In Brief

BASEBALL

Dodgers, Kershaw agree on $19 million contract

National League Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers avoided a salary arbitration hearing next week, agreeing to a $19 million, two-year contract.

Tuesday's deal for the 23-year-old left-hander calls for a $500,000 signing bonus and salaries of $7.5 million this year and $11 million in 2013. It covers all but his final year of arbitration eligibility.

The agreement mirrors that of San Francisco's Tim Lincecum, who in his first time eligible for arbitration two years ago agreed to a $23 million, two-year deal.

Kershaw was 21-5 with a 2.28 ERA and 248 strikeouts last season, winning the NL pitching triple crown. After making $500,000, he had asked for $10 million in arbitration and had been offered $6.5 million.

Also: Texas Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton has been to New York to visit with doctors for Major League Baseball and the players' association following his admitted relapse with alcohol.

General manager Jon Daniels said Hamilton was accompanied to New York on Monday by Shayne Kelley, the team's newly hired major league staff assistant whose job will include being in a support role for Hamilton.

Daniels, speaking before an appearance during the team's winter caravan, said he has not gotten a report from the doctors regarding their evaluation. But Daniels said any discipline by the team against Hamilton was unlikely after the outfielder and recovering drug addict had several drinks last week while out in Dallas.

Oakland Athletics owner Lew Wolff said the team has agreed to extend the contracts of general manager Billy Beane and team president Michael Crowley through the 2019 season.

Wolff wrote in an email to The Associated Press that he is counting on Beane's leadership and innovation to lead the club in a new stadium in the San Jose, Calif., area. The franchise needs approval from Major League Baseball to move to the south bay, where the San Francisco Giants hold territorial rights to the technology-rich region filled with fans and corporate dollars.

Beane has been Oakland's general manager since 1997. He is the subject of Michael Lewis' 2003 book on baseball statistics and economics titled "Moneyball," which was made into a film starring Brad Pitt as Beane last year.

Police said former major league outfielder Danny Clyburn Jr. was shot and killed in his hometown of Rock Hill, S.C.

Police said officers found the 37-year-old Clyburn in the front yard of his home around 2 a.m. Tuesday. Witnesses said they saw Clyburn arguing with 36-year-old Derrick Lamont McIlwain shortly before Clyburn was shot. Police said McIlwain turned himself in later in the day and was charged with murder.

Clyburn was a second-round pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1992 and played parts of three seasons in the majors with the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the late 1990s. In 109 at-bats, he hit .211 with four homers and eight RBIs.

Lawyers are seeking class-action status for a lawsuit that claims Hall of Fame slugger George Brett has been falsely advertising necklaces and bracelets as being able to help improve health and sports performance.

A lawsuit filed in federal court in Des Moines, Iowa, claims Spokane Valley, Wash.-based Brett Bros. Sports International Inc. has falsely claimed its Ionic Necklaces help customers relieve pain in the neck, shoulders and upper back, recover from sports fatigue and improve focus. The company has also falsely claimed its bracelets, which include two roller magnets, would relieve wrist, hand and elbow pain, the lawsuit said.

Brett, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1999 after a 21-year career with the Kansas City Royals, has been president of the company since 2001 and appears in its advertisements.

COLLEGE ATHLETICS

On second thought, Big Ten revisits playoff concept

The Big Ten, which helped squash the notion of a four-team playoff to crown a national champion in college football several years ago, is taking another look.

"All of the Big Ten athletic directors are comfortable exploring the possibility of a four-team playoff," Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis said. "Four is better than two."

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith agreed and said the discussions stem from feedback "that we need to do something different," especially after the recent BCS title game between Louisiana State and Alabama drew lower ratings than other championship games.

"The fans have been loud and clear," Smith said. "We also recognize that structurally there's things that we want to try and change with the bowl system -- how teams get in the bowls. It's time to be curious about everything."

The BCS title game pits the nation's top two teams based on poll and computer rankings. The Chicago Tribune reported that one of the ideas before the Big Ten would put the two semifinal games on the campuses of the higher-seeded teams, and the national championship would be in cities that bid for the hosting rights.

Also: Prosecutors asked to have Jerry Sandusky kept indoors as part of his bail conditions, citing complaints that the former Penn State football assistant was seen outside and watching children in a schoolyard from the back porch of his home, where he remains under house arrest while awaiting trial on child molestation charges.

The state attorney general's office argued in a court filing that Sandusky's bail conditions should be revised so that he is not allowed outside except to seek medical treatment. Prosecutors said they opposed Sandusky's request to be allowed contact with his grandchildren as he awaits trial on 52 child sex-abuse charges.

"Several individuals from the adjacent elementary school have expressed concerns for the safety of children at their school and the adjacent neighborhood," prosecutors wrote. "Such concerns will only mushroom if defendant is permitted to roam at will outside his house."

The allegation he was watching children was outlined in an exhibit attached to the filing, a memo from a state investigator to a county probation officer that said a teacher and intern had reported concern for the children's safety.

The UNLV softball team was picked to finish second in the Mountain West preseason poll, as voted on by the conference's five head coaches. The Rebels, who garnered 13 total points and one first-place vote, trailed preseason favorite San Diego State, which had 16 points and four first-place votes.

SOCCER

Workers on 2014 World Cup venues threaten strike

Workers building and renovating Brazil's stadiums for the 2014 World Cup are threatening to go on strike if employers don't agree to their demands for unified salaries and benefits.

There have been isolated strikes across the nation, but unions representing the workers in each of the 12 host cities are trying to come together to plead for better conditions.

Union leader Claudio da Silva Gomes said the workers are ready to go on strike as early as next month if construction companies don't agree to give employees the same salaries and benefits regardless of the venue.

FIFA has said World Cup preparations are behind schedule and stadium construction has been one of the main concerns.

Also: Harry Keough, who played for the U.S. soccer team that famously upset England at the 1950 World Cup, died at his home in St. Louis. He was 84.

U.S. Soccer Federation spokesman Michael Kammarman said Keough's death was confirmed by his son Ty, who also played for the American national team.

A defender who had one goal in 19 appearances for the U.S. from 1949 to 1957, Keough coached Saint Louis University to five NCAA soccer titles. He was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1976.