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The Detroit Tigers announced their one-year deal with veteran outfielder Magglio Ordonez on Friday.

The team did not specify terms, but a baseball source told ESPN.com that the contract is for $10 million.

Ordonez, 36, hit .303 with 12 home runs and 59 RBIs in 84 games before suffering a season-ending ankle injury in July. He is expected to return to right field for the Tigers in 2011.

Ordonez has 289 career home runs in 14 seasons with the White Sox and Tigers.

Read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5926838

Japanese batting champion Tsuyoshi Nishioka and the Minnesota Twins reached preliminary agreement Thursday on a three-year contract worth about $10 million, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal was not yet final.

Twins general manager Bill Smith said Thursday that Nishioka arrived in town earlier in the day from Japan for negotiations and physical exams. Last season's Pacific League leader with a .346 batting average, Nishioka can play shortstop or second base, and the Twins have openings at both positions after trading J.J. Hardy and letting Orlando Hudson become a free agent. Longtime utilityman Nick Punto also became a free agent.

Minnesota last month submitted the highest bid for Nishioka's negotiating rights to his Japanese team, the Chiba Lotte Marines, gaining a 30-day window to sign him. Nishioka had 206 hits last season, becoming the Pacific League's first player to reach 200 since Ichiro Suzuki, now a star with the Seattle Mariners.

Also Thursday, the Twins traded backup catcher Jose Morales to Colorado for minor-league left-hander Paul Bargas.

The 22-year-old Bargas was 5-4 with a 3.59 ERA and five saves in 67 2-3 innings for Class A Asheville last season. He was drafted by the Rockies in the 13th round in 2009.

Read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5927508

Teenage pitching sensation, World War II hero, outspoken Hall of Famer and local sports treasure. Bob Feller was all of them.

One of a kind, he was an American original.

Blessed with a right arm that earned the Iowa farmboy the nickname "Rapid Robert" and made him one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, Feller, who left baseball in the prime of his career to fight for his country, died Wednesday night. He was 92.

Feller, who won 266 games in 18 seasons -- all with the Indians -- died at 9:15 p.m. on Wednesday night of acute leukemia at a hospice, said Bob DiBiasio, the Indians vice president of public relations.

Remarkably fit until late in life, Feller had suffered serious health setbacks in recent months. He was diagnosed with leukemia in August, and while undergoing chemotherapy, he fainted and his heart briefly stopped. Eventually, he had pacemaker implanted.

Read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5924684

The New York Jets have suspended Sal Alosi indefinitely after the team got "new information" that the strength and conditioning coach "instructed" five players to stand in a wall before he tripped Dolphins player Nolan Carroll on Sunday.

Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum announced the punishment after Alosi was suspended for the rest of the season and fined $25,000 on Monday.

"Over the last day as we continued our investigation we discovered some new information," Tannenbaum said. "The players at the Miami game were instructed by Sal to stand where they were forcing the gunner in the game to run around them. Based on that new information we've suspended Sal indefinitely, pending further review."

NFL vice president of football operations Ray Anderson has reviewed the play and he said what Alosi ordered was illegal. At the owners meetings in Fort Worth, Texas, he cited two NFL rules about where players, coaches and support staff are supposed to stand.

Read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/n...ory?id=5922926

The New York Giants' lineup has suffered yet another massive blow with wide receiver Steve Smith having to undergo season-ending knee surgery.

Smith underwent an MRI to his left knee on Tuesday. The Giants announced that he suffered an articular cartilage injury, the result of him being awkwardly tackled from behind in Monday's victory over the Vikings.

Smith's surgery has not been scheduled yet. He had just returned from a four-game layoff due to a partially torn pectoral muscle.

"Steve will not be able to play anymore," coach Tom Coughlin said. "I feel bad for Steve. He fights his way back and then [suffers] this injury. Our entire thoughts for the team are with Steve. First news was it may have been a hamstring or that type of injury."

Smith had 48 receptions for 529 yards and three touchdowns after making the Pro Bowl the previous season.

read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/n...ory?id=5922009

Pittsburgh has hired Miami (Ohio) coach Mike Haywood as its new head coach, a source close to the situation said Wednesday night.

The five-year deal has been agreed to and could be announced as early as Thursday.

Haywood led the RedHawks to a turnaround from 1-11 in 2009 to 9-4 in 2010, including 8-1 in conference play. Miami beat Northern Illinois 26-21 in the MAC championship game and will face Middle Tennessee in the GoDaddy.com Bowl on Jan. 6.

