In Brief
BASEBALL
Twins' Cuddyer says he will
need surgery on right knee
Minnesota Twins outfielder Michael Cuddyer says he will need arthroscopic surgery on his right knee this offseason.
Cuddyer said Monday his knee has bothered him all season, but it was nothing that he couldn't play through. He only missed five games all season while filling in for the injured Justin Morneau at first base.
Cuddyer hit .271 with 14 homers and 81 RBIs for the Twins, who packed up their lockers after a three-game playoff sweep by the New York Yankees.
Also: Former Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons interviewed for the Pittsburgh Pirates' managerial job. Gibbons, the Kansas City Royals' bench coach, follows former Indians manager Eric Wedge and former Arizona and Florida coach Bo Porter in interviewing. The Pirates fired John Russell on Oct. 4, a day after completing a 105-loss season.
The Chicago Cubs said pitching coach Larry Rothschild exercised his option for next season. The Cubs were 13th in the National League with a 4.18 ERA after ranking among the top five the previous three seasons.
PRO BASKETBALL
Mavericks' Carlisle returns to
bench after fainting at practice
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle was back on the bench for Dallas' 85-79 preseason home loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, three days after collapsing at a team practice.
Carlisle was hospitalized following a fainting spell during Friday's team workout and missed Saturday night's outdoor game against Phoenix in California.
Carlisle, 50, rested over the weekend, and was back for Monday's shootaround. He insisted he experienced no ill effects from the episode.
Also: Gary Moore, Allen Iverson's personal manager, said there are "serious talks" for Iverson to play with a Turkish team. Iverson, the 2001 NBA MVP, is negotiating with Besiktas Cola Turka for at least a one-year deal.
The Portland Trail Blazers signed 7-foot center Steven Hill, who has played parts of the last two seasons in the NBA's development league.
PRO HOCKEY
Thrashers say goalie Pavelec's
collapse result of fainting spell
The Atlanta Thrashers said preliminary tests on goalie Ondrej Pavelec show he suffered a type of fainting spell in the season opener, which caused him to collapse on the ice.
Pavelec is back home after spending two nights in the hospital following the scary incident last Friday. In the end, it turned out the most serious injury he sustained was when he fell backward, hit his head on the ice and suffered a concussion, which also left him unconscious for several minutes.
As a precaution, Pavelec is undergoing additional tests on his heart, as well as blood and genetic screening. If everything comes back negative, he'll be cleared to play once he recovers from his concussion.
Also: Buffalo Sabres right wing Jason Pominville was carted off on a stretcher after being hit into the boards from behind by Chicago defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson in the first period of Monday's 4-3 loss to the Blackhawks. The Sabres said Pominville sustained a concussion and was diagnosed in the building without going to a hospital.
The Detroit Red Wings signed coach Mike Babcock to a four-year extension. Babcock helped the Red Wings hoist the Stanley Cup in 2008 and come within one win of repeating the next season against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Dallas Stars forward Mike Ribeiro was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of public intoxication at a restaurant in Plano, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The 30-year-old Ribeiro scored the winning goal in a shootout to beat the New York Islanders 5-4 on Saturday, giving the Stars their first 2-0 start since 2006.
MISCELLANEOUS
L.A. stadium developers sketch
out plans for World Cup soccer
Developers of a new NFL stadium on a hilly strip of land east of Los Angeles are sketching out plans for a second high-profile use for the venue: World Cup soccer.
Architects for Majestic Realty Co. said they were tweaking the design of the stadium to incorporate field measurements and bleacher configurations based on guidelines from World Cup organizer FIFA, which wants a width of 68 meters (75 yards).
The news came amid possible competition from sports and entertainment powerhouse AEG, which is deciding whether to build a stadium in downtown Los Angeles to lure an NFL franchise.
Also: The legal battle to force Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. to sell Liverpool to the Boston Red Sox parent company reaches London's High Court today, while a Singaporean billionaire is ready to announce an improved bid for the soccer team.
The court hearing takes place a week after Hicks and Gillett tried to oust two board members to prevent them from sanctioning a $476 million sale to New England Sports Ventures, which the co-owners claim undervalued the club.
That bid was favored over a similar one from an Asian investor, Peter Lim.
U.S. soccer player Charlie Davies was fined $1,040 and his license was suspended by French police because of a speeding violation in which he said a teammate was driving. Davies was with Sochaux teammate Jacques Faty when they were pulled over in the early hours of Oct. 3 after being clocked at 125 mph in France's Jura region.
The 24-year-old Davies was a passenger in a car accident Oct. 13, 2009, in which another passenger died. Davies was left with two broken bones in his right leg, a broken and dislocated left elbow, a broken nose, forehead and eye socket, a ruptured bladder and bleeding on the brain.
The UNLV women's golf team carded a 4-over 292 to share the first-round lead of the Dale McNamara Invitational in Tulsa, Okla., with 20th-ranked Oklahoma. Therese Koebaek fired a 3-under 69 to stand tied for third individually.
The UNLV men's golf team was tied for fourth place at 12-over 572 after the first round of the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate in Vestavia Hills, Ala. The Rebels, who got par-70s from Derek Ernst and Blake Biddle, were tied with South Alabama, 18 shots behind tourney leader Florida.
Top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki beat No. 3 Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to win this week's ATP Masters in Shanghai.
