Yankees’ Mark Teixeira to miss eight to 10 weeks with wrist injury

Mark Teixeira is going to be out at least until early May with a strained right wrist tendon, the latest major injury setback for the New York Yankees.

New York General Manager Brian Cashman announced the news after the Yankees were beaten, 8-2, by the Dominican Republic World Baseball Classic team on Wednesday in Tampa, Fla.

Teixeira, the Yankees’ starting first baseman, was hurt swinging a bat Tuesday in an indoor cage during pregame warmups with the U.S. WBC team. Initially, Teixeira was expected to be out eight to 10 days, but he was examined by Yankees doctors in New York on Wednesday and a diagnosis of eight to 10 weeks was given.

Cashman says Teixeira will rest for four weeks before beginning rehabilitation.

It’s the second major injury for the Yankees during spring training this year. Outfielder Curtis Granderson broke his right forearm when he was hit by a pitch Feb. 24. He will also be sidelined until early May.

::

Alfredo Despaigne hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning, helping Cuba defeat two-time defending champion Japan, 6-3, to finish first in Group A of the World Baseball Classic.

Despaigne’s home run off reliever Takeru Imamura at the Fukuoka Dome in Japan gave Cuba a 6-0 lead. Cuba set up a second-round showdown with the Netherlands, the runner-up in Group B, on Friday.

Japan, which scored three runs in the ninth, will face Group B winner Taiwan in the second round at the Tokyo Dome.

Etc.

49ers release kicker David Akers

Six-time Pro Bowl kicker David Akers was released by the San Francisco 49ers after two seasons filled with record-breaking highs and incredible lows.

Akers appeared in all 32 regular-season games and five playoff contests the last two seasons. He connected on 73 of 94 field goal attempts and all 78 extra points.

In 2011, Akers set NFL records with 44 field goals made and 52 attempted. He also tied the league mark for the longest made when he kicked from 63 yards in last season’s opener at Green Bay. But Akers made just 29 of 44 attempts last season, his lowest percentage since 1999.

::

The Washington Redskins announced that A.J. Smith has joined the team as a senior executive. Smith spent nine years as general manager of the San Diego Chargers before he was fired on Dec. 31.

::

Johann Olav Koss, a four-time Olympic gold-medal speedskater from Norway who founded Right to Play, a global organization to aid and educate children facing adversity, has been awarded the Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership. The prize, to be presented at Claremont McKenna College April 18, recognizes extraordinary leadership in the nonprofit sector.

::

Abby Wambach scored her 154th career goal, leaving her four shy of tying Mia Hamm’s all-time record, and the U.S. women’s soccer team opened the Algarve Cup with a 3-0 victory over Iceland in Aro, Portugal.

Wambach scored in the 86th minute off an assist by Alex Morgan. Rachel Buehler and Shannon Boxx also scored for the Olympic champions, who are seeking their ninth title in 18 Algarve Cup appearances.

::

Doctors are optimistic that New York Rangers defenseman Marc Staal will recover fully after being struck in the eye by a deflected puck.

Staal was injured Tuesday night in the third period of New York’s 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. The 26-year-old defenseman will be sidelined indefinitely, but was already showing improvement on Wednesday, the Rangers said in a statement. Staal’s specific injury hasn’t been disclosed.

Staal went down 5:45 into the third period when a shot by Philadelphia defenseman Kimmo Timonen from the blue line clipped the stick of Flyers forward Jake Voracek and caromed up into Staal’s eye, causing a cut. Staal, who wasn’t wearing a visor, writhed on the ice and kicked his legs. He held his face while he was down and when he skated off the ice, assisted by a Rangers trainer, toward the dressing room.

::

One of the investigators who worked the NCAA’s inquiry of Miami athletics wrote a letter on former booster and convicted felon Nevin Shapiro’s behalf just days before he was sentenced two years ago.

In the same letter, dated June 3, 2011, Ameen Najjar even suggested that the NCAA could eventually hire Shapiro.

Najjar, who is no longer with the NCAA, told U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton that college sports’ governing body could have utilized Shapiro “in the future as a consultant and/or speaker to educate our membership.”

Najjar also said that Shapiro assisted the NCAA with investigations involving a number of schools. Najjar did not specify the schools — not even Miami, where Shapiro is the central figure in the scandal that has dogged the Hurricanes’ athletic department for at least two years.