Sports briefs: 12/22/11

Wambach is top female

With the final seconds ticking down and the Americans on the verge of their earliest exit ever from the Women's World Cup, Abby Wambach kept waving her index finger at her teammates.

One chance, she screamed, all they needed was one chance.

When it came in the form of a left-footed cross from Megan Rapinoe, Wambach pounced. With one vicious whip of her head, she changed the course of this year's World Cup and sparked a nationwide frenzy rarely seen for women's sports.

Wambach's clutch performance at the recent women's World Cup soccer tournament made her the clear choice for the 2011 Female Athlete of the Year, selected by members of The Associated Press. The U.S. forward received 65 of the 214 votes cast, while teammate Hope Solo (38) was a distant second andConnecticut basketball star Maya Moore (35) was third.

Baseball

The Texas Rangers acquired catcher Luis Martinez from the San Diego Padres for minor league pitcher Ryan Kelly.

? The Cleveland Indians agreed to a minor league contract with versatile free-agent infielder Andy LaRoche and invited him to spring training.

? The Kansas City Royals signed left-handed reliever Jose Mijares to a 1-year contract.

? The Milwaukee Brewers signed infielder Cesar Izturis and left-hander Juan Perez to minor-league contracts with invitations to spring training.

? Creditors of the Los Angeles Dodgers are joining the team in urging a federal district judge not to halt implementation of a bankruptcy court order authorizing the Dodgers to begin a process for selling television rights to future games. In a filing, the committee said there's no guarantee that a sale of the team without the TV rights will result in Dodgers creditors being paid in full.

? Author W.P. Kinsella won the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame's Jack Graney Award for his 1982 novel "Shoeless Joe." The Jack Graney Award is given for significant contribution to baseball in Canada through a life's work or a singular outstanding achievement.

Boxing

Floyd Mayweather Jr. was sentenced to 90 days in jail after pleading guilty to reduced battery domestic violence and harassment charges before a Las Vegas judge. Mayweather, 34, also was ordered to complete 100 hours of community service and pay a $2,500 fine. The plea deal avoids trial on felony allegations that he hit his ex-girlfriend and threatened two of their children during an argument at her home in September 2010.

Auto racing

Roger Penske hired AJ Allmendinger to replace Kurt Busch in the No. 22 car. Allmendinger, 30, had 10 top-10 finishes and was 15th in points driving Richard Petty's No. 43 car. Busch won two races, took three poles and was one of 12 drivers to compete in the season-ending chase. Two weeks ago, after six bumpy seasons, Busch and Penske parted ways.

College

Connecticut is drafting a new policy that would require all employees to report any allegation of sexual abuse.The policy is expected to be presented to the school's Board of Trustees in January.

Olympics

Peter Forsberg is backtracking on comments he made in a TV interview suggesting Sweden threw a group-stage hockey game in the 2006 Olympics to get an easier draw in the second round. A 3-0 loss to Slovakia meant Sweden, which went on to win the tournament, faced Switzerland instead of Canada in the quarterfinals. In an interview that aired Sunday, Forsberg told Swedish broadcaster SVT that he "saw no reason to win the game" against Slovakia and the players figured "it's probably better if we don't go out and tire ourselves out too much." On Wednesday, Forsberg said his comments were taken out of context.

Soccer

England captain John Terry faces a criminal charge over allegations that he racially abused an opponent in the Premier League. Britain's Crown Prosecution Service decided there is sufficient evidence to prosecute the Chelsea defender for his on-field exchange Oct. 23 with Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand.

First published on December 22, 2011 at 12:00 am

Source: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11356/1198556-139-0.stm?cmpid=sportsother.xml

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