Chamberlain leaves to be with ill father

Yankees reliever Joba Chamberlain left the team yesterday after his father collapsed at home in Nebraska, and the pitcher was placed on the bereavement list. Harlan Chamberlain was hospitalized at St. Elizabeth Regional Medical Center in Lincoln. Hospital spokeswoman Jo Miller said the family requested no further information be released. "He is currently in critical but stable condition," Joba Chamberlain said in a statement. Chamberlain's sister called the Yankees during the eighth inning of New York's 8-5 loss to the Red Sox Sunday night, the Daily News reported on its website. The newspaper said the reliever spoke with his sister after the game and broke into tears, and manager Joe Girardi tried to console him . . . Tampa Bay Rays lefthander Scott Kazmir threw 25 pitches over two innings in an extended spring training game. It was the first game action for the Rays' ace since he went on the 15-day disabled list because of a left elbow strain. He felt discomfort while warming up for an intrasquad game Feb. 26 . . . Angels second baseman Howie Kendrick is expected to miss at least two games with a strained left hamstring . . . Former Boston Brave Tommy Holmes, 91, died in Boca Raton, Fla. Obituary, Page C8.

Kansas State All-America freshman forward Michael Beasley announced he will skip his final three seasons and enter the June 26 NBA draft, where he could be the No. 1 overall pick. "It's time to take my game to the next level," Beasley said. He dominated his lone college season, averaging 26.2 points and becoming just the third freshman in NCAA history to lead the nation in rebounds at 12.4 per game . . . NBA commissioner David Stern says he is convinced SuperSonics owner Clay Bennett made a good-faith effort to keep the team in Seattle. Bennett and ownership partners Aubrey McClendon and Tom Ward exchanged e-mails in April 2007 in which they discussed whether there was any way to avoid further "lame duck" seasons in Seattle before the team could be relocated . . . The University of San Francisco lured former NBA player Rex Walters away from Florida Atlantic to take over its struggling basketball program.

The Canucks fired general manager Dave Nonis after missing the playoffs for the second time in his three seasons in charge. "The decision to relieve Dave of his duties was difficult," said Canucks chairman Francesco Aquilini, whose family bought the franchise after Nonis got the job. "However, I think this important change in leadership is critical to the future of the team and the direction we need to take." . . . Rangers forward Sean Avery, who has turned agitation into an art form, has forced the NHL to change a rule on the fly. During a 5-on-3 power play in New Jersey's 4-3 overtime playoff victory Sunday night, Avery planted himself in the crease and faceguarded Devils goalie Martin Brodeur. Holding his stick upward, Avery waved it side to side to block Brodeur's vision in a newfangled method of screening. The NHL, making a quick rule interpretation, says that activity constitutes unsportsmanlike conduct and now will draw a penalty . . . Flyers forward Patrick Thoresen, who suffered a groin injury while blocking a shot in Game 1 of the playoff series against the Capitals, said he is unlikely to play in Game 3 tonight . . . NCAA champion Boston College received all 34 first-place votes to top the final USA Today/US Hockey Magazine's men's poll. Michigan finished second, Notre Dame third, and New Hampshire sixth.

The IAAF, track and field's world governing body, dismissed doping allegations against former Olympic sprint champion Maurice Greene, throwing its support behind the man who once held the 100-meter world record. Greene also denied the accusations, which were made by Angel Guillermo Heredia, a witness in a US government investigation into sports doping. "None of this is new," said IAAF spokesman Nick Davies. "There is no reason to take action against Maurice." Davies said the US Anti-Doping Agency had been looking into the link for years without finding any proof. "This is a bad situation for me," said Greene. "My name's coming up in something and it's not true." . . . German prosecutors dropped a fraud investigation against former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich in return for a fine. The deal ends a 21-month investigation into whether the retired rider defrauded his T-Mobile team by taking steroids.

Roger Federer, who split with former coach Tony Roche in May, said he will work with coach Jose Higueras at the Estoril Open in Portugal this week. Federer, stuck in a slump, begins the European clay-court season at Estoril having failed to reach a final in four tournaments this year . . . The Arizona Cardinals signed free agent defensive lineman Bryan Robinson to a two-year contract . . . Saints running back Deuce McAllister, coming off the second knee surgery of his career, has agreed to a one-year contract with New Orleans . . . Buzz Nutter, the center for John Unitas on NFL championship teams with the Baltimore Colts in 1958 and 1959, died of a heart attack Saturday in La Plata, Md. He was 77 . . . Because of a funding shortfall from the state, the University of Rhode Island has discontinued its men's swimming, men's tennis, and field hockey programs . . . Polly Lauder Tunney, the Carnegie Steel Co. heiress whose marriage to heavyweight boxing champion Gene Tunney made international headlines in 1928, died. She was 100.