Trail Blazers’ Brandon Roy will have surgery on both knees, is out indefinitely

Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy is scheduled to have arthroscopic surgery on both knees next week. The team said there is no timetable for the All-Star’s return.

Roy has sat out 16 games this season because of soreness in his knees, which he has said is caused by a lack of cartilage. He is averaging 16.6 points in 23 games this season. For his career, the three-time All-Star and 2007 NBA rookie of the year is averaging 19.9 points and 4.9 assists.

“I’m trying to do the best thing I can to get back on the floor,” Roy said in a statement. “We’ve been able to get a number of different opinions and it’s something we’ve decided.”

Last season, Roy had arthroscopic surgery on cartilage in his right knee two days before the Blazers opened their first-round playoff series against Phoenix. He made a remarkable comeback and played in the fourth game of the series, which the Suns eventually won.

In an interview Thursday posted on the team’s website, Roy said he might have been putting strain on his left knee after having the procedure on his right knee.

“The biggest thing, I said in the beginning of this process, I’m going to be patient with it and I’m going to try to think long-term,” Roy said. “The team has really backed me with that and hasn’t tried to rush me. Just try to be patient with it and try to get me back as close to feeling good as possible.”

BASEBALL

Frank Robinson OK after trip to hospital

Frank Robinson returned to the baseball owners’ meetings after a few hours at a Phoenix-area hospital.

“I feel fine,” he said, smiling broadly.

Robinson, 75, a Hall of Fame outfielder who now works as a senior vice president for Major League Baseball, was in a meeting Thursday morning when he said he experienced a rapid heartbeat and shortness of breath.

“I kept hoping it would stop,” he said. “It wasn’t to the point where I couldn’t breathe. I wasn’t close to passing out.”

He said he waited 30 minutes, but his heart kept racing and he decided he needed medical attention. Paramedics were summoned and an ambulance took him to the hospital. He said doctors determined he had a heart rate of 190 and said he was “a little dry, not dehydrated.” He also said doctors ruled out blood clots as well as a blockage in his heart.

Robinson lives in Los Angeles and was scheduled to fly home Thursday night. He said he would follow up with his personal physician.

— Bill Shaikin

A person familiar with the negotiations told the Associated Press the New York Yankees reached an agreement on a three-year contract with American League saves leader Rafael Soriano. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been finalized. Soriano must pass a physical to complete the contract, which could be worth $35 million.

Soriano led the AL with 45 saves last season for Tampa Bay and then became a free agent. The 31-year-old right-hander was 3-2 with a 1.73 earned-run average.

GOLF

First round of Sony Open rained out

The opening round of the PGA Tour’s Sony Open was postponed because of heavy overnight rain that left too much water on Waialae Country Club in Honolulu. Some fairways and bunkers were filled with large puddles.

The plan is to play the opening two rounds Friday and Saturday, with 36 holes Sunday. The cut will be the nearest number to 60 players, although everyone in the top 70 will get credit for making the cut and will get paid.

South Africa’s Martin Maritz and Tyrone Mordt each shot nine-under-par 62 and shared the first-round lead at the European Tour’s Joburg Open at Johannesburg.

TENNIS

Clijsters reaches final in Sydney

Kim Clijsters rallied from a break down in the deciding set to beat Alisa Kleybanova of Russia, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (1), and reach the Sydney International final in Australia. The U.S. Open champion will play Li Na of China, who beat Bojana Jovanovski, 7-6 (5), 6-3.

In the men’s draw, Gilles Simon advanced to the semifinals by beating Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine, 6-4, 6-3. Simon’s victory set up a meeting with third-seeded Ernests Gulbis of Latvia, who beat Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine, 6-4, 6-4. Florian Mayer of Germany will play Viktor Troicki of Serbia in the other semifinal. Mayer beat Potito Starace of Italy, 6-4, 6-1, and Troicki defeated Richard Gasquet of France, 6-4, 6-4.

David Ferrer will play David Nalbandian in the final of the Heineken Open after both won their semifinals Friday at Auckland, New Zealand, in straight sets. Top-seeded Ferrer of Spain beat unseeded Santiago Giraldo of Colombia, 6-3, 7-5, to reach Saturday’s final. Nalbandian beat Spaniard Nicolas Almagro, 6-4, 6-2.

Jarmila Groth of Australia will play her doubles partner, Klara Zakopalova, for a place in the Hobart International final. Groth defeated Roberta Vinci of Italy, 6-1, 6-2, in the quarterfinals at Hobart, Australia, while Zakopalova beat top-seeded Marion Bartoli, 6-4, 6-2. The other semifinal will be between American Bethanie Mattek-Sands and China’s Peng Shuai.

ETC.

Taylor avoids jail time with guilty pleas

Former NFL star Lawrence Taylor pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct and patronizing a prostitute, misdemeanor charges that carry no jail time but require him to register as a sex offender. The 51-year-old former linebacker, who led the New York Giants to Super Bowl titles in 1987 and 1991, will serve six years of probation.

“She told me she was 19,” Taylor said in court in New City, N.Y., as he admitted to having sex with a prostitute who turned out to be a 16-year-old Bronx runaway. Taylor said he now knows the girl was legally incapable of consent.

Prosecutor Patricia Gunning said the plea deal was acceptable in part because Taylor had assisted in investigations into human trafficking since he was charged. Another prosecutor, Arthur Ferraro, said outside court that Taylor “was of assistance in the field of human trafficking in several jurisdictions and with federal authorities.”

The NCAA won’t put restrictions on how early coaches can offer scholarships to young players after its legislative council defeated a proposal that would have prohibited coaches from making scholarship offers until after a student’s junior year of high school.

The U.S. soccer team completed arrangements for an exhibition against Argentina on March 26 at New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The U.S. will play Paraguay three days later at LP Field in Nashville, Tenn.