Rays closer Percival won't have surgery

Tampa Bay Rays closer Troy Percival decided yesterday not to have surgery on his injured right knee and hopes to resume throwing off a mound in four or five days. Percival damaged cartilage in the knee while fielding a bunt in last Thursday's game against Oakland. He might have surgery after the season ends. If he had surgery yesterday, Percival was told he would have been out until October. Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon didn't rule out Percival, who is 2-0 with 27 saves, returning by early September . . . The Los Angeles Dodgers have acquired veteran righthander Greg Maddux from the San Diego Padres, according to a baseball source. It's unclear what the Padres will receive in return for the 42-year-old Maddux, who is 6-9 with a 3.99 ERA in 26 starts for the Padres . . . Rangers All-Star second baseman Ian Kinsler was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a groin injury, and could be headed for season-ending surgery. Kinsler, who was leading the majors with 165 hits and 102 runs, had an MRI that revealed the problem. He will be examined by a specialist in Dallas today . . . Carl Pavano, who has made just 19 appearances since signing a four-year, $40 million contract before the 2005 season, could return to the Yankees this weekend. New York needs a fifth starter Saturday at Baltimore, and Pavano or Phil Hughes, another pitcher returning from injury, is expected to get the assignment.

Danny Lastra's homer opened a six-run seventh inning after Kevin Merrell's homer in the sixth forced extra innings, helping Tampa surge past Shelton, Conn., 8-2, in seven innings to advance at the Little League World Series. The loss eliminated Connecticut. Florida hit three homers in the seventh after getting stymied much of the game by Tyler Tice. Tice's run-scoring single had given Connecticut a 2-1 lead in the fifth before Florida's bats came alive.

Elena DelleDonne, one of the nation's leading girls' high school basketball recruits who last week changed her mind about attending the University of Connecticut, will attend the University of Delaware this fall. DelleDonne, who attended Ursuline Academy in Wilmington, Del., said in a statement that both she and UConn require 100 percent dedication to basketball, but she cannot make that commitment right now. If DelleDonne decides to play basketball at Delaware she would have to sit out a year . . . Jeremy Currier has resigned as men's basketball coach at Daniel Webster College after two seasons to become an assistant at Pfeiffer University in Misenheimer, N.C. . . . Former Iowa State men's basketball coach Glen Anderson, the third-winningest coach in school history, has died. He was 79. Anderson led the Cyclones from 1959-1971, compiling a 142-161 record.

Former US national team soccer coach Bruce Arena was hired as coach and general manager of David Beckham's slumping Los Angeles Galaxy. Arena was to be introduced at a news conference after guiding the team through practice for the first time. He will make his debut as the Galaxy coach Thursday night against the Chicago Fire - when Beckham and forward Landon Donovan will be missing because of national team duty. The Galaxy (6-8-6), are in danger of missing the playoffs for the second straight year . . . The Revolution signed Costa Rican defender Gabriel Badilla, a member of his country's national team.

Juan Martin del Potro, who has won four straight times on the ATP Tour, withdrew from the Pilot Pen tournament in New Haven, citing exhaustion. Del Potro, ranked 17th in the world and seeded third at New Haven, had been scheduled to play today. In action yesterday, top-seeded Fernando Verdasco beat Dudi Sela, 6-4, 6-4, to advance to the third round.

Genuine Risk, one of only three fillies to win the Kentucky Derby, died at Newstead Farm in Upperville, Va. The 1980 Derby winner was 31, said Cindy Perry, an official at the farm. Perry said the filly had not been ill. Genuine Risk was the oldest living Derby winner, and the only filly to finish in the top three in each of the Triple Crown races. Ridden by Jacinto Vasquez in all three, she was second to Codex in a controversial Preakness, and then ran second to Temperence Hill in the Belmont Stakes . . . Parker Buckley, 40, an exercise rider for trainer Steve Asmussen, was placed in a medically induced coma after suffering a head injury in a riding accident at Saratoga Race Course . . . Andre Iguodala, who helped the Philadelphia 76ers reach the playoffs for the first time in three years, agreed to a six-year contract worth a reported $80 million . . . The NASCAR Sprint Cup race held Labor Day weekend at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., will be moved to October starting next year, speedway president Gillian Zucker said. Atlanta Motor Speedway is expected to get the Labor Day weekend race, with Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway getting Atlanta's October date . . . Curtis Loop (New Canaan) led a balanced lineup by shooting a 1-over-par 141 and Connecticut built a five-stroke lead after the first day of the New England Junior Invitational at Wanumetonomy Golf & Country Club in Middletown, R.I. Vermont, led by a 1-under 139 by Evan Russell (Burlington), and Massachusetts, led by Gloucester's Josh Salah (3-over 143), were tied for second. The last of three rounds will be played today.