It has not been determined if Haywood will coach Miami in its bowl game, but the late nature of the game makes it less likely.

Read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5924001

Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen has been hired for the same position at West Virginia next season, and the Mountaineers plan to make him head coach in 2012.

In the deal announced Wednesday, Holgorsen will replace Jeff Mullen as offensive coordinator and become "head coach-in-waiting" in 2011.

He will replace head coach Bill Stewart for the 2012 season. The university said Stewart will take an administrative role after the 2011 season.

The Mountaineers released a statement to announce the hiring.

Read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5923481

Paul Pierce thought it was good. So did the fans who roared in celebration at what appeared to be the victory that would punctuate the New York Knicks' return to relevance.

Ray Allen knew otherwise, and so did the referees.

Amare Stoudemire's 3-pointer came just after the final buzzer, giving the Boston Celtics a thrilling 118-116 victory Wednesday night and their 11th straight win.

"It was great basketball. It was a great Eastside barnyard knockdown, backyard scuffle, if you will," Boston's Kevin Garnett said. "Good basketball, though."

Read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=301215018

TORONTO -- Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah will have surgery Thursday to repair a torn ulna collateral ligament in his right thumb, the team announced.

Noah, who was in the starting lineup Wednesday against the Toronto Raptors despite the injury, is likely to miss 8-10 weeks.

"I feel like it's just tough not playing at a high level," Noah said following Wednesday's game. "It's hurting and I'm playing and I've got to take anti-inflammatories every time I play. I can't practice. I have to get right. I have to get right and get back to this team. I'm going to miss playing with the guys. It's frustrating because I feel like we have a chance to be really, really good. And I've never been in a situation where we're winning like this. But I know in the long run, this is what needs to be done.

"I've had the same exact surgery before on my left hand. It sucks. It's not what I want, but you can't ... I've [played] through it for a couple weeks now and I got to get back to playing at a high level."

"As the days proceeded from the original injury, it became clear for all that surgery was best for Joakim," Bulls general manager Gar Forman said in the statement. "We have always valued Joakim's toughness and willingness to put the team above himself, but in this case his health took precedence."

"Joakim's injury presentation was unusual in that he was able to function at a high level with the injury," Bulls physician Brian Cole said in a statement. "More often, athletes are unable to play at all due to pain and instability of the thumb."

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Oakland coach Greg Kampe kept telling his players they were just as good as the ranked opponents they have been playing this season. In their fourth game against a Top 25 team, they finally got their upset.

Keith Benson, last season’s Summit League player of the year, had 26 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Golden Grizzlies to an 89-82 victory over No. 7 Tennessee on Tuesday night.

They took lessons from games in which they played Illinois and Purdue, both ranked teams from the Big Ten, close but not for a full 40 minutes. They almost beat then-No. 7 Michigan State, also of the Big Ten, on Saturday but lost by a point after they failed to make free throws down the stretch.

Read more: http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketb...d=201012140580

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ winning streak came to an end even as Sidney Crosby kept his point-scoring run alive.

Scott Hartnell scored a power-play goal at 9:54 of the third period and the Philadelphia Flyers snapped Pittsburgh’s 12-game winning streak with a 3-2 victory on Tuesday night.

“It’s the battle of Pennsylvania,” Hartnell said. “It was a big measuring game. It was intense and we played well enough to win.”

Pittsburgh center Evgeni Malkin returned after missing four games with a knee injury, and scored two goals to give him 10 for the season.

Crosby assisted on both of Malkin’s goals, extending his point streak to 19 games. He has 20 goals and 18 assists in matching his career-long streak from Oct. 6-Nov. 17, 2007. Crosby has 62 points (26 goals, 36 assists) in 36 career games against Philadelphia.

Read more: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/recap;_y...gid=2010121415

Charlotte coach Alan Major has dismissed top scorer Shamari Spears from the team, a little over two weeks after he was suspended for the third time in two seasons for violating unspecified rules.

The first-year coach shed little light on the decision in a school news release on Tuesday, other than to say it came after "much consideration." Spears was averaging 17 points and 3.2 rebounds.

The 6-foot-6 senior forward was benched in the second half of Charlotte's loss at Oregon State on Nov. 24 and posted on Twitter after the game that he was contemplating quitting the team. Major suspended him indefinitely before the 49ers' next game.

Read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=5919313

Denver Broncos rookie cornerback Perrish Cox could face up to life in prison if convicted of sexual assault charges filed by prosecutors last week.

