NHL suspends Jarkko Ruutu for biting opponent

Ottawa Senators forward Jarkko Ruutu was suspended by the NHL on Wednesday for two games without pay for biting Buffalo Sabres enforcer Andrew Peters.

The NHL said Ruutu will lose $37,707 in pay and miss Ottawa’s game at Boston today and a home game against the New York Rangers on Saturday.

The ruling came a day after Ruutu bit down on Peters’ glove during an altercation in front of the Senators’ bench in the first period of Buffalo’s 4-2 victory. The force of Ruutu’s bite ripped Peters’ glove off, broke the skin and drew blood on the player’s right thumb.

“Obviously, I’m happy about it and glad the NHL took notice,” Peters said, still wearing a bandage around his bitten right thumb. “That’s all I could ask for. It’s a good result at the end of the day. It’s a fair penalty.”

Peters was penalized for sparking the skirmish when he repeatedly rubbed the palm of his glove into Ruutu’s face. Ruutu was not penalized.

Ruutu denied he bit Peters despite replays showing he chomped down on the player’s glove.

Colorado Avalanche captain Joe Sakic, already sidelined after a snow blower accident last month, underwent surgery for a herniated disk and will need about 10 weeks to recover.

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BASEBALL

Athletics, Giambi finalize one-year deal

Jason Giambi and the Oakland Athletics finalized a $5.25-million, one-year contract with an option, bringing the free-agent designated hitter and first baseman back to the place he began his big league career.

Jerry Hairston Jr. stayed with the Cincinnati Reds, agreeing to a $2-million, one-year contract. The 32-year-old infielder-outfielder played six positions in 80 games for the Reds last season. . . . Former Pittsburgh Pirates managing general partner Kevin McClatchy has sold his remaining shares in the team, ending a 13-year relationship that began with the newspaper heir probably preventing the club from leaving Pittsburgh.

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TENNIS

Davydenko to miss Australian Open

Nikolay Davydenko will miss the Australian Open because of a heel injury that bothered him last season and has caused “unbearable” pain the last two weeks.

The fifth-ranked Russian also pulled out of the Chennai Open in India, where he was seeded first.

No. 1 Rafael Nadal and No. 2 Roger Federer won in straight sets to advance to the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open in Doha. Nadal beat Karol Beck, 6-1, 6-2, and Federer beat Andreas Seppi, 6-3, 6-3. Elsewhere, Andy Roddick edged Arnaud Clement, 6-3, 7-5, and Andy Murray beat Philipp Petzschner, 6-2, 6-4. . . . Top-seeded Ana Ivanovic fought off two match points and rallied for a 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-1 win over Roberta Vinci to advance to the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International in Australia. . . . James Blake’s bid for a third Hopman Cup title ended when the U.S. lost the mixed doubles match to Germany in Perth, Australia. The Americans lost, 2-1, to Germany when Blake and Meghann Shaughnessy fell to Nicolas Kiefer and Sabine Lisicki, 6-3, 3-6 and 10-7 in the tiebreaker.

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ETC.

Benefit dinner party to be held for ailing boxer

Retired world super-featherweight champion Genaro Hernandez is ailing with a cancerous brain tumor, and boxing figures will gather at a benefit dinner party Jan. 17 at the World Boxing Council Legends of Boxing Museum in San Bernardino to help defray his medical expenses. For ticket information, contact museum chairman Rudy Tellez at mouthpiecedoctor@yahoo.com, or at (323) 229-1694.

Manchester United was upset, 1-0, in the English League Cup semifinals by Derby on a goal by Kris Commons, ending a 14-match unbeaten streak in all competitions. . . . The Galaxy signed veteran midfielder Leonard Griffin and released defender Eduardo Dominguez. The team also re-signed goalkeeper Steve Cronin and forward Jovan Kirovski. Griffin, 26, is an MLS veteran who played for Portland of the USL First Division last season.

Two felony charges against former Minnesota Vikings great Carl Eller were dropped as part of a deal that calls for a judge to rule on two lesser charges stemming from his clash with police last April. . . . A Frenchman became the latest fatality in the Dakar Rally, when Nasser Al Attiyah reclaimed the race’s overall lead and NASCAR star Robbie Gordon was third in a fifth stage won by Giniel De Villiers in Argentina. The body of motorcyclist Pascal Terry, missing since Sunday, was found in dense bush between Santa Rosa and Puerto Madryn.