Off the wire

BASEBALL

Sabathia out for season

The New York Yankees are no longer expecting CC Sabathia to return to their rotation this year, given the persistence of inflammation in his injured right knee. Asked Friday whether he believed Sabathia's season was over, manager Joe Girardi said: "I think that's about fair to say." The six-time All-Star left-hander has been out with a degenerative cartilage problem in his right knee since mid-May, when his ERA reached a career-high 5.28. The Yankees were targeting a post-All-Star-break return for Sabathia, who had begun a rehabilitation assignment. In his second start, on Wednesday for Class AA Trenton, Sabathia was hit hard: five hits, five runs and one walk while striking out two in 3 2/3 innings. The next morning, the 33-year-old woke up with swelling in the joint. An MRI test on Thursday didn't reveal any new damage. Sabathia will be examined on July 14 by Dr. James Andrews before the next step is determined, Girardi said, but microfracture surgery is possible. Previously, Sabathia had an operation on the knee in October 2010 to repair a small meniscus cartilage tear. The microfracture procedure requires far more recovery time, though. Despite his 6-foot-7, 285-pound frame, Sabathia has been remarkably durable, logging at least 28 starts and 180 innings every season of his career. He reached 230 innings or more in five different years, including in 2007 when he won the American League Cy Young Award for Cleveland. Sabathia is in his sixth season with the Yankees. He gave up 10 home runs in 46 innings over his eight starts before landing on the disabled list on May 11.

• The Colorado Rockies have promoted Jair Jurrjens from the minors, and the right-hander made his first major league start in more than a year Friday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Rockies acquired the 28-year-old Jurrjens in a trade with Cincinnati on Wednesday. Jurrjens signed a minor league deal with the Reds on May 20 and made six starts for Class AAA Louisville, going 2-3 with a 4.46 ERA. Jurrjens last pitched in the big leagues on June 29, 2013, when he was with Baltimore. Colorado purchased Jurrjens' contract, optioned reliever Rob Scahill to Class AAA Colorado Springs and transferred righty Jhoulys Chacin (inflamed shoulder) to the 60-day disabled list. Jurrjens will be the 13th different starter the Rockies have used this season.

• Former closer Neftali Feliz has been recalled by the struggling Texas Rangers from Class AAA Round Rock, adding a fresh arm to their taxed bullpen for an interleague series against the New York Mets. Texas also optioned right-hander Ben Rowen to Round Rock and placed lefty Joe Saunders on waivers for the purpose of giving him his unconditional release. Feliz, an All-Star in 2010 and the AL Rookie of the Year, was the closer on two Rangers teams that went to the World Series. He was one strike from clinching the title for Texas in 2011 before St. Louis rallied in Game 6. The Rangers moved Feliz into the starting rotation two years ago, but he had Tommy John surgery on Aug. 1, 2012. Back in the bullpen, he struggled during spring training this year and was sent to the minors.

• The Seattle Mariners have activated designated hitter Corey Hart and first baseman Justin Smoak from the 15-day disabled list. Hart was in the starting lineup for Friday night's game at the Chicago White Sox, but Smoak was sent down to Class AAA Tacoma. The Mariners also designated outfielder Cole Gillespie for assignment. Hart had been sidelined by a strained left hamstring. He hit .209 with five home runs in 37 games before he went on the DL in May. Manager Lloyd McClendon says Hart also could play first base or in the outfield. Smoak hit .208 in 63 games before straining his left quad. He hit .204 in 13 games during a rehab assignment with Tacoma. McClendon says Smoak will eventually return as a starter with the Mariners.

BASKETBALL

Ginobili fractures leg

The San Antonio Spurs say Manu Ginobili has a stress fracture of the lower fibula of his right leg. The injury could knock the key reserve for the NBA champion Spurs out of the upcoming World Cup of Basketball, where he was scheduled to play for Argentina. The tournament starts at the end of August in Spain. Ginobili wrote Tuesday on his Facebook page that his availability will depend on how he feels in about three weeks, but that he remains optimistic. It's unclear when Ginobili was injured. He averaged 14.4 points in the NBA Finals, when the Spurs beat Miami in five games to give Ginobili his fourth championship.

OLYMPICS

Work begins on park

Construction has finally begun on Deodoro Olympic Park, the second-largest site planned for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro games. Olympic preparations throughout Brazil have been hampered by construction delays, civil unrest and bureaucratic disorganization. Work at Deodoro was supposed to begin two years ago. "This is a very important day," said Carlos Nuzman, president of the Rio 2016 committee. "Today, Brazil has a highly positive image due to the FIFA World Cup, and I'm certain that our games will be no different." International Olympic Committee leaders recently delivered a stern warning to Brazilian officials. The IOC also assigned a top executive to help the local organizing committee. Deodoro will be divided into north and south regions separated by a rail line. It will include an arena and additional new venues along with several more venues that currently exist but require renovation.

• Officials in Vancouver, British Columbia, have released their final financial and operating report on the 2010 Winter Olympics, claiming to have broken even on the Games. The organizing committee said revenues and expenses matched up at about $1.8 billion. The games were almost entirely privately funded, with the International Olympic Committee contributing $721 million from broadcast rights fees, sponsors, ticket sales and other sources. Local authorities recently sold the remainder of the athletes village as condominiums, making a reported profit of $66 million. Vancouver's final report comes just weeks after Russian officials claimed to have made $261 million on the 2014 Sochi games. No accounting details were provided for those most recent games. They cost an estimated $51 billion.

MOTOR SPORTS

Tagliani suspended

IMSA has suspended Alex Tagliani for one race for "unjustifiable risk" during a practice session for last week's United SportsCar Championship race at Watkins Glen. Tagliani triggered an accident last Saturday with Chris Miller that considerably damaged Miller's car. In addition to the suspension, IMSA on Friday placed Tagliani on probation for one additional race.

• Australian Daniel Ricciardo was all smiles Friday after his Red Bull team bounced back to form in practice for the British Grand Prix. The champion team struggled badly in Austria two weeks ago where Ricciardo finished eighth and four-time champion German Sebastian Vettel retired with electrical problems. At Silverstone, they turned that form around as Ricciardo was fourth and Vettel fifth on the opening day. "For me, the car definitely behaved better today in the faster corners and I feel we are back to our stronger point there. ... Austria for now was a one-off bad weekend for us," Ricciardo said. Vettel said: "I think we need to improve and it was quite windy today which didn't make life easy out there. But it was a decent day for us."

Sports on 07/05/2014

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