currently, rules limit teams to seven tests on Nextel Cup-sanctioned tracks, and crew chiefs help NASCAR decide the venues and dates. NASCAR adopted that policy two years ago to help underfunded teams keep up with big-budget organizations that could afford to test any time. But as the Car of Tomorrow was rolled into competition, the top teams found ways to test it outside of the rules. "We're going to start looking at a lot of different things, from eventually lifting the test ban completely, or get as restrictive as we cannot let teams test anywhere at any time, or land somewhere in between," said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition . . . Formula One's governing body cleared the McLaren team of any wrongdoing in its 1-2 finish at Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix. FIA opened an investigation into possible rules violations after the McLaren team ordered Lewis Hamilton not to challenge Fernando Alonso, who won by 4.095 seconds . . . The National Hot Rod Association has sold its professional racing assets, including the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, its current television contract with ESPN, and the rights to license and commercialize the NHRA brand, to HD Partners for approximately $121 million.

Miscellany

The NCAA has granted Duke's request for an extra year of eligibility for its men's lacrosse players following rape allegations that led to the cancellation of much of last season. The decision affects 33 players who were not seniors during the 2006 season, and it grants them a fifth year of eligibility regardless of whether they play at Duke or another school. The announcement came just two days after the Blue Devils lost to Johns Hopkins by a goal in the NCAA championship game for the second time in three seasons . . . Los Angeles Galaxy general manager Alexi Lalas said the team has no plans to loan David Beckham back to a European club after the Major League Soccer season ends . . . Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense put together a solid workout at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., and a decision on whether the colt will run in the Belmont Stakes June 9 is expected today. Street Sense breezed 4 furlongs in 49 seconds, his first work since he finished second to Curlin in the Preakness May 19 . . . In the WNBA, Swin Cash scored 21 points to help the host Detroit Shock improve to 3-0 with a 94-79 victory over the Washington Mystics . . . Florida A&M men's basketball coach Mike Gillespie Sr. was placed on paid leave after his arrest last week on misdemeanor stalking charges . . . Mike Burns was dismissed as men's basketball coach at Eastern Washington . . . Dave Balon, 66, who won two Stanley Cups with Montreal in the 1960s during a 14-year NHL career, died in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Obituary, D8 . . . Mike Tyson has applied to work the corner of heavyweight Sultan Ibragimov during his World Boxing Organization title fight vs. Shannon Briggs Saturday in Atlantic City . . . Individual and season tickets for the Boston Lobsters of World Team Tennis go on sale today and can be purchased via bostonlobsters.net or by calling 800-514-3849.