Annika Sorenstam will retire after the season, ending an LPGA Tour career in which she has won 72 tournaments to date and produced a defining moment when she teed it up against the men on the PGA Tour.

She was to announce her decision at a news conference today at the Sybase Classic in Clifton, N.J., a person familiar with her plans told The Associated Press.

The 37-year-old Sorenstam has hinted at retirement the past several seasons, saying she wanted to devote more time to her growing business and to start a family. She is engaged to Mike McGee, son of former PGA Tour player Jerry McGee.

Woods returns to practice

ST. LOUIS — Tiger Woods is chipping and putting again, and he hopes to play in the Memorial in two weeks.

Woods had surgery on his left knee April 15 for the second time in five years, this time to clean out some cartilage. He has not played since finishing three shots behind Trevor Immelman at the Masters.

Doctors said the recovery would be four to six weeks, and Woods said his rehabilitation was going well.

BASKETBALL

D’Antoni finalizes deal with Knicks

NEW YORK — Mike D’Antoni wrapped up his negotiations with New York on Monday night and will be introduced as the Knicks’ new coach at a news conference today.

The Phoenix coach agreed to take the Knicks job Saturday and was in New York on Monday to finalize terms of his contract, reported to be for $24 million over four years.

The Knicks called a news conference for 1 p.m. EDT at Madison Square Garden with D’Antoni and team president Donnie Walsh.

D’Antoni replaces Isiah Thomas, who was fired last month after going 56-108 in two seasons. Walsh took his time with his coaching search, waiting to see who would become available after the first round of the playoffs.

The Suns gave D’Antoni permission to seek other jobs after losing to San Antonio in five games last month. The Knicks then beat out the Chicago Bulls for the services of D’Antoni, the NBA’s Coach of the Year in 2005 and regarded as one of the league’s premier offensive minds.

D’Antoni led the Suns to a 232-96 regular-season record the past four years, winning at least 54 games each season with an up-tempo offensive system that favors quick shots and 3-pointers.

BASEBALL

Coach Sandberg suspended

PEORIA, Ill. — Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg was suspended for three games as manager of the Midwest League’s Peoria Chiefs for his role in bench-clearing incident last week.

Sandberg, in his second season as Peoria’s manager, began the suspension with Saturday night’s game at Clinton, Iowa, and was to complete the penalty Monday night at home against Quad Cities. He also was suspended for two games on May 13 last year for bumping an umpire during a game at Fort Wayne.

The Peoria Journal Star reported Sandberg confronted Clinton manager Mike Micucci between the sixth and seventh innings of Peoria’s 7-3 loss last Thursday. Sandberg apparently was upset because a Clinton player tried to bunt in the sixth inning with a 6-0 lead. Sandberg was ejected for the third time this season and seventh time with the Chiefs.

Sandberg played 16 major league seasons, all but one with the Cubs, and hit 282 homers while batting .285. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005.

HOCKEY

Sharks fire head coach

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Sharks fired coach Ron Wilson after his club followed another outstanding regular season with yet another early exit from the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Sharks won the Pacific Division title and compiled the NHL’s second-best record with 49 wins and 108 points, but the Dallas Stars knocked them out of the second round in six games on May 4. San Jose has ended its past three seasons with six-game losses in the second round, and general manager Doug Wilson decided his coach would take the fall for his talented playoff underachievers.

The Sharks led the NHL in total victories over the past four seasons, but San Jose never repeated its trip to the 2004 Western Conference finals in the last three years despite fielding one of the NHL’s most talented rosters starring former MVP Joe Thornton, captain Patrick Marleau and goalie Evgeni Nabokov.

Americans top Norway

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia — New York Rangers forward Brandon Dubinsky scored three goals and the Americans scored three times in each period to wrap up their qualifying round at the world hockey championships with a 9-1 win over Norway.

With the win, the U.S. (3-2) locked up third place in Pool F. The Americans, who already had clinched a quarterfinal berth before the game, next play Finland, which lost to Canada 6-3.

Also, unbeaten Russia got first-period goals from Dmitry Kalinin, Alexander Ovechkin and Maxim Sushinsky in a 5-3 win over Switzerland in Quebec City. In late games, Denmark upset Belarus 3-2 and Germany beat Latvia 5-3.

AUTO RACING

WASHINGTON — The Indianapolis 500 is an attractive target for terrorists, federal authorities said, but there has been no credible or specific threat aimed at the Memorial Day weekend race.

In an internal FBI/Homeland Security Department assessment released to local police, officials said such sporting events, which attract hundreds of thousands of spectators, are attractive potential targets. The assessment said these popular events are inviting to terrorists because of the potential to inflict large numbers of casualties while the whole world is watching.

The assessment is supported by a congressional report, expected to be released this week, about the threat to mass gatherings. The report, written by the democratic staff on the House Homeland Security committee, finds that major events — such as NASCAR races, the Super Bowl and presidential nominating conventions — are all attractive targets to terrorists. The report also raised the potential for infectious disease outbreaks and other bioterror threats at such events.