Roddick Injured in U.S. Loss

Andy Roddick retired after injuring his left foot in the first set of his match at the World Team Cup, and Chile took advantage by beating the United States, 2-1, Wednesday in Duesseldorf, Germany.

Nicolas Massu was leading, 4-2, when Roddick pulled out one point after landing badly.

The injury comes the week before the French Open begins, but Roddick is still hoping to compete.

Paul Capdeville beat Robby Ginepri, 6-4, 6-4, in the second singles match.

In doubles, Bob and Mike Bryan beat Fernando Gonzalez and Massu, 6-4, 7-5.

Croatia beat Spain, 2-1, earning the right to play Chile for a place in the final. Germany and the Czech Republic meet today to decide the other finalist.

Anastasiya Yakimova beat Meghann Shaughnessy, 2-6, 6-3, 6-0, and Karolina Sprem ousted Mashona Washington, 6-4, 6-1, to reach the quarterfinals of the Istanbul Cup in Turkey.

SOCCER

Midfielder Reyna’s

Injury Is Called Minor

U.S. national team midfielder Claudio Reyna is expected to be ready for the World Cup opener on June 12 after an MRI exam on the strained right hamstring he sustained during a 1-0 loss to Morocco revealed it to be minor.

Carlos Ruiz scored with four minutes left in regulation to give FC Dallas (5-1-3) a 2-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls (1-1-5) in East Rutherford, N.J.

HOCKEY

Hextall Reportedly

Considered by Kings

Ron Hextall, director of player personnel for the Philadelphia Flyers, is among to leading candidates to become the Kings’ assistant general manager, league sources said.

Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi has received permission from the Flyers to speak with Hextall. The two worked together in Philadelphia the last two years.

The Kings are also believed to be interested in agent Jeff Solomon for a front-office position overseeing the team’s payroll in relation to the salary cap, a league source said.

Kings officials declined to comment on either report.

*

-- Chris Foster

Francois Giguere, who began his career in Colorado’s front office before joining the Dallas Stars as an assistant general manager, is returning to the Avalanche as general manager.

Giguere, 42, will replace Avalanche President Pierre Lacroix, who relinquished his GM duties.

MISCELLANY

Pepperdine’s Vargas

Increases NCAA Lead

Pepperdine’s Eileen Vargas shot a one-under-par 71 to extend her lead to four shots, and Arizona State had a three-stroke edge on Duke after the second round of the NCAA women’s golf championships in Upper Arlington, Ohio.

USC was third, five shots back. Pepperdine was sixth.

Ed Tapscott, the first employee of the Charlotte Bobcats, stepped down as president and chief executive of the second-year team. Van Sinclair was appointed acting president and chief operating officer.

Cheryl Ford had 17 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Detroit Shock (1-1) past the Minnesota Lynx (0-2), 78-69, in a WNBA game at Auburn Hills, Mich.

Heavyweight Javier Mora (20-2-1, 18 knockouts) of Anaheim, coming off a TKO victory over Kirk Johnson two months ago, hopes to add to his credibility as a title contender by beating Fres Oquendo (25-3, 16) in tonight’s main event, scheduled for 10 rounds, at the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula.

Santa Fe Springs St. Paul and Hesperia highs were removed from the Southern Section Division V baseball playoffs by section officials after a bench-clearing brawl Tuesday in the fifth inning left both teams with too few eligible players to complete the second-round game, which will be considered a no-contest.

Two football players recruited by Oregon, one of whom signed a letter of intent to play this fall, were charged with sexually abusing two women while visiting Eugene in January.

Marvin Johnson, 18, of Compton Dominguez High and Major Marquis Culbert, 18, of Harbor City Narbonne were arrested on charges of sexual abuse and burglary in the alleged Jan. 14 incident. Johnson signed with Oregon as a safety and Culbert signed with Nebraska as a defensive back.

Thirty-one passengers and three crew members aboard the vessel Legend were evacuated Tuesday evening after the boat apparently struck an object and sprung a leak during an overnight sportfishing excursion into Mexico. No injuries were reported.

The incident occurred in windy seas about 120 miles southwest of Point Loma.

PASSINGS

Honda Cup Creator

Grossman Dies at 75

Irv Grossman, longtime consultant and manager of sports events for the Honda Motor Co., and the originator 30 years ago of the Honda-Broderick Cup that annually honors the top collegiate women’s athlete in the country, died Tuesday after a long battle with cancer in Solana Beach, Calif. Grossman was three days short of his 75th birthday.