Bucs Sign 1st Round Pick Freeman

TAMPA, Fla. -- Rookie quarterback Josh Freeman has signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and will be given an opportunity to compete for the starting job.

Freeman was the 17th player selected in the draft following a standout career at Kansas State. He agreed to a five-year contract on Friday, the day before the start of training camp.

Although the Bucs had their sights on the future when they selected him, Freeman was impressive enough during offseason workouts that coach Raheem Morris has not ruled out the possibility of playing him right away.

The other quarterbacks competing for the No. 1 job are Luke McCown, Byron Leftwich and Josh Johnson.

Terms of Freeman's deal were not announced.

Freeman, who entered the draft after his junior year, completed 59 percent of his passes for 8,078 yards and 44 touchdowns in three seasons at Kansas State. Also a threat to run, he had 20 TDs rushing.

The 21-year-old was the third quarterback selected in the draft behind Matthew Stafford and Mark Sanchez.

"I really have no expectations other than eventually being the starter. I don't know if it's going to be this year. I don't know if it's going to be next year, or when it's going to be," Freeman said in April. "All I'm going to do is come in and work as hard as I can and try to put myself in the best position to make this team better."

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press

Raptors Get Belinelli From Warriors

TORONTO (AP) -- The Toronto Raptors have added guard Marco Belinelli and center Rasho Nesterovic to the roster.

The team announced Thursday that it had acquired Belinelli from Golden State in exchange for forward Devean George and cash considerations. Free-agent Nesterovic signed a one-year, $2 million deal.

Belinelli was the 18th overall pick in 2007 and appeared in 42 games for the Warriors last season. The Italian averaged 8.9 points, 2.1 assists and 1.7 rebounds.

Nesterovic rejoins the Raptors after spending a season in Indiana. The 7-footer averaged 6.9 points and 4.6 rebounds while playing 151 games for Toronto from 2006 to 2008.

Reds Land Rolen At The Trade Deadline

CINCINNATI -- For the final days and hours before Friday's 4 p.m. ET non-waiver Trade Deadline, it was all quiet around the Reds. Or at least it seemed to be.

Just moments before the zero hour -- bam -- two deals were finalized.

The biggest move was the acquisition of third baseman Scott Rolen in a four-player trade that sent third baseman Edwin Encarnacion and pitchers Josh Roenicke and Zach Stewart to the Blue Jays.

Just before the deal, the Reds dealt utility infielder/outfielder Jerry Hairston Jr. to the Yankees in exchange for Minor League catcher Chase Weems, who was assigned to Class A Dayton.

"It seemed like things were quiet the last two days," said Reds general manager Walt Jocketty, who was Rolen's former boss when both were with the Cardinals. "They just picked up more today."

Rolen, 34, was batting .320 with eight home runs and 43 RBIs in 88 games with the Blue Jays. He is a five-time All-Star, a seven-time Gold Glove Award winner and appeared in two World Series with the Cardinals in 2004 and '06. The Jasper, Ind., native had to waive his no-trade clause before the deal could be finalized.

The Reds received an undisclosed sum of cash in the trade that will offset some of Rolen's salary. He was making $11 million this season and is due to make $11 million in 2010.

"Ownership was definitely on board with this one," said Jocketty, who added he hoped to retain Rolen when his contract is up after the 2010 season. "They felt it was very important to try and get the deal done. It's a big contract but we're getting some relief from it. It's still a big commitment from ownership to take this on. We feel it's the right thing to do. It's another indication that we're trying to go in the right direction with this organization."

Perhaps, but Jocketty paid a big price in giving up two young pitchers for Rolen. Roenicke, a reliever that had a 2.70 ERA over 11 games in the Majors, had been one of the prized prospects in the organization and the hardest thrower that often topped out at 98-99 mph. Stewart was a 2008 third-round Draft pick that had reached Triple-A Louisville recently. He was 4-1 this season with a 1.67 ERA in 23 games, including 14 starts at Class-A Sarasota, Double-A Carolina and Louisville.

