Detroit – Niklas Kronwall will be out at least six weeks because of a knee injury, leaving the Detroit Red Wings without one of their top defensemen when they open the regular season.
Kronwall’s left knee was injured when Colorado’s Dan Hinote’s hip-checked him along the boards in an exhibition game Tuesday night at the Pepsi Center.
“He has some ACL and MCL damage,” general manager Ken Holland said Wednesday. “He’s going to be examined Friday, and we’ll know more about his status after we get some more opinions.”
Holland said Kronwall, 24, could have had a season-ending injury, though the team is hoping it’s not that serious.
NHL
Roenick to sit tonight’s game vs. Avs
Los Angeles Kings forward Jeremy Roenick will sit out the team’s final two preseason games, including tonight’s game against the Avalanche at the Pepsi Center, as he recovers from a concussion suffered Sunday on a hit from Denis Gauthier of the Phoenix Coyotes.
NBA
Wizards’ Blatche to miss training camp
Washington Wizards rookie Andray Blatche will miss training camp while he recovers from gunshot wounds from an attempted carjacking. The 19-year-old forward was shot once early Sunday morning while riding in a car near his home in Alexandria, Va. The bullet hit him in the right forearm and on the left side of his chest.
“We have no timetable for my return,” Blatche said, “but I’m working hard and expect to make a full recovery.”
Also, the Wizards will not match the offer sheet guard Steve Blake signed with the Portland Trail Blazers.
HORSE RACING
Baffert changes course of Roman Ruler
Roman Ruler will prep for the Breeders’ Cup in California instead of New York this weekend. Trainer Bob Baffert reversed himself, deciding to enter Roman Ruler in Saturday’s $500,000 Goodwood Breeders’ Cup Handicap at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., instead of the $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park in New York.
The Breeders’ Cup will be Oct. 29 at Belmont.
Also expected to run in the Goodwood is Rock Hard Ten, who hasn’t raced since winning the Santa Anita Handicap on March 5.
Andromeda’s Hero, the runner-up in the Belmont Stakes, headlines the field of eight 3-year-olds entered in the $250,000, 1 1/8-mile Pegasus Stakes on Friday night at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, N.J.
BOXING
Brewster stops Krasniqi in ninth round
American Lamon Brewster stopped German challenger Luan Krasniqi in the ninth round of a bruising defense of the World Boxing Organization heavyweight title in Hamburg, Germany.
Brewster (33-2, 29 knockouts) was struggling until he landed a hard left in the eighth round that sent Krasniqi to the canvas stiff-legged. Brewster then landed a right that sent Krasniqi (28-2-1, 14 KOs) sprawling into the ropes with 12 seconds left in the ninth round.
MOTORSPORTS
Champ Car cancels South Korean race
The Champ Car World Series called off its Grand Prix of Ansan, scheduled for Oct. 16 in South Korea, a blow for a series struggling to regain its place in the top echelon of racing. But series executive vice president Joe Chrnelich said that dropping the race, even two weeks before its scheduled start, is not a big setback for the American-based open-wheel series.
“At first blush it would appear to be a step backward, but what it really demonstrates is that we are going to do whatever it takes to ensure that every Champ Car race is a world-class event,” he said. “It sends a message to our future promoter prospects that we will not settle for anything less than their best effort, which long-term will make Champ Car even stronger.”
ARENA FOOTBALL
New Orleans team won’t play in 2006
The New Orleans VooDoo will not play the 2006 Arena Football League season because of damage to the New Orleans Arena from Hurricane Katrina. AFL commissioner David Baker said the team hopes to return to the indoor league at some point, and that the ArenaBowl will be played in the city when it is logistically and economically viable. A dispersal draft of the players under contract to the VooDoo is likely.
