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Busch Series expects return engagement in '08 MEXICO CITY -- The Busch Series is expected to return to Mexico City for a fourth straight year in 2008, although possibly on another weekend. "We're expecting to be back," Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR's vice president for racing operations, said before Sunday's race. "I don't see any reason why we wouldn't." O'Donnell wasn't so adamant on the date of the race that has been scheduled on an open Nextel Cup weekend the first three years. He didn't rule out the possibility that the event could be run on the same weekend as a Cup race. For example, the race could be scheduled around a Cup race in Texas to help on the logistics of transporting cars and personnel to Mexico City. "We're looking at the whole schedule," O'Donnell said. "We want to see where the date makes the most sense. From a format standpoint, we want to keep it consistent with what we do with other races. "I'll leave it open on that one." Frederico Alaman, the director of sports events for OCESA that promotes the Busch race and has a 10-year deal to promote the NASCAR Mexico Corona Series, said there already is an agreement to return to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez road course. He and O'Donnell discounted speculation that this event could be moved to the street course in Monterrey, where the population is 3 million compared to 25 million in Mexico City. "We've had no discussions with OCESA regarding Monterrey," O'Donnell said. "We feel this is the premier venue in Mexico. From a pure marketing standpoint, the 25 million people in this place is where we want to be." Alaman called Monterrey a "definite possibility for the future." Team owner Felix Sabates, who has worked closely with OCESA and NASCAR in building this event, said NASCAR never would go to a street course from a liability standpoint. "NASCAR will never expose itself to that," he said. "They're never going to a track where you can go off [the course] and kill a hundred people. No way." David Newton covers NASCAR for ESPN.com. He can be reached at [email protected].

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It's time for pitchers and catchers Detroit pitchers will try to get those infield throws down, Dice-K will make the transition to American-style baseball and Barry Zito will start justifying the $126 million that's become attached to his name. That's right: It's time for pitchers and catchers. Players start reporting to major league camps Tuesday, with the first official workouts of the year two days later. None are likely to be observed more intently than pitcher's fielding practice at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Fla. Detroit pitchers made a record five errors in throwing away the World Series, sparking the mind of manager Jim Leyland. "I know this sounds crazy, but I'm going to have the grounds crew sprinkle out in front of home plate and make it wet on a couple of occasions, and have them work it and pick up the ball and work in wet conditions," he said before St. Louis finished off the Tigers last October. Given a little time to think it over, Leyland said he might hold off a little bit and not run the drill when the AL champions hold their opening workout Friday. "I'm not going to do that the first day because I don't want to draw attention to everything," he said. "I don't want these guys paranoid about it. It's going to be pretty boring if the main attraction at spring training is watching PFP." Seems like it was just a few minutes ago that Adam Wainwright struck out Brandon Inge, ending one of the dullest World Series. After an offseason filled with the usual tumult of Barry Bonds, steroids, Yankees-Red Sox competition and free-agent switches, it's time for fun in the sun. Perhaps Bonds and the Giants will finalize their $15.8 million, one-year contract by the time San Francisco's position players work out for the first time Feb. 20. Boston's regulars are due to start workouts two days later, and maybe J.D. Drew will be added to the Red Sox roster by then - his $70 million, five-year deal still hasn't been completed, even though the team announced it two weeks ago. Daisuke Matsuzaka will be joining Drew in Fort Myers, Fla., getting lots of attention as he reports to the Red Sox. Boston paid $51,111,111 to buy his rights, then signed him to a $52 million, six-year deal. "One of the things I was most worried about in coming over here was obviously the food. But to my surprise, I found the vegetables are great, the fish tastes great," he said through a translator as spring training approached. Out in Arizona, Zito will make the switch to Giants' camp in Scottsdale, a short drive from Oakland's complex in Phoenix. After receiving the largest contract for a pitcher, he'll provide a diversion from the daily scrutiny of Bonds. "To play with Barry Bonds is something I think every guy would want to do," Zito said. "It gave me chills actually. It's great to be mentioned in the same sentence as Barry Bonds. I used to watch Barry growing up." Bonds starts the year with 734 homers, 21 shy of Hank Aaron's record. If he doesn't get indicted in the federal investigation into illegal steroids distribution - the Giants inserted a clause in his contract giving them the right to terminate the deal if he is indicted - Bonds could break the record this year. That would put the spotlight on commissioner Bud Selig, whose enthusiasm for the 42-year-old's chase will be in focus if Bonds approaches the mark. "You can't predict what's going to happen," Bonds said. "Pray to God my body holds up" While Bonds stayed put, some big names moved. The New York Yankees sent Gary Sheffield to Detroit and Randy Johnson to Arizona, brought back Andy Pettitte from Houston and hope to add Roger Clemens - if he doesn't stay in Houston or return to the Red Sox, his original team. "I'm failing at retirement," said the 44-year-old, seven-time Cy Young Award winner. "Let's just face it. I'm failing miserably at it." Alfonso Soriano became a free agent and joined the Chicago Cubs, Jason Schmidt went to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Carlos Lee signed with the Houston Astros, Frank Thomas with the Toronto Blue Jays and Greg Maddux with the San Diego Padres. After taking '06 off, Sammy Sosa agreed to a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers, hoping to add to his 588 home runs. In Fort Myers, Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester will be back on the mound following offseason treatment for lymphoma. "He's cancer-free," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "He's had a traumatic winter and we have to be smart about how we handle him." In Kissimmee, Atlanta will be trying to bounce back after the New York Mets ended the Braves' streak of consecutive division titles at 14. "I find it shocking that we're being overlooked," third baseman Chipper Jones said. "I would love to be standing on the field in September as Eastern Division champs again, looking down at everybody." After 45 days of spring training, the season starts April 1 when the Mets visit the St. Louis Cardinals, who plan to have former stars Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Keith Hernandez and Bruce Sutter on hand to watch the championship flag get raised. "We're not defending anything," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "We're hunting the '07 championship." Detroit pitcher Justin Verlander can't wait to get back. "To be that close and not seal the deal, it's tough," he said. ---

