Cole Hamels suspended for intentionally throwing at Bryce Harper

Cole Hamels earned a five-game suspension for the way he welcomed Bryce Harper to the big leagues.

The 2008 World Series most valuable player was suspended for intentionally throwing at the Washington rookie in the Philadelphia Phillies’ 9-3 win over the Nationals on Sunday night.

Major League Baseball announced the penalty Monday. Hamels also was fined.

“I was trying to hit him,” Hamels, a two-time All-Star left-hander, said Sunday night. “I’m not going to deny it. I’m not trying to injure the guy. They’re probably not going to like me for it, but I’m not going to say I wasn’t trying to do it. I think they understood the message, and they threw it right back. That’s the way, and I respect it.”

Hamels plunked Harper in the small of the back with a fastball in the first inning. He said the purpose pitch was his old-school way of welcoming the 19-year-old Nationals phenom to the big leagues.

In the third inning, Nationals starter Jordan Zimmermann hit Hamels in the left leg with one out and a runner on first when the Phillies pitcher squared to bunt.

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Milwaukee Brewers Manager Ron Roenicke says shortstop Alex Gonzalez will undergo surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right knee and will miss the remainder of the season. Gonzalez was injured Saturday, sliding into second base during the Brewers’ 5-2 loss at San Francisco.

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Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth had surgery on his broken left wrist and will miss more than six weeks. Werth was hurt Sunday trying to make a sliding catch against the Phillies.

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San Francisco Giants reliever Guillermo Mota was suspended for 100 games, becoming the third major league player penalized twice for positive drug tests.

The commissioner’s office said the 38-year-old right-hander tested positive for Clenbuterol. In November 2006, while with the New York Mets, Mota was suspended for the first 50 games of the next season.

ETC.

Flyers’ Claude Girous suspended for illegal check

Philadelphia All-Star forward Claude Giroux was suspended by the NHL for his illegal check to the head on New Jersey center Dainius Zubrus in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Giroux will miss Game 5 on Tuesday in Philadelphia. The Flyers, who lost, 4-2, on Sunday in Newark, N.J., trail the series, 3-1.

Zubrus was not injured and returned to play. He said he was fine and will be ready to go for Game 5. Giroux said he “respects the decision and wants to move on.”

Philadelphia’s leading scorer in the postseason with eight goals and 17 points, Giroux spoke with league disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan on Monday. Giroux said he was not a dirty player and had no intention of hitting Zubrus in the head.

Shanahan said the head was targeted.

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Minnesota lawmakers voted to scale back the state’s contribution for a $975-million stadium for the Vikings and require the team to put in more money. The Vikings would have to put in $105 million more than in the package that was negotiated by the governor, key lawmakers, the Minneapolis mayor and the team. The Vikings would also have to share proceeds from naming rights for the stadium with the state and city of Minneapolis.

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Spanish soccer giant Real Madrid will visit the Home Depot Center in August to meet the defending Major League Soccer champion Galaxy as part of an eight-team series of summer friendlies called the World Football Challenge. The Galaxy-Real Madrid match on Aug. 2 will be the final game of the five-game tournament which will also feature a July 22 match between Chelsea of the English Premier League and Paris Saint-Germain of France’s Ligue 1 at Yankee Stadium.

The Galaxy will also play Tottenham Hotspur of the EPL is another friendly at the Home Depot Center on July 24.

— Kevin Baxter

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The United States lost to Slovakia, 4-2, for its first loss at hockey’s world championships in Helsinki after opening with two victories. Slovakia won for the first time in the tournament after two defeats. The Americans previously beat France and Canada.

In an earlier game in the 16-team tournament, Canada routed France, 7-2.

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Big East Commissioner John Marinatto, facing pressure from school presidents upset by his handling of the departure of several high-profile programs, resigned after less three years on the job.

Pittsburgh and Syracuse made plans to leave for the Atlantic Coast Conference in September, and West Virginia bolted for the Big 12 the following month. The Big East regrouped by adding Central Florida, Houston, Memphis, Southern Methodist and Temple for all sports and Boise State, San Diego State and Navy for football only.