Yanks' Teixeira to miss WBC with injury
GLENDALE, Ariz., March 5 (UPI) -- New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira will miss the World Baseball Classic due to a strained right forearm, Team USA announced Tuesday.
Teixeira sustained the injury during batting practice with the U.S. squad as they readied for an exhibition game against the Chicago White Sox in Glendale, Ariz.
The Yankees slugger was X-rayed, with the results proving negative, but he is expected to be out 7-to-10 days.
Ben Zobrist of the Tampa Bay Rays replaced Teixeira at first base.
Team USA opens pool play in the WBC Friday against Mexico.
NBA fines Thunder's Ibaka $25K for hit
NEW YORK, March 5 (UPI) -- Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka Tuesday was slapped with a $25,000 fine for a flagrant foul on the Los Angeles Clippers' Blake Griffin.
Ibaka was given a "flagrant 2" foul for the incident late in the fourth quarter of the Thunder's 108-104 Sunday victory over the Clippers.
On the play, Ibaka swung his arm and connected with Griffin's groin area.
The foul designation is reserved for "unnecessary and excessive contact committed by a player against an opponent" and an "unsportsmanlike act."
Those deemed guilty are subject to a fine of up to $50,000 and/or a suspension by NBA Commissioner David Stern, who declined that punishment in Ibaka's case.
The Thunder are seeded second in the NBA's Western Conference with a 43-16 record.
Fox to launch new cable sports channel
NEW YORK, March 5 (UPI) -- Fox Sports will launch a new cable television sports network called Fox Sports 1 in August, company officials said Tuesday.
Fox Sports Media Co-Presidents Randy Freer and Eric Shanks announced in New York the new channel will replace the company's Speed Network in cable and satellite lineups starting Aug. 17.
The new channel will initially include college basketball, college football, NASCAR, soccer and ultimate fighting.
Starting in 2014, Major League Baseball games will also be shown on Fox Sports 1 as part of Fox Sports' agreement with MLB.
The new channel will compete with Disney Corp.'s long-established ESPN for live sports programming.
"Fans are ready for an alternative to the establishment, and our goal for FS1 is to provide the best in-game experience possible, complemented by informative news, entertaining studio shows and provocative original programming," Shanks said.
Trust issues cloud Sanders' custody trial
MCKINNEY, Texas, March 5 (UPI) -- A trial to settle Deion Sanders and wife Pilar's child custody issues began Tuesday with accusations the Hall of Famer is a manipulative father.
In his opening statement in the Collin County, Texas, Courthouse, the estranged wife's attorney, Luke Gunnstaks, called the retired football player "a playtime dad, a Disneyland dad" and a manipulative father who wants his children to reflect well on him "and if they don't, they're in trouble."
Jurors have been charged with giving one of the parents the right to determine the primary residence for the three children, ages 9 to 13, as well as geographic restrictions, the Dallas Morning News said Tuesday.
In court the jury watched a videotape of Deion Sanders' Hall of Fame 2011 acceptance speech, Sanders noting Pilar Sanders and his eldest daughter from a previous marriage were bickering at the ceremony.
"I always tried to overlook it," he said of Pilar Sanders and his family's inability to get along.
