In Brief

Boxing

Mayweather Jr. uses Twitter to
goad Pacquiao: 'Step up Punk'

Floyd Mayweather Jr. has taken his quest for a fight with Manny Pacquiao to Twitter.

The unbeaten Mayweather publicly challenged and taunted the Filipino superstar on Tuesday, daring Pacquiao to meet him May 5 in Las Vegas.

"Manny Pacquiao I'm calling you out let's fight May 5th and give the world what they want to see," Mayweather tweeted.

Moments later, Mayweather tweeted: "My Jail Sentence was pushed back because the date was locked in. Step up Punk."

Mayweather is available for a fight in May at the MGM Grand Garden after Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Melissa Saragosa agreed last week to postpone his jail sentence in a domestic violence case until June. Mayweather was sentenced to 87 days in jail, but likely will serve less time.

Mayweather and Pacquiao are boxing's top two stars, and they have circled each other warily for more than two years. Both have said they're eager to fight, yet still haven't reached a deal for what's likely to be the most lucrative bout in boxing history.

While Pacquiao appeared to be more eager for the fight when the two first began verbally sparring in 2009, Mayweather has taken the lead in recent months, stepping up his campaign since Pacquiao's narrow win over Juan Manuel Marquez in November.

BASEBALL

Owners to offer Selig contract
to remain on as commissioner

Baseball owners say commissioner Bud Selig will be offered a contract extension at this week's meetings in Phoenix.

ESPN.com first reported that Selig will be offered an additional term when owners meet today and Thursday in Scottsdale, Ariz. Two owners, speaking on condition of anonymity so as not to attract criticism from Selig, told The Associated Press that a new term will be proposed.

Owners also intend to approve the completion of the sale of the San Diego Padres from John Moores to Jeff Moorad

Selig has been commissioner since September 1992 and would surpass Kenesaw Mountain Landis for longest tenure in September 2016. Selig, 78, repeatedly has said he intends to retire in December but also admits almost no one believes him.

Also: The Los Angeles Dodgers and Fox have settled their lawsuit, removing an impediment to the sale of the bankrupt team.

In a motion filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, the Dodgers said they were abandoning their attempt to sell future media rights and will adhere to their contract with Fox's Prime Ticket subsidiary, which has an exclusive negotiating window from Oct. 15 through Nov. 30 this year.

The team said in a statement "this agreement is a significant step toward a successful sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers."

Reliever Ryan Madson and the Cincinnati Reds reached an oral agreement on an $8.5 million, one-year contract, a person familiar with the deal said.

Madson saved 32 games in 34 chances last year for National League East champion Philadelphia.

The Chicago Cubs agreed to a one-year contract with pitcher Paul Maholm that guarantees the left-hander $4.75 million.

The 29-year-old Maholm made 26 starts for the Pittsburgh Pirates last season, going 6-14 despite a 3.66 ERA, before shutting it down because of a left shoulder strain.

Taiwanese left-hander Wei-yin Chen and the Baltimore Orioles agreed to a three-year contract worth $11.338 million, a move aimed at improving a starting rotation that struggled last year.

Chen, 26, went 36-30 with a 2.48 ERA in 117 games, including 88 starts, over the last four seasons with the Chunichi Dragons of the Japan's Central League.

The New York Mets signed shortstop Sean Kazmar, a Las Vegas High School and College of Southern Nevada product who will report to minor league camp.

MISCELLANEOUS

NCAA president says stipend,
four-year scholarship will pass

NCAA president Mark Emmert told The Associated Press that a $2,000 stipend for athletes and four-year scholarships are here to stay, despite opposition from schools.

One hundred sixty schools are calling for an override of the rule giving athletes money beyond the cost of tuition, room and board, books and fees. The rule was approved by the Division I Board of Directors in October. Emmert said he expects minor modifications.

Another 82 schools want the governing body to reconsider awarding scholarships for the duration of the athletes' career rather than renewing them annually. Emmert said he does not expect that rule, also approved in October, to be modified.

The board is expected to decide the fate of the two hottest issues of this week's NCAA convention on Saturday.

Also: Standout Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke was in a coma after crashing during a training run on the superpipe in Park City, Utah.

In an email to The Associated Press, Peter Judge, CEO of the Canadian freestyle team, confirmed a report in the Toronto Globe and Mail that Burke was in a coma but that he didn't know what that meant for her ultimate recovery. He told the AP he didn't expect any updates until early today.

"What I've heard, relatively directly, is that she landed a trick down in the bottom end of the pipe, and kind of bounced, from her feet to her head," Judge told the Globe and Mail. "It wasn't anything that looked like a catastrophic fall, so I'm a bit mystified."

Andy Miller, spokesman at the Park City Mountain Resort, said the halfpipe was the same one where American snowboarder Kevin Pearce was critically injured during training on Dec. 31, 2009. Pearce suffered traumatic brain injuries but has since recovered, and he returned to riding on snow last month.

Burke, 29, is a four-time Winter X Games champion in skiing superpipe.

The LPGA Tour begins a new season with four more tournaments and a lot more reason for optimism.

The tour took a big step toward beefing up its schedule by adding three tournaments in the United States, including the return of two popular events in Ohio and Virginia.

The biggest surprise was the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic, which was not played a year ago. The LPGA also is going back to Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Va., a favorite among players that was last played in 2009.

The tour previously announced new tournaments in Hawaii and Canada, along with sanctioning the Women's Australian Open, which will kick off the new season Feb. 9 to 12 at fabled Royal Melbourne Golf Club.

Right when it looked as though the LPGA Tour would suffer irreparable harm from the economic downturn, commissioner Mike Whan delivered a schedule of 27 tournaments worth $47 million in prize money that signals a strong recovery.

Along with the new tournaments, Whan said the North American events will get live TV coverage on the Golf Channel on the weekend, instead of being shown on tape delay.

Former St. Louis Blues general manager Ron Caron died Monday night in Montreal. He was 82.

Nicknamed the "Old Professor," Caron was a longtime assistant GM for the Canadiens and helped build the Montreal teams that won Stanley Cups in 1971 and 1973 and four straight titles from 1976 to 1979.