A portion of the case unsealed by a Douglas County judge Tuesday shows the sexual assault charges are Class 3 and Class 4 felonies, which carry a sentence of between two years to life in prison. They involve a helpless victim.

Other details of the case remain sealed.

The alleged offense occurred Sept. 6 and was reported Oct. 28.

Cox, who played in the Broncos' loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, is free on $50,000 bail.

Read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5920383

The New Jersey Nets agreed to trade Terrence Williams to the Houston Rockets in a three-way deal that will land them Los Angeles Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic and a pair of first-round draft picks, sources confirmed to ESPN.com on Tuesday.

The trade, which has been agreed upon in principle, will also send Nets veteran power forward Joe Smith to the Lakers, while New Jersey will receive Los Angeles' 2011 first-round pick and Houston's 2012 lottery-protected first-rounder, sources said.

To make roster room for Williams' arrival, sources said, Houston has struck a deal with Sacramento that will send Jermaine Taylor to the Kings for a future second-round pick.

"Welcome welcome, to all my jersey fans an people it's been real I love y'all an thanks, to HOUSTON what uppppp 'go Rockets' lol," Williams tweeted Tuesday night.

Read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5920357

When it comes to staying active, no one in mixed martial arts can match the pace of fast-rising light heavyweight Ovince St. Preux, who is scheduled to enter the cage on a Strikeforce-promoted card for the third time in six weeks.

St. Preux will face Abongo Humphrey on Jan. 7 in Nashville, Tenn., Strikeforce spokesman Mike Afromowitz told ESPN.com.

Welterweights Tyron Woodley and Tarec Saffiedine will square off in the main event. The show is scheduled to air on Showtime at 11 p.m. ET.

St. Preux (9-4-0) made his most recent cage appearance Dec. 4 in St. Louis, where he appeared on the undercard of "Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu."

In that bout, St. Preux dominated Benji Radach en route to a very lopsided unanimous decision. The judges scored that fight 30-27, 30-26 and 30-25.

Read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/extra/mma/...ory?id=5918730

Joakim Noah has privately been dealing with bruised tendons in his right hand and the Bulls have thought about sitting him to allow the injury to heal.

Noah's hand keeps getting hit in games, which isn't allowing the tendons to heal on their own.

As of Tuesday night, Noah was expected to play on Wednesday against the Raptors as Chicago looks for their seventh straight win.

Noah is averaging 14.2 points and 11.7 rebounds per game this season.


Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports...,5510590.story

Spurned by Cliff Lee, the New York Yankees reportedly began spending the money that was to be allotted to the left-handed ace by agreeing to a contract with catcher Russell Martin, a source told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney.

Terms were not available, for the deal, which is pending a physical. MLB.com first reported the agreement.

The former Los Angeles catcher was nontendered this month after the Dodgers refused to meet his demand for a guaranteed $5 million deal.

The Red Sox also had made an offer to Martin.

Martin appeared to be a rising star in 2007, when he batted .293 with 19 homers and 87 RBIs. He won a Gold Glove, a Silver Slugger award and made the first of two consecutive All-Star appearances. But his production has dropped off the past two seasons.

Read more:http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/m...ory?id=5918751

Maryland offensive coordinator James Franklin told the school he plans to accept an offer to become Vanderbilt's head coach, a source told ESPN's Joe Schad.

If he had remained at Maryland, Franklin would have been owed $1 million if he were not named the Terrapins' head coach by January 2012.

Franklin has been Maryland's offensive coordinator and play-caller the past three seasons.

A source told ESPN.com on Monday that the Commodores had pursued Auburn Tigers offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, who ultimately decided to stay with the Tigers.

Read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5919597

Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose sprained his right wrist at the end of Monday night's game against the Indiana Pacers at the United Center. X-rays on the wrist after the game were negative.

"I saw my whole future flash before my eyes, coming down," Rose said of the hard fall he took in the fourth quarter. "I thought it was going to be worse than that. But right now it just feels sore."

Rose was cloaked in ice as he sat in front of his locker after the game. He had ice packs on both knees and his wrist, while soaking his feet in a vat of ice. Before the wrist injury, he also hurt his left ankle midway through the fourth quarter.

"All the bones are in the right place," Bulls athletic trainer Fred Tedeschi said. "So from that point, we know that it's not too severe from the sprain standpoint, so we'll just kind of keep our fingers crossed and hope it stays that way."

Rose will be re-evaluated on Tuesday before the Bulls leave for Toronto.

Read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nb...ory?id=5917554