Former Seahawk Alexander signs with Redskins

Former league Most Valuable Player Shaun Alexander signed with the Washington Redskins on Tuesday, part of a flurry of roster activity in which the team ditched its punter, shuffled its safeties and displayed coach Jim Zorn’s strong ties to his Seattle Seahawks roots.

Alexander, unemployed since being cut by the Seahawks in April, signed a one-year deal to back up NFL leading rusher Clinton Portis.

The Redskins also cut sixth-round draft pick Durant Brooks, who ranks last in the league in punting, and replaced him with former Seattle punter Ryan Plackemeier.

The Redskins added yet another former Seattle player, safety Mike Green.

•Cowboys get Williams: The Detroit Lions traded wide receiver Roy Williams to the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL’s biggest trade before the deadline. The Lions received three draft picks, from the first, third and sixth round in 2009. Detroit also gave the Cowboys a seventh-rounder next year.

•Colts, Bills trade: The Buffalo Bills traded underperforming defensive tackle John McCargo to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for an undisclosed draft pick.

Baseball

Red Sox lose Lowell

Mike Lowell will undergo surgery on his right hip Monday, depriving the Boston Red Sox of last year’s World Series MVP for the rest of their season.

•Yankees fire coaches: Third-base coach Bobby Meacham and special pitching instructor Rich Monteleone were fired by the New York Yankees.

•Beeston returns: Paul Beeston returned to the Toronto Blue Jays as interim chief executive officer, and will work with outgoing president Paul Godfrey to hire a successor before the 2009 season.

Cycling

Kohl will be cut

Third-place Tour de France finisher Bernhard Kohl will be dropped from the Silence-Lotto team after becoming the latest cyclist caught using the new blood booster CERA.

Kohl rode for Gerolsteiner this season but has since signed with Silence-Lotto through 2011. The Belgian team said it would take the “necessary legal steps” to immediately end its relationship.

•Armstrong casts doubt: Lance Armstrong has expressed doubts about racing in next year’s Tour de France.

“Everyone knows its importance, but the problems that I have with the organizers, journalists and fans could distract me from my mission – focusing the world’s attention on the battle against cancer,” Armstrong said in Gazzetta dello Sport.

•Basso fined: Ivan Basso will pay a $15,000 fine under a plea bargain arrangement in Busto Arsizio, Italy, to close a case that had regular judicial authorities investigating him for doping. Basso’s two-year ban for doping expires later this month.

Golf

Harrington, Furyk lead

Padraig Harrington and Jim Furyk shot 2-under-par 68s and were tied for the lead after the first round of the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in Tucker’s Town, Bermuda.

•Bermuda will host: The Grand Slam of Golf will be based in Bermuda for the next two years, according to PGA of America president Brian Whitcomb.

•Curtis finds partner: American Ben Curtis, who went 1-1-1 in his Ryder Cup debut last month, has selected Brandt Snedeker to be his partner for the World Cup, which will be played in China during the week of Thanksgiving.

Hockey

Bush honors Red Wings

President Bush welcomed the Detroit Red Wings to the White House, celebrating the 2008 Stanley Cup championship team.

Team captain Nicklas Lidstrom gave the president two red Detroit jerseys – No. 43 for the current president and No. 41 for his father, former President George H.W. Bush.

•Martinek out: New York Islanders defenseman Radek Martinek will be out four to six weeks because of an unidentified upper-body injury sustained during a game last weekend, the club said.

•Player had heart problems: Alexei Cherepanov had heart problems and probably should not have been allowed to play in a game in which he collapsed and died, a regional investigator suggested.

Yulia Zhukova said Cherepanov, who died Monday playing for Avangard Omsk in a Continental Hockey League game outside of Moscow, Russia, apparently had chronic ischemia – a medical condition when not enough blood gets to the heart or other organs.

Miscellany

Curlin will defend title

The Breeders’ Cup Classic is going to have American star presence after all.

Curlin’s connections said that the reigning Horse of the Year will defend his title in the $5 million Classic at Santa Anita on Oct. 25. The announcement came a day after Big Brown’s surprise retirement because of injury.

•MLS in Miami: FC Barcelona will submit a bid today to bring a Major League Soccer team back to Miami.

The Spanish soccer club is partnering with Marcelo Claure, a Miami resident and owner of FC Bolivar. The deal would make FC Barcelona the first club in Europe to have a direct tie to MLS.

•Home on the road: UEFA ordered Atletico Madrid to play its next two home Champions League soccer games at a neutral venue because of violent and racist behavior by the club’s fans during a recent match against Marseille. The Spanish club was also fined $204,600.

•Feds urge prison for Graham: Federal prosecutors urged a judge to send track coach Trevor Graham to prison for 10 months for lying to sports doping investigators while he pleaded for probation.

A jury in May convicted Graham of one count of lying to IRS agents about his connection to an admitted steroids dealer.