Avery hospitalized for lacerated spleen

New York Rangers forward Sean Avery has been hospitalized after lacerating his spleen during a playoff loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins Tuesday night and will be out the remainder of the postseason. The Rangers said the noted agitator was taken to St. Vincent's Medical Center and was admitted following a CT scan. Avery, who isn't expected to need surgery, likely will be hospitalized for a few days and is in stable condition. "He was never in a life-threatening situation," said Rangers spokesman John Rosasco. It's unclear when Avery was injured, but the forward complained during the game of pain that got worse . . . The Capitals' Bruce Boudreau, the Canadiens' Guy Carbonneau, and Mike Babcock of the Red Wings are the finalists for the Jack Adams Award, given to the NHL's coach of the year.

One day after going on the disabled list with an ailing right shoulder, John Smoltz said he's prepared to be the Braves' closer again. "I'm coming back as a reliever first and then we'll see what happens," Smoltz told MLB.com. Atlanta manager Bobby Cox downplayed talk of moving the veteran righthander back to the bullpen. "We are always thinking about it," Cox said, before adding, "I like him as a starter." The 40-year-old Smoltz recorded 154 saves from 2001-04 before rejoining Atlanta's starting rotation . . . Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki was to have an MRI on his left leg, and is likely headed for the DL. Tulowitzki, last year's runner-up for NL Rookie of the Year, suffered a left quadriceps strain Tuesday night while making a play in the field . . . Yankees righthander Phil Hughes, who is 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA after six starts, was placed on the 15-day DL with a strained right oblique muscle . . . Nationals reliever Chad Cordero is expected to be sidelined for at least a month with a tear in a muscle below his pitching shoulder, although the team said he won't need surgery . . . Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano said his right calf feels fine and he'll be "100 percent" when he returns from the DL today . . . The Mariners cut underperforming right fielder Brad Wilkerson, who signed a one-year, $3 million contract last offseason, and pinch hitter Greg Norton, and promoted their top two hitting prospects, catcher Jeff Clement and outfielder Wladimir Balentien . . . Lefthander Francisco Liriano, who was sent to the minors last week by the Twins to work out his early-season struggles, walked five Pawtucket batters over 4 1/3 innings, taking the loss in the PawSox' 4-2 road win over the Rochester Red Wings. Liriano allowed four runs, including a two-run homer by Jeff Bailey . . . Giants minor league catcher Eliezer Alfonzo, who is on San Francisco's 40-man roster, was suspended 50 games for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance, the first player penalized this year under Major League Baseball's drug program.

Even a three-game playoff scenario was too much for the BCS. Bowl Championship Series officials rejected a plan to turn the much-criticized system for deciding a national champion into a four-team playoff, starting in the 2010 season. The BCS format will remain the same until at least the 2014 season. "After a very thorough, very good discussion among the group, we have decided that because we feel at this time the BCS is in an unprecedented state of health, we feel it's never been healthier during its first decade, we have made a decision to move forward in the next cycle with the current format," Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner John Swofford said following five hours of meetings with other conference commissioners in Hollywood, Fla. There was no vote taken, but the leaders of the Big East, Big 12, Pac-10, and Big Ten made it clear they did not want to move the BCS toward a playoff in any way . . . The NCAA announced the addition of two new bowl games next season - the Congressional Bowl in Washington, D.C., and the St. Petersburg Bowl in Florida . . . The New York Giants met with President Bush at the White House in the annual South Lawn ceremony for the Super Bowl champions.

UMass junior Brandice Balschmiter missed out on her second perfect game of the season when she hit a batter in the seventh inning, but settled for her fourth no-hitter of 2008 in a 9-0 win over host Boston College. Balschmiter hasn't allowed a run in 65 innings. The 20th-ranked Minutewomen (34-11) have won 24 in a row . . . Chelsea advanced to the European Champions League final for the first time, with Frank Lampard scoring the go-ahead goal on a penalty kick in a 3-2 overtime victory over Liverpool in London. Chelsea meets Manchester United in Moscow May 21 in the first all-English final in the competition's 52-year history . . . Champions Cup Boston started at Agganis Arena, with Wayne Ferreira defeating Mikael Pernfors, 6-2, 6-2; and Aaron Krickstein beating MaliVai Washington, 6-2, 6-2. Round-robin play continues tonight when Pete Sampras plays Jimmy Arias and John McEnroe faces Jim Courier.