Yankees’ Rodriguez has surgery on hip

Third baseman Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees underwent arthroscopic surgery Monday for torn cartilage in his right hip, and doctors said they found nothing that would keep him from returning to the lineup in May.

“The surgery went exactly as we planned,” said Marc Philippon, who performed the 80-minute procedure at Vail Valley Surgery Center in Colorado.

Philippon said Rodriguez will need a more extensive operation after the season, but said the three-time American League most valuable player will be ready for spring training in 2010.

Rodriguez suffered from a torn labrum, cartilage that lines the hip socket to stabilize and cushion the joint. Philippon said he found a small impingement in the cartilage.

Johan Santana tested his left elbow in a bullpen session at Port St. Lucie, Fla., and the New York Mets ace is scheduled to make his Grapefruit League debut Thursday night against the Florida Marlins.

The Pittsburgh Pirates said outfielder Brandon Moss has a bruise and mild sprain of his right thumb and should be ready for opening day. Moss injured his thumb Saturday.

PRO FOOTBALL

Thomas signs with Jaguars

Three-time Pro Bowl left tackle Tra Thomas, 34, signed a three-year contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Thomas, 6 feet 7 and 317 pounds, allowed only two sacks in 658 attempts last season.

Thomas was a mainstay the last 11 years in Philadelphia. The 11th overall pick in 1998, he has started 165 games and has sat out only eight.

The Green Bay Packers signed safety Anthony Smith, their first free-agent deal of the off-season. Smith spent his first three seasons in Pittsburgh and has four interceptions in 46 games. . . . Former wide receiver Charlie Joiner received a replica bronze bust from the Pro Football Hall of Fame to replace the one that was destroyed when his home burned in a wildfire in 2007.

HOCKEY

Montreal fires Carbonneau

Guy Carbonneau was fired as coach of the struggling Montreal Canadiens, hockey’s most historic franchise that is in danger of missing the playoffs in its 100th season.

The timing of Monday’s move was a bit surprising because the Canadiens are currently in a playoff position and there are only 16 games left in the regular season.

General Manager Bob Gainey will return behind the bench when Montreal plays host to Edmonton today.

JURISPRUDENCE

Foreign athletes face new rules

Immigration officials have agreed to let foreign athletes keep playing in the United States as long as they leave the country after 10 years and apply for a new visa.

The change came in a new policy memo issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services after months of lobbying by sports leagues and lawyers for foreign athletes. The memo, obtained by the Associated Press, also came after the AP made inquiries to the agency about the limit.

The leagues and lawyers had complained the agency recently began enforcing a 10-year limit, endangering the U.S. careers of foreign athletes. Agency officials countered they have enforced it for years.

Authorities in Hillsborough County, Fla., said that Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Geno Hayes, 21, was stabbed with a knife in the head and neck Saturday by his girlfriend, Shevelle Bagley, during an argument. Hayes was treated at a hospital and released. Sheriff’s deputies arrested Bagley, 19, on suspicion of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Matt Jones is in an Arkansas jail after being accused of violating terms of a plea deal in an earlier drug case. Jones was booked into the Washington County Detention Center on Monday afternoon on a contempt of court charge.

ETC.

LPGA returns to Torrey Pines

Torrey Pines Golf Course will play host to an LPGA Tour event for the first time since 1983 under an agreement to hold the Samsung World Championship on the South Course on Sept. 17-20. . . . Two-time defending champion Lance Mackey and Canadian musher Sebastian Schnuelle were exchanging the lead in the early going of the Iditarod sled dog race in Alaska. Mackey was first into the Rainy Pass checkpoint, 224 miles from Anchorage. But while Mackey rested, Schnuelle spent only five minutes there and was first to leave.