Barton arrested after nightclub fight

LIVERPOOL, England — Queens Park Rangers captain Joey Barton was reportedly arrested on Monday on suspicion of affray after being involved in an altercation outside a nightclub in his hometown in northern England.

The 29-year-old Barton says he was punched in the back of the head in the early hours after clashing with two 21-year-old men, who were arrested.

Barton and a 20-year-old man were arrested later Monday.

"Following an altercation in Eberle Street, Liverpool city center, in the early hours of this morning, four men have been arrested on suspicion of affray," Merseyside Police said. "Two 21-year-old men were arrested at the scene in the early hours of this morning and another two men, a 20-year-old from the Liverpool area and 29-year-old from the Widnes area, were arrested this afternoon.

"The two 21-year-old men and the 20-year-old man have been questioned by officers and have been released on bail pending further inquiries. The 29-year-old man remains in police custody where he will be questioned by detectives."

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Ronaldinho changes club in Brazil

SAO PAULO — Ronaldinho signed with Brazilian club Atletico Mineiro on Monday, less than a week after leaving Flamengo and suing his former team for unpaid wages.

Atletico Mineiro said it reached a deal with the former two-time FIFA player of the year until the end of 2012. The announcement was made just hours after television images showed Ronaldinho practicing with Atletico players in the city of Belo Horizonte earlier in the day.

"I returned to Brazil to win titles and now I'm having a new opportunity," the 32-year-old Ronaldinho said at a news conference. "I'm arriving at the club to give my best and to try to help Atletico win titles. I'm motivated and focused on doing my best. I feel like I still have many good years left in my career."

Atletico Mineiro is a traditional club in Brazil but has not won any significant titles since the 1997 Conmebol Cup.

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Softbank's Kokubo out indefinitely

FUKUOKA — The Fukuoka Softbank Hawks' record-chasing slugger Hiroki Kokubo said Friday that he could be out for an extended period because of a herniated disc, with surgery a possibility down the line.

The 40-year-old Kokubo, who had been scheduled to rejoin the team on Tuesday, is one hit away from a career total of 2,000, but has no idea when he will be able to restart his chase.

"I don't know when I can come back," said Kokubo, who was deactivated on May 25. "There isn't even a timetable on when I can begin my rehab. All I can do right now is take my shots and rest up.

"Surgery is an option."

Kokubo said he won't be cleared to exercise for at least another week, and will be re-examined in two weeks. The Hawks' captain will also need time to get himself into game shape after the rehabilitation work is complete.

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NHL star Lidstrom hangs up skates

Saying goodbye: Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom speaks during a news conference on Thursday in Detroit. AP

DETROIT — Nicklas Lidstrom retired Thursday after 20 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, ending one of the best careers in NHL history.

The four-time Stanley Cup champion and seven-time Norris Trophy winner as the league's best defenseman fought back tears as he made the announcement.

"My drive and motivation are not where they to need to be to play at this level," Lidstrom said.

The 42-year-old Swede set an NHL record by playing 1,564 games with a single team. He had put retirement on hold in each of the previous two years by signing one-year contracts.

"I've been dreading this day since I became manager in 1997," Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said.

Lidstrom had 34 points and a plus-21 rating that ranked among the league leaders last season. He had 264 career goals with 1,142 points and a 450-plus rating. After being incredibly durable for 19 seasons, he missed a career-high 11 games with a bruised right ankle and was out for another game with the flu.

"That didn't sway me one way or another," Lidstrom said. "A couple weeks after the season is over, you start working out. Once I started doing that I didn't have the push I need and I can't cheat myself."

He plans to move his family to Sweden and hopes to have an off-ice role with the Red Wings.

"Retiring today allows me to walk away with pride, rather than have the game walk away from me," said Lidstrom, whose oldest of four sons went to Sweden two years ago to attend school and play hockey.

Lidstrom was named the NHL's best defenseman last year for a seventh time, matching Doug Harvey's total and trailing Bobby Orr's record by one. When Lidstrom won his final Norris Trophy last summer, he was a finalist for the 11th time in 13 seasons.

Defenseman Brad Stuart, who was his teammate the past four-plus seasons, said he was amazed at Lidstrom's ability to make the right play on almost every shift game after game.

"I've played with great players who made mistakes, but I can't think of one game when I thought, 'Nick just didn't have it tonight,' " Stuart said during this year's one-series postseason. "He's that same, steady, amazing defenseman every night. I think I've seen him out of breath maybe three or four times in a few years because he's so smart, he gets himself in the right position to make a play."

The four-time Olympian also scored the gold-medal winning goal for Sweden over Finland in 2006. He became the first European-born captain to win a Stanley Cup in 2008, six years after being the first from Europe to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoffs MVP.

Lidstrom's teammates call him "The Perfect Human," in part because he's as humble as he is successful on the ice.

"It's one of the most emotional days in Red Wings history with Nick retiring and all you people showing your respect for such a high-quality individual," Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch said.

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Japanese men lose volleyball opener to Serbia

Access denied: Kunihiro Shimizu sees his spike blocked during Japan's 25-19, 25-23, 26-16 loss to Serbia in its opening match of the men's Olympic qualifiers on Friday. KYODO PHOTO

Japan failed to put up much of a fight in its opening match of the men's world Olympic qualifiers, losing 3-0 to Serbia on Friday.

Japan went down 25-19, 25-23, 25-16 to the world's No. 7 team at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, where the Serbs were led by 13 points from Nikic Milos and 10 each from Nikola Kovacevic and Marko Podrascanin.

