HORSE RACING

INJURIES FORCE AFLEET ALEX TO RETIRE Afleet Alex’s gritty recovery to win the Preakness after nearly crumpling to the dirt was a dazzling highlight in the colt’s career. The frightening collision also may have played a role in the horse’s early retirement.

Afleet Alex was retired Thursday because of a new injury discovered before the horse was shipped to Gulfstream Park in Florida this week. Another ankle injury had already sidelined Afleet Alex since his June 11 victory in the Belmont.

“This injury probably started with that Preakness and, unfortunately, it’s been something we haven’t seen,” trainer Tim Ritchey said. “It’s going to take too long to heal and he has to go on to another career where he’ll be safe and happy.”

BASEBALL

MIENTKIEWICZ REFUSES TO RETURN SOUVENIR BALL TO SOX The Red Sox asked a judge to let the team keep the ball that Doug Mientkiewicz caught for the final out that clinched Boston’s 2004 World Series title.

Ownership of the ball has been in dispute during the 13 months since pitcher Keith Foulke flipped it to Mientkiewicz, giving Boston a four-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals and its first World Series championship in 86 years.

Mientkiewicz, who clutched the ball in his glove and joined teammates in celebration, later put the ball in a safe deposit box and claimed ownership when the Red Sox asked for it. In January, after he was traded to the New York Mets, he loaned the ball to the Red Sox for one year. He would get it back “unless the ultimate issue of ownership has been otherwise resolved,” the agreement said.

FOOTBALL

COMMENTATOR IRVIN SUSPENDED FOLLOWING ARREST Michael Irvin says he has been suspended by ESPN for one week for not telling the network about his arrest last week, when police found a drug pipe hidden in his car during a traffic stop.

Irvin, who has maintained that the pipe belonged to a friend, told the Associated Press on Thursday that he won’t return to the air until December 11. He was arrested Friday in Plano, Texas, for an outstanding warrant on an unpaid speeding ticket but was charged with misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia after police searched his car.

TENNIS

McENROE TO PLAY IN ATP DOUBLES TOURNAMENT John McEnroe plans to play doubles with the big boys again. The 46-year-old McEnroe will team with Jonas Bjorkman at the SAP Open in an ATP doubles event in February, his first on United States soil since the 1992 U.S. Open.

McEnroe won 17 Grand Slam titles, including 10 in doubles, before retiring from full-time ATP play after the 1992 season.

“We are coming to play San Jose for one reason – to win the SAP Open doubles title,” McEnroe said in a statement Thursday.

– Associated Press