Sports briefs 7/21/06

Baseball

• Sensing a playoff surge, the Atlanta Braves traded for proven closer Bob Wickman, sending a minor leaguer to the Cleveland Indians on Thursday to address a lingering weakness.

The 37-year-old Wickman has been successful on 15 of 18 save chances this season, and tied for the AL lead last year with 45 saves. To get him, Atlanta traded Class A catcher Max Ramirez.

The Braves have won 14 straight division titles, but their chances looked to be in doubt when they were 33-46. Since then, Atlanta has won 12 of 16 to get back into wild-card contention, five games behind Cincinnati.

* The Chicago White Sox released right-handed pitcher Cliff Politte on Thursday.

Politte, who pitched for the Capahas in the mid-1990s, lost his spot in the bullpen when Chicago recalled right-hander Sean Tracey from Class AAA Charlotte on Sunday.

Politte was designated for assignment July 15 after allowing four runs and four hits in two innings of a 14-3 loss to the New York Yankees.

The reliever was 2-2 with a 8.70 ERA in 30 games this season with the White Sox. Last year, he was 7-1 with a 2.00 ERA in 68 games and helped the White Sox win the World Series.

* Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield has a broken rib and is expected to spend at least three weeks on the disabled list, manager Terry Francona said.

Francona said Wakefield doesn't remember how he injured himself. It might have been from sleeping on it wrong.

The 39-year-old Wakefield, the longest-tenured member of the Red Sox, is 7-8 with a 4.14 ERA this season.

Motorsports

• Danica Patrick sounds as if she has already made a decision on her racing future, even if she's not quite ready to announce it.

Despite recent speculation that she would head to NASCAR after her contract with the Rahal-Letterman IndyCar Series team is up at the end of the season, Patrick said she's leaning toward staying in the IndyCar Series and is "far down the line" toward getting a deal done with for next season.

Soccer

n Zinedine Zidane will perform community service as penance for his infamous head butt on Marco Materazzi in the World Cup final. Materazzi didn't get off unscathed, either.

The French midfielder, voted the best player in the championships, also was fined $6,000 by FIFA on Thursday and agreed to work with children in lieu of a three-game suspension. The penalty is irrelevant because at 34, Zidane has retired from soccer.

Materazzi, the Italian defender who provoked the head butt by insulting Zidane, was suspended for two games and fined $4,000.

-- The Associated Press