Sports Shorts
Baseball Garciaparra wins vote
CHICAGO (AP) – White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski edged out Minnesota rookie pitcher Francisco Liriano for the final AL All-Star spot, while NL batting leader Nomar Garciaparra earned the last NL slot Thursday in fan voting on the Internet.
AL manager Ozzie Guillen will now have seven of his own Chicago players on the roster.
Pierzynski, a catalyst as the White Sox won the World Series last year, is hitting .326 with five home runs and 28 RBIs. Liriano also got strong support after going 9-1 with a 1.99 ERA.
Garciaparra tops the NL in hitting at .359, with 10 home runs and 49 RBIs. In his first year with the Los Angeles Dodgers, he’s playing first base.
The All-Star game will be Tuesday night in Pittsburgh. The rosters were announced Sunday, save for the last two players to be picked in fan voting on the Internet.
Martinez on DL
NEW YORK (AP) – All-Star ace Pedro Martinez was placed on the disabled list by the New York Mets on Thursday due to pain in his right hip.
Martinez missed his scheduled start on Monday and can now rest through the All-Star break.
“This is the perfect time to do this,” Martinez said.
Martinez was chosen for the NL All-Star team but won’t take part in next week’s festivities in Pittsburgh, general manager Omar Minaya said. The move is retroactive to June 29, the day after the right-hander’s last start.
Henry Owens was recalled from Double-A Binghamton to take Martinez’s place on the roster. Owens will continue to work out of the bullpen for the Mets, who are trying to piece together a starting rotation while protecting a double-digit lead in the NL East.
Martinez (7-4) last pitched June 28 against the Red Sox in Boston when he allowed eight runs – six earned – and seven hits in just three innings.
Golf
Fasth, Dredge shoot 65
STRAFFAN, Ireland (AP) – Niclas Fasth chipped in for eagle on his 16th hole and birdied the last for a 7-under 65 to share the lead with Bradley Dredge after the first round of the European Open on Thursday.
Dredge birdied the 18th to join Fasth with a one-stroke lead over Paul Casey and Angel Cabrera at the K Club.
Casey, winner of the Johnnie Walker Championship two weeks ago, bogeyed his 17th to fall out of the lead.
Fasth and Dredge capitalized on their early tee times. Players had rain and a stronger wind to contend with in the afternoon.
“Greens don’t come any better than this,” Fasth said. “They are rolling 100 percent true and I don’t expect them to spike up either.”
Lopez to play next week
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) – Nancy Lopez will play an LPGA Tour event for the first time in more than a year next week at the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic.
Lopez, a winner of 48 LPGA tournaments and a big fan favorite, has played only a handful of tour events since the 2002 season.
The 49-year-old star most recently tied for 29th in the Hy-Vee Classic on the LPGA’s Legends Tour on June 24-25. She last played on the LPGA Tour at the Chick-fil-A Charity Classic in May 2005.
Lopez last played at the Farr Classic in 2002. She told tournament director Judd Silverman on Wednesday that she wanted to enter.
Basketball
Morrison signs contract
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Adam Morrison, the No. 3 overall pick in last month’s NBA draft, signed with the Charlotte Bobcats on Thursday.
Morrison, the 6-foot-8, 205-pound forward from Gonzaga, will be paid about $3 million in the first year of the deal and nearly $3.25 million in the second year under terms of the NBA’s rookie pay scale.
The team has the option to renew the contract in years three and four of the deal.
“We are pleased to sign Adam and to get him on the basketball court with our team,” said Bernie Bickerstaff, the team’s coach and general manager. “We have already seen how his skills will benefit our team and how competitive he is on the court.”
“I look forward to doing whatever I can to help the Bobcats take the next step as we build towards a championship,” Morrison said in a statement.
Hockey
Flyers re-sign Umberger
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Center R.J. Umberger agreed to terms on a two-year contract to stay with the Flyers on Thursday. Umberger had 20 goals and 18 assists in 73 regular-season games for the Flyers last season, his first in the NHL.
Tennis
Fed Cup team named
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) – With Serena Williams and Lindsay Davenport injured, and Venus Williams begging off, Jill Craybas, Jamea Jackson, Vania King and Mashona Washington will play for the United States against Belgium in the Fed Cup semifinals.
The U.S. team was announced Thursday for the best-of-five series July 15-16 at Ostend, Belgium, on an indoor hard court.
The winner will face Italy or Spain in the Sept. 16-17 Fed Cup final.
The United States has won a record 17 titles, but none since 2000.
Wimbledon finalist Justine Henin-Hardenne and semifinalist Kim Clijsters – both ranked in the top three – lead Belgium’s team, which also includes Kirsten Flipkens and Caroline Maes. Belgium’s only Fed Cup championship came in 2001, the last year Henin-Hardenne and Clijsters both were on the team.
Craybas is ranked 43rd, but she’s 1-0 against Clijsters. Jackson is No. 58, King is No. 88, and Washington is No. 120.
Serena Williams has been off the tour for several months with a bad left knee, while Davenport has a bad back. Venus Williams said last month she wouldn’t be playing in the Fed Cup semifinals. All are Grand Slam champions.