may be out until May Three-time All-Star Chase Utley, who anchored the middle of the lineup for the World Series champion Phillies, will have surgery and may not be ready for the start of the 2009 season.

Utley will have surgery next week to repair any bone or cartilage damage he may have in his right hip. Full recovery could take until May, team officials said.

"Our feeling is that he's going to be fairly close to ready if not ready by Opening Day," general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said.

Third baseman Pedro Feliz also had surgery on his back. The operation will be followed by an eight-to-12 week rehabilitation program.

Mets rookie Daniel Murphy strained his right hamstring at the Arizona Fall League and will spend the rest of the winter getting ready for the start of spring training. Murphy, who hit .313 with two home runs and 17 RBI in 131 at-bats last season, felt discomfort during batting practice Nov. 11 and a test revealed the injury. Murphy will skip winter ball in Puerto Rico. An outfielder for the Mets last season, he had been playing second base in Arizona.

Looking to fill one of their most pressing offseason needs, the St. Louis Cardinals are close to a contract agreement with left-handed reliever Trever Miller. The 35-year-old Miller was 2-0 with a 4.15 ERA and two saves in 68 games last season for the AL champion Tampa Bay Rays , holding left-handed hitters to a .209 average in 91 at-bats.

Commissioner Bud Selig announced that Major League Baseball will enact a rules change stating that postseason games cannot be shortened because of bad weather. Selig said the change also will apply to tiebreaker games that decide division titles and wild-card berths.

GOLF Annika Sorenstam shot a 2-over par 74 in the opening round of the ADT Championship in West Palm Beach, Fla., and is tied for 23rd in the 32-woman event, her final LPGA Tour appearance before "stepping away" from competitive golf. The field gets trimmed to 16 after today's play, meaning Sorenstam has some work remaining just to reach the weekend.

Sorenstam finished six shots behind Katherine Hull (68), who is one shot ahead of Ji-Yai Shin and In-Kyung Kim.

SOCCER The Columbus Crew's Guillermo Barros Schelotto, a midfield wizard who was a longtime star in his Argentina homeland, was named Major League Soccer's Most Valuable Player. The 35-year-old Schelotto had seven goals for Columbus as the Crew finished with an MLS-best 17 wins in 30 games. Columbus faces the Red Bulls on Sunday in the MLS Cup final in Carson, Calif.

Bayern Munich is hoping to sign United States forward Landon Donovan on a loan deal similar to the one David Beckham has reached with AC Milan. Both Donovan and Beckham play for the Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer.

BOXING Former heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe, 41, will fight for the first time in three years on the undercard of the IBF title fight between Wladimir Klitschko and Hasim Rahman in Frankfurt, Germany. Bowe's opponent for the Dec. 13 fight is yet to be determined. Bowe's oNLy loss in 43 fights was against Evander Holyfield, who at 46 is preparing to fight Nikolai Valuev next month for the WBA title.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL Lamar Patterson, a 6-5 forward who is playing his senior season at St. Benedict's Prep, is among the recruits for No. 6 Pittsburgh who committed during the NCAA early signing period.

- Associated Press