Sports briefs for May 12, 2005

Thursday, May 12, 2005 | 9:25 a.m.

Bellamy Road not out of Belmont yet

Although it's unlikely that the beaten Kentucky Derby favorite owned by Yankees boss George Steinbrenner will be healthy enough to run in the final leg of the Triple Crown, it's not out of the question.

Edward Sexton, who runs Steinbrenner's Kinsman Farm in Ocala, Fla., said Wednesday that Bellamy Road's popped splint in his left front leg was "a very minute injury" and the 3-year-old colt would resume light training in two weeks.

"He'll be back in full training in three to four weeks," Sexton said. "The Belmont is looking doubtful, but we'll just have to see what happens."

On Tuesday, trainer Nick Zito told the Web sites of The Daily Racing Form and The Blood-Horse that Bellamy Road would miss the Preakness on May 21 and the Belmont on June 11, then be pointed to the Travers at Saratoga on Aug. 27.

The Preakness is definitely out, with Sexton saying the report "was blown out of proportion.

"The injury is not serious. It's just bad timing," Sexton said in a telephone interview. "We could run him in the Preakness and Belmont, but he'd never race again. This is not about greed. We have to stop. The horse comes first and you have to admire Mr. Steinbrenner for that. He took it like a man."

Owners, union discuss more than salary cap

For a change, the NHL and the locked-out players' association talked about more than just salary caps.

In an unexpected second consecutive day of labor negotiations, the league and the union branched out into other discussions, such as the potential formation of a competition committee that would be comprised of player and team representatives, NHL chief legal officer Bill Daly said in a statement.

The players' association didn't immediately comment or respond to an e-mail sent by the Associated Press following the ninth bargaining session since commissioner Gary Bettman called off the entire 2004-05 season on Feb. 16.

"Among the topics covered this morning were various accounting issues relating to the calculation of club payroll in the context of a new economic system," Daly said.

So far, no headway has been made on the central issue -- the team-by-team salary cap -- and the time finally came to talk about other issues that will impact the game once a deal is reached and the NHL is back on the ice.

Kansas City pushes for Hall of Fame

Other cities might have more stock car racing history, bigger international profiles, brighter star power.

But backers of a bid to win the NASCAR Hall of Fame for Kansas City, Kan. -- where Kansas Speedway is entering just its fifth season of operation -- said they represent the sport's future and NASCAR's best chance to reach beyond its traditional fan base in the Southeast.

"We are the future, and we believe we can extend the brand," said Jeff Boerger, president of Kansas Speedway. "It's now becoming an international sport, and what better location than having it in the center of the United States?"

Other sites NASCAR has asked to submit proposals by May 31 are Atlanta; the state of Michigan; Richmond, Va.; Daytona Beach, Fla.; and Charlotte, N.C.

NASCAR could make its final decision by the end of the year.

Charlotte, where many Nextel Cup teams are based, has enlisted team owner Rick Hendrick to lead its effort. Richmond, where stock car races were staged two years before NASCAR's founding in 1948, has also touted its deep roots. Daytona Beach, where NASCAR has its headquarters, boasts the circuit's most famous race in the Daytona 500.

-- Sun wire services