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Cuban shoots back at Wade for Nowitzki criticism Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki chose not to respond Friday to Dwyane Wade's criticism of his leadership skills. But Mavericks owner Mark Cuban fired back at the Miami Heat guard on his blog on Friday. Wade was quoted Friday: "Dirk says they gave us the championship last year, but he's the reason they lost the championship, because he wasn't the leader that he's supposed to be in the closing moments. That's because of great defense by us, but also he wasn't assertive enough as a leader's supposed to be.'' Cuban took issue with that, questioning Wade's own leadership abilities. "I guess you have earned the right to criticize Dirk with an obvious display of your own leadership skills," Cuban replied. "You are an amazing player Dwayne. I love watching you shoot free throws. What you know about Dirk's leadership skills is non-existent. You don't have a clue. Your ability to evaluate leadership skills ... well you obviously have an overinflated value of your own." Mavericks coach Avery Johnson took a different tack, saying Nowitzki is in fact a leader and that he has a history of hitting clutch shots. "It's a guy's opinion, man," Johnson said. "He's won. He's the champion. Everyone's trying to dethrone them. ... When you win, I guess you can say whatever you want to say."

Gonzaga basketball players arrested after drugs found in car February 10, 2007 CHENEY, Wash. (AP) -- Gonzaga basketball players Josh Heytvelt and Theo Davis were arrested after police found marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms in their car during a traffic stop. Cheney Police Cmdr. Rick Campbell said the two players were booked into the Spokane County Jail on Friday night for investigation of drug possession. Campbell said the amount of marijuana was only enough for a misdemeanor, but possession of mushrooms is a felony. Heytvelt, a sophomore, is a starting forward and the team's second-leading scorer with 15.5 points per game. Davis is a freshman who has not played this season after having shoulder surgery in October. A Gonzaga spokesman did not immediately return a call Saturday seeking comment. Campbell said police pulled the car over because its tail lights were not working. Officers smelled marijuana and searched the car, he said, and the players were cooperative. "It was close to midnight. They needed to have their lights on," Campbell said. Davis is from Brampton, Ontario, but played most of his high school ball at Lutheran Christian Academy in Philadelphia

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A&M basketball court ranked 'ugliest' in America by SI

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ASTROS ELITE CAMP Keen to catch on behind the plate Sapp, Henriquez among impressive young catchers By BRIAN MCTAGGART Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle Timeline: Review Astros in '06 Not since they selected a baby-faced catcher out of Seton Hall 20 years ago have the Astros been able to draft, develop and produce a major league catcher of any significance. Craig Biggio was moved to second base in 1992, undoubtedly prolonging a career that will likely get him into the Hall of Fame. The Astros, meanwhile, have relied largely on free agency and trades to fill their void at catcher. With that in mind, the Astros have made catching a priority in recent drafts. They picked Max Sapp in the first round (23rd overall) last year and fellow high school catcher Ralph Henriquez in the second round (72nd overall) in 2005. Sapp and Henriquez, along with 2004 draft picks Lou Santangelo and J.R. Towles, lead an impressive group of young catchers who have the Astros excited about the future behind the plate. And all four are making strong impressions this week at the Nolan Ryan Elite Pitching and Jeff Bagwell Elite Hitting Camps at Minute Maid Park. "It's something we've identified over the last several years as a need," Astros general manager Tim Purpura said. "To me, it's one of the hardest positions to fill nowadays. I don't think a lot of kids are catching like they used to. It's not a real favored position, but it's obviously critical to your success." A bat worth watching Sapp, 18, has an explosive lefthanded bat but remains a work in progress on defense. He didn't catch until his senior year in high school in Orlando, and last year he hit .229 with one homer and 20 RBIs in 50 games for Class A Tri-City. "Things went well," Sapp said. "I started off right after high school jumping into pro ball, and it took a little while to get used to it. But I started finding it easier to catch the guys once I got used to it." Purpura said the Astros are pleased with Sapp's progress behind the plate. "We knew he was a guy who would take some time to develop, but we really like his bat," Purpura said. "Watching him the last couple of days, he swings the bat good and has some upside offensively. Now we have to continue to work with him defensively." Astros manager Phil Garner has definitely noticed Sapp. "I liked his swing right from the get-go, and I still like his swing," Garner said. "As you would expect, he was a kid who had some baby fat and was a little pudgy, but I patted him on the shoulder the other day, and clearly this kid is starting to firm up. It will be nice to watch him evolve." Next stop: spring training Santangelo, a fourth-round pick from Clemson, has a strong arm and came on offensively last year. He hit .241 with 18 homers and 57 RBIs for Class A Salem and has earned an invitation to major league spring training camp. "I'm going to hit here and there like any other catcher would, and I throw well, but I definitely have to hone my blocking (pitches)," Santangelo said. Towles, a product of Crosby High School, has put together two solid seasons at Class A Lexington, hitting .317 last year with 12 homers and 55 RBIs. Henriquez hit .231 with five homers and 37 RBIs for rookie-league Greeneville. "The real balancing act of that position is producing offensively," Purpura said. "It seems there's a lot of good defensive catchers but very little offense. You see that around the game, and it's a tough position." [email protected]

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