Defender Carlos Bocanegra and forward Brian Ching yesterday were added to the U.S. soccer team that will train ahead of the Americans' opening World Cup qualifier against Barbados this weekend.

Bocanegra, often the U.S. captain, missed last weekend's 0-0 tie against Argentina because of a family commitment. Ching, a Kamehameha Schools alum, was on the preliminary roster for the last three exhibition games but was not selected.

Thirteen of the 21 players on the preliminary roster have previous experience in qualifying. Frankie Hejduk, a 33-year-old defender, has appeared in World Cup qualifiers for the 1998, 2002 and 2006 tournaments.

Five players — Freddy Adu, Michael Bradley, Dominic Cervi, Maurice Edu and Sacha Kljestan — are age-eligible to play at this summer's Olympics, which is an under-23 tournament in which each team also can add three wild-card players over the limit.

U.S. coach Bob Bradley must trim the roster to 18 for Sunday's match and the return leg at Barbados on June 22. The United States had a first-round bye in soccer's North and Central American and Caribbean region, while Barbados defeated Dominica, 2-1, in a home-and-home series.

The U.S.-Barbados winner advances to a semifinal group that likely will include Cuba, Guatemala, and Trinidad and Tobago. The semifinals will be played from mid-August to mid-November, and the top two teams in the group advance to next year's regional finals. Three teams from the CONCACAF region qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and the No. 4 team meets the fifth-place team from South America in a playoff for another berth.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

SHIPP PASSES ON NBA

UCLA's Josh Shipp has withdrawn from the NBA draft and will return to the Bruins for his senior season.

The guard declared himself eligible in April on the final day underclassmen could enter the draft, but did not hire an agent, which allowed him to back out under NCAA rules.

Shipp averaged 12.2 points and 3.2 rebounds during UCLA's run to its third consecutive Final Four. The Bruins lost to Memphis in the national semifinals.

HOCKEY

WINGS REWARD COACH

Mike Babcock is returning to the bench for the Detroit Red Wings.

Babcock and the Stanley Cup-winning team agreed to a three-year contract, a person in the NHL told The Associated Press last night.

The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the team planned a news conference today. The Red Wings announced plans for a news conference, but didn't release details.

KINGS' CRAWFORD FIRED

Marc Crawford was fired as coach of the Los Angeles Kings yesterday after his team finished with the fewest points in the Western Conference this season.

Crawford, 47, coached the Kings to a 59-84-21 record in his two seasons and had a year left on his contract.

"In the end it just comes down to fit," Kings president and general manager Dean Lombardi said in a conference call yesterday afternoon. "It's just a gut call on fit."