IN BRIEF
BASEBALL
White Sox sign Erstad to one-year contract
Free-agent outfielder Darin Erstad signed a one-year contract worth $1 million plus incentives with the Houston Astros on Thursday.
The 33-year-old Erstad, a two-time All-Star in 11 seasons with the Angels, hit .248 with four home runs and 32 RBIs in 87 games last season for the Chicago White Sox.
Also: Catcher Miguel Olivo signed a one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals.
The 29-year-old was Florida's primary catcher the past two seasons and batted .237 in 2007.
The New York Yankees finalized a $3.75 million, one-year contract with veteran right-hander LaTroy Hawkins.
Hawkins, 35, was 2-5 with a 3.42 ERA last season for the Colorado Rockies.
Former major league player and longtime Atlanta Braves coach Jim Beauchamp died Tuesday of leukemia. He was 68.
Beauchamp spent 22 years with the Braves as part of a 50-year career in baseball.
HOCKEY
Sakic to have surgery, out up to three months
Joe Sakic will undergo hernia surgery today, and the Colorado Avalanche captain will be out of action for up to three months.
Sakic has been out since Nov. 30, missing 12 games. The operation will keep the 38-year-old center sidelined for eight to 12 weeks.
Before sitting out against San Jose on Nov. 30, Sakic had played in 232 consecutive games -- dating to Jan. 6, 2004.
Also: New York Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro sprained his left knee but might miss only one game.
DiPietro was injured during warm-ups Wednesday before the Islanders faced Toronto. He lasted just one period of New York's 4-3 overtime victory.
The Islanders said DiPietro is day to day and might play Saturday against New Jersey.
MISCELLANEOUS
West Virginia sues former coach Rodriguez
West Virginia University's Board of Governors has sued former football coach Rich Rodriguez to collect a $4 million buyout of his contract with the school.
The lawsuit, filed in Monongalia County Circuit Court, says the university believes Rodriguez doesn't intend to abide by the contract.
The buyout clause requires Rodriguez to pay $4 million to WVU over a two-year period, with one-third of the total due 30 days after his employment's termination. His resignation was effective Dec. 19.
Rodriguez went to Michigan after seven seasons with West Virginia.
Also: Serena Williams will miss the United States' opening tennis match at the Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia, organizers said.
The American star is trying to recover from a lingering left knee injury that forced her to pull out of the WTA Tour's season-ending championships in Madrid, Spain, in November.
She had been scheduled to take on India's Sania Mirza on Saturday in the first match of the team event but will be replaced by Meghan Shaughnessy.
The governing body of men's tennis confirmed that Italians Potito Starace and Daniele Bracciali bet on tennis matches.
The ATP said it began investigating in August and found that Starace wagered on matches in 2006 from Feb. 21 to May 23. Bracciali's bets were from May 17, 2004, through Jan. 24, 2005.
Starace made five bets totaling $130 and Bracciali made about 50 bets of $7, the Italian tennis federation said. The federation said both players bet on matches involving others.
Starace, ranked 31st, was suspended for six weeks and fined $30,000. Bracciali, ranked 258th, was banned for three months and fined $20,000. Both suspensions begin Monday.
Louisiana State women's basketball star Sylvia Fowles will miss two to four weeks after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on her right knee.
The senior injured her knee during LSU's win over Miami in Cancun, Mexico, last week.
