Monday, December 01, 2008

By Bee News Services

last updated: October 08, 2008 04:17:39 AM

SAN FRANCISCO -- Omar Vizquel, the 11-time Gold Glove shortstop who will be looking for work this winter, is recovering from laser surgery on his right eye.

"All went well," Vizquel said in an e-mail.

He had the procedure last week once the season ended, then had to wait several days as the eye healed before returning to his home in the Seattle area.

Vizquel, 41, played the past four seasons for San Francisco but Giants general manager Brian Sabean said after the season ended there was "zero" chance of bringing him back. The Giants are committed to a youth movement and went with speedy rookie Emmanuel Burriss at shortstop most of the time in the season's second half. ...

Yankees closer Mariano Rivera had surgery on his right shoulder and is expected to resume throwing in three months, a month ahead of spring training.

Tennis

Venus Williams was beaten in the opening round for the second time in 12 tournaments this season, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 to Flavia Pennetta at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow. The Wimbledon champion, who also lost in the first round at Memphis in March, dropped to 1-3 against Pennetta. ... Top-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka was upset 6-7 (5), 6-2, 7-6 (5) by qualifier Philipp Petzschner in the first round of the BA Tennis Trophy in Vienna, Austria.

Cycling

The head of the Tour de France hailed a new lab test that has exposed three riders in the 2008 race for cheating with an advanced form of the blood booster EPO.

"It's very good. It allows us to confound the cheaters," Christian Prudhomme said. "What's being done at the Tour de France has never existed in the world of sport, in no competition."

Soccer

Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan and Tim Howard have been named finalists for the Honda Player of the Year award, given to a U.S. national team member.

Dempsey, who won in 2006, has scored four goals during this year's World Cup qualifying matches. Donovan, the only four-time player of the year winner, has tied Kasey Keller as a six-time finalist. Howard, a finalist for the second year in a row, has appeared in goal in eight of 11 national team matches this year.

The winner will be announced Nov. 11 in Los Angeles.

Motor Sports

The Canadian Grand Prix was dropped from Formula One's 2009 calendar, leaving North America without a race on the circuit. The inaugural Abu Dhabi GP was added to the 2009 schedule, which will feature 18 races, the same as this year.

NFL

Saints starting cornerback Tracy Porter will miss the rest of his rookie season after dislocating his right wrist during Monday night's game against Minnesota. ... Bengals reserve linebacker Darryl Blackstock was suspended for the next four games because he used a performance-enhancing substance.

Colleges

Dom Rosselli, the winningest basketball and baseball coach at Youngstown State, has died. He was 93. The university says Rosselli died Tuesday morning. Rosselli totaled 1,000 career wins in the two sports over 38 years. He also served as an assistant football coach for 21 years.

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