Two-time defending champion Lorena Ochoa could be shooting for a bigger winner’s check at the Sybase Classic next year after the tournament increased its purse to $2 million Monday. Tournament officials said that sponsors raised the purse by $600,000. Only 10 events on the LPGA Tour last year had purses of at least $2 million.
Hockey legend Guy Lafleur knew his son was breaking conditions of his bail, a judge said Monday in denying a request to let Mark Lafleur live with his father. “While, according to the testimony of the accused and his father before this court on Oct. 15, it seems that rather than sleeping at his father’s house, (his father) allowed him to spend the weekends or nights in the company of his…
Forward Mark Bell will make his debut for the Maple Leafs on Tuesday at Ottawa after completing a suspension for a drinking and driving incident. Bell finished serving a 15-game ban on Saturday and will be in the Toronto lineup against the Senators, the team said. “I’ve definitely been thinking about it a lot lately, I anticipate little butterflies,” Bell said after practice Monday.
Joe Torre pulled on his crisp blue cap and shimmering white jersey, squinted into the California sun and immediately looked like a longtime member of the famous Dodger family. Flanked by Hall of Fame manager Tom Lasorda and broadcasting great Vin Scully on a center-field stage at Dodger Stadium, Torre was quick to pay tribute to one of baseball’s most successful franchises Monday.
John Russell is taking one of the most challenging jobs in baseball as manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, a team with 15 consecutive losing seasons. Let go by the Pirates as their third-base coach two seasons ago, Russell was hired Monday to succeed Jim Tracy as Pittsburgh’s manager. He becomes the team’s fifth full-time manager since the Pirates last had a winning season in 1992, following Jim…
After spending a month publicly campaigning that Alex Rodriguez has baseball’s highest value, agent Scott Boras says he’s going to be more quiet now that the general managers’ annual meetings are about to begin. Boras arrived in Orlando, Fla., on Friday to begin setting up for this year’s session, which starts Monday and runs through Thursday.
Jim Edmonds is enjoying an offseason without surgery. After the St. Louis Cardinals won the 2006 World Series, the four-time All-Star outfielder had operations on his right shoulder and left toe. He batted just .222 in April. “I wasn’t even close to healthy,” he said. He wound up batting .252 with 12 homers and 53 RBIs — his lowest totals since 1999 with the Angels.
Sammy Sosa wants to play in the majors next year, provided a team offers him a contract for at least $7 million. Sosa hit 21 home runs with 92 RBIs this season with Texas. He sat out in 2006, the Rangers gave him a $500,000, one-year contract, and he made $1.35 million more in performance bonuses. “I feel victorious, and I think I proved that I have what it takes to stay in the major leagues,” he…
Barry Bonds thinks he has been unfairly targeted for whatever problems baseball has had with the use of performance-enhancing drugs. “I truly believe I have been singled out. Definitely,” he said during an interview aired Friday by MSNBC. Seeking a new team after 15 seasons with his hometown San Francisco Giants, the 43-year-old left fielder said he wouldn’t be a problem for any team that chooses to…
Bobby Abreu’s $16 million option for next season was exercised Friday by the New York Yankees. The 33-year-old right fielder overcame a slow start to hit .283 with 16 homers and 101 RBIs this year, when he finished second in the AL behind teammate Alex Rodriguez with 123 runs. Abreau has reached 100 RBIs in five consecutive seasons.
