French Open officials talk relocation
PARIS, May 22 (UPI) -- French tennis officials say they're studying scenarios in which the French Open would be relocated from its cramped quarters at Roland Garros in Paris.
French Open Director General Gilbert Ysern told reporters Saturday major planning is under way to either modernize and expand the tournament's existing facilities or move to a site outside Paris, The New York Times reported.
Ysern said potential alternate sites include Marne-le-Vallee, near Disneyland Paris; a 48-acre parcel in Versailles where the French army is closing a military base; and a 74-acre site in Gonesse, northeast of Paris.
"It's not a game for us," Ysern told the Times. "It's something very serious."
The current site in Paris's Bois de Boulogne is 19 acres, making it the smallest of any Grand Slam venue. French officials say if the tournament is to stay in the city, it needs $255 million to build two stadiums with retractable roofs holding 18,000 and 12,000 fans.
Vikings' Favre confirms ankle surgery
MINNEAPOLIS, May 22 (UPI) -- Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre has confirmed he has undergone arthroscopic surgery on his injured left ankle.
Writing Friday on his Web site, the veteran signal caller said, "This is to confirm that I did have a procedure to remove some scar tissue and bone spurs from my ankle which had been bothering me for a period of time. I appreciate your concerns."
ESPN.com reported that the procedure was performed Friday by orthopedic specialist Dr. James Andrews at the Andrews Institute in Gulf Breeze, Fla. Favre and his agent Bus Cook were reportedly spotted at the clinic.
The broadcaster cited an unnamed source "close to Favre" as saying the quarterback will likely need 4-to-6 weeks of rehabilitation before beginning a running program. That schedule would put him on target to report to training camp "either at the beginning of camp or shortly thereafter," the source said.
The surgery would seem to indicate that Favre, who will turn 41 in October, is planning to return to the Vikings after leading them to the NFC Championship game last season. He turned in one of his best seasons, tossing 33 touchdown passes and only seven interceptions while posting Minnesota to a 12-4 record.
Cards place P Penny on disabled list
ST. LOUIS, May 22 (UPI) -- St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Brad Penny has been put on the 15-day disabled list with a back muscle strain, the team said Saturday.
Penny was taken out of Friday's 9-5 victory over the Los Angeles Angels after he hit a third-inning grand slam, only the 11th ever by a Cardinals pitcher. Penny made some warmup throws prior to the fourth inning, but couldn't go on.
Penny has compiled a 3-4 record with a 3.23 earned run average in nine starts. He came to St. Louis after splitting the 2009 campaign between Boston and San Francisco.
After making the move, the Cardinals recalled pitcher P.J. Walters from Triple-A Memphis.
Castroneves captures Indy 500 pole
INDIANAPOLIS, May 22 (UPI) -- Helio Castroneves captured the pole position for the Indianapolis 500 Saturday, averaging 227.97 mph in qualifying at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Castroneves, of Team Penske, achieved the times during the "Fast Nine" shootout session, in which the fastest nine drivers in the first 5 hours of qualifying moved on to a 90-minute "shootout" to crown the pole winner.
Castroneves chose to go first in the shootout after emerging as the fastest prior to the session. With the pole position secured, the Brazilian will now aim for his record-tying fourth Indy 500 on May 30. He also earned 15 points in the championship standings and collected bonuses totaling $175,000.
Team Penske teammates Will Power and Ryan Briscoe captured the second and fourth positions respectively.
Dario Franchitti, meanwhile, will start on the outside of Castroneves and Power along the front row while Alex Tagliani and Scott Dixon will be on the second row with Briscoe.
Graham Rahal, Ed Carpenter and Hideki Mutoh will comprise the third row.
