Surgery will shelve Lackey until 2013

Baseball: John Lackey will undergo reconstructive elbow surgery and miss the 2012 season, the latest setback in his rough year with the Boston Red Sox.

General manager Ben Cherington made the announcement Tuesday during a news conference at which he was introduced as the successor to Theo Epstein, who left to become president of baseball operations with the Chicago Cubs.

Lackey, a right-hander, was 12-12 with a 6.41 ERA in the second year of a five-year, $82.5 million contract.

Cherington said the Tommy John surgery would be performed, probably by noted orthopedist Dr. Lewis Yocum, but he did not know when. Lackey had elbow soreness during the season and had an MRI exam in May or June, Cherington said. He had another one after the season and was examined recently by Yocum in Los Angeles.

“John Lackey pitched through circumstances this year that I don’t think any of us in this room can fully understand,” Cherington said, “and he got beat up for it a little bit along the way. This guy was dealing with some stuff both on the field and off the field that were really difficult.”

Late in the season, Lackey filed for divorce. His wife has breast cancer.

In May, after a bad outing, Lackey said, “Everything in my life sucks right now, to be honest with you.”

Formula One heads to New Jersey in 2013

Auto racing: New Jersey will host its first Formula One Grand Prix race in 2013 on a course that winds along the Hudson River waterfront and offers striking views of the Manhattan skyline.

Auto racing officials and Gov. Chris Christie announced a 10-year agreement to hold the race at a news conference in front of the Port Imperial ferry terminal, which will serve both as entry point for race-goers coming from New York and as the start-finish line for competitors.

The 3.2-mile course will run along the river through the towns of Weehawken and West New York, then climb uphill before looping back around in front of the ferry terminal.

Formula One racing returns to the U.S. after a five-year absence next year with a race in Austin, Texas.

Blue Jackets beat Wings for first win

NHL: James Wisniewski made his long-awaited Columbus debut after serving an eight-game suspension, and rookie Ryan Johansen scored his first career goal and added an assist to give the Blue Jackets their first win of the season, 4-1 over the Detroit Red Wings at Columbus, Ohio.

Columbus entered as the only winless club at 0-7-1, the worst start in team history.

Wisniewski was suspended for the remainder of the preseason and eight regular-season games for a hit to the head of Minnesota forward Cal Clutterbuck in an exhibition game on Sept. 23.

• Devils end Kings’ shutout streak: Dainius Zubrus scored two of New Jersey’s three second-period goals and ended the Los Angeles Kings’ franchise-record shutout streak after more than 221 minutes during the Devils’ 3-0 victory in Los Angeles.

Jonathan Bernier stopped 20 shots while Kings coach Terry Murray gave a night off to Jonathan Quick, who set a club record with three consecutive shutouts last week.

The longest stretch of scoreless defense in the Kings’ 44-year history ended at 221 minutes, 22 seconds when Zubrus charged the crease and muscled a rebound past Bernier.

Muster comeback ends in Vienna

Tennis: Former top-ranked Thomas Muster’s brief comeback ended after a 6-2, 6-3 loss to fellow Austrian Dominic Thiem in the first round of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna.

Muster, 44, returned to competitive tennis in 2010 after 11 years away, but managed just two wins in 26 matches – both on the lower-tier Challenger circuit. He said before the Vienna tournament that it would be his final event.

“I don’t regret anything,” said Muster, who fought back tears after the match.

Muster, who won the French Open in 1995 and held the No. 1 position for six weeks the following year, won 44 ATP titles. He first played in the Vienna event in 1984 – nine years before Thiem was born.

• U.S. wins four more gold medals at Pan Am Games: The United States won four more gold medals on Day 11 of the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, two in fencing and two in bowling. The baseball team had a chance for another, but lost to Canada 2-1 in the final.

Bill O’Neill and Chris Barnes won the men’s doubles gold in bowling and Kelly Kulick and Liz Johnson won the women’s doubles.

In fencing, Mariel Zagunis won the women’s individual sabre. Alexander Massialas took gold in the men’s individual foil.

• Oral Roberts switching to Southland: Oral Roberts announced it would leave the Summit League for the Southland Conference in July.

School officials confirmed ORU would pay a $250,000 penalty to the Summit League for leaving without giving the required two years’ notice.

The 10-member Summit League stretches from Utah to Michigan and Louisiana. Adding Oral Roberts would increase the Southland Conference’s membership to 10, all of them in Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma.