Eye surgery could end season for Stoudemire
nba
Amare Stoudemire could be finished for the season just days after the Phoenix Suns decided not to trade him. The power forward, a starter for the Western Conference in Sunday's All-Star Game, had eye surgery yesterday and won't be able to resume physical activity for about eight weeks. The eye had been bothering Stoudemire before the Suns' road game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night, when he scored 42 points in Phoenix's 142-129 victory. A blow to his head early in the game might have aggravated the injury. The Suns didn't find out about the need for surgery until after Thursday's trade deadline.
Jazz: : Owner Larry H. Miller, the car sales mogul who turned the team into one of the NBA's most stable, died yesterday from complications of type 2 diabetes. He was 64. Miller was at home with his family when he passed away, the team said in a statement.
Wizards 107, Nets 96:: Antawn Jamison had 28 points, and visiting Washington (13-42) won consecutive games for only the second time this season.
Et cetera:: LeBron James scored 55 points, one shy of his career high, to help the Cavaliers (42-11) beat the host Bucks (27-31), 111-103. ... Celtics forward Kevin Garnett headed back to Boston from Salt Lake City to have a magnetic resonance imaging, likely today, after he strained his right knee in the Celtics' 90-85 loss to the Jazz on Thursday.
'I'm as curious as you,' Woods says of return
golf
Tiger Woods has been on the golf course every day, either practicing or playing, hitting his full array of shots without fear of pain shooting down his left leg or bones sliding out of place. The next step is taking that inside the ropes. "I'm as curious as you," Woods said during a conference call. "The feeling of adrenaline, the rush of competing and playing again, all that I haven't done in a while." Woods will have gone more than eight months without hitting a shot that counts when he returns from knee surgery next week at the Accenture Match Play Championship near Tucson, Ariz.
Et cetera: : Scott McCarron shot a 3-under-par 68 to finish at 10-under 132 after two rounds for a two-stroke lead over Steve Stricker and Tommy Armour III in the PGA Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles. ... Vicente Fernandez and Don Pooley shot 4-under 68s in Naples, Fla., for the lead in The Ace Group Classic, a Champions event.
MLB wants to ask A-Rod about cousin, trainer
baseball
Major League Baseball investigators want to talk with New York Yankees star third baseman Alex Rodriguez about his cousin and a trainer from the Dominican Republic. The interviews were disclosed to the Associated Press by a person familiar with their plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Rodriguez has said his cousin injected him from 2001 to 2003 with a banned substance obtained in the Dominican called "boli." The cousin was identified by ESPN.com as Yuri Sucart of Miami. MLB wants to find out whether Rodriguez still associates with the cousin. In addition, the Daily News of New York said Angel Presinal, a Dominican trainer well known throughout baseball, traveled with Rodriguez and the cousin during the 2007 season. Presinal has been banned from entering baseball clubhouses.
Et cetera: : Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman and the Nationals agreed to a one-year, $3.325 million contract, avoiding arbitration. ... The AP reported that second baseman Orlando Hudson reached an agreement on a one-year, $3.8 million deal with the Dodgers. ... Reliever Jason Isringhausen signed a minor league contract with the Rays.
Wakefield, Blast top Rampage, 9-4
pro soccer
Team captain P.J. Wakefield scored the go-ahead goal on a night when his bobblehead was given out to fans at 1st Mariner Arena, and the Blast won, 9-4, over the Rockford Rampage in front of an announced 6,731. The first-place Blast (9-2) moved to 2 1/2 games ahead of second-place Monterrey La Raza. Enrique Tovar's goal early in the second half gave the Rampage (6-6) a 4-2 lead before Wakefield scored a three-pointer to put the Blast on top 5-4. Machel Millwood and Scott Buete had goals in the final quarter for the Blast, which will play the host Massachusetts Twisters tonight.
IOC head says Phelps deserves second chance
et cetera
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said swimming star Michael Phelps failed in his duty as a role model but deserves a second chance after being photographed with a marijuana pipe. Rogge said Phelps' apology and promise not to do it again earned him the benefit of the doubt. Phelps, who lives in Baltimore, won a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics. The 23-year-old was suspended by the U.S. swimming federation for three months after a British newspaper published the photo of Phelps holding the pipe at a party in South Carolina.
NHL:: Ryan Smyth had a goal and two assists and Andrew Raycroft made 28 saves in the Avalanche's 4-1 victory over the host Capitals. Colorado won its third straight game and ended Washington's winning streak at three. Nicklas Backstrom scored for the Capitals.
NASCAR: : Brian Vickers won the sixth pole of his career, touring the two-mile Auto Club Speedway oval in Fontana, Calif., at 183.429 mph. That relegated three-time reigning Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson to the outside of the front row for tomorrow's Auto Club 500. Johnson had a lap at 183.164 mph.
NFL: : The Redskins released linebacker Marcus Washington. ... The Jets cut tight end Chris Baker. ... Cornerback Joselio Hanson agreed to terms on a five-year deal with the Eagles. ... Offensive tackle Vernon Carey signed a multiyear contract extension with the Dolphins, the team said.
College football: : Former Kansas State coach Ron Prince is rejoining Virginia's staff as an assistant. Cavaliers coach Al Groh said Prince will coordinate special teams. Prince was fired from the Kansas State job in November after 2 1/2 seasons in which he went 16-18. Before joining the Wildcats, Prince spent five years with the Cavaliers, including three as offensive coordinator.
Men's college lacrosse:: Sean Delaney scored back-to-back goals in the final six minutes to lead No. 4 North Carolina (3-0) to a 9-8 home victory over No. 9 Navy (2-1). ... Steven Boyle scored four goals as No. 5 Johns Hopkins (1-0) won, 11-3, over visiting Siena (0-1).
Tennis: : Venus Williams beat younger sister Serena, 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (3), to reach the final of the WTA Dubai Tennis Championship in the United Arab Emirates. In today's final, Venus will face Virginie Razzano, who defeated Kaia Kanepi, 6-1, 6-2, in the other semifinal. ... The Women's Tennis Association fined Dubai Tennis Championships organizers a record $300,000 after Israeli player Shahar Peer was denied a visa by the United Arab Emirates. ... Andy Roddick - who beat fellow American Sam Querrey, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, to reach the semifinals of the ATP Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis, Tenn. - said he won't defend his title in Dubai next week because he doesn't agree with the United Arab Emirates' decision to deny Peer a visa.
Varsity boys basketball:: Shawn Holmes, a Calvert Hall guard, is a member of the Baltimore County all-star team that will play a Baltimore City team as part of the Charm City Challenge on April 5 at Towson Center.