Knee Injury Lands McGwire on DL

Mark McGwire sat out the All-Star game because of a sore right knee and now the injury has landed him on the disabled list for the first time since 1996.

The St. Louis Cardinals put their home run star on the 15-day DL Thursday, a move retroactive to July 7, because of patella tendinitis, a condition that has bothered him since spring training and worsened over the last seven weeks.

“It’s just gotten to the point where it’s unbearable,” said McGwire, tied with Ken Griffey of the Cincinnati Reds for the major league lead with 30 home runs. “The last two or three or four home runs, I’ve limped around the bases. We’re improving, but it’s still there. Going back out and pounding on it would put me back to square one.”

McGwire sat out the last three games before the All-Star break and then skipped the game in Atlanta so he could undergo therapy.

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Manager Bobby Cox of the Atlanta Braves was suspended for five games and fined for making contact with umpire Derryl Cousins on July 4.

The penalty, issued by Frank Robinson, baseball’s vice president for on-field operations, is due to start with tonight’s game against the Baltimore Orioles.

Although suspensions against coaches and managers cannot be appealed, the Braves are seeking an exception.

“I guess it was for arguing too hard,” Cox said of the suspension. “There was some elbowing going on from both of us. . . . I was surprised. It’s a little strong, as far as I’m concerned. In fact, most of these suspensions are too strong.”

Cox, ejected from games 13 times in 1 1/2 seasons, will put dugout coach Pat Corrales in charge of the team while he’s serving the penalty. Corrales has managed three big league teams over nine seasons.

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With his trade from the New York Yankees to the Cincinnati Reds, two-sport star Drew Henson said he might turn his back on baseball.

Henson said Wednesday’s deal that sent him to the Reds will force him to decide between baseball and football. In less than three weeks, he will begin practice for his junior season as Michigan’s starting quarterback.

“At least now, I want to rethink what my priorities are between baseball and football,” Henson told the Ann Arbor News. “I have to look at why I might want to play baseball. Is it because I was playing for the Yankees, or because I love baseball?

“I think, in the long run, this will make me understand whether I’m doing it for the right reasons.”

The Yankees, who saw Henson as a top prospect, dealt the 20-year-old part-time third baseman after he refused to commit to one sport.

Yankee owner George Steinbrenner reportedly offered Henson as much as $3 million to stick with baseball, but Henson said no dollar figure was floated.

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The Colorado Rockies and all-star third baseman Jeff Cirillo agreed to a four-year contract extension. . . . Baltimore’s Cal Ripken, scheduled to come off the disabled list, will take a few more days to allow his lower back to heal.