Auto Racing
Ganassi signs Kanaan and switches to Chevrolet
HOUSTON – Chip Ganassi Racing changed the look of its IndyCar organization Friday by signing Tony Kanaan and announcing a switch to Chevrolet.
Adding the Brazilian to Ganassi’s four-car stable gives the organization five of the last seven Indianapolis 500 winners. Kanaan joins Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon, who have four Indy 500 wins, and Charlie Kimball.
The move to Chevrolet from Honda was not a surprise; Ganassi runs Chevrolets in NASCAR.
College Football
Rice and AFA superintendent expected on playoff panel
NEW YORK – A person with direct knowledge of the process told The Associated Press that former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to be part of the selection committee that will pick the teams for the College Football Playoff next year.
The person also said a former Air Force Academy superintendent and a former NCAA executive who worked with the basketball tournament are expected to be part of the new 12-to-18 member football panel.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the selection process still is ongoing.
MLB
Reds fire manager Dusty Baker after playoff loss
CINCINNATI – One very bad week clinched Dusty Baker’s fate. The Reds decided they weren’t going to bring him back.
Not after they ended the season with six losses in a row, including the wild-card playoff game. Not after they failed to get past the opening round of the playoffs for the third time in a row. Not with all the booing at Great American Ball Park.
Instead of keeping Baker around for one more try, the Reds fired him Friday, parting ways with the manager who led them to their best stretch of success since the Big Red Machine but couldn’t get them deep into the postseason.
The Reds are the fourth team with an opening at manager: Davey Johnson retired after the Nationals’ season; Eric Wedge left the Mariners; and the Cubs fired Dale Sveum after finishing last in the NL Central.
Baker, a three-time NL Manager of the Year, went 509-463 in his six seasons with Cincinnati, finishing third on the Reds’ list for wins by a manager.
Alex Rodriguez sues MLB; Albert Pujols sues Jack Clark
NEW YORK – Alex Rodriguez sued Major League Baseball and Commissioner Bud Selig, accusing them of pursuing “vigilante justice” as part of a “witch hunt” designed to smear the character of the Yankees star and cost him tens of millions of dollars.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in New York State Supreme Court, seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages for what it alleges was a relentless campaign by the league and Selig to “destroy the reputation and career of Alex Rodriguez.”
ST. LOUIS – Albert Pujols, the Los Angeles Angels slugger, sued Jack Clark on Friday over comments on a local radio show accusing the three-time NL MVP of using steroids.
The lawsuit between former Cardinals stars was filed in Circuit Court in St. Louis County, where Clark lives. It seeks unspecified damages and asks for a determination and declaration that Clark’s statements are false.
Soccer
FIFA decision on Qatar dates could come in 2015
ZURICH – After all the talk about changing the dates of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, it will be another year or more before any decision is made.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter ordered “deep consultations” Friday about shifting the tournament from the scorching summer heat in the Gulf country, saying a decision on the highly divisive issue might be delayed until 2015.
Also on Friday, FIFA’s executive committee decided the top seeds in the 2014 World Cup groups will be host Brazil and the seven highest teams in the October rankings.
Associated Press