"It was kind of the stumbling block. We finally gave in and decided to give up the pitching," Jocketty said. "There are a lot of things Scott will provide this club that we felt was lacking -- leadership on the field with position players. I had a lot of experience with him obviously in St. Louis. I think he brings a lot to our club."

In Encarnacion, the club gave up on a player that had first reached the Majors in 2005 and was long considered to be part of the future. However, the 26-year-old never seemed to fulfill the promise, offensively or defensively. While missing 58 games this season with a wrist fracture, he batted just .209 with five homers and 16 RBIs in 43 games.

Although he worked hard to improve in the field, Encarnacion was still prone to making errors with bad throws. A poor throw on a double play ball on Thursday vs. the Padres led to a four-run inning in a loss.

"Sometimes a change of scenery might be good for you," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "I think it's a great opportunity for Edwin. And we're just as happy to get Scott Rolen. A Gold Glove third baseman, an RBI producer, we're excited to see him play. It's going to help our team, out outlook, our attitude. I hate giving up Roenicke. But you have to give up something to get something."

The move was still an outside-the-box trade for the Reds, a team that entered Friday with a 45-56 record while being 9 1/2 games out of first place in the National League Central race.

The Reds made an effort to get younger this season and had Joey Votto, Jay Bruce and Brandon Phillips form the core of their lineup. The club lacked veterans in the clubhouse and it created a leadership void.

"He's a guy who's been there," Baker said. "A lot of guys haven't been there. He's been to a World Series. He's been on pennant contenders almost annually. He knows what it takes. You want those guys around. He'll not only be able to tell guys how it's done, but show them, too."

Hairston was batting .254 with eight home runs and 27 RBIs this season. He can play second base, shortstop, third base and all three outfield positions.

The 33-year-old Hairston revitalized his career with the Reds after he was signed to a Minor League contract before the 2008 season. He wound up batting a career-high .326 and was re-signed to a one-year, $ 2 million contract this past offseason.

"Anything can happen," Hairston said. "I'll never forget what they did for me in reviving my career. Guys like Walt Jocketty, Wayne Krivsky, Dusty Baker -- those guys gave me a chance and opportunity to get back into the game. I'll never forget Cincinnati and how they treated me and my family. I know they're begging for a winner here and this team has really been hit by injuries and it's a young team as well. I really believe that the Reds are definitely on the fast track."

Just because the Trade Deadline has come and gone, it doesn't mean the Reds are necessarily done dealing. Trades can still be made until Aug. 31, as long as the players clear waivers, which is a much harder process.

The club has players like starting pitchers Aaron Harang (owed $12.5 million in 2010) and Arroyo ($11 million in 2010) and closer Francisco Cordero ($25 million owed through 2011) that could be moved if the right deal is found.

"I don't know if there will be a lot done or not," Jocketty said.

Tigers Get Washburn From Mariners

CLEVELAND -- Detroit's dynamic pitching duo turned into an even tougher trio Friday, making the Tigers' postseason chances potentially three times as strong.

The Tigers built their post atop the American League Central behind the devastating pitching of Justin Verlander and Edwin Jackson. With a chance to bolster its playoff chances at Friday's non-waiver Trade Deadline, Detroit played to its strength and made it better, acquiring Jarrod Washburn from Seattle in exchange for fellow left-handers Luke French and Mauricio Robles.

The move gives the Tigers three of the seven lowest ERAs among American League starters for the stretch run, something no other team can claim. It also gives them the potential for a postseason rotation few teams can match.

"I think that's something that'll be fun to watch," Verlander said of the trio. "You never know what's going to happen, but it's fun to think about it."

It marks the third time in four years that the Tigers have pulled off a trade around the July 31 non-waiver Trade Deadline, but this is by far the biggest of those deals. While Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee dominated the headlines for most of the week, Washburn's July numbers arguably ranked him as the hottest pitcher who was available.

"Jarrod Washburn is pitching, I think, probably as well as anybody in the league right now," team president/general manager Dave Dombrowski said.