Serbia also enjoyed 24 points off errors by Japan, which faces Venezuela on Saturday. Venezuela was thrashed 3-0 by Australia earlier Friday, when China beat Puerto Rico by the same score as did Iran over South Korea.

To qualify for London, Japan needs to either win the eight-team round-robin tournament or be the highest finisher from Asia. The Japanese women qualified for their third consecutive Olympics on Sunday.

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Tigers light up Beckett, end road trip with win

BOSTON — Max Scherzer and Delmon Young helped the Detroit Tigers head home on a positive note.

Scherzer pitched into the seventh inning, Young homered and the Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox 7-3 on Thursday night to avoid a four-game series sweep.

Detroit went 10-14 during a grueling stretch of 19 of 24 on the road and return home to open a three-game series against the New York Yankees on Friday night.

"Going on the road sometimes is a good thing for the bonding aspect, but it will be nice to get back to Comerica (Park)" Scherzer said. "We didn't want to get swept."

Scherzer (5-3) retired nine consecutive batters before Nick Punto led off the seventh with a walk, forcing the right-hander from the game after 117 pitches. He allowed three runs and seven hits in his third consecutive victory, closing out a strong May.

"We just let him off the hook," Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said. "Heck, we had his pitch count up in the 80s after four innings and we were having good at-bats. Just kind of let it slip away."

Beckett had allowed three runs in 21? innings over his previous three starts, but he struggled once again with the Tigers. He gave up seven runs, including five home runs, in 4? innings on opening day in Detroit.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Rockies 11, Astros 5

In Denver, Carlos Gonzalez homered again, Michael Cuddyer and Jordan Pacheco had three hits apiece, and the Rockies beat the Astros.

Brewers 6, Dodgers 2

In Los Angeles, Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Gomez each hit a two-run homer, Zack Greinke pitched effectively for six innings and Milwaukee completed the four-game sweep.

Brewers leadoff man Norichika Aoki finished 0-for-5.

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Bolt sprints to season-best 9.76 in 100 meters at Golden Gala

Just a blur: Usain Bolt competes in the men's 100 meters during a Diamond League meet on Thursday in Rome. AFP-JIJI

ROME — World record-holder Usain Bolt put his poor performance in the Czech Republic behind him with a new season's best of 9.76 seconds in the 100-meter race at the Golden Gala on Thursday.

Bolt ran a relatively slow 10.04 in Ostrava last week, raising questions about his Olympic preparations.

His previous world lead of 9.82 was set at home in Jamaica this month.

"My drive was better and I started well," Bolt said. "The transition was also better. After Ostrava a lot of people questioned me, but I never questioned myself.

"Everyone has a bad race, you just got to go back to the drawing board."

While his start in Rome still wasn't exceptional, Bolt quickly pulled in front and broke the previous meet record of 9.77 set by Tyson Gay three years ago.

Former world record-holder Asafa Powell crossed second in 9.91 and European champion Christophe Lemaitre was third in 10.04.

There was virtually no wind.

Powell didn't hear "set" or "go" from the starter.

"I'm very upset with my race tonight. I'm not upset that I lost but that I couldn't execute like I wanted to," Powell said. "I didn't get out of the starting block like I should. I was all over the track.

"I'm not even going to complain," Powell added. "Usain ran a great race, I just have to go home, work on it and come back."

Bolt attributed his problems in Ostrava to fatigue for his first race of the season in Europe. This time, he appeared energized even two hours before his race, when he warmed up the crowd with a lap around the track on a golf cart, wearing the shirt of Italy's soccer team as he danced and posed for the cameras.

The crowd of nearly 60,000 cheered Bolt's every move.

"I appreciate a great crowd, they gave me a lot of love," Bolt said. "I feed off the crowd, so that was good."

When he came back out to run, Bolt chatted with the race worker behind his lane before he stepped into the starting blocks. After the race, he grabbed an Italian flag as he celebrated with another lap around the track that hosted the 1960 Olympics.

"Since I arrived in Rome I made sure to be in bed early. So I got a lot of rest and slept a lot," Bolt said. "In Ostrava I had not had enough sleep. This race was much better."

This was the third Diamond League meet of the year but Bolt's first.

In other events on a comfortable evening at Stadio Olimpico, Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce settled for second in the women's 100 behind Cote d'Ivoire winner Murielle Ahoure, who timed 11.00.

There was nearly a world record in the 3,000 steeplechase, with Kenya's Paul Kpisiele Koech clocking 7:54.31 for the third-fastest time ever. With Saif Saaeed Shaheen's 2004 world record of 7:53.63 seemingly in reach, Koech accelerated on the final straight but came up just short.

"I think I am capable now of running the world record," Koech said.

With world champion Dai Greene a late withdrawal due to illness, Javier Culson of Puerto Rico won the 400 hurdles in 48.14, with Olympic bronze medalist Bershawn Jackson of the United States second in 48.25.

Felix Sanchez, the 2004 Olympic champion, felt a calf muscle tighten about 30 meters from the line, stopped running, and fell to the track chest first. The Dominican Republic athlete came up with a slight limp.

"This is nothing serious," he said.

There was a surprise winner in the women's 800, with 19-year-old Fantu Megiso clocking an Ethiopian record of 1:57.56 — the second-fastest time in the world this year. Olympic champion Pamela Jelimo crossed second and world champ Mariya Savinova was third, while 2009 world champ Caster Semenya settled for eighth.

There was also an Ethiopian winner in the women's 1,500, with Abebe Aregawi winning by a large margin in 3:56.54, the best time this year.

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