Museum is plan for home run slugger's Ala. home

The childhood home of former baseball home run king Hank Aaron will be donated to the city where he grew up and will become a museum operated by the city's minor-league team.

The home is expected to be moved in October next to "The Hank," or Hank Aaron Stadium, home of the Mobile BayBears. Aaron's family and team officials made the announcement Monday.

The three-bedroom home, which is currently boarded up, could open as a museum in late March. The city will own the house, but the team will handle the renovations and run the museum.

"This was our castle," the former Atlanta Braves slugger said Monday, seated with his brother and sister on the small porch of the house built by their father. "No matter where I've been, this will always be my home."

Aaron, now 74, grew up in Mobile's Toulminville neighborhood, about a block from a city park that now bears his name. He hit 755 home runs _ a record that stood until it was broken last year by Barry Bonds. Aaron's late brother, Tommie _ who played for the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves _ also grew up there.

The home is about five miles away from the stadium. A house-moving company has offered to move the house at no charge, team officials said.

Mobile Mayor Sam Jones said it has "tremendous" tourism potential and called Aaron an "ambassador for Mobile." Bill Shanahan, BayBears president, said he pitched the idea for the museum to Aaron over a year ago and won his support for the project.

Renovating his childhood home into a museum at the stadium will demonstrate to others his humble beginnings and that no matter what conditions they live in, Aaron said.

"You can make it by trying harder," he said.

The museum won't be solely devoted to his baseball career, Aaron said. Visitors to the home will learn of his parents' early days and how the Aaron family progressed.

His parents, Estella and Herbert Aaron, both deceased, had eight children and refused to move even when their famous "Hammerin' Hank" bought them another house in Mobile.

Aaron recalled his father bought two acres and struggled to build his home with salvaged boards and bricks while working in the port city's shipyards. Back then, the narrow road in front of the house was unpaved and had a big ditch out front, Aaron said at a news conference.

"Only three bedrooms, with eight kids," Aaron recalled. "I had to be humble. My mother insisted on my being that way."

Hall of Fame exhibits officials Ted Spencer, Mary Quinn and Erik Strohl toured the home Monday with Aaron, his brother and sister.

The three met with city and stadium officials on security and preservation of Aaron memorabilia that's expected to be replicated and shared with the museum by the baseball museum in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Spencer, the chief curator, said Aaron contacted the Hall of Fame about the project earlier this year. He said the house has "great potential" and the restoration will be fun.

"It's the first thing of this type we've done," Spencer said.

Michelle Wie to play on PGA Tour again

Fresh off a disqualification on the LPGA Tour, Michelle Wie has decided to tee it up against the men, again.

Wie will play next week in the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open, the first time she'll play on the PGA Tour this year, tournament organizers said.

It will be her eighth time playing on the PGA Tour, and she has yet to make a cut. The only time Wie has made money playing against the men was on the Korean Tour, in 2006, at the SK Telcom Open.

"It's not every day that a woman is given the opportunity to play on the greatest tour in the world," Wie said in a statement. "This is a tremendous opportunity for me to learn from these great players and take those lessons to the LPGA. This is another step in the process of making me a better player."

Wie, who is 18 and attends Stanford part time, has no status on any tour. She has only one sponsor's exemption left this year. She will be playing her seventh and final LPGA Tour event of this year at the CN Canadian Women's Open in August.

The Reno-Tahoe Open starts July 31 at Montreux Golf & Country Club. The Nevada tournament is one of the weakest fields on the PGA Tour, held opposite the World Golf Championship in Ohio. Steve Flesch won the Reno-Tahoe Open last year.

"This will be a great experience for the community to see a player like Michelle in this setting," tournament director Michael Stearns said in a statement. "Michelle is getting her game together, she's getting back in the swing of things and we have no problem extending her this opportunity."

Wie showed signs of improvement this past weekend at the State Farm Classic in Illinois. She was a shot off the lead going into the final round when Tour officials discovered that she had left the scoring area without signing her scorecard after Friday's second round. Wie finished her round Saturday, and after officials spoke with her about the scorecard problem, she was disqualified.

A win or high finish would have all but guaranteed her enough money to finish in the top 80 LPGA players this year, the cutoff for automatic inclusion in next year's tour.

There's been speculation Wie would concentrate solely on women's competition, especially after last year when she injured both wrists and made only two cuts.

Wie's chances of securing a 2009 LPGA Tour card now rest with her winning roughly $80,000 in her final tournament, which probably would take a top-three finish. Otherwise, she could be headed to the first of two stages of qualifying.

"I think the qualifying conflicts with school, so I probably won't go to that," Wie said last month at the U.S. Women's Open in Minnesota. But that was when she had greater hopes of winning enough money to become exempt for next year.

