In Brief

Pacquiao camp: Fight with Floyd financially ‘foolish’

Manny Pacquiao’s camp said there is no economic sense in setting up a bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 5 after the unbeaten American publicly challenged the Filipino champion via Twitter.

Pacquiao’s financial adviser, Michael Koncz, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that a planned 45,000-seat temporary boxing arena in Las Vegas couldn’t be finished before the end of May, and staging the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight in a smaller venue is “foolish from an economic standpoint.”

Mayweather challenged Pacquiao to a May 5 bout while taunting him on Twitter on Tuesday.

“Manny Pacquiao I’m calling you out let’s fight May 5th and give the world what they want to see,” he tweeted.

BASEBALL

Bankruptcy judge OKs settlement for Dodgers, Fox

A bankruptcy judge in Delaware on Wednesday approved a settlement between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Fox Sports that clears the way for the sale of the team.

The settlement, reached late Tuesday and quickly approved at a brief court hearing Wednesday morning, ends a contentious legal battle between the ballclub and Fox.

“The agreement with Fox clears the path for the Dodgers to sell the team on schedule and to maximize the value of the debtors’ estate,” Dodgers attorney Sid Levinson told Judge Kevin Gross.

Fox Sports attorney Greg Werkheiser said Fox was glad to have resolved its differences with the Dodgers, and attorneys for Major League Baseball and the Dodgers’ committee of unsecured creditors told Gross they support the settlement.

Gross quickly signed off on the settlement, saying it was in the best interest of all parties in the Dodgers’ bankruptcy case.

Also: Injured first baseman Kendrys Morales and the Los Angeles Angels agreed to a one-year contract worth $2.975 million.

Morales hasn’t played since breaking his left ankle while jumping on home plate to celebrate a game-ending grand slam May 29, 2010. The Cuban slugger appeared to be on the verge of stardom after batting .306 with 34 homers and 108 RBIs in 2009, but has undergone several procedures on his injured ankle, including a bone graft and surgery to remove scar tissue last year.

Ryan Vogelsong and the San Francisco Giants agreed to a two-year contract worth about $8.3 million after he became one of the team’s most reliable starters and an unlikely All-Star last season. The 34-year-old right-hander, who had been eligible for arbitration, set a career high for wins while going 13-7 with a 2.71 ERA in 30 games (28 starts).

Scott Hairston and the New York Mets finalized a $1.1 million, one-year contract. The 31-year-old outfielder hit .235 with seven homers and 24 RBIs in 132 at-bats last season. His three pinch-hit homers were one shy of the team record.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Heisman winner Griffin bids farewell to Baylor

It took Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III 2½ minutes to get to the gist of his news conference in Waco, Texas — that, as was leaked on Tuesday, the Baylor quarterback was leaving for the NFL. As he said, though, he has never been good at goodbyes.

“It’s see you later,” he said.

Griffin’s public announcement came right after meeting with teammates to inform them of the decision, and he said he broke down in tears after telling them.

Also: The NCAA broadened the definition of agents to include parents, closing the loophole that allowed 2010 Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton to keep playing despite his father’s pay-for-play scheme.

The Division I Amateurism Cabinet sponsored legislation that would include family members and other third parties who shop an athlete’s services to schools for financial gain. The NCAA passed the proposal.

UNLV will host Northern Arizona on Sept. 8, giving the Rebels seven home football games.

The addition of NAU also gives the Rebels 13 games overall, which they are allowed to play because of a trip to Hawaii, which joins the Mountain West Conference as a football-only member.

UNLV’s nonconference schedule includes home games against Minnesota on Sept. 1 and Washington State on Sept. 15, and trips to Utah State on Sept. 29 and Louisiana Tech on Oct. 6.

In other Rebels news, tight end Andrew Price (6 feet 5 inches, 220 pounds) of Blaine (Wash.) High School committed, saying he liked the direction UNLV was headed. Price, rated by Scout as the nation’s No. 65 tight end, said he also received scholarship offers from Oregon State, Washington State and Air Force, among others.

MISCELLANEOUS

Renowned agent Steinberg files for bankruptcy

Sports agent Leigh Steinberg filed for bankruptcy protection, saying he takes responsibility for debts of several million dollars.

“I just lost track while I was in rehab,” Steinberg told The Associated Press. The agent said he struggled with alcohol for years but has been sober since 2010.

His attorneys filed the Chapter 7 petition in federal bankruptcy court in Santa Ana, Calif.

Steinberg has represented NFL stars such as Troy Aikman, Warren Moon, Steve Young and Ben Roethlisberger. He was the inspiration for Tom Cruise’s character in 1996’s “Jerry Maguire.” The movie turned “Show me the money!” into an enduring catchphrase, though Steinberg isn’t known to use that phrase.

Also: Jim Rome, with his 2 million radio listeners, is bringing a well-established attraction to the CBS networks.

The sports talk show host will have a half-hour weekday show on cable channel CBS Sports Network called “Rome” starting in April, CBS said.

Rome will also host a sports and entertainment series on Showtime beginning late this year and contribute to CBS’s coverage of the NFL, NCAA basketball and U.S. Open tennis.

Rome, who has hosted “The Last Word with Jim Rome” on Fox Sports Net and “Rome is Burning” on ESPN, will continue to host his nationally syndicated radio show.

Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke was in critical condition, a day after she was airlifted from the mountains of Utah to a Salt Lake City hospital with injuries after a training accident in the superpipe.

The nature of Burke’s injuries has not been disclosed.

The Wranglers couldn’t solve Ontario’s defense and couldn’t stop the Reign’s offense in a 6-0 ECHL loss at Ontario, Calif.

Las Vegas (21-11-4) gave up one goal in the first period, two in the second and three in the third. Steven Tarasuk got the only goal necessary for the Reign (19-12-3), scoring four minutes into the game, and he also scored midway through the third period.

Ontario goalie Chris Carrozzi stopped 25 shots.

Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby is ready to resume skating when he joins the team on its trip, coach Dan Bylsma said. Out with lingering concussion symptoms, Crosby hasn’t played since Dec. 5.

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem received a four-year contract extension, keeping him in charge of golf’s biggest tour through 2016. Finchem, 64, has been commissioner since 1994. He suggested last year that he might be willing to stay on the job after his contract was up in 2012.

Caroline Wozniacki lost her quarterfinal at the Sydney International, opening the way for Petra Kvitova to take over the No. 1 ranking before next week’s Australian Open. Wozniacki, who needed a medical timeout in the final set to have her left wrist taped, lost 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 to seventh-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland.

Andy Roddick and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga lost their opening matches at the Kooyong Classic, a tuneup for next week’s Australian Open. Roddick fell 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3) to Frenchman Gael Monfils, and Tsonga was ousted 6-4, 6-3 by Austria’s Jurgen Melzer.