SOCCER

Ronaldo suffers severe knee injury

Ronaldo traveled to Paris for an operation to repair the ruptured tendon in his left knee, an injury that could end his career.

The three-time FIFA world player of the year was injured in AC Milan's 1-1 draw with Livorno in the Serie A on Wednesday.

This latest injury occurred two minutes after Ronaldo entered the game during a play that earned Milan an equalizing penalty. The Brazilian was carried off the field crying.

TENNIS

Blake, Querrey win at Delray Beach

Top-seeded James Blake beat Paul Capdeville of Chile 6-1, 6-4 to become the sixth American to reach the quarterfinals of the Delray Beach (Fla.) International.

Blake joined Thousand Oaks' Sam Querrey, sixth-seeded Vince Spadea, eighth-seeded Mardy Fish, wild-card entrant Robby Ginepri and Bobby Reynolds as second-round winners.

Querrey, ranked 62nd and seeded third in this tournament, defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 6-4, 5-7, 6-4,

In men's doubles, Camarillo's Bob and Mike Bryan defeated Hugo Armando and Xavier Malisse in a first-round match 6-3, 7-6 (3).

Almagro, Volandri advance in Brazil: Second-seeded Nicolas Almagro defeated Boris Pashanski 6-2, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals of the Brazil Open at Costa Do Sauipe for the third straight year.

Fifth-seeded Filippo Volandri defeated Guillermo Coria 6-1, 6-2 in 51 minutes. Coria, bothered by a sore shoulder, won his first ATP match in 19 months two days ago.

Henin advances, Chakvetadze upset at Diamond Games: Top-ranked Justine Henin rallied from a set down to defeat Tsvetana Pironkova 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-1 and reach the quarterfinals of the Diamond Games at Antwerp, Belguim.

Second-seeded Anna Chakvetadze was upset 6-3, 7-5 by Sofia Arvidsson.

Henin, playing her first match since her quarterfinal loss to Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open, looked rusty in the first set, handing it to 76th-ranked Pironkova on a double-fault.

Simon defeats Djokovic: Gilles Simon of France, defeated top-seeded Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-3 in the second round of the Open 13 at Marseille, France.

PRO FOOTBALL

Dolphins to release Pro Bowler Thomas

The Miami Dolphins will release seven-time Pro Bowl linebacker Zach Thomas, who plans to continue his career with another team.

Thomas was told of the team's decision Thursday, a person close to the player said on condition of anonymity because the Dolphins have not announced anything.

The decision was first reported on local newspaper Web sites. The Dolphins declined comment.

The 34-year-old Thomas missed most of last season because of concussions and migraines and was placed on injured reserve against his wishes in December because of nagging migraines, an aftereffect of an Oct. 21 car crash.

JURISPRUDENCE

NFL seeks to reverse ruling on Vick bonus

The NFL is asking federal court to vacate a judge's ruling allowing suspended quarterback Michael Vick to keep $16.5 million in bonuses.

The NFL also wants to end the jurisdiction of U.S. District Judge David Doty over labor matters.

Doty ruled earlier this month that the Atlanta Falcons would violate the NFL collective bargaining agreement if they tried to recover the roster bonus Vick already received. The league argues Doty's public comments show he is biased against them.

McNamee's lawyer predicts presidential pardon for Clemens: One of Brian McNamee's lawyers predicted that if Roger Clemens is convicted in connection with the baseball steroids scandal, he'd be pardoned by President Bush. Lawyer Richard Emery also said some Republicans treated his client harshly because of the pitcher's friendship with the Bush family.

Emery made the claims Thursday, a day after a congressional hearing broke down along party lines. Many Democrats were skeptical of Clemens' denials he used performance-enhancing drugs and Republicans questioned the character of McNamee, the personal trainer who made the accusations against the seven-time Cy Young Award winner.

Suspended cornerback settles last criminal charge: Suspended NFL player Adam "Pacman" Jones settled his last pending criminal charge, pleading no contest to obstructing a police officer two years ago in Georgia.

Jones' attorney and agent, Manny Arora, said the player was sentenced to three years of probation for the run-in with police on Feb. 6, 2006, outside the family home of his pregnant girlfriend in Fayetteville, Ga.

Nevada prep coach files defamation suit after recruiting hoax: A Nevada high school football coach has filed a defamation suit against school district officials accusing them of trying to make him the scapegoat in a recruiting hoax that garnered national attention.

Fernley High coach Mark Hodges is seeking more than $20,000 in damages from the Lyon County School District and school board members in the aftermath of the scam in which one of his players claimed he had been recruited and signed a letter of intent to play next year at Cal.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Mauk denied request for another season

The NCAA turned down Cincinnati quarterback Ben Mauk's request for another season of eligibility, a major setback for the up-and-coming Big East team that finished with a No. 17 ranking.

The quarterback overcame a career-threatening shoulder injury while leading the Bearcats to 10 victories last season, including a 31-21 win over Southern Mississippi in the Papajohns.com Bowl.

COLLEGES

Florida State puts teams on probation

Florida State says it has placed its sports teams on probation for two years because of an academic cheating scandal.

A report released by the university says about 60 student athletes have or will suffer some loss of eligibility. Two staffers already have been fired.

Florida State officials conducted the investigation with assistance from the NCAA, Atlantic Coast Conference and a consulting firm.