Montoya's first pole win disqualified

Less than an hour after Juan Pablo Montoya celebrated his first NASCAR Sprint Cup pole yesterday, it was taken away because of a technical violation. NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said Montoya's fast lap was disqualified because a post-qualifying inspection discovered his rear shock absorbers exceeded the maximum gas pressure allowed. That moved two-time reigning Cup champion Jimmie Johnson to the pole, with Montoya's No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge moved to 42d in the 43-car field for tomorrow's race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. A team spokesperson said Ganassi officials were "evaluating the situation" and would have no comment until today . . . In the first Formula One race to be held at night, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in practice under the lights ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix. Hamilton clocked 1 minute 45.518 seconds around the downtown street circuit, edging championship rival Felipe Massa of Ferrari. Hamilton is 1 point ahead of Massa with four races to go.

Brewers pitcher Ben Sheets will start today against the Cubs despite a sore elbow that forced him to leave his last appearance Sept. 17 against Chicago. The Brewers lead the New York Mets by one game in the NL wild-card standings . . . Carlos Zambrano will follow Ryan Dempster in the Cubs' postseason rotation. Manager Lou Piniella also announced Rich Harden would pitch Game 3 and Ted Lilly Game 4, if necessary . . . The Seattle Mariners got some good news when surgery on the left shoulder of pitcher Erik Bedard revealed no tears in the labrum or rotator cuff. Dr. Lewis Yocum removed a cyst from Bedard's pitching shoulder and performed minor cutting away of tissue on the labrum. Bedard could be fully recovered for the start of the 2009 season . . . Giants lefthander Noah Lowry, who missed the 2008 season with a forearm injury, will undergo arthroscopic surgery Tuesday on the back of his elbow to remove bone spurs . . . Reds closer Francisco Cordero (34 saves) had surgery to remove a bone spur in his right foot.

Gilbert Arenas and the Washington Wizards were both fined $15,000 by the NBA after he ducked out of the team's annual preseason media day, avoiding any discussion of his third left knee operation in 1 1/2 years. Arenas was penalized "for failing to make himself available to the media," the league said, while Washington was docked "for failing to ensure that its players comply with NBA media interview rules." . . . Houston Rockets forward Shane Battier will miss most of the preseason because of an inflammation in his left foot . . . Point guard Jason Williams announced his retirement, ending his 10-year NBA career less than two months after signing with the Los Angeles Clippers . . . Janel McCarville scored 17 points and Shameka Christon had 11 points and 11 rebounds to help the Liberty hold off the Detroit Shock, 60-56, in the opener of the best-of-three Eastern Conference finals in New York.

Petr Nedved's bid to come back to the NHL after a year playing in Europe ended when the New York Rangers released the 36-year-old forward from his tryout. Nedved had two goals and three points in three preseason games before being let go. "This is probably it for me as far as the NHL goes," Nedved said . . . The Atlanta Thrashers acquired defenseman Mathieu Schneider from Anaheim for defenseman Ken Klee and forwards Brad Larsen and Chad Painchaud . . . Andy Roddick overcame four double faults in the first set to defeat Juan Carlos Ferrero, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, to reach the semifinals of the China Open in Beijing. Roddick will face unseeded Bjorn Phau in the semifinals, with Dudi Sela playing Rainer Schuettler in the other. In women's play, No. 2 seed Ana Ivanovic was ousted by Zheng Jie, 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 6-4. Jelena Jankovic, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Vera Zvonareva also advanced . . . Top-seeded Novak Djokovic defeated Robin Soderling, 6-4, 7-5, to advance to the semifinals at the Thailand Open in Bangkok. Second-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga used 13 aces to overpower Jurgen Melzer, 6-3, 6-2, and Thomas Berdych and Gael Monfils also advanced.