Report: Mitchell probe may name 11 free agents

No more than 11 players from this year’s free-agent class were asked to speak with George Mitchell as part of his investigation into performance-enhancing drugs in baseball, a union official told agents this week.

Michael Weiner, the union’s general counsel, made the statement Wednesday to agents attending a meeting in New York, two people with knowledge of the session said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the remarks were intended to remain private.

The Boston Globe reported on its website that agents were told at the meeting that 11 current free-agent players are named in Mitchell’s report, but Weiner said the union didn’t know whether any names would be included, those with knowledge of the meeting told the Associated Press.

“Under the collective bargaining agreement between the 30 major league clubs and the players’ association, any request by me for an interview with a current player must be made through their representative, the players’ association,” Mitchell said in a statement.

Approximately 160 players are eligible for free agency.

The Yankees’ Jason Giambi is the only active player known to have spoken with Mitchell.

Baseball wants to prevent another tragic accident like the one that killed Mike Coolbaugh.

General managers meeting in Orlando, Fla., decided that base coaches will wear some sort of head protection next season, a move that came four months after Coolbaugh was struck in the neck by a line drive during a minor league game.

Coolbaugh, a former major league player, was a coach for the Colorado Rockies’ double-A team in Tulsa when he died July 22. He had been hit by a liner as he stood in the first-base coach’s box during a Texas League game at Arkansas.

Billy Martin, Marvin Miller and Doug Harvey are among 20 former managers, executives and umpires on the new Hall of Fame ballots to be considered by the revamped Veterans Committee when it votes next month.

Whitey Herzog, Davey Johnson, Gene Mauch and Bowie Kuhn are other notable candidates up for induction in 2008. The Veterans Committee has gone three straight elections without enshrining anyone in Cooperstown, leading to further changes in the process this year.

TENNIS

Serena Williams withdraws after injury

Serena Williams withdrew from the Sony Ericsson Championships in Madrid after being forced to retire from a match the previous day against Anna Chakvetadze because of a left knee injury.

The fifth-ranked Williams had lost the first set, 6-4, in Wednesday’s match before having an MRI scan. It’s the same knee on which she had surgery in 2003 and also forced her to miss 10 tournaments last year.

Maria Sharapova and Anna Chakvetadze won three-set matches Thursday to reach the semifinals.

The doubles field of the Masters Cup in Shanghai suffered a major loss with the withdrawal of the top-ranked double team, twins Bob and Mike Bryan of Camarillo. Mike Bryan said he has been bothered by a sore elbow.

GOLF

Tour Championship date could be moved

The 2008 Tour Championship, the last event of the Fed Ex Cup series, may be moved on the schedule to follow the Ryder Cup instead of precede it.

The PGA Tour’s board of directors may approve a plan for the new dates, a possibility that was raised last month at a Ryder Cup news conference with captains Paul Azinger and Nick Faldo at Valhalla Golf Club at Louisville, Ky.

A change in dates would give the players a short break in the Fed Ex Cup playoffs, which made their debut this year.

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Paula Creamer birdied the final seven holes for a share of the first-round lead with Meg Mallon in the Tournament of Champions at Mobile, Ala., ending Suzann Pettersen’s run at the top of the leaderboard at six rounds.

Creamer and Mallon shot five-under 67s, leaving them two strokes ahead of Pettersen, Natalie Gulbis, Pat Hurst, Mi Hyun Kim and Seon Hwa Lee.

MISCELLANY

Revolution advances to MLS championship

Taylor Twellman converted a bicycle kick between two defenders in the 38th minute, giving the New England Revolution a 1-0 victory over the Chicago Fire at Foxborough, Mass., and a spot in the Major League Soccer championship game for the third year in a row.

The Revolution will play the winner of Saturday night’s Western Conference final between defending champion Houston Dynamo and the Kansas City Wizards.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are the most valuable NHL team, even though the franchise hasn’t won the Stanley Cup in 40 years.

Forbes released its annual valuations of NHL teams and put the value of the Maple Leafs at $413 million, $48 million more than the New York Rangers.

The Stanley Cup champion-Ducks rank 12th among the 30 teams with a value of $197 million. Two years ago, Henry and Susan Samueli purchased the team for $70 million.

An Illinois woman is suing the St. Louis Cardinals for allowing a text message that falsely suggested her daughter has a sexually transmitted disease to be posted on the ballpark’s message board during a game.

The lawsuit claims the 17-year-old girl was so traumatized by the message last year during a class trip that she stayed out of school the rest of the semester and took her finals in a school office to avoid ridicule.

The lawsuit seeks at least $25,000 in damages from the Cardinals, alleging the ballclub negligently failed to properly screen the messages, which fans may submit for a small fee to display on Busch Stadium’s electronic message board.

Adidas is ending its sponsorship of the German cycling team T-Mobile because of more doping revelations about it.

Telekom, the team’s main sponsor, also is considering terminating its relationship with the team, which bears the name of its subsidiary.