BASEBALL
NEW YORK (AP) - Major League Baseball’s key witness in its case against Alex Rodriguez said he designed and administered an elaborate doping program for the 14-time All-Star starting in 2010.
Anthony Bosch, the founder of the now shuttered Florida anti-aging clinic, Biogenesis, said in a “60 Minutes” interview aired on CBS on Sunday night that Rodriguez paid him $12,000 per month to provide him with an assortment of banned drugs that included testosterone and human growth hormone.
Rob Manfred, the chief operating officer of Major League Baseball, said during the news program that Bosch chose to cooperate in the investigation in part because he feared for his life.
MLB’s suspension of Rodriguez was reduced on Saturday by an arbitrator from 211 games to 162, plus all playoff games next season. Rodriguez’s lawyers plan to file a suit in federal court Monday to overturn the arbitration ruling.
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PRO BASKETBALL
BEIJING (AP) - Former basketball star Dennis Rodman apologized Monday for not being able to help an American missionary detained in North Korea during his trip there to play in a game to celebrate the birthday of his friend and leader Kim Jong Un.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything,” Rodman told media on his arrival at Beijing airport from a weeklong trip. “It’s not my fault. I’m sorry. I just want to do some good stuff, that’s all I want to do.”
He said he would return to North Korea next month, but gave no details.
Rodman and the squad of retired NBA players he took to North Korea for an exhibition game marking Kim’s birthday have met with criticism because of North Korea’s human rights record and its development of nuclear weapons.
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PRO FOOTBALL
NEW YORK (AP) - The NFL is talking to television networks about selling a package of Thursday night games.
“NFL Network has done a tremendous job building Thursday night and will retain games, but we are in discussions to air a part of the package with existing and potentially new broadcast and cable partners,” league spokesman Brian McCarthy said Sunday.
NFL Network began airing an eight-game package in 2006, which increased to 13 in 2012. The league could sell some of those games to an outside network, starting as soon as next season.
SEATTLE (AP) - Seismologists say Seahawks fans shook the ground under Seattle’s CenturyLink Field during Saturday’s defeat of the New Orleans Saints, causing another fan-generated earthquake.
The scientists believe the small earthquake during a Marshawn Lynch touchdown was likely greater than Lynch’s famous “beast quake” touchdown run three years ago, which also came against New Orleans during a playoff game.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to a conviction in the burglary of his Philadelphia home.
A statement from a spokeswoman for the receiver said Sunday the burglary happened while Jackson was out of town on vacation.
Police say at least $250,000 in cash and jewelry was taken from the home, along with a handgun. Jackson’s statement says a small amount of money was taken and stolen items make up the bulk of the loss.
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COLLEGE FOOTBALL
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - Penn State hired James Franklin as its next head coach.
Franklin, 41, who led Vanderbilt to bowls in all three of his seasons there, replaces Bill O’Brien, who left the Nittany Lions after two years to coach the NFL’s Houston Texans. Penn State made the announcement Saturday, after the school’s compensation committee met to finalize the contract.
That committee approved the hiring by a 6-0 vote Saturday morning, and Franklin was introduced later in the day.
ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham accepted a similar position on Bobby Petrino’s staff at Louisville.
Georgia coach Mark Richt confirmed Sunday night that Grantham had accepted an offer from the Cardinals. Grantham was Georgia’s defensive coordinator for four years.
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GOLF
HONOLULU (AP) - Jimmy Walker went seven years and 187 tournaments before he finally won on the PGA Tour. Now he seems to have it figured out.
Walker pulled away from the pack with three straight birdies on the back nine of Waialae on Sunday and closed with a 7-under 63 to win the Sony Open for his second tour victory in his last six starts.
DURBAN, South Africa (AP) - South African Louis Oosthuizen birdied his closing two holes to retain the Volvo Champions title on Sunday after an earlier eagle on the eighth.
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OLYMPICS
BOSTON (AP) - Two-time U.S. champion Ashley Wagner made the Olympic team Sunday despite finishing a distant fourth at the national championships.
U.S. Figure Skating officials took into account performances over the past year in picking the three women who will go to Sochi, not just their showing at this week’s event. Mirai Nagasu, who was fourth at the 2010 Olympics, didn’t make the team despite taking third Saturday at the U.S. Championships.
Fifteen-year-old Polina Edmunds, who was second, was selected even though she has no major international experience at the senior level.
BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. (AP) - David Wise and Maddie Bowman have clinched spots on the U.S. Olympic team by winning ski halfpipe events Sunday at the U.S. Grand Prix.
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TENNIS
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Just as she was starting to show glimpses of returning to form, Venus Williams was let down by her serve and her concentration at crucial times and lost 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 to Ekaterina Makarova on the first day of the Australian Open.
Women’s winners included No. 4 Li Na, No. 9 Angelique Kerber, No 14 Ana Ivanovic and No. 17 Samantha Stosur. No. 7 Sara Errani was the highest-seeded women’s loser, falling 6-3, 6-2 to Julia Gorges of Germany.
Men’s seeded winners included No. 3 David Ferrer, No. 7 Tomas Berdych, No. 8 Stanislaw Wawrinka and No. 9 Richard Gasquet. No. 12 Tommy Haas pulled out against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez while he was down a set and a break.
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PRO HOCKEY
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) - Claude Noel was fired as coach by the Winnipeg Jets and replaced by Paul Maurice.
Noel was fired amid a five-game losing streak that dropped the Jets to 19-23-5 and 10 points out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Noel, hired after the Atlanta Thrashers moved to Winnipeg before the 2011-12 season, went 80-79-18 during his tenure with the Jets.
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SKIING
ALTENMARKT-ZAUCHENSEE, Austria (AP) - Marie-Michele Gagnon ended a 30-year drought for Canadian women in World Cup combined events by earning her maiden victory on Sunday.
Gagnon was 1.37 seconds off the lead in 16th after the super-G portion but went ahead of the field after posting the second fastest time in the slalom run.
ADELBODEN, Switzerland (AP) - Marcel Hirscher mastered a classic Swiss slope yet again Sunday, winning a World Cup slalom to seize the lead in the overall and discipline standings.
Hirscher, the Austrian two-time defending overall champion, sliced through the gates on a thrilling run down the steep final slope to beat Andre Myhrer of Sweden by 0.29 seconds.
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