Report: Cuban has zero chance at Cubs

According to yesterday's edition of the Chicago Sun-Times, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban will not make the final cut to purchase the Cubs if commissioner Bud Selig and Major League Baseball owners have their way. "There's no way Bud and the owners are going to let that happen," a baseball source told the newspaper. "Zero chance." Owner Sam Zell has yet to shorten the field of five potential buyers who submitted bids of about $1 billion to the Tribune Co. for the Cubs and Wrigley Field. Cuban wouldn't comment on the report before the Mavericks played Denver. "There's no reason to comment on anonymous comments from unsolicited sources. I mean it's ridiculous," Cuban said . . . The Padres exercised their $9 million option on right fielder Brian Giles, whose .398 on-base percentage was one of the best in baseball. The 37-year-old will be back for his seventh season with the Padres . . . The Astros signed righthanded reliever LaTroy Hawkins to a one-year, $3.5 million deal and plan to use him in a setup role. The Astros acquired Hawkins from the Yankees at the trading deadline July 30, and he did not allow a run in his first 22 appearances with Houston . . . The Rangers exercised a $6.2 million option on infielder Hank Blalock.

Three weeks after the death of top prospect Alexei Cherepanov, the Rangers are seeking a compensatory pick in the second round of the 2009 NHL draft, according to a report in the New York Post. The team is citing Article 8.3 (b) in the collective bargaining agreement, which mandates compensatory selections be provided when teams are unable to sign first-round draft picks. Cherepanov was the 17th selection in the 2007 draft. He died Oct. 13 after collapsing during a game in Russia. He was 19 . . . The Flyers acquired defenseman Matt Carle from the Lightning for forward Steve Downie and defenseman Steve Eminger. The teams also exchanged draft picks. The Flyers got a third-round pick in next year's draft, and Tampa Bay received its 2009 fourth-round selection that it traded to Philadelphia in June . . . Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov suffered a lower-body injury in Thursday's victory over the Blues and is unlikely to play tonight against the Stars . . . Erin Holmlov scored two power-play goals to help Sweden beat Canada for the first time in women's international hockey, 2-1, in overtime in the Four Nations Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y. The United States beat Finland, 4-1, on goals by Natalie Darwitz, Jenny Potter, Meghan Duggan, and Julie Chu.

Scott Verplank shot his second straight 8-under-par 64 to take a three-stroke lead in the Children's Miracle Network Classic at Orlando, Fla., the final PGA Tour event of the season. Steve Marino (66) and Troy Matteson (68) were tied for second . . . Mayu Hattori and Miki Saiki shot 5-under 67s to share the first-round lead at the Mizuno Classic in Shima, Japan. Women's British Open champion Shin Ji-yai was a stroke back in the event sanctioned by the LPGA Tour and Japan LPGA. Morgan Pressel was tied for last in the 77-player field at 75 . . . Heavy rain wiped out play at the European Tour's HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai.

Serena Williams and Ana Ivanovic withdrew from the WTA Tour's season-ending event before their last round-robin matches. Williams cited a stomach injury when she pulled out of her match at the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, Qatar, against Elena Dementieva, who advanced to the semifinals. Ivanovic withdrew from her match against Svetlana Kuznetsova, citing a virus . . . American Ray Austin (26-4-4) earned a victory over Andrew Golota (41-7-1) when the Polish fighter declined to come out for the second round of their non-title World Boxing Council heavyweight bout in Chengdu, China. Austin knocked down Golota 10 seconds into the bout between former title contenders . . . IOC president Jacques Rogge expects at least 15 doping cases to come out of the Beijing Olympics. "We had 39 positive cases in the run-up to the Games, eight during the Games, and seven more possibly coming up," Rogge said.