BASKETBALL

ABDUR-RAHIM TRADE ON HOLD AFTER QUESTIONS ON PHYSICAL

The New Jersey Nets’ trade with the Portland Trail Blazers for forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim has been put on hold after questions arose during his physical examination, the Nets said yesterday. The Nets did not disclose the nature or cause of the questions.

The 29-year-old Abdur-Rahim missed 22 games with the Blazers last season after undergoing surgery in mid-January to address loose particles in his right elbow

SOCCER

METROSTARS TO BUILD $92.2 MILLION STADIUM IN HARRISON

The MetroStars plan to build a $92.2 million stadium that would give the Major League Soccer club a home of their own in Harrison, N.J., under an agreement announced yesterday by state and local officials. The team, now in its 10th season at Giants Stadium, expects the new 20,000-seat venue to open in June 2007. The stadium planned for Harrison would put the team in a mile-square town of only about 14,000 people, but it lies in a densely populated, soccer-crazy swath of New Jersey that includes neighboring Kearny and Newark’s Ironbound section.

ZIDANE RETURNS TO INTERNATIONAL PLAY

Zinedine Zidane is coming out of international retirement to help France qualify for the 2006 World Cup.The 33-yearold Real Madrid midfielder, a brilliant playmaker who helped France win the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship titles, retired from international soccer last summer.He will start his comeback in an August 17 exhibition against Ivory Coast and is available for crucial World Cup qualifiers beginning in September. Zidane has 93 international appearances and has scored 26 goals for France.

TENNIS

RODDICK STRUGGLES PAST CHELA AT LEGG MASON

Top-seeded Andy Roddick struggled before advancing past 14th-seeded Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina in three sets at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic last night. Roddick won 85% of his firstserve points and took advantage of nine double-faults by Chela to win 6–4, 6–7, 6–4.

HOCKEY

DOMI RE-SIGNS WITH TORONTO

Tie Domi agreed to a two-year, $2.5-million contract yesterday with the Toronto Maple Leafs,the team he’s been with the last nine seasons. The 35-year-old enforcer is third on the league’s career penalty minutes list with 3,406 in 14 seasons.

— Associated Press