In Brief

PRO FOOTBALL

Colts owner: QB Manning will
decide whether he stays in Indy

According to Colts owner Jim Irsay, Peyton Manning will decide whether he plays another game for Indianapolis.

Irsay expects to meet with Manning in the next seven days, and the owner told The Indianapolis Star on Tuesday the return of the four-time Most Valuable Player depends on his willingness to restructure his contract.

Manning has spent the past five months recovering from his third neck surgery in less than two years, and there have been conflicting reports about how much progress he has made.

The Colts owe Manning a $28 million roster bonus by March 8. They want to use the No. 1 pick in this year's draft on Manning's successor -- likely Stanford's Andrew Luck -- and the future of their star QB will affect how much room they'll have under the salary cap.

Manning turns 36 in March.

"We can make it work if he wants to be here," Irsay told the newspaper. "We'd be excited to have him back and finish his career with us."

COLLEGES

West Virginia settles lawsuit,
will move to Big 12 in July

West Virginia announced it has settled a lawsuit with the Big East Conference for an unspecified amount, clearing the way for the Mountaineers to join the Big 12 in July and in time for the fall football season.

Athletic director Oliver Luck said terms of the deal were confidential, and WVU wouldn't release details. But Luck said no state, taxpayer, tuition or other academic dollars will be used in the settlement.

A person familiar with the agreement said the settlement totaled $20 million but that person did not know how much money would come from the university and how much the Big 12 might contribute.

It's also lucrative: Luck said WVU should get about $18 million to $19 million a year in television payouts, about double what it gets from the Big East. Payments are being prorated for the first three years at 50 percent, 67 percent and 87 percent, reaching 100 percent in the fourth year.

Also: A former Penn State vice president asked a judge to throw out charges that he lied to a grand jury investigating former football assistant coach Jerry Sandusky and that he did not properly report suspected child abuse.

Gary C. Schultz said his statements to a grand jury -- that he felt the allegations against Sandusky he fielded from a graduate assistant in 2002 were "not that serious" and that it wasn't clear to him that a crime occurred -- are opinions that cannot be proved false.

"Perjury prosecutions rarely rest on expressions of opinion or belief," wrote Schultz's defense lawyer, Tom Farrell.

Schultz also joined a motion filed Monday by co-defendant Tim Curley that challenged the failure-to-report charge on the grounds the law was different in 2002, when Schultz and Curley, the university's athletics director, were told of Sandusky being in the campus showers with a young boy. The defendants also say the statute of limitations has expired.

North Texas football coach Dan McCarney said that he suffered a stroke over the weekend and expects to recover in time to lead his team through spring drills.

McCarney, 58, said in a statement provided by the school that he felt his left side go numb Sunday and was taken to a hospital. Doctors later confirmed he had a stroke.

Northern Arizona athletic director Jim Fallis is leaving the school after eight years on the job. The university cited "personal reasons" for Fallis' decision not to seek a new contract when his current one expires June 30.

MISCELLANEOUS

Rays manager Maddon reaches
deal on three-year extension

A person familiar with the deal said manager Joe Maddon agreed to a three-year contract extension with the Tampa Bay Rays. The team scheduled a news conference for today to make a "special announcement."

The Rays are 495-477, have won two American League East titles and made the playoffs three times in six seasons under the 58-year-old Maddon. They made their only World Series appearance in 2008, losing to the Philadelphia Phillies, and lost to the Texas Rangers in the divisional round the past two years.

Also: Kosuke Fukudome is joining the Chicago White Sox for a fraction of the price he cost the Cubs four years ago.

The outfielder agreed to a one-year contract that guarantees $1 million. He will get a $500,000 salary this year, and the White Sox have a $3.5 million option for 2013 with a $500,000 buyout.

Now 34, Fukodome joined the Cubs for the 2008 season with a $48 million, four-year contract. An All-Star in 2008, he was traded to Cleveland in July for outfielder Abner Abreu and pitcher Carlton Smith.

The Baltimore Orioles and center fielder Adam Jones agreed to a $6.15 million, one-year contract, avoiding arbitration.

Jones made $3.25 million last season, when he hit .280 and set career highs in games (151), doubles (26), homers (25) and RBIs (83).

The Kansas City Royals exercised their option on manager Ned Yost to keep him through the 2013 season. Yost is 126-163 since taking over the Royals, but he has been credited with helping bring along one of the youngest rosters in baseball.

Hall of Fame outfielder Tony Gwynn had surgery to remove a new cancerous tumor inside his right cheek.

Gwynn, now San Diego State's baseball coach, previously had a malignant growth removed from the same spot in August 2010. Gwynn's wife, Alicia, told ESPN that doctors do not believe the cancer has spread outside of Gwynn's salivary gland.

Senior forward Winston Shepard had 19 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Findlay Prep basketball team to a 111-75 win over ABCD Academy (Texas) at Henderson International.

Nick Madray scored 21 points, and Dominic Artis supplied 11 points, 11 assists and six rebounds for Findlay Prep (24-1), ranked No. 2 in USA Today's national poll. Findlay Prep outscored ABCD 66-40 in the second half.