In Brief

BASEBALL

Lasorda: Valentine will get Red Sox back on track

Players eating fried chicken and drinking beer in the clubhouse during games. If it didn't bother Bobby Valentine as a baseball lifer, it would certainly offend his sensibilities as a self-proclaimed gourmet chef.

"He won't let that happen. There's no way he's going to let that happen," said Tommy Lasorda, Valentine's manager in the minor leagues and a mentor who encouraged him to try for the Boston Red Sox job.

"There's times -- in all phases of life -- when you've got to kick them in the (rear) when they need it, and there's times when you need to hug them if they need it. Your livelihood depends on those guys. You've got to have them in the right frame of mind, to be loyal to the organization, to put forth all the effort that they have."

Boston announced Valentine as its manager Wednesday. He will be introduced by the Red Sox at a Fenway Park news conference today.

Valentine, 61, replaces Terry Francona, who left after eight years in which he guided the Red Sox to two World Series titles but also the biggest September collapse in baseball history. The first job for the former Mets and Rangers manager: reversing a culture in which players ate takeout fried chicken and drank beer in the clubhouse during games instead of sitting on the bench with their teammates.

"You give loyalty, you'll get it back. You give love, you'll get it back," Lasorda said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "And that's the way it has to be."

Also: Former American League batting champions Bernie Williams and Bill Mueller are among 13 newcomers on baseball's 2012 Hall of Fame ballot, joining top holdovers Barry Larkin, Jack Morris, Lee Smith and Jeff Bagwell.

Following the election of Robert Alomar and Bert Blyleven last year, a relatively weak field of first-timers could give renewed hope to Larkin and Morris.

The 2013 ballot that will be sent out late next year figures to be among the most controversial, with seven-time Most Valuable Player Barry Bonds and seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens eligible for the first time along with Craig Biggio, Mike Piazza, Curt Schilling and Sammy Sosa.

Bonds, Clemens and Sosa have been implicated in the use of performance-enhancing drugs, allegations they have denied.

The Los Angeles Angels acquired catcher Chris Iannetta from the Colorado Rockies for right-hander Tyler Chatwood.

The Angels dealt a top pitching prospect to acquire Iannetta, the latest candidate to solve the club's catching woes.

Iannetta batted .238 last season with 14 homers and 55 RBIs. Chatwood went 6-11 with a 4.75 ERA as a rookie, slumping down the stretch after spending much of the season as the Angels' fifth starter.

Outfielder David DeJesus and the Chicago Cubs agreed to a $10 million, two-year contract. The deal includes a 2014 club option. A .284 hitter in nine years with Kansas City and Oakland, DeJesus batted .240 in his lone season with the Athletics.

Ramon Santiago agreed to a $4.2 million, two-year contract to remain with the Detroit Tigers. The 32-year-old infielder hit .260 in 101 games last season, playing mostly second base and shortstop.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Washington State hires ex-Texas Tech coach Leach

Mike Leach is bringing his high-powered passing offense -- and swashbuckling style -- to long-dormant Washington State.

The school said the pirate-loving former Texas Tech coach agreed in principle to a five-year contract. He will be introduced Tuesday at a news conference in Pullman.

Leach will be paid a base annual salary of $2 million, with supplemental income of $250,000 a year, plus performance incentives, athletic director Bill Moos said.

Leach, 50, was 84-43 at Texas Tech, leading the Red Raiders to 10 bowl appearances in 10 seasons. He was fired in 2009 amid allegations he mistreated a player with a concussion.

He replaces Paul Wulff, who was fired Tuesday after four losing seasons.

Also: The NCAA decided UCLA can accept a bowl invitation even if the Bruins lose the Pac-12 title game to drop to 6-7.

The NCAA approved UCLA's bowl waiver petition, clearing the Bruins (6-6, 5-4 Pac-12) for the postseason before they play in Friday's conference championship game against Oregon.

UCLA is a 31-point underdog against the powerful Ducks. The Bruins fired coach Rick Neuheisel after Saturday's 50-0 loss to No. 9 Southern California.

Neuheisel will coach against Oregon, but offensive coordinator Mike Johnson will take over if the Bruins are selected by a bowl.

Chester McGlockton, a four-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman who emerged as a talented assistant coach and mentor at Stanford, died in Stanford, Calif. He was 42.

The cause of death was not immediately announced.

McGlockton played 12 seasons in the NFL with the Oakland Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos and New York Jets. He made all four of his Pro Bowl appearances while with the Raiders from 1994 to 1997.

MISCELLANEOUS

Track owner expects IndyCar to return to Las Vegas

Track owner Bruton Smith said he expects the IndyCar Series to honor its contract with Las Vegas Motor Speedway and return to the track in 2012.

Smith, owner of Speedway Motorsports Inc., has two years remaining on his contract to hold the IndyCar season finale at LVMS. IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard has yet to announce the 2012 schedule, and is awaiting the results of the investigation into Dan Wheldon's fatal accident at the track to decide if the series can continue to run on high-banked ovals.

"We have two years left on that contract, and I expect Randy to honor it," said Smith, who leased the property to IndyCar in a three-year contract.

Smith also said he wants IndyCar back at Texas Motor Speedway, one of the most popular venues in the series. IndyCar has not completed its sanctioning agreement with Texas, and potentially could drop Las Vegas and Texas from the schedule over concerns of racing on high-banked ovals.

Also: The Anaheim Ducks fired coach Randy Carlyle and hired former Washington coach Bruce Boudreau, who was dismissed by the Capitals on Monday. The Ducks made the move after beating Montreal 4-1 on Wednesday night for the club's third victory in 19 games -- snapping a seven-game skid.

Carlyle coached the Ducks to their only Stanley Cup title, in 2007, but struggled to get his talented club's attention this season. He agreed to a three-year contract extension through the 2013-14 season in August.

Boudreau was fired by the Capitals after a slow start. He led Washington to four consecutive division titles but no playoff success.

Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito didn't know for sure until less than two weeks before their fight that they were on for New York's Madison Square Garden.

Margarito's surgically repaired right eye could be part of the strategy and the outcome Saturday in their 154-pound title bout. The New York State Athletic Commission ordered another examination of his eye before licensing him Nov. 22.

Margarito needed surgery to repair a fractured orbital bone after losing to Manny Pacquiao in November 2010.

"He can punch me in the eye," Margarito said at a news conference. "It's not going to do any damage."

Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray, a Bishop Gorman High product, will host the "DeMarco Murray Show," to air from 4 to 5 p.m. Tuesdays on ESPN Radio (1100 AM, 98.9 FM).

The show, co-hosted by former American League Rookie of the Year Marty Cordova, also a Gorman product, will focus on professional and high school sports and, according to a news release provided by the station, will be "sports talk from an athlete's perspective."