- Associated Press - Tuesday, January 14, 2014

BASEBALL

NEW YORK (AP) - Alex Rodriguez sued Major League Baseball and its players’ union Monday, seeking to overturn a season-long suspension imposed by an arbitrator who ruled there was “clear and convincing evidence” the New York Yankees star used three banned substances and twice tried to obstruct the sport’s drug investigation.

As part of the complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan, Rodriguez’s lawyers made public Saturday’s 34-page decision by arbitrator Fredric Horowitz, who shortened a penalty originally set at 211 games last August by baseball Commissioner Bud Selig for violations of the sport’s drug agreement and labor contract.

Horowitz, a 65-year-old making his second decision as baseball’s independent arbitrator, trimmed the discipline to 162 games, plus all postseason games in 2014.

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Hall of Fame broadcaster Jerry Coleman was laid to rest after services that included an F-18 flyover in the missing-man formation and a 21-gun salute.

Coleman died Jan. 5 at 89. He spent more than four decades with the Padres as a broadcaster, and managed the team in 1980. He won four World Series titles as a player with the New York Yankees and interrupted his pro career to serve as a Marine Corps pilot in World War II and Korea, flying 120 missions combined in the two wars.

NEW YORK (AP) - Jackie Robinson’s 1947 Rookie of the Year award for the season he broke baseball’s color barrier has sold for $401,968.

Lelands auction house said that Robinson’s trophy he won with the Brooklyn Dodgers was sold to an anonymous buyer on Jan. 10. The award came with a letter from Robinson’s widow Rachel.

MIAMI (AP) - A former major league baseball player who broke Japan’s single-season home run record last year has been arrested in Florida on domestic violence charges, police said.

Court records show Wladimir Balentien, 29, is facing a felony false imprisonment charge and a misdemeanor battery charge in a weekend confrontation at his wife’s Miami-area house. An attorney for Balentien’s wife, Karla, said Monday that the couple, married for about six years, is going through a divorce.

CHICAGO (AP) - The Chicago Cubs’ newly minted mascot made his debut at a Pediatric Developmental Center of a hospital near Wrigley Field.

Clark, a young bear wearing a Cubs jersey and backward blue baseball cap, was accompanied at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center by a dozen team prospects.

The mascot is named after the North Side Chicago street on which Wrigley Field is located.

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PRO FOOTBALL

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The Tennessee Titans hired San Diego offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt as their new head coach, the 17th in franchise history.

Whisenhunt, 51, will be introduced at a news conference Tuesday.

He spent six years coaching Arizona and took the Cardinals to their lone Super Bowl in 2009. He was fired Dec. 31, 2012, with a record of 45-51 in the regular season and 4-2 in the playoffs.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) - Denver Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr. is out for the rest of the playoffs after an MRI revealed a torn ACL in the left knee he injured in the third quarter of Denver’s 24-17 win over San Diego in the AFC Divisional round Sunday.

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers staged a comeback from a 17-point deficit largely by targeting Harris’ rusty replacement, veteran Quentin Jammer.

DALLAS (AP) - Former Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Josh Brent wasn’t drunk, as police contend, when he wrecked his Mercedes in a crash that killed a teammate, Brent’s lawyer told jurors at the start of his trial.

Brent was “guilty of being stupid behind the wheel of a car,” not driving drunk on the night of the December 2012 crash that killed his close friend and teammate, Jerry Brown, defense attorney George Milner said.

Milner’s opening remarks signaled that he would try to discredit evidence of Brent’s drinking central to the state’s case, including a blood test that allegedly pegged Brent’s blood alcohol content at more than twice the legal limit.

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COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Arizona and Syracuse remain No. 1 and 2 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll for a sixth straight week while six newcomers joined the Top 25.

After 11 ranked teams lost at least one game, the changes started at No. 3, where Wisconsin moved up one spot to replace Ohio State, which lost two games and dropped to 11th. Michigan State was fourth followed by Wichita State, Villanova, Florida, Iowa State, Oklahoma State and San Diego State.

No. 19 Cincinnati, No. 20 Creighton, No. 22 Pittsburgh, No. 24 Saint Louis, and Oklahoma and UCLA, which tied for 25th, all moved into the rankings this week.

In the women’s poll, Connecticut remained No. 1 and Notre Dame, Duke, Stanford and Louisville followed the unbeaten Huskies, keeping the first five teams unchanged.

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) - No. 21 Colorado lost leading scorer Spencer Dinwiddie for the rest of the season to a knee injury.

The school said the junior guard had an ACL injury that will require surgery. Dinwiddie was hurt in a noncontact play during the first half of a 71-54 loss at Washington on Sunday.

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SOCCER

ZURICH (AP) - Cristiano Ronaldo won the FIFA Ballon d’Or award for 2013, ending Lionel Messi’s four-year run as the world’s best player.

Ronaldo scored 69 goals for Real Madrid and Portugal last year, and his stunning hat trick against Sweden in a decisive World Cup playoff was perhaps the defining individual performance. He also won the award in 2008.

“There are no words to describe this moment,” said Ronaldo, who was in tears after accepting the trophy with his young son, also named Cristiano, beside him on stage.

He beat out Barcelona’s Messi and France winger Franck Ribery, who helped Champions League winner Bayern Munich to a sweep of major titles.

TORONTO (AP) - Toronto FC unveiled Michael Bradley as its newest designated player, signing the American midfielder from Italian club AS Roma.

Striker Jermain Defoe, signed from English club Tottenham Hotspur on Friday, was introduced along with Bradley at a late-morning news conference.

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TENNIS

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Roger Federer kept his cool on a scorching second day at the Australian Open, starting his record 57th consecutive Grand Slam tournament with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 victory in his first match with Stefan Edberg as a coach.

Two-time defending women’s champion Victoria Azarenka also advanced, beating No. 91-ranked Johanna Larsson of Sweden 7-6 (2), 6-2 in the previous match on the center court at Melbourne Park.

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Arizona All-America running back Ka’Deem Carey will forgo his final season of college eligibility and enter the NFL draft.

Carey revealed his decision in an announcement issued by the university two days ahead of the deadline to make the declaration.

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - LSU’s top rusher and top two receivers are entering the NFL draft, along with one of the Tigers’ starting offensive linemen.

In separate announcements, sophomore running back Jeremy Hill, junior receiver Jarvis Landry and sophomore right guard Trai Turner confirmed their intentions to turn pro. LSU also confirmed receiver Odell Beckham Jr.’s decision.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - Six days after being hired by Southern California, defensive line coach Bo Davis is leaving the Trojans to take a similar position at Alabama.

Alabama does not announce such hires until coaches have signed contracts.

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