Afleet Alex Bows Out of Breeders’ Cup Race

Afleet Alex won’t run in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, after all.

Trainer Tim Ritchey and veterinarian Patricia Hogan said Monday that the Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner’s leg injury is not fully healed and the popular horse won’t be ready for the Breeders’ Cup on Oct. 29 at Belmont Park in New York.

Ritchey had been optimistic that Afleet Alex could return to the races this weekend after the horse recently posted two solid workouts at Belmont Park. However, an examination after those works revealed the injury wasn’t 100% healed.

“It came down to crunch time to enter him in a prep race and there just wasn’t enough time,” said Hogan, who has viewed X-rays every two weeks since Afleet Alex was sidelined by a fractured left-front cannon bone July 21. “I was very much on the fence. It was a tough decision, but it’s better to be safe and just wait.”

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BASEBALL

Phillies Fire Wade as General Manager

Ed Wade was fired as general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies after failing to get them into the playoffs during his eight years on the job.

The Phillies were 88-74 this season and finished one game behind National League wild-card winner Houston, and attendance dropped by more than half a million. Wade, 49, has two years remaining on his contract. It’s unknown whether he’ll remain in the organization.

Jim Beattie said he won’t return as executive vice president of the Baltimore Orioles, a move that could signify the beginning of wide-ranging shakeup in the wake of the team’s eighth consecutive losing season. Beattie’s contract expires at the end of this month.

There was no word on the status of Mike Flanagan, the vice president who worked with Beattie in the Orioles’ front office. It also was uncertain whether the Orioles would retain interim Manager Sam Perlozzo, who took over for manager Lee Mazzilli on Aug. 4.

Relievers Ben Weber and Chris Booker and second baseman D’Angelo Jimenez left the Cincinnati Reds as free agents. The Reds also announced that first base coach Randy Whisler won’t return next season.

Puerto Rico will play host to first- and second-round games of the inaugural World Baseball Classic next year.

Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, the ballpark where the Montreal Expos played some of their games in 2003 and 2004, will stage a total of 19 games.

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PRO BASKETBALL

Suns’ Stoudemire to Have Surgery on His Left Knee

Amare Stoudemire will undergo diagnostic surgery on his left knee today to determine what is causing soreness that has bothered the Phoenix Sun All-Star in recent months.

Stoudemire, who signed a five-year, $73-million contract extension a week ago, sat out the last two days of training camp in Tucson because of the injury to the knee’s articulate cartilage. He received opinions from three specialists before deciding to have the surgery.

If no serious damage is detected, Stoudemire probably will be out three to four weeks, Coach Mike D’Antoni said. Then, it will be only a matter of getting back in shape.

Stoudemire will sit out the exhibition season, which begins at Seattle on Friday night. The Suns open their regular season Nov. 1 at home against Dallas.

Golden State rookie forward Ike Diogu has a broken bone in his left hand and will sit out the Warriors’ first two exhibitions. Diogu, the ninth overall pick from Arizona State, was hurt during practice in Hawaii on Sunday.

Golden State will face the Lakers tonight and Wednesday in Honolulu before returning to California, where Diogu will be reevaluated.

New Jersey Net guard Jeff McInnis will sit out an undetermined amount of time because of a back injury.

McInnis was injured when he dived for a loose ball during practice Saturday. He continued to practice but awoke in pain Sunday and was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center.

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TENNIS

Schnyder’s Comeback Stops Russia’s Chakvetadze

Fifth-seeded Patty Schnyder rallied to beat Russian teenager Anna Chakvetadze, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5, in the first round of the Kremlin Cup at Moscow.

In the men’s draw, fourth-seeded Max Mirnyi had six aces and knocked out wild card Evgeniy Kirillov, 6-1, 6-3, and seventh-seeded Igor Andreev beat Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-4, 6-2.

The world’s top-ranked player, Maria Sharapova, received a first-round bye and leads a women’s field that includes Amelie Mauresmo, Mary Pierce and Elena Dementieva.

Alberto Martin rallied to upset second-seeded David Ferrer, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, in the first round of the Stockholm Open.

Third-seeded Taylor Dent lost to Davide Sanguinetti, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, and eighth-seeded Fernando Verdasco was defeated by Paradorn Srichaphan, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

Defending champion Feliciano Lopez beat Alexander Peya, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, to advance to the second round of the BA-CA Trophy at Vienna.... Virginia Ruano-Pascual advanced to the second round of the inaugural Thailand Open with a 7-5, 7-6 (5) victory over Rika Fujiwara at Bangkok.

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MISCELLANY

Boxer Has His Case Shifted to a New Judge

The case of a heavyweight boxer fighting to get back in the ring has been reassigned to a different judge at his lawyers’ request.

Joe Mesi filed suit against the Nevada State Athletic Commission in June, after the commission ruled him unfit for competition because he had suffered bleeding on his brain. Mesi’s lawyers would not comment on the strategy behind the request.

A top Lithuanian tennis player died after a pickup truck crashed into him and another Lynn University student as they pushed a car in Boca Raton, Fla.

Aivaras Balzekas, 23, a member of the Lithuanian national team, died Sunday night at Delray Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Marlene Wotell said.