Serious injury for Ronaldo
AC Milan striker Ronaldo, the top scorer in soccer World Cup history, suffered a knee injury Wednesday that may put his career in jeopardy.
The 31-year-old Brazilian left the field in tears on a stretcher after rupturing his left kneecap ligament during a 1-1 tie against Livorno in Milan, Italy, his club said on its website.
Adriano Galliani, Milan’s managing director, said doctors would know whether surgery is needed in the next few days. The Gazetta dello Sport said Ronaldo, who holds the World Cup record with 15 goals, may be out nine months to a year, possibly ending his career.
A three-time world soccer player of the year, Ronaldo joined Milan from Real Madrid in January 2007 for $10.9 million. He previously missed 17 months because of a knee injury while playing for Inter Milan.
“It’s a problem with the tendon in his left knee, not the knee that was operated on in the past,” Galliani said. “The severity of it isn’t known yet, but it’s a serious problem.”
Ronaldo had only been on the field for a short time when he went down in the penalty area as he attempted to jump for a ball.
The Galaxy will play a friendly against the Vancouver Whitecaps of the USL First Division on May 13 in Edmonton, Canada.
BASEBALL
Herges is glad he was implicated
Colorado Rockies reliever Matt Herges says he’s actually glad he was implicated in the Mitchell Report on drugs in baseball because it led him to do some soul-searching and clear his conscience over his “dirty little secret.”
Rockies first base coach Glenallen Hill, who was also implicated in the Mitchell Report, and Herges broke their silence on the matter Wednesday by issuing written apologies for using performance-enhancing drugs.
TENNIS
Blake advances to second round
James Blake reached the second round of the Delray Beach International at Delray Beach, Fla., with a 7-5, 7-5 win over Robert Kendrick.
Donald Young fell apart after leading 5-0 in the first set and lost to Amer Delic, 7-6 (7), 6-3.
Top-seeded Carlos Moya withstood a scare from Olivier Patience, then cruised to a 5-7, 6-1, 6-0 win in the second round of the Brazil Open at Costa do Sauipe, Brazil. . . . Nicolas Mahut upset Juan Carlos Ferrero, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (1) to reach the quarterfinals of the Open 13 at Marseille, France.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Bruins hire special teams coach
Frank Gansz Jr. has been hired as UCLA’s special teams coach. Gansz spent the last two seasons in a similar position with the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens, where he worked with new Bruins Coach Rick Neuheisel.
UCLA also announced that quarterback Kevin Craft, a junior college transfer, has enrolled for the spring quarter and will be able to participate in spring practice.
Tennessee Coach Phillip Fulmer dismissed defensive back Antonio Wardlow and linebacker Dorian Davis for violations of team rules. . . . Bob Connelly, UCLA’s offensive line coach last season, accepted a similar post at Texas El Paso.
MISCELLANY
Contador’s team banned from Tour
Tour de France champion Alberto Contador probably won’t get to defend his title after Tour organizers excluded the Astana cycling team from this year’s race. Astana was banned from the race because of its past doping issues.
“I never thought that it would be possible not to do the Tour the France,” Contador said. “It is my race, I dream of that race. We are not invited. What can we do?”
Daisuke Takahashi of Japan led after the men’s short program on the first day of the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships at Goyang, South Korea.
Evan Lysacek of the United States was in second with 84.06 points.
A former women’s basketball coach at Fresno State said she would accept a $6.62-million award so she could put an end to her high-profile gender discrimination case against the school.
A jury originally awarded Stacy Johnson-Klein a $19.1-million judgment, but a judge last week ordered a new trial unless she accepted the smaller amount.
