Packers won't give Favre his release

Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy said yesterday they don't plan to grant Brett Favre's request to be released, and if the quarterback does rejoin the team, it won't be as the starter. The GM and coach, making their first public statements on the matter, acknowledged Favre is unlikely to accept a backup role. A trade may be the best resolution, but Thompson and McCarthy declined to discuss that possibility. Thompson said he had not received any inquiries from other teams. "We've communicated that to Brett, that we have since moved forward," Thompson said. "At the same time, we've never said that there couldn't be some role that he might play here. But I would understand his point that he would want to play." . . . Harriet Irsay, the mother of Colts owner Jim Irsay, died of natural causes in her Chicago-area home Friday. She was 87.

Cubs righthanded closer Kerry Wood has been sidelined because of a blister on his right index finger and will sit out the All-Star Game. "We have the opportunity to take six days to let it get better and not deal with it the rest of the year," the Cubs closer said. "It's a little bit disappointing." Wood still plans to attend All-Star festivities at Yankee Stadium Tuesday night . . . Former All-Star outfielder and longtime Yankees broadcaster Bobby Murcer died yesterday at home in Oklahoma City following a 19-month battle with brain cancer. He was 62. Murcer played 17 seasons in the majors with the Yankees, Giants, and Cubs from 1965-83. He worked as a Yankees broadcaster for 23 seasons. Obituary, Page B11 . . . Yankees outfielder-designated hitter Hideki Matsui resumed batting practice, taking 55 swings as he continues to rehab a sore left knee . . . White Sox closer Bobby Jenks, who has been on the DL with bursitis in his left (non-pitching) shoulder since June 30, expects to be ready to pitch after the All-Star break . . . Astros righthanded starter Roy Oswalt reported that his left hip is sore - and he doesn't know when he'll pitch again. Oswalt left Friday night's game in Washington after his hip began bothering him.

Red Rocks took the lead in the stretch and held off Curlin, the reigning Horse of the Year, by 2 lengths in winning the Man o'War Stakes at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. Curlin, who has won nine times in 12 starts on dirt, was facing the top turf horses with an eye toward running in the Arc de Triomphe. The 4-year-old colt rallied in the stretch, but was unable to catch Red Rocks, a former Breeders' Cup Turf winner who posted a winning time of 2:12.60 . . . Benny the Bull won the Grade 2 Smile Sprint Handicap at Calder in Miami, earning an automatic berth into the Breeders' Cup Sprint field. The 5-year-old colt, trained by Rick Dutrow, was seventh with 2 furlongs to run, then took off and prevailed by 2 lengths over How's Your Halo. Mistical Plan also earned a trip to the Breeders' Cup, winning the 6-furlong, Grade 1 Princess Rooney Handicap in an upset over even-money favorite Dream Rush . . . Tres Borrachos, a 3-year-old gelding, beat Two Step Salsa by 1 length in the $350,000 Swaps Stakes at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, Calif.

Patrick Briaud and Nathan Healey edged Jan-Michael Gambill and Amir Hadad, 7-4, in a doubles super tiebreaker to lift the New York Buzz to a 20-19 victory over the Boston Lobsters in a World TeamTennis match at Ferncroft Country Club in Middleton . . . Wladimir Klitschko (51-3, 45 KOs) stopped former sparring partner Tony Thompson (31-2, 19 KOs) with a right hand in the 11th round to claim the World Boxing Organization and International Boxing Federation heavyweight titles in Berlin . . . Ryan Johnson's goal in the 62d minute broke a 281-minute scoring drought for last-place San Jose, but Conor Casey scored minutes later to lift the visiting Colorado Rapids into a 1-1 tie with the Earthquakes in an MLS game . . . John Thorrington scored in stoppage time to give the host Chicago Fire a 2-1 victory over Toronto . . . Javier Morales scored in the fourth minute to help Real Salt Lake defeat visiting Columbus, 2-0 . . . Omar Arellano and Gonzalo Pineda scored as CD Guadalajara beat host D.C. United, 2-1, in the SuperLiga opener for both teams . . . The Houston Dynamo topped visiting Atlante, 4-0, in a SuperLiga match . . . Katie Douglas scored 25 points to lead the host Indiana to a 66-57 WNBA victory over Chicago . . . Shameka Christon scored 19 points and the Liberty beat the first-place Detroit Shock, 74-64, in New York . . . Seimone Augustus scored 27 points and the host Minnesota Lynx were 10 of 20 from 3-point range in an 85-71 victory over the Houston Comets . . . Chelsea Newton's 18 points led host Sacramento to a 105-97 victory over Phoenix . . . Sue Bird notched 18 points as Seattle routed visiting Los Angeles, 70-52 . . . Lisa Modglin's three-run homer in the seventh lifted the Riptide to a 3-2 victory over the host Akron (Ohio) Racers in a National Pro Fastpitch softball game.