REGION

REGION
Tribe signs Diaz
CLEVELAND -- Catcher Einar Diaz returned to the Cleveland Indians on Friday, agreeing to a minor league contract with the club he spent seven seasons with before being traded in 2002.
Diaz will compete in spring training with Josh Bard for the backup job behind Victor Martinez. Diaz would get a $625,000, one-year contract if added to the 40-man roster.
The 33-year-old Diaz, who was St. Louis' backup catcher last season, previously started for Cleveland. He had his best season in 2001, batting .277 with four homers and 56 RBIs in 134 games.
The Indians dealt Diaz and right-hander Ryan Drese to Texas for designated hitter Travis Hafner following the '02 season.
Diaz hit .208 with one homer and 17 RBIs in 58 games -- 30 starts -- for the Cardinals last season.
He is the latest former Indians player to re-sign with the club, which this week brought back relievers Danny Graves and Steve Karsay with minor league deals. Both right-handers, who previously pitched for Cleveland, have had injury problems in recent years.
The Indians need to replace setup man Bob Howry, who recently signed with the Chicago Cubs.
Blue Jacketsadd forward
COLUMBUS -- The Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday added forward Mark Hartigan to their roster on emergency recall from the Syracuse Crunch, the team's American Hockey League affiliate.
Hartigan is expected to join the club in time for Friday night's game against the Nashville Predators in Columbus.
Hartigan has appeared in eight games with the Blue Jackets this season, scoring one goal. He had seven goals and 16 assists in 21 games with Syracuse.
NATION
Hopkins and Jonesagree to rematch
BRISTOL, Conn. -- Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins have agreed to a March 11 fight, representatives of both fighters told ESPN.com on Friday.
The fight would be a rematch of a 1993 bout, which Jones won by unanimous decision.
"I think it's very exciting. Bernard is very happy about it and so is Roy. It's fantastic," said Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions, which promotes Hopkins.
The 12-round light heavyweight fight is scheduled to be shown on HBO pay-per-view, though no site has been selected.
"We have a deal," Jones' adviser Brad Jacobs said. "I have Richard's word that Hopkins is in. And Roy told me, 'Let's go.' Everybody reviewed what was on the table and were able to agree to it."
Hopkins (46-4-1, 32 KOs), who turns 41 in January, made a middleweight-record 20 title defenses before losing by decision twice to Jermain Taylor this year.
Jones (49-4, 38 KOs), who turns 37 on Jan. 16, is a former middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight champion. For a decade he was considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, but he has lost three straight, including two by knockout.
NHL suspends twofor on-court actions
TORONTO -- Vincent Lecavalier of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Ilya Kovalchuk of the Atlanta Thrashers were suspended one game by the NHL on Friday.
Lecavalier was suspended for high-sticking New York Rangers forward Dominic Moore during Thursday's 4-2 loss. Lecavalier was to miss Friday's game against Buffalo. The suspension cost Lecavalier $35,076.53.
Kovalchuk received a one-game ban for throwing his stick into the stands during Thursday's 6-5 shootout loss to Washington.
WORLD
Castro lashes outover baseball snub
HAVANA -- Fidel Castro said Friday that the Bush administration was wrong to prohibit Cuba from sending a team to next year's World Baseball Classic.
"He is very much a fool," the Cuban president said of Bush. "He doesn't know who the Cuban baseball players are, or that they are Olympic and world champions. If he knew, he would know something about this country's government."
Castro mentioned the ongoing dispute during the second day of regular sessions of the island's National Assembly.
The U.S. Treasury Department last week rejected the application for Cuba to play in the 16-team tournament scheduled for March 3-20, evidently because of concerns that Castro's government could enjoy financial gain by participating.
Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association, which are organizing the tournament, reapplied Thursday to the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control. OFAC's permission is required under U.S. laws and regulations governing transactions with Cuba, which has been under an American trade and financial embargo for more than four decades.
In an attempt to eliminate a major concern of the U.S. government, the Cuban Baseball Federation announced Thursday night that any money gained by the national team would be donated to Hurricane Katrina victims.
Cuban baseball "would be willing for the money associated with participation in the classic to go to those displaced by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans," said the statement read on state television by baseball federation president Carlos Rodriguez.
Cuba is scheduled to play first-round games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and would remain in San Juan if it advances to the second round.
Vindicator staff/wire reports