IN BRIEF

SWIMMING

American star Hall Jr. announces retirement

Gary Hall Jr., a 10-time Olympic medalist, officially retired from swimming Sunday and has turned his attention to a new challenge: helping those with diabetes lead long, productive lives.

Hall, who suffers from the disease, was expected to leave the sport after just missing out on making his fourth Olympic team this summer. He made it official in near conjunction with World Diabetes Day, which was recognized Friday.

The 34-year-old Hall decided that his family -- a wife and two small children -- came before another attempt at the Olympics.

"I'm just not ready to commit myself to another four years," Hall said in a telephone interview.

Like his father, Hall was a three-time Olympian who won two golds, two silver and one bronze in individual competition. He also captured three golds, one silver and one bronze as part of relay teams.

But Hall was nearly as well known for his outspokenness and bringing a little flair to a usually staid sport.

Also: Katie Hoff has changed coaches after a disappointing Olympics, in which the six-time world champion failed to win a gold medal in a half dozen events.

Hoff is now working with Michael Phelps' coach, Bob Bowman. Hoff trained with Paul Yetter since before she qualified for the 2004 Olympics as a 15-year-old.

American Randall Bal set a world record in the 50-meter backstroke, one of three world records to fall on the last day of a short-course World Cup meet in Berlin.

Bal broke the 4-day-old record with a time of 20.87, beating Peter Marshall by 0.03. Marshall, also from the United States, set the record of 23.05 on Wednesday in Stockholm.

WINTER SPORTS

U.S. skier Miller second in World Cup slalom

Bode Miller was edged by Jean-Baptiste Grange of France in the World Cup slalom season opener by 0.79 seconds, finishing second in 1 minute, 45.28 seconds on the Black Course north of the Arctic Circle in Levi, Finland.

Miller used an aggressive second run to post his best slalom finish since a win four years ago in Sestriere, Italy.

Miller nearly pulled off an American double on the weekend. Lindsey Vonn won the World Cup slalom Saturday.

Grange had a two-run total of 1:44.49.

Also: Darryl Sydor returned to the Dallas Stars in a trade of veteran defensemen that sent Philippe Boucher to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The 36-year-old Sydor played with Dallas from 1995-2003, winning the Stanley Cup with the Stars during the 1998-99 season and appearing in the Stanley Cup Finals again the following season.

He was dealt to Columbus in July 2003 before being traded to Tampa Bay in January 2004, where he helped the Lightning win the Stanley Cup that season.

MISCELLANEOUS

UNLV men's soccer shut out by Air Force

The UNLV men's soccer team lost to Air Force 1-0 at Johann Memorial Field in the regular-season finale for both teams.

The Rebels (8-9-1, 3-7 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) outshot the Falcons 7-1 in the first half but couldn't find the net. Air Force (5-12, 3-7) got the game's lone goal two minutes into the second half, with Andrew Golz heading in a Kevin Rosser corner kick.

Also: The UNLV volleyball team lost to No. 16 Colorado State 27-25, 25-12, 25-22 in a Mountain West Conference match in Fort Collins, Colo.

Sara Nehf had eight kills and Gerryn Moran seven for the Rebels (15-13, 8-7 MWC), and Melody Nua had 20 assists.

The New York Yankees reached an agreement in principle to sell right-hander Darrell Rasner's contract to a Japanese team.

The Yankees will receive $1 million from the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Pacific League. Matt Sosnick, Rasner's agent, said he and Rasner approached the Yankees about the possibility of a deal.