Mine That Bird ready for Preakness run

Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano will miss 2-3 weeks after being placed on the disabled list because of a strained left hamstring. The righthander was injured running out a bunt for a hit in Sunday's win over the Marlins. Zambrano (3-1, 4.50 ERA) pitched five innings and earned the victory . . . Oliver Perez is taking his 9.97 ERA to the Mets' bullpen. Manager Jerry Manuel said lefthander Ken Takahashi will replace the struggling Perez in the rotation. Takahashi made his major league debut Saturday at Philadelphia and worked 2 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing only one hit. Perez is 1-2, with 21 walks in 21 2/3 innings,only months after signing a $36 million, three-year contract . . . Cole Hamels ran in the outfield to test his injured left ankle a day after the Phillies bumped him from tonight's scheduled start, and manager Charlie Manuel said the lefthander was on track to start Friday at Atlanta . . . The Diamondbacks placed reliever Tom Gordon on the 15-day DL because of a left hamstring strain . . . Tom Glavine said he felt no pain in his first time throwing off a mound since inflammation was found in his left rotator cuff last month. Glavine, 43, threw for about 15 minutes in the Braves bullpen . . . Jacqueline Standley, 44, the mother of Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain, was arrested in Lincoln, Neb., on charges of selling methamphetamine to an undercover police officer in February.

The NBA fined Denver Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin $25,000 for throwing Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki to the floor in the opener of their second-round playoff series. Martin was also assessed a flagrant foul 1 for the contact, which occurred with 5:51 left in the first quarter of Sunday's game, after Nowitzki had scored Dallas's first 10 points on 5-for-5 shooting . . . Two-time WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson signed a one-year deal to remain with the Seattle Storm . . . Connecticut assistant Jamelle Elliott is expected to be named head coach of the women's team at Cincinnati today . . . The University of Massachusetts announced that heralded recruit Terrell Vinson of Baltimore, a 6-foot-7-inch forward, will head to Amherst in the fall . . . UMass sophomore Matt Glass announced he will transfer to the University of Vermont.

The Steelers released starting inside linebacker Larry Foote, a move expected after Foote asked to be traded or cut after he started sharing time with Lawrence Timmons. Foote had started every Steelers game for five seasons . . . The Ravens signed quarterback John Beck, who will seek to revive his NFL career after being released by the Dolphins . . . The Colts signed former Boston College quarterback Chris Crane and former Holy Cross receiver Brett McDermott to free agent contracts.

The United States got two goals from defenseman Ron Hainsey but lost to Switzerland, 4-3, in overtime at the world championships in Bern, Switzerland. The Americans will face Finland in the quarterfinals, avoiding a possible matchup with Canada, by getting a point for extending the game to overtime . . . Veteran forward Markus Naslund, 35, announced his retirement after 15 seasons. He had one season left on a two-year deal he signed with the Rangers last summer . . . The chain-link fences at New Hampshire Motor Speedway will be replaced in time for its June race, partly in response to Carl Edwards's airborne accident at Talladega Superspeedway. Speedway Motorsports Inc. will spend $400,000 to put up fences made of welding wire . . . Ryan Riley and Herbert Aikens turned in an 8-under-par 63 to take a two-shot lead over Frank Vana/Michael McCarthy and Sean Fitzpatrick/Paul Mitchell after the first round of the Mass. Four-Ball Championship at Crestwood CC in Norton and Ledgemont CC in Seekonk . . . Tara Joy Connelly and Lisa Anderson teamed up to shoot a 64 and win the Townsend Cup at The International in Bolton by six shots . . . Swimmer Jessica Hardy had her two-year suspension for a failed drug test reduced to one year, allowing her to return to competition this summer. Hardy, 22, withdrew from the US Olympic team last August after testing positive for a low level of clenbuterol, a prohibited anabolic agent, at the Olympic swimming trials.