Sports in Brief: Taveras signs with Reds; Bulls could lose Deng for week
Free-agent centerfielder Willy Taveras agreed to a two-year contract yesterday with the Cincinnati Reds. Financial terms of the deal weren't immediately known.
Free-agent centerfielder
Willy Taveras
agreed to a two-year contract yesterday with the Cincinnati Reds. Financial terms of the deal weren't immediately known.
Taveras spent two seasons in Colorado but became a free agent this month when the Rockies were unable to trade him at the winter meetings.
In 2008, Taveras hit .251 and led the big leagues with 68 steals and a .907 stolen-base percentage.
Pro basketball
Chicago Bulls forward
Luol Deng
could miss up to a week with a sprained left ankle suffered Friday night at Miami.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward
Wally Szczerbiak
will miss at least one week with a bruised right knee.
Colleges
Syracuse guard
Eric Devendorf
, 21, could be back on the court Tuesday for a Big East Conference opener against Seton Hall after completing 40 hours of community service. He was suspended after a Nov. 1 off-campus altercation in which he was accused of hitting a female student on the jaw with the heel of his hand.
Elsewhere.
Rob Ambrose
was hired as the football coach at Towson, signing a five-year contract with his alma mater after serving for seven seasons as an assistant at Connecticut. . . . Florida Gators coach
Urban Meyer
picked offensive line coach
Steve Addazio
to succeed new Mississippi coach
Dan Mullen
as offensive coordinator.
Hockey
St. Louis Blues left winger
Paul Kariya
will have surgery on his left hip and could miss the rest of the season.
The New York Islanders recalled center
Jeremy Colliton
from Bridgeport in the AHL, a day after left winger
Andy Hilbert
suffered a hairline fracture in his left foot.
Noteworthy
Tiger Woods
(No. 1) and
Phil Mickelson
(No. 3) will be the only Americans in the top-10 world rankings at the end of this year. That's the smallest U.S. representation in the top 10 since 1995, with
Corey Pavin
(No. 5) and
Fred Couples
(No. 7).
AJ Allmendinger is set to replace Elliott Sadler in the No. 19 Dodge in 2009, ESPN.com reported, citing multiple Gillett Evernham Motorsports team sources. He was released by Red Bull Racing late last season.
Wild Oats
XI overcame an encounter with a 7-foot shark to win the Sydney-to-Hobart race off the coast of Australia for a record fourth consecutive time today. The yacht finished in 1 day, 20 hours, 34 minutes, 14 seconds.
Last night, Wild Oats hit a shark that became entangled in the rudder.
Ian Burns
, the navigator, said the boat had to stop to allow the shark to free itself.