Oregon House passes stadium financing plan

Salem, Ore. — A $150 million stadium financing package aimed at bringing the Montreal Expos to Portland was approved 33-25 Wednesday by the Oregon House.

The bill, which now goes to the Oregon Senate, authorizes the use of income tax revenue from players and team officials to help pay for construction bonds that represent the state’s part of the estimated $350 million in construction costs.

“Not a single dollar will be taken from education, health or any other state program” to build a stadium, said Rep. Vic Backlund, a Republican.

But others said the stadium bill was distracting lawmakers from more pressing issues.

“It is certainly not going to put Oregon back to work long-term,” said Rep. Diane Rosenbaum, a Democrat.

Giants’ Nen undergoes season-ending surgery

Miami — San Francisco Giants relief ace Robb Nen underwent season-ending shoulder surgery Wednesday to repair a partial tear in his right rotator cuff.

Dr. Craig Morgan performed the arthroscopic procedure in Wilmington, Del. Morgan performed similar surgery on Curt Schilling in 1999.

“He didn’t feel that it was as serious as we may have thought,” team trainer Stan Conte said. “It came out better than we expected.”

Nen, a three-time All-Star, will stay in the Philadelphia area for two weeks to start rehabilitation.

“He won’t be throwing for four months, but Dr. Morgan is very optimistic,” Conte said. “He should be ready to go by spring training next year.”

Nen’s throwing shoulder had not responded to operations in November 2002 and on April 18. In his absence, Tim Worrell and Felix Rodriguez will split the closer’s job.

Diamondbacks’ Counsell to have thumb surgery

Phoenix — Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Craig Counsell will have surgery on his injured right thumb today and will be sidelined 10-to-12 weeks. An MRI Wednesday morning showed a torn ligament.

“It’s already happened, so now we’ve got to fix it and move forward with it,” Counsell said Wednesday night after Arizona’s 5-2 loss to Philadelphia. “It is what it is — bad luck, whatever.”

Counsell, who missed the final two months of last season with a neck injury that required fusion surgery, dislocated his thumb in the sixth inning of Tuesday night’s 6-5 victory over the Phillies when he slid into second base. He slid to the left of the base to break up a double play, and caught his thumb on the base as he slid past it.

Counsell was hitting .276, and his 32 hits were second on the team to Luis Gonzalez’s 42.

Cards’ Ankiel to start for Double-A team

Kodak, Tenn. — St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Rick Ankiel will make his first start of the season Friday night for Double-A Tennessee after beginning the year in the bullpen.

The Cardinals decided the 23-year-old left-hander wasn’t getting enough work in relief. He has struggled with his command this season, going 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA in the Southern League.

In 10 appearances, he has walked 13, hit two batters and thrown six wild pitches over 9 1/3 innings.

Ankiel said he’s looking forward to his new role.

“I’ve been a starter all my life,” he said.

Ankiel probably will be limited to 50 pitches Friday against the Greenville Braves. He looked good during a 45-pitch bullpen session supervised by pitching coach Blaise Ilsley Tuesday.

“Now he has to take that into a game,” Ilsley said.

Tennessee manager Mark DeJohn was also impressed.

“Oh, he threw unbelievable,” DeJohn said. “If he throws like that, he’ll dominate this league. He looked like the old Ankiel.”

Ankiel won 11 games for St. Louis as a rookie starter in 2000 before control problems sidetracked his promising career. He missed last season with an elbow injury and the Cardinals had been trying to convert him into a reliever.

Ankiel struggled in spring training with St. Louis, prompting the team to send him to the minors to start the season.

Mets’ Vaughn to seek second opinion on knee

New York — Mo Vaughn will get a second opinion to decide whether surgery will help him recover from an inflamed left knee.

One day after saying that surgery wouldn’t be a long-term solution to the “10 or 12 bone spurs” in his knee, Vaughn said he would consult with Anaheim team physician Dr. Lewis Yocum, Boston team physician Dr. Bill Morgan and Dr. Arthur Pappas, the former physician for the Red Sox.

“I have to get the spurs out, period,” Vaughn said Wednesday. “There’s too many in there. It’s not just one. What to put in there to cushion the knee is the next question.”

Vaughn has no cartilage in part of the knee, causing bone to rub against bone and pain that is too intense to play through.

He said he would consider an operation to shave the spurs and inject a substance into the knee to provide a cushion.

“I was up all night looking at this stuff,” Vaughn said. “People are giving me all kinds of information.”

General manager Steve Phillips said that type of procedure is “experimental” and wasn’t sure if it would work on Vaughn.

“I’m not sure it’s reversible,” Phillips said. “I don’t know what surgery resolves either. He has bone on bone. There’s no cartilage on one side of the knee.”