Sports Log

Giants’ Sandoval out with broken hand

May 4, 2012

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Baseball

The San Francisco Giants are suddenly without their best hitter. Pablo Sandoval has a broken hamate bone in his left hand that will require surgery, and the free-swinging slugger is expected to miss 4-6 weeks - the same injury he had last year on the other hand. An X-ray Tuesday did not reveal the break, but Sandoval underwent an MRI and CT scan that showed the fracture. He will undergo surgery Friday at Stanford . . . Detroit outfielder Delmon Young will be eligible to return from his seven-day suspension without pay when the Tigers resume a homestand against the White Sox Friday. Young has been forced to sit out since police say he yelled anti-Semitic epithets during a late-night, drunken tussle before he was arrested at a New York hotel last week.

Buckner ball goes up for auction again

The baseball that broke the hearts of Red Sox fans everywhere and turned Bill Buckner into one of the most famous goats in sports history when it rolled between his legs in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series against the Mets, is up for sale. Heritage Auctions said the ball is expected to bring in more than $100,000 as the centerpiece of an auction featuring the baseball memorabilia collection of Los Angeles songwriter Seth Swirsky. Actor Charlie Sheen bought the famous ball for more than $93,000 in 1992. Swirsky purchased it for nearly $64,000 in 2000 . . . The Yankees put infielder Eric Chavez on the seven-day concussion disabled list and signed Jayson Nix to a major league contract . . . Barry Bonds is asking a federal appeals court to toss out his felony obstruction conviction, arguing his conviction was based on a rambling and irrelevant - but truthful - answer to a grand jury question about whether his trainer provided him with an injectable substance.

ND QB Rees jailed after confrontation

Colleges

Notre Dame quarterback Tommy Rees was pepper-sprayed and arrested early Thursday after he allegedly ran away from an off-campus party and knocked the wind out of a police officer who caught up to him. Linebacker Carlo Calabrese also was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct after he tried to intercede. A probable cause affidavit said the 6-foot-2-inch, 210-pound Rees continued to resist even after being knocked down by police officer Brandon Stec, so Stec used pepper spray and was finally able to subdue him with the help of other officers. The 19-year-old Rees was charged with one count of battery, two counts of resisting law enforcement, and one count of illegal consumption of alcohol by a minor. Police captain Phil Trent said Rees registered 0.11 percent on a blood-alcohol test. Rees was released on a $250 cash bond. Coach Brian Kelly said he was aware of the incident . . . Kentucky’s Matthew Mitchell signed a seven-year extension, putting him among the highest-paid coaches in women’s college basketball. The deal runs through the 2018-19 season. Mitchell is guaranteed at least $7.7 million in salary and endorsements . . . The Big 12 Conference has made it official, announcing the hiring of Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby as its new commissioner.

Wrongful death suit in Virginia lacrosse

The mother of University of Virginia women’s lacrosse player Yeardley Love, who was killed by George W. Huguely V, a member of the men’s lacrosse team, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the team’s coaches, the university’s athletics director, and the state, claiming they ignored the student’s erratic behavior. Sharon Love’s lawsuit seeks $29.45 million in damages from the state, coach Dom Starsia, assistant coach Marc Van Arsdale, and athletics director Craig Littlepage . . . Michigan State football players William Gholston and Lawrence Thomas suffered minor injuries in a freeway crash. The school said the two defensive players were “shaken’’ after the accident when another vehicle crossed into the path of the sport utility vehicle being driven by Gholston somewhere between East Lansing and the players’ hometown of Detroit . . . The judge in Jerry Sandusky’s child sex-abuse case ruled against prosecutors in their bid to get subpoenas issued by his lawyer thrown out and to impose future restrictions on their use.

Torres appealing 25-game suspension

Miscellany

Phoenix Coyotes forward Raffi Torres is appealing the length of his 25-game suspension. Torres was penalized last month for a hit to the head on Chicago forward Marian Hossa, who was taken off the ice on a stretcher in Game 3 and didn’t return to the first-round series that Phoenix won in six games . . . Jeremy Lin all but ruled himself out of Game 4 against the Miami Heat Sunday, still hoping he can return if the Knicks extend their first-round series. Lin had surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee April 2 . . . A charity that takes care of 1,100 retired racehorses has been driven into insolvency and some of its animals have been neglected, are suffering, and are underfed, the New York attorney general said in a lawsuit. The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation has taken in far more thoroughbreds than it can afford, according to the lawsuit filed in state Supreme Court in Manhattan. Its directors also have ignored repeated warnings and have made “financially irresponsible’’ transactions by borrowing money to pay debts and by paying vendors and veterinarians late, the suit said . . . American forward Jozy Altidore has a bruised back after colliding with a concrete barrier during a Dutch League game. Altidore is the leading scorer for AZ Alkmaar and is on the US team that begins World Cup qualifying next month.