Cubs-Astros games postponed by Ike

The first two games of this weekend's series between the Chicago Cubs and the host Houston Astros have been postponed because of the potential impact of Hurricane Ike. Baseball officials also were anticipating that Sunday's series finale might be postponed. One of the scenarios under consideration was to play a doubleheader Monday, and make up the third game Sept. 29 if it's needed to decide a playoff berth. The Cubs and Astros have no common offdays after Monday. "It'll be a fluid situation in regard to how the storm moves and other issues that may or may not occur," Houston general manager Ed Wade said after yesterday's announcement . . . Brewers right fielder and former Red Sox Gabe Kapler has a torn muscle in his right shoulder and could miss the rest of the season. The team said Kapler, 33, is hopeful he can return this year, but gave no timetable for his recovery. He left Wednesday's game after making a hard throw to the plate in the sixth inning against the Cincinnati Reds . . . Athletics second baseman Mark Ellis will miss the rest of the season and could be headed for surgery to fix a shoulder injury that has taken longer to heal than initially expected. It's especially disappointing for Ellis considering he can become a free agent after this season.

The Carolina Hurricanes signed Eric Staal to a seven-year contract extension worth $57.75 million. It will pay the center an average of $8.25 million starting in 2009-10 and last through the 2015-16 season . . . Patrick Roy will have his No. 33 retired by the Montreal Canadiens Nov. 22 before the team's game against the Bruins. Roy's number is already retired by the Colorado Avalanche . . . Richard Zednik returned to optional team workouts this week, marking the first time he has participated in full practices with the Florida Panthers since a gruesome injury in February, when his throat was slashed by a teammate's skate and his carotid artery was sliced.

Usain Bolt, who swept the sprint titles at last month's Beijing Olympics in world-record time, will train with Spanish soccer champion Real Madrid. The 22-year-old Jamaican, who claimed gold medals and world records in the 100 meters, 200 meters, and 400-meter relay in Beijing, said Real had invited him to train with players including Raul Gonzalez and Ruud Van Nistelrooy . . . Rene Simoes was fired as coach of Jamaica's soccer team following a slow start in the semifinal round of World Cup qualifying. Jamaica tied Canada, lost to Mexico, and dropped a 2-0 decision at Honduras Wednesday. Simoes was nine months into a three-year contract.

Ara Abrahamian, the Swedish wrestler stripped of his bronze medal at the Olympics for protesting during the medal ceremony, filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport. During the medal ceremony, Abrahamian took the bronze from his neck and angrily dropped it on the mat as he walked away. The International Olympic Committee executive board ruled his actions violated the Olympic charter and were disrespectful toward other medalists . . . US team captain Erin Popovich won her fourth Paralympic gold in swimming, taking the 400-meter freestyle in Beijing. Natick's Anjali Forber-Pratt (17.46 seconds) and Jessica Galli (17.00) of Savoy, Ill./Hillsborough, N.J., qualified for tonight's finals of the women's 100-meter wheelchair preliminaries.

Orlando Magic forward Pat Garrity, who played 10 pro seasons, nine with the Magic, is calling it a career. Garrity, who came into the league with the Phoenix Suns, appeared in 513 games for Orlando, second most in franchise history . . . Minnesota Timberwolves center Jason Collins had surgery to repair a ruptured triceps tendon in his right elbow and will miss training camp and the start of the regular season. He was injured in a freak golf accident when his cart skidded on some wet ground and tipped over . . . In the WNBA, Minnesota's Seimone Augustus and Candice Wiggins are out for the rest of the year. Augustus was taken off the court in a wheelchair after a nasty fall in Tuesday's game in Indiana and has a mild concussion. Wiggins tore the lateral meniscus in her right knee and will likely need surgery . . . Sophia Young scored 24 points to lead the host San Antonio Silver Stars to a 78-74 victory over the Connecticut Sun, clinching home-court advantage throughout the playoffs . . . Deanna Nolan scored 17 points as the Detroit Shock beat the Washington Mystics, 78-66, in Auburn Hills, Mich. . . . Tammy Sutton-Brown scored 16 points to lead the Indiana Fever over the visiting New York Liberty, 74-59 . . . Iziane Castro Marques scored 23 points to rally the Atlanta Dream over the host Los Angeles Sparks, 83-72.

The new leader of USA Track and Field analyzed the team's underwhelming performance at the Beijing Olympics - including dropped batons and a record-low men's gold medal count - and judged the federation's overall performance to be "seriously deficient." After watching both US relay teams drop the baton in the 400-meter preliminaries and seeing the US men win only four gold medals, CEO Doug Logan has decided to form a panel of former athletes and coaches to analyze USATF's high-performance programs.