In Brief

BASEBALL

Jackson: Martin uttered racial, anti-Semitic epithets

Reggie Jackson heard Billy Martin use racial and anti-Semitic words then, and felt it was time to talk about them now.

"You need to set the record straight," the Hall of Fame slugger told The Associated Press on Friday. "They're the truth."

The late Martin managed the New York Yankees in the late 1970s, a fiery time that included a pair of World Series championships. Jackson spoke about Martin in an interview with the MLB Network that will be shown Monday night.

"I did not accept the way he managed me. I did not accept the way he managed Ken Holtzman. I thought there was anti-Semitism there," Jackson said. "I couldn't accept the racial epithets in reference to players like Elliott Maddox or Billy Sample. There are players that played for him that would tell you that."

Jackson said that "sometimes it's uncomfortable, but it's real and you can't ignore it."

Also: The Los Angeles Angels chose Arizona Diamondbacks executive Jerry Dipoto to be their new general manager. Dipoto, 43, spent the past six seasons in Arizona's front office, serving as interim GM in 2010 and sticking with the club after Arizona hired Kevin Towers for the full-time job in September 2010. He also worked for the Red Sox during their 2004 World Series title run.

The Detroit Tigers exercised their option to keep closer Jose Valverde under contract next season. Valverde signed a $14 million, two-year deal in 2010 with the club holding a $9 million option for 2012. He led the majors with 49 saves in 2011.

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Hong-Chih Kuo underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow to remove a loose body and scar tissue. The Dodgers said the surgery done in Los Angeles went as expected and the left-handed reliever is scheduled to start physical therapy in five days.

Major League Baseball and the players union agreed to delay the start of free agency by one day as part of the collective bargaining process. The free-agency period was scheduled to begin a day after the World Series ended, but players now will be able to begin filing for free agency at 12:01 a.m. Sunday. St. Louis' Albert Pujols and Texas' C.J. Wilson are among the top players expected to become free agents.

Ricky Adams, a utility infielder on the California Angels' 1982 Western Division championship team, died in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., after a long battle with cancer. He was 52.

GOLF

Overton fires course-record 62, leads Asia Pacific

American Jeff Overton shot a course-record 9-under-par 62 for a share of the second-round lead with Sweden's Fredrik Jacobson in the Asia Pacific Classic in Selangor, Malaysia.

Jacobson had a 64 to match Overton at 13-under 129 in the second-year event sanctioned by the PGA Tour and Asian Tour.

Bo Van Pelt was a stroke back after a 64, and Mark Wilson (66), Stewart Cink (66), Jimmy Walker (67) and Jhonattan Vegas (69) followed at 9 under. First-round leader Robert Allenby followed his opening 63 with a 72 to drop into a tie for ninth at 7 under.

Also: U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy shot a 3-under 69 to increase his lead to two strokes after the second round of the Shanghai Masters, the 30-player invitational that pays $2 million to the winner. McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, had four birdies on the back nine to finish at 11-under 133. Noh Seung-yul, a 20-year-old player from South Korea, was second after a 63 that included three birdies in the final four holes.

Scotland's Richie Ramsay shot a 1-over 72 to hold his two-stroke lead after the second round of the Andalucia Masters in Sotogrande, Spain. Ramsay birdied No. 11 before a wayward drive led to a bogey at the 18th to drop him to a 5-under total of 137, two shots ahead of France's Gregory Havret, who shot 71.

Top-ranked Luke Donald withdrew from the HSBC Champions next week in Shanghai to be with his wife for the birth of their second child. Donald won the PGA Tour's season-ending Disney Classic last week to take the tour's money title with $6.68 million.

UNLV

Women's soccer team drops regular-season finale

The UNLV women's soccer team surrendered the winning goal on a penalty kick in the 104th minute as San Diego State posted a 2-1 double-overtime Mountain West Conference victory at Peter Johann Memorial Field.

Cat Walker's goal for the Aztecs dropped the Rebels, playing their final regular-season match, to 7-9-3 overall and 3-2-1 in league.

Katherine Orellana scored in the 79th minute for UNLV, a goal that tied the match at 1-all and held up until Walker's winner.

Also: The UNLV men's soccer team held a 20-6 edge in shots but dropped a 2-1 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match to San Jose State at Fertitta Tennis Complex. Nick Cashmere scored in the 23rd minute for the Rebels (3-12, 2-6 MPSF).

UNLV's Tamas Batyi won twice in singles to advance to the semifinals of the Larry Easley Memorial Classic at the Fertitta Tennis Complex. Batyi beat Ryan Cheung of UC Irvine 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 and defeated Zach Leslie of Fresno State, 7-5, retired. Host UNLV also has one doubles team still alive in the main draw after Bernard Schoeman and Rene Ruegamer beat Derek Siddiqui and Jose Sierra Short of San Diego State 9-7 to move into today's quarterfinals.

MISCELLANEOUS

Cal basketball coach recovers from bladder cancer

California men's basketball coach Mike Montgomery said he was diagnosed with bladder cancer and had surgery last week that has left him cancer-free.

Montgomery made the surprise announcement at Pac-12 media day in Los Angeles. The school announced Montgomery's surgery on Oct. 19 but didn't disclose any details about it.

The 64-year-old coach resisted going into detail about his health crisis, but he said he was diagnosed last month while a doctor was checking on diverticulitis, a condition in which the inner lining of the intestine becomes inflamed or infected.

Also: A mother who learned on Facebook that her son had died of a head injury during a high school football game in New York believes authorities should do a better job notifying people during emergencies.

Jacqueline Barden, of Oswego, N.Y., told WSYR-TV in Syracuse that she got the news about her 16-year-old son, Ridge, after a Friday night game a couple of weeks ago and tried to learn more while waiting to hear from officials, which didn't happen until the next day. He died as the result of a helmet-to-helmet collision.

"On Facebook, on the news, that's how I had to learn of my son's death," Barden said. "We waited all the way up until the next day and still got no phone calls."

Australia's Samantha Stosur beat China's Li Na 6-1, 6-0 to qualify for the semifinals of the WTA Championships in Istanbul. Stosur, the U.S. Open champion, joined Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in qualifying from the White Group and next will face Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic. Kvitova already had secured her place in the semis from the Red Group before she beat Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

American Alex Bogomolov Jr. will play second-seeded Janko Tipsarevic in the semifinals of the St. Petersburg Open in St. Petersburg, Russia, after beating Serbian qualifier Dusan Lajovic, 6-2, 6-1. The other semifinal will feature Marin Cilic against 2004 winner Mikhail Youzhny.

Top-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France overcame an error-prone start to defeat Xavier Malisse 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4 at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna and reach his eighth semifinal of the season. Tsonga will play qualifier Daniel Brands, while second-seeded Juan Martin del Potro and Kevin Anderson will meet in the other semifinal.

Moruti Mthalane of South Africa successfully defended his IBF flyweight title for a third time, stopping home favorite Andrea Sarritzu in the seventh round in Cagliari, Italy. The referee intervened when Mthalane (28-2, 19 knockouts) had the Italian reeling midway through the round, and Sarritzu (32-4-5, 12 KOs) threw in the towel.