Martin’s Retirement Appears to Be on Hold

It isn’t much of a surprise, but it looks as if Mark Martin’s retirement from NASCAR’s Nextel Cup series is going to be postponed for a year.

In the afterglow of a victory in Thursday night’s IROC race at Richmond International Raceway, Martin said it appeared he would be back in Jack Roush’s No. 6 Ford next season.

“It’s looking more and more like that all the time,” Martin said.

Martin, 46, said he had planned to spend next season driving a few Busch Series races, as well as racing for his own new team in NASCAR’s Craftsman truck series. But things got complicated recently when Roush signed Jamie McMurray away from Chip Ganassi Racing.

McMurray signed for 2007, with the hope that he or Roush could persuade Ganassi not to pick up his option for 2006. Ganassi has refused to let McMurray go next season, though, leaving Roush a driver short.

Instead of trying to find an interim driver, Roush has begged Martin, who came to the Cup series with Roush in 1988, to stay on for one more year.

“I’ve had to change my plans,” Martin said, shrugging. “My first truck is already done and I was looking forward to that.”

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Mike Skinner got his second straight NASCAR truck series victory by outrunning Todd Bodine and Kevin Harvick in a two-lap sprint to end a crash-filled race at Richmond, Va.

Pro Basketball

Red Auerbach, 87, the president and former coach of the Boston Celtics, has been hospitalized in Washington with an undisclosed health problem.

The 87-year-old coaching great has been in and out of the hospital the last month for tests and a surgical procedure, Celtic spokesman Jeff Twiss said.

Twiss would not identify the procedure or the hospital and said Auerbach was readmitted for an unspecified problem within the last 10 days.

A statement on the Celtics’ website said, “The Auerbach family expresses their deepest appreciation for the concern pertaining to the health of their father. Red has been under the weather at times recently and he has taken steps with his doctor to return to feeling better. The family asks that you please respect their privacy during this time.”

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The New Jersey Nets signed free-agent forwards Lamond Murray and Scott Padgett.

Golf

Lucas Glover made eight birdies and shot a five-under-par 65 to share the first-round lead in the Canadian Open at Vancouver with veteran Mark Calcavecchia. Jesper Parnevik shot a 66. Defending champion Vijay Singh didn’t make a birdie and had three bogeys in a round of 73.

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The PGA Tour’s Southern Farm Bureau Classic in Madison, Miss., has been moved from Oct. 6-9 to Nov. 3-6 because of the effects to the region from Hurricane Katrina. The tournament, to be played at Annandale Golf Club, is now scheduled opposite the Tour Championship.

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A second LPGA Tour event for Hawaii has been added for 2006 with the Fields Open at Ko Olina Golf Club on Oahu. It will be played Feb. 23-25.

Soccer

Zinedine Zidane will miss three weeks because of injuries, Real Madrid said.

Zidane tore a muscle in his right thigh and suffered a groin strain during France’s 1-0 win over Ireland in a World Cup qualifier on Wednesday.

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Defending champion Chelsea was accused of misconduct by England’s Football Assn. for doing independent drug tests on some of its players.

The FA says the tests took place July 12, 2004, violating the agreement that all tests must be part of the league’s anti-doping program. Chelsea has until Sept. 23 to respond.

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Mexico announced it would play an exhibition game against Bulgaria on Nov. 16 in Houston.

Baseball

Nicaragua beat winless Colombia, 12-2, in the World Cup at Amsterdam to raise its record to 4-0 and share first place in its group with the United States.

Nicaragua won the day’s only game in the 18-team tournament and plays the U.S. today.

Hockey

Veteran Buffalo Sabre defenseman James Patrick, 42, who spent 21 years in the NHL, retired and accepted an assistant coaching position with the team. Patrick played 1,280 games in the NHL and scored 149 goals and had 490 assists.

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All of the Mighty Ducks’ practices this season at Anaheim Ice, the team’s training facility, will be open to the public and free of charge beginning with the opening of training camp Tuesday.

The team will conduct a scrimmage for the first four days of camp before playing the Kings in their first preseason contest Sept. 17 at Staples Center. The Ducks will host San Jose on Sept. 21, the first of four home preseason games.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins are expected to announce today that No. 1 draft pick Sidney Crosby has signed his first NHL contract. The new labor deal limits his first-year compensation to $850,000 in salary and $850,000 in bonuses.

Miscellany

The Brazilian runner who was grabbed by a spectator while leading the Olympic marathon lost his bid to be awarded a duplicate gold medal.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected Vanderlei de Lima’s appeal, saying it couldn’t change the result of the 2004 race unless there was evidence of “bad faith or arbitrariness.”

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Mike Powell, the world record-holder in the long jump who competed for UCLA in 1986, will coach the Bruins’ women’s and men’s jumpers and also assist with the multi-event athletes. He is filling the coaching vacancy left by Robert Johnson, who left to join the staff at Oregon.

Passings

Stanley Dancer, a record-setting harness racing driver who was the king of the sport’s marquee races, died at 78. Story, Section B.