Mears Officially Joins Hendrick

Casey Mears will move to Hendrick Motorsports next year to join other NASCAR Nextel Cup drivers in the Hendrick stable such as Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch, the team announced Wednesday.

Mears, a 28-year-old member of the famed Mears racing family of Bakersfield, had said last week that he would not return to the Dodge team of Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates after his contract expires this year.

His move to Hendrick was not unexpected. After Hendrick driver Brian Vickers received permission last week to look for a new ride next year, Mears was considered a top contender to replace him. Mears will take over Vickers’ No. 25 Chevrolet in 2007.

“This is an opportunity for me to work with close friends and start fresh with one of the top organizations in all of sports,� Mears said in a statement, referring to his long friendship with Johnson and Gordon.

Mears signed a multiyear contract that will keep him at Hendrick at least through 2009, the team said. Financial terms were not disclosed.

“Casey is a talented driver and a high-character person who is going to be a great fit with our organization,� team owner Rick Hendrick said in the statement.

Mears, currently driving the No. 42 Dodge, is winless in the Nextel Cup since joining the series in 2003 with the Ganassi team.

He started this year with a second-place finish behind Johnson in the Daytona 500 but has often struggled since. He is currently 15th in the points standings; Vickers is 22nd.

Mears is the son of off-road racing champion Roger Mears and the nephew of Rick Mears, four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500.

-- Jim Peltz

TENNIS

Federer Keeps Gaining on Borg

Roger Federer rebounded from his defeat in the French Open final to win his 37th consecutive match on grass, moving within four of Bjorn Borg’s record.

The top-ranked Federer defeated qualifier Rohan Bopanna, 7-6 (4), 6-2, in the first round of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany.

If Federer wins the tournament, he will equal the record of 41 grass-court wins in a row set by Borg from 1976 to ’81.

In other matches, Florian Meyer upset third-seeded Jarkko Nieminen, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4; and eighth-seeded Kristof Vliegen beat qualifier Marco Chiudinelli, 7-6 (4), 6-0.

French Open champion Rafael Nadal made a smooth transition to grass, beating Mardy Fish, 7-6 (1), 6-1, in his debut in a Wimbledon warmup tournament at Queen’s Club in London.

Three-time champion Andy Roddick rallied for a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 second-round victory over qualifier Frank Dancevic in his first match since he quit his first-round match at the French Open because of an injured left ankle.

Roddick, seeded third, is trying to become the first player to win four consecutive titles at Queen’s.

Meanwhile, ninth-seeded Robby Ginepri beat Janko Tipsarevic, 7-6 (4), 6-4, and Lleyton Hewitt, who won three consecutive Queen’s titles between 2000 and 2002, rallied to beat Fernando Vicente, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Fourth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko lost, 2-6, 6-3, 6-1, to Wang Yeu-tzuoo and 11th-seeded Sebastien Grosjean was beaten by wild card Mark Philippoussis, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-3.

Maria Sharapova defeated Ahsha Rolle, 6-4, 6-2, in the DFS Classic in Birmingham, England.

Sharapova will next play 13th-seeded Li Na, who defeated Eleni Daniilidou, 7-6 (9), 6-3.

Meanwhile, Sania Mirza beat Shenay Perry, 7-5, 6-7, 6-3.

TELEVISION

Stratton Dismissed From Lakers Telecasts

Susan Stratton will no longer be directing Channel 9’s Lakers telecasts after a 30-year run.

Stratton was named producer-director during the 1976-77 season and in 1994 was given the title of executive producer. Over the years, Stratton and her crew won numerous awards.

Reached at her home in Pasadena, Stratton confirmed that she had been dismissed by Jeff Proctor and Steve Rangel, who late last year formed an independent company that took over production of Channel 9’s Lakers telecasts in January. And they hired Stratton as director.

Said Proctor: “Sometimes difficult decisions need to be made. Personally, I love Sue Stratton and she was the first person to hire me as a producer. But I felt it was time to make a change. ... It is never easy to replace an icon.�

-- Larry Stewart

HOCKEY

Kings Expected to Add O’Connell

The Kings are expected to hire former Boston Bruins general manager Mike O’Connell to work with the team’s American Hockey League franchise in Manchester, an NHL source said Wednesday.

O’Connell will remain on the East Coast and help evaluate the Kings’ minor league players. He was the Bruins’ general manager the last six seasons.

The Kings have also interviewed Sean Coady, the Bruins’ director of pro scouting and player development.

-- Chris Foster

The Mighty Ducks re-signed left wing Travis Moen to a one-year, $475,000 contract.

Moen, 24, had four goals and one assist in 39 regular-season games and scored a goal in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Colorado Avalanche.

-- Eric Stephens

MISCELLANY

Gleason to Resign as USC Golf Coach

USC men’s golf Coach Ted Gleason will resign, effective June 30.

Gleason was an assistant coach for the USC men’s and women’s teams from 2003 to 2005. As men’s coach, he directed USC to six top-five finishes and senior Taylor Wood earned All-American third-team honors.

Kurt Schuette, USC’s director of golf, said the school hopes to name a replacement by July 1.

College of Charleston basketball Coach Tom Herrion is negotiating a buyout that would end his four years with the Southern Conference school, an official with the college told the Associated Press.

Herrion has four years left on his contract, with a base salary of $163,893.

The College of Charleston went 17-11 last season, losing in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.

Herrion took the Cougars to the National Invitation Tournament during his first season in 2002-03, but the team hadn’t reached the postseason since.

Herrion’s record is 80-38.

Galaxy midfielder Kyle Martino is listed as questionable for Saturday’s game at New York because of a sprained right ankle, the team said.

Martino aggravated a previous injury during the first half of Sunday’s 1-1 tie with D.C. United and left at the start of the second half.

Cycling produced the most positive drug tests of any Olympic sport in the latest global statistics compiled by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

WADA-accredited laboratories reported 482 positive samples for cyclists in 2005. Baseball was second with 390 positives, and soccer was third with 343. Track and field -- the most tested sport -- was fourth with 342. Cycling also had the highest percentage of positive tests, with 3.78% out of 12,751 samples, followed by baseball (3.69% out of 10,580), boxing (3.41% of 2,433) and triathlon (3.41% of 2,170). Track and field had 1.67% positives out of 20,464 samples.

Overall, the number of positive samples increased by 34.4%, from 2,909 in 2004 to 3,909 in 2005.

Kristin Erb, a Division II freshman softball pitcher from Lock Haven University (Pa.), and Megan Silva, a Division III senior basketball standout from Randolph-Macon College (Va.), were voted the nation’s top collegiate female athletes in their respective divisions in balloting among NCAA schools as part of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards.

Marc Tyler, a senior running back from Westlake Village Oaks Christian High and the son of former UCLA and L.A. Rams running back Wendell Tyler, has committed to USC.

Besides USC and UCLA, Tyler was also heavily pursued by Notre Dame, where his Oaks Christian teammate, quarterback Jimmy Clausen, has committed.

Tyler rushed for 2,196 yards and scored 45 touchdowns as a junior.