Bobby Murcer faces new brain cancer scare  —  Former Yankee outfielder Bobby Murcer's battle with brain cancer may have taken a turn for the worse, the Daily News has learned.  —  According to an emotional e-mail sent to friends Thursday from Murcer's wife, Kay, the Yankee broadcaster …

MLB might punish Mets over thin traveling squad … The Mets could be in hot water with the commissioner's office over the traveling squad they took to Lakeland for their spring-training opener Wednesday.  —  Just the day before, MLB's executive vice president for baseball operations …

FORMER MET ENJOYING GREEN-ER PASTURES  —  Shawn Green anticipated that it would happen.  Now it's a done deal.  —  The right fielder, who played with the Mets for the last year and a half and spent parts of 15 seasons in the majors, told The Post yesterday that he has retired.

For the 2008 Yankees, It's a Question of Age  —  Armed and dangerous?  Philip Hughes, Chien-Ming Wang and Joba Chamberlain.  —  Any time a team returns a lineup intact that scored 968 runs, as the New York Yankees did in 2007, chances are that team will excel again the following year.

Red Sox ace Beckett pleased after 24-0 win over Boston College  —  FORT MYERS, Fla.—Josh Beckett and the Boston Red Sox were in October form during their exhibition opener.  —  Baseball's only 20-game winner last year didn't care that his first opponent of spring training was a Boston College team …

Rockies give closer Corpas four-year, $8M deal  —  Manny Corpas' clutch relief work as the Rockies' closer last year was a big reason they made it to the World Series.  Now, the team has rewarded him with the longest extension it has ever given a reliever.  —  The Rockies and Corpas agreed to a four-year, $8 million extension.

How Players View Drug Testing  —  Yesterday, AJC Braves beat writer David O'Brien featured an interview with Chipper Jones and Tom Glavine about blood testing for human growth hormone in baseball.  I don't want to get sidetracked by the fact that it would be a total waste of resources to test for HGH …

How cold was it?  —  FORT MYERS - For Terry Francona and David Ortiz, the coolest part - make that the coldest - part of yesterday's Red Sox visit to Washington came on the road.  —  “I froze my (expletive deleted) (body parts) off,” said Ortiz of his ride in the sidecar of the lead motorcycle escort …

Facing the Facts on Clemens  —  A lot has changed since I started writing my first book, “Facing Clemens.”  What was meant to be a fairly cut and dry baseball book about what it's like for a hitter to try and ply their craft against the Rocket over the course of his career has obviously turned into much, much more.

FBI opens probe of whether Clemens was truthful  —  WASHINGTON — The FBI has opened an investigation into whether baseball great Roger Clemens lied to Congress when he denied taking steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs.  —  Law enforcement officials said the inquiry will focus …

Say No to Johan  —  WHY RED SOX AND YANKEE FANS ARE HAPPY THEY WON'T BE ROOTING FOR THE BEST PITCHER IN BASEBALL.  —  You'd think Yankee and Red Sox fans would be upset about losing Johan Santana to the Mets.  After all, he's the best pitcher in the known universe—and left-handed!

Oedipus Bronx  —  Hank Steinbrenner was driving like he owned the place.  “This thing's got no pickup,” he said, gunning my midsize Hyundai down Steinbrenner Drive in Tampa, Fla. We had just finished lunch on a January afternoon at a Steinbrenner family favorite, an Italian restaurant called Iavarone's …

Mets shut down by Cardinals  —  A quick wrap-up from Jupiter after the Mets' 7-0 loss to the Cardinals at Roger Dean Stadium:  —  1. The Mets are off to a 0-2 start in the Grapefruit League after mustering just four hits in the Cardinals' blanking.  John Maine's brief and ugly outing …

Call Girl Confesses: Sex At Exclusive Denver Club  —  DENVER (CBS) ― Sex, drugs and high rollers.  A former prostitute said all three were in play during wild sex parties at an exclusive Denver social club, reports CBS station KCNC-TV in Denver.  —  “There was no trying to hide anything …