Her father made it sound as though Q-school was a distinct possibility at the time.

"What other options do we have?" he said.

Yankees place Posada on DL with injured shoulder

The New York Yankees placed Jorge Posada on the 15-day disabled list Monday with an injured right shoulder, leaving the All-Star catcher's season in doubt.

Posada was scheduled to see New York Mets medical director Dr. David Altchek on Tuesday to get an MRI and to have his shoulder examined. He missed over a month earlier this season with right rotator cuff tendinitis, and could opt to have season-ending surgery.

"It's just really, really tough," Posada said. "Right now, I'm going through tough times."

Posada said he was planning on starting a rehab program Monday before discussing his options with Altchek. Posada, who acknowledged more damage in his shoulder beyond an injured labrum, could miss part of next season if he waits to have surgery.

Johnny Damon was activated from the disabled list and was in the starting lineup for the Yankees' game against the Minnesota Twins. Damon injured his left shoulder when he ran into the fence attempting to catch a ball on July 4.

Damon was the designated hitter against the Twins and might not be able to play in the outfield for a few days.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi also said outfielder Hideki Matsui, out with a sore left knee, was examined again Monday and decided against surgery.

Chad Johnson says he'll be in camp despite ankle

Receiver Chad Johnson said he'll report on time for the Cincinnati Bengals' training camp next weekend, but his surgically repaired ankle will probably prevent him from fully participating.

Johnson also said in a phone interview Monday that he wants to move on from his failed attempt to maneuver a trade. He had threatened to sit out the season if he wasn't dealt, but the Bengals refused to trade him, turning down an offer from Washington before the draft in April.

The Pro Bowl receiver tried to repair his relationship with Bengals fans during an interview with The Associated Press, part of a promotion for an NFL video that will be released Tuesday. He's unsure how fans will receive him at the outset.

"People take it in a different context when I say I want out and I'm not happy," Johnson said. "They think, 'He doesn't want to be in Cincinnati anymore, he's dissing us as fans.' It's not like that. I love my fans. I wasn't able to get that point across. They've supported me. They've been good to me, and I've been good to them.

"I was going through a situation where I felt a change was needed. It didn't work out. Hey, I'm back. Get ready for the show."

Johnson showed up for a mandatory minicamp last month, but didn't fully participate the first two days because of a sore right ankle. He had surgery to remove bone spurs on June 18. Johnson estimated that he's about 60 percent recovered, and won't be able to go at full-speed when the Bengals hold their first training camp workout next Monday in Georgetown, Ky.

"It's not where it needs to be," he said. "I can run, but I don't think I'm able to actually get right on the field and go at it. If I came back too early and reinjured myself, it would be a setback."

Johnson repeatedly declined to discuss the issues that led him to lobby for an offseason trade. He stopped talking to local media during a 7-9 season in which his flamboyant actions and a sideline quarrel with quarterback Carson Palmer raised questions about his commitment to the team.

Johnson lobbied for a trade in a series of interviews with out-of-town media in the offseason. He said he'll continue to refuse local interviews when training camp starts.

Some of his teammates, including Palmer, grew weary of Johnson's offseason comments. Johnson doesn't think his relationship with teammates or coach Marvin Lewis has suffered. He said he has sent text messages to Lewis about the frustrations of his ankle rehabilitation. He also has spoken with Palmer.

"I talk to Carson all the time," he said. "I don't have a choice. He's my quarterback."

Johnson is unsure of the reaction he'll get from fans. Many were turned off by his lobbying for a trade _ some even exchanged their Johnson jerseys for minor league hockey tickets during one local promotion.

Johnson agreed to a long-term deal with the Bengals two years ago. He'll get a $3 million base salary this season, and is under contract with the Bengals through 2010. There's a club option for 2011.

"I'm still in Cincinnati," Johnson said. "This is one of those crazy things. I love Cincinnati. I love my fans. I love everything about it. I wasn't happy about certain things _ the business side of it _ and I spoke my mind and that was it.

"A true fan of mine knows what they've got. A true fan of mine sticks with me through thick and thin when things aren't going right. That's what a true fan does. Those that are upset because I spoke my mind? There's not much I can do but apologize."

Johnson agreed to an interview to promote "NFL: In Just One Play," a DVD that includes footage and interviews with NFL playmakers. Johnson hosts the video, which includes a section on his catches and touchdown celebrations. He worked on the NFL-Warner Home Video production while at the Pro Bowl.

The video calls receivers the NFL's rock stars, a description that Johnson likes.

"They've always been flamboyant," Johnson said. "They've always been flashy. It's just something you have to have. When you're playing receiver, you have to have a certain stigma about you. All of us all have different characteristics and personalities, but we're all rock stars."