Sports briefs: AC Milan wants compensation

SOCCER

AC Milan wants compensation

MILAN - AC Milan is hoping for compensation from the U.S. Soccer Federation because defender Oguchi Onyewu was injured in a World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica.

"I'm very angry because once again the national teams take players and we lose out due to injuries," AC Milan chief executive officer Adriano Galliani told Italian media yesterday.

"This is a problem that needs to be resolved. We at Milan are expecting compensation from the American federation. We can't pay a player who can't play for six months," Galliani said.

Onyewu tore the patellar tendon in his left knee late in Wednesday night's 2-2 draw against Costa Rica in Washington. He left Standard Liege after last season and signed a three-year contract with AC Milan in July.

GYMNASTICS

Uchimura captures men's title

LONDON - Kohei Uchimura ran away with the men's title at the world gymnastics championships last night, adding it to his silver medal from the Beijing Olympics. He led from the second event, and his final score of 91.500 points was more than 2½ better than Daniel Keatings, who delighted the O2 Arena with Britain's first all-around medal ever.

Russia's Yury Ryazanov was third.

The results were mixed for the Americans. Tim McNeill (Falls Church) finished seventh with a score of 87.150 at his first major international competition while national champion Jonathan Horton, a pre-meet favorite for the podium, was 17th after falls on three events.

McNeill was actually in position for a medal after four rotations, in third place going into parallel bars - one of his best events. But instead of his usual confident technique, he looked tight, as if trying to hang on to that spot on the podium.

NBA

Wizards' Jamison injured

WASHINGTON - Wizards forward Antawn Jamison will miss the rest of the team's exhibition games with a right shoulder injury.

Jamison will be re-evaluated next week, after the swelling goes down.

He had an MRI exam yesterday, a day after getting hurt while trying to block a shot by Zydrunas Ilgauskas in Washington's 109-104 preseason victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

AUTO RACING

Alonso downplays Massa's comments

SAO PAULO (AP) - Fernando Alonso downplayed comments made by future Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa, who accused him of knowing Nelson Piquet Jr. was going to deliberately crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix to help him win the race.

"I think first of all I don't know if its true or not, maybe there was a misunderstanding with the media or with Felipe," Alonso said. "I think later he said a different thing. It's not very important for me. It's not to worry."

Massa told local media on Wednesday that "without a doubt" Alonso knew of Renault's plan to have Piquet Jr. crash. He later backtracked and issued a statement on Ferrari's Web site saying what he said was "the outcome of a hunch" and not "based on any concrete evidence."

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Former player suing Penn State

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - A former Penn State tailback who hoped to play in the NFL claims in a lawsuit that authorities ruined his professional aspirations after filing a rape charge against him that was later dropped.

An attorney for Austin Scott filed the civil suit this week against Centre County prosecutors, Penn State police and the university in federal court in Williamsport. The suit said Scott suffered "mental pain and suffering" and diminished "earning capacity" because of the case.

He never played for the Nittany Lions after coach Joe Paterno suspended him in October 2007 for violating team rules. Police charged Scott a week later.

TENNIS

Top-seeded Pennetta advances

LINZ, Austria - Top-seeded Flavia Pennetta retained her chance of reaching the WTA Championships by defeating Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 to reach the Generali Ladies quarterfinals.

She next plays unseeded Ioana Raluca Olaru, who rallied to defeat qualifier Julia Goerges 3-6, 6-2, 7-5.

Second-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska also advanced but younger sister Usrzula could not.

Agnieszka Radwanska defeated Alize Cornet of France 6-4, 7-5 in the second round, while Urszula Radwanska lost to seventh-seeded Lucie Safarova 6-4, 6-4.

Also moving on was No. 3 Yanina Wickmayer, who rallied to beat Alexandra Dulgheru 2-6, 6-3, 6-1.

ELSEWHERE

• Bob Knight is moving to a bigger stage with ESPN. The network said the Hall of Fame coach will serve as the analyst for the weekly "Big Monday" Big 12 game during the college basketball season. He will also call some nonconference games.

With new supporters on board, a group of investors in Tulsa plans to formally apply to the WNBA to purchase a franchise. Lead investor Bill Cameron announced that his group, called Tulsa Pro Hoops LLC, will try to buy a WNBA team and expects a decision from the league by the end of October.