The 34-year-old Washburn will be eligible for free agency at the end of the year. However, his contribution to the Mariners made him worth the rental price for the Tigers. Washburn's 2.64 ERA ranked third-lowest in the American League to go with an 8-6 record, while allowing just 109 hits over 133 innings with 33 walks and 79 strikeouts.

Within those stats, however, is a July tear that raised appeal to a lot of teams on the market. Washburn has allowed just three runs on 20 hits in 36 2/3 innings over his past five starts, all of them Mariners victories.

If the Tigers needed any more evidence how much of an impact Washburn can make, they saw it when he baffled the Tigers on July 23 at Comerica Park. Washburn pitched seven scoreless innings against Detroit that day, allowing just two hits in his fourth consecutive victory, before he allowed a run and scattered five hits in seven innings against the Blue Jays in his most recent start on Tuesday.

Washburn helped Seattle creep into the thick of the AL West race until it fell back over the past week, turning the Mariners into sellers. His arrival in Detroit not only bolsters the Tigers' chances to break out of the three-team scrum in the AL Central, but also helps them shape up as a competitive foe in a postseason series.

Washburn will make his Tigers debut Tuesday against the Orioles, in between Verlander and Jackson.

"It is sad to be leaving," Washburn told reporters in Texas, where the Mariners face the Rangers this weekend. "But at the same time, I'm very happy and excited to be going to a team that's in first place. I am happy to be joining them, try to help them get to the playoffs and hopefully win another ring."

The Mariners were reported to have interest in signing Washburn to a contract extension. Washburn is represented by agent Scott Boras, who's known for preferring that his clients enter free agency rather than re-sign. Given that, this very much reflects a short-term deal for the Tigers, but one they were willing to make given the situation.

"I don't know what will happen beyond this year," Dombrowski said. "I do know who his representative is, so I know it's not going to be something that we [have] conversations in the middle of the season. We'll see what happens beyond this year, but we're trying to win."

The 23-year-old French cracked the Tigers' rotation last month following steady success at Triple-A Toledo. He went 1-2 with a 3.38 ERA in five starts and two relief appearances for the Tigers, but lasted six innings in only one of his five starts. He quickly ascended the Tigers' development ladder after being selected in the eighth round of the 2004 First-Year Player Draft.

"He really has come on tremendously," Dombrowski said, "and I told him I tip my cap to him, because he continued to get better and better. He's really pitched well. But it just came to the point that we needed more experience in our rotation."

Robles, who turned 20 years old in March, has split this season between Class A West Michigan and Lakeland, going 8-6 with a 4.24 ERA and 111 strikeouts over 91 1/3 innings. He allowed just 79 hits in that span.

He wasn't among the Tigers' top 10 prospects at the start of the year, but he had made enough of an impression to earn notice. He was the prospect the Mariners targeted when trade talks picked up a week ago, Dombrowski said.

"He has an above-average arm," Dombrowski said. "He's striking out more than one per inning, so he's got a real good arm. His secondary stuff still needs to be developed, and that's why he's in A-ball. But at times, he shows you a very good breaking ball, but it's still inconsistent."

This is the third time in four years that the Tigers have pulled off a deal within 48 hours of the Deadline. Detroit swapped Ivan Rodriguez for Kyle Farnsworth last year, and acquired Sean Casey at the 2006 Deadline in exchange for Minor League pitcher Brian Rogers.

Casey helped the Tigers to the World Series after speculation that year centered on Alfonso Soriano. The Tigers are hoping Washburn can help them get back.

"Pitching and defense, that's what wins baseball games, especially in the postseason," Verlander said.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs

Odom Stays With Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers have at last reached terms on a new contract with sixth man Lamar Odom, after a month of frosty negotiations that might have troubled the team and its fans more than just about anything they saw during last season's playoff drive to the championship.

