Mets owner says team is ‘bleeding cash’

New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon said his team is “bleeding cash” and could lose as much as $70 million this year.

Wilpon told Sports Illustrated in its current issue that he has made a lot of poor judgments. He says trusting Bernard Madoff was his biggest regret.

The Mets were caught up in Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. Wilpon told the magazine that the Mets “became in jeopardy” after a court-appointed trustee wanted the team’s owners to repay $1 billion to Madoff’s victims.

Wilpon also said there could be an agreement within three weeks to sell a minority share of the team.

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NASCAR driver Kyle Busch was clocked by a North Carolina sheriff’s deputy going 128 mph in a 45-mph zone and was cited for careless and reckless driving and speeding, a law enforcement spokesman said.

In a statement issued late Tuesday, Busch acknowledged what happened.

“I was test-driving a new sports car and I got carried away,” Busch said. “I went beyond the speed I should have been going on a public road. I apologize to the public, my fans, sponsors, and race teams for my lack of judgment.”

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USC baseball assistant Tom House, a former major league pitcher, announced his retirement from coaching, effective at the end of the season.

“This was the most rewarding coaching experience of my career,” House, who attended USC and was a member of the staff for four seasons, said in a statement. “I was trying in a small way to do for these kids what Rod Dedeaux did for me here. It was extremely fulfilling.”

—Gary Klein

Devon Wills and Hilary Bowen have been named assistant coaches for USC’s women’s lacrosse program, Coach Lindsey Munday announced.

USC begins competition in the 2012-13 season.

—Gary Klein

The Sparks will host the defending WNBA champion Seattle Storm in their first exhibition Wednesday at noon at the Torodome on the campus of Cal State Dominguez Hills in Carson. The game will mark the return of Candace Parker, the 2008 WNBA most valuable player and rookie of the year, who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury last June. The Storm is led by 2010 WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson.

—Melissa Rohlin

Chicago Blackhawks Hall of Famer Stan Mikita, 71, says he has Stage 1 oral cancer, and his doctor says his prognosis is excellent.