MLB
Hall of Famer Molitor the new man in Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota Twins will hire Paul Molitor as manager after four consecutive seasons of 92 or more losses.
The Twins said the 58-year-old Molitor will be introduced at a news conference Tuesday and given a three-year contract. He will replace Ron Gardenhire, who was fired five weeks ago.
Molitor, a Hall of Fame infielder and Minnesota native with the 10th-most hits in major league history, spent 2014 as a coach on Gardenhire’s staff. Prior to that, he served for 10 seasons as a minor league instructor in the organization, a noted influence on many young players. Molitor was an initial candidate for the job that last opened in 2001, when Tom Kelly retired and Gardenhire was chosen.
Maddon jumps into the mix with the Chicago Cubs
CHICAGO – The Cubs think Joe Maddon is the right manager for their promising roster.
Chicago introduced Maddon during a news conference Monday at a bar across the street from Wrigley Field, which is undergoing renovations. The 60-year-old takes over for Rick Renteria, who was fired after leading Chicago to a 73-89 record in his only season as a major league manager.
Maddon managed Tampa Bay for nine seasons before he opted out of his contract last month. The move to Chicago means he inherits an impressive group of prospects and a famous title drought that goes back to the Cubs’ win in the 1908 World Series.
Chicago has finished with a losing record in each of the last five seasons. It hasn’t made it to the playoffs since 2008.
Soccer
FIFA moves closer to a winter World Cup in Qatar
ZURICH – FIFA is targeting two options for holding Qatar’s 2022 World Cup in the winter.
FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke says “we are getting closer to narrowing the dates” to January-February 2022 or November-December 2022 to avoid the summer heat in Qatar.
European clubs want the tournament moved to April.
Qatar organizing committee head Hassan Al Thawadi says winter is an “ideal situation (for) an all-inclusive” World Cup.
The January-February option remains in play despite FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s insistence that the World Cup will not clash with the 2022 Winter Olympics.
African Cup dates stay, Morocco given deadline
RABAT, Morocco – The Confederation of African Football says there will be no change to the dates of the African Cup of Nations early next year, and host Morocco has until Saturday to agree to the schedule.
CAF has refused Morocco’s request to postpone the continent’s top football tournament because of the threat from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. If Morocco doesn’t agree to hold the tournament on the planned dates of Jan. 17-Feb. 8, CAF says it will look for a new host.
Tennis
Nadal under the knife: Star has his appendix removed
BARCELONA, Spain – Rafael Nadal had successful surgery to remove his appendix Monday and will remain in the hospital for up to two days to recover.
A statement from Nadal’s spokesman said the appendectomy was performed at the TEKNON Medical Center in Barcelona by Dr. Segura Movellan and his team.
“Everything has gone very well. Thank you for your support,” Nadal tweeted in Spanish after the operation.
Nadal first experienced symptoms related to his appendix four weeks ago during a tournament in Shanghai.
Because of the surgery, Nadal will miss next week’s ATP finals in London.
Associated Press
