In Brief

BASEBALL

Danks given $65 million extension by White Sox

John Danks relishes his new responsibility as the Chicago White Sox ace. The left-hander says he just can't shoulder the load alone.

"I'm a confident guy and I'm being counted on to win," Danks said Thursday after agreeing to a five-year, $65 million contract through 2016. "I think of myself as a big piece, but it's going to take the whole staff to perform well."

The White Sox finished 79-83 last season and Ozzie Guillen was released from his contract near the end of the year. Robin Ventura, in his first manager's job, has a team that is expected to trim its payroll of $127 million from a year ago.

This month, Ventura outlined a wish list that included 30-plus starts from Danks and Gavin Floyd.

But even with Danks secured -- at least for the start of the season -- White Sox pitching is likely to be in flux for a while. Ace Mark Buehrle signed with Guillen in Miami, and closer Sergio Santos was traded to Toronto, perhaps hurting plans to bring Chris Sale into Chicago's rotation.

At least Danks is in hand. The 26-year-old will earn $8 million next season and $14.25 million in each of the final four years of the contract. A 15-game winner in 2010, he slumped last season and was 8-12 with a 4.33 ERA.

Also: The Internal Revenue Service is suing New York Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner over what it calls an "erroneous" tax refund of more than $670,000.

The suit was filed in federal court in Tampa, Fla.

The dispute dates to the 2001 tax year and involves a refund the IRS paid in 2009. The IRS said the refund claim was filed too late and has sued Steinbrenner and his wife, Christina, to recover $670,493.78.

Yankees spokeswoman Alice McGillion said Steinbrenner's representatives hadn't received any prior notices regarding the matter from the IRS.

PRO BASKETBALL

Jordan's engagement to model Prieto confirmed

Michael Jordan is engaged to longtime girlfriend Yvette Prieto, a Cuban-American model he's been dating for three years.

Publicist Estee Portnoy confirmed the news, first reported by WCNC in Charlotte, N.C.

The Charlotte Bobcats owner got engaged over the Christmas weekend. No wedding date has been set.

This will be Jordan's second marriage. He married Juanita Vanoy in September 1989, and they divorced in 2006. They have two sons, Jeffrey Michael and Marcus James, and a daughter, Jasmine.

Also: The NBA said Miami's Dwyane Wade did not travel before his shot that beat Charlotte on Wednesday.

Wade banked in a short jumper with 2.9 seconds remaining, and the Heat held on for a 96-95 victory. Because Wade appeared to make an extra move forward between stopping and releasing the ball, there was speculation he should have been called for a traveling violation.

But spokesman Tim Frank explained: "Wade gathers the ball with his right foot on the floor, and step one is when both feet touch the floor simultaneously. He then steps with his right foot for step two."

The Phoenix Suns signed All-Star guard Michael Redd to a one-year contract. Redd was in the final season of a six-year, $91 million deal he signed with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2005.

Suns president of basketball operations Lon Babby said the 6-foot-6-inch Redd is a proven scorer. He averaged 20 points in 11 seasons with Milwaukee.

MISCELLANEOUS

Kahne apologizes for 'nasty' breastfeeding tweets

NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne apologized for comments he made on his Twitter account about public breastfeeding.

According to multiple media reports, Kahne posted messages on his account that he saw a mother breastfeeding a child in a supermarket, calling it "nasty" and saying he didn't "feel like shopping any more or eating."

Reports said Kahne then sent a crude reply message to a Twitter user who took issue with his comments.

After apparently deleting the offending posts from his Twitter feed, Kahne posted an apology on his Facebook page Wednesday, saying it wasn't his intention "to offend any mother who chooses to breastfeed her child, or, for that matter, anyone who supports breastfeeding children. I want to make that clear."

Kahne said he understands his comments were "offensive to some people" and apologized.

"In all honestly, I was surprised by what I saw in a grocery store," he said. "I shared that reaction with my fans on Twitter. It obviously wasn't the correct approach, and, after reading your feedback, I now have a better understanding of why my posts upset some of you.

"My comments were not directed at the mother's right to breastfeed. They were just a reaction to the location of that choice, and the fashion in which it was executed on that occasion."

Also: Court records show the University of Miami has agreed to repay $83,000 in money received from former booster and convicted Ponzi scheme architect Nevin Shapiro.

That figure includes $3,000 in penalties levied by the NCAA on 11 current Miami athletes who received money from Shapiro. It also completes the university's obligations in the Shapiro bankruptcy case.

American teenager Mikaela Shiffrin used two error-free runs in Linz, Austria, to became the youngest female on a World Cup slalom podium since Tamara McKinney in 1978.

The 16-year-old Shiffrin finished third behind winner Marlies Schild of Austria and Tina Maze of Slovenia. Schild, one of Shiffrin's idols, won her fourth straight slalom race this season.

Olympic champion Didier Defago won the grueling World Cup downhill on the bumpy Stelvio course in Bormio, Italy, showing that the Swiss racer has fully recovered from a knee injury that kept him out all last season.

Defago had a nearly flawless run and clocked 2 minutes, 1.81 seconds, with fellow Swiss Patrick Kueng 0.29 seconds behind and Klaus Kroell of Austria in third.