Odom

"I always wanted to come back because we won the championship," Odom told ESPN's Shelley Smith. "I'm playing for the biggest brand in the world. And I'm playing with the most fluid, talented center in the world in Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum's coming back and of course Kobe Bryant.

"But to now get an opportunity to play with Ron Artest, a guy I've known 16 years, it means a lot. I told Ron Ron a few weeks ago I couldn't walk away. I still had to fight. Every time negotiations didn't go the way I thought, I just took a step back, like them pulling the offer off the table, I just knew I had to fight."

Sources with knowledge of the talks told ESPN.com that Odom and the Lakers on Thursday agreed to a four-year deal worth up to $33 million if the Lakers exercise their option on the fourth season.

One source close to the process said that Odom will come away with a guaranteed $27 million from the new contract, matching the original value of the three-year, $27 million deal Lakers owner Jerry Buss pulled off the table earlier this month.

It's believed that the structure of the new contract calls for Odom to earn $25 million over the first three seasons, with the Lakers owing him a buyout of $2 million in the fourth year if they elect not to pick up their team option.

Team sources indicated that a sense of relief poured through the organization after word of the agreement spread, with Odom known to be giving serious consideration to leaving the team he helped last month to the 15th title in franchise history for a reunion with Pat Riley and Dwyane Wade with the Miami Heat.

Wade had been publicly lobbying for Odom to come "back home" for weeks. Limited in what it could offer as a team well over the salary cap, Miami was nonetheless prepared to give him a five-year deal worth $34 million with an option to return to free agency after four seasons or a four-year deal with a provision to go back on the open market after three years to try to negotiate a richer deal.

Via his Twitter account, Wade wrote Thursday night: "Happy for LO either way. [That's] family forever."

Talks between the Lakers and Odom broke down in mid-July when Buss, after an agreement had been reached with Odom's camp on an annual salary of $9 million per season, rescinded the offer when he learned that Odom was also talking with the Heat and the Dallas Mavericks.

The lack of state income tax in Florida, which helped narrow the gap between the Lakers' original offer and Miami's best offer, as well as the close relationship fostered between Odom and Wade during their one season together with the Heat in 2003-04, appeared to create a real threat of Miami stealing Odom away. The length of time the saga dragged out, though, seemed to increase the odds that Odom would return, even after sources said Buss began this week offering only $25 million over three years.

One source close to Odom told ESPN that the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday joined the bidding with a potential five-year, $40 million offer. Yet lodging such a bid also would have required Portland to trade a player -- likely Travis Outlaw -- to a team with salary-cap space like Oklahoma City, thereby creating the cap space to make such an offer after the Blazers' recent signing of free-agent guard Andre Miller.

"It's not true," Odom's agent, Jeff Schwartz, said Thursday night. "I've had no discussions this week with the Blazers about Lamar."

Odom's signing was the most significant free-agent move left to play out this summer and restores a pivotal piece to the title-winning team which also now features Odom's boyhood friend Artest. Although he initially chafed at his move to the bench last fall, Odom ultimately flourished as a sixth man last season. In spite of a back injury suffered in the second round against Houston, Odom averaged 12.3 points, 9.1 rebounds and 32 minutes per game during the playoffs, when he frequently wound up teaming with Gasol in the Lakers' frontcourt with Bynum either struggling or plagued by foul trouble.

With the Odom uncertainty lifted, L.A. will have its top five scorers and top four rebounders from the 2009 championship roster to begin its title defense. The only significant loss is swingman Trevor Ariza, who left to sign a contract with the Houston Rockets after the Lakers signed Artest.

The Lakers went into the offseason hoping to convince Bryant to sign a contract extension after resolving the futures of Ariza and Odom, with Bryant possessing the option again next June of joining the free-agent class of 2010 if he chooses. Bryant could elect to hold off and retain the right to become a 2010 free agent to maintain some leverage with Lakers management. With Lakers coach Phil Jackson entering the final season of his contract, Bryant would undoubtedly want some input on a coaching successor if next season is indeed Jackson's last.

It remains to be seen whether Miami, meanwhile, will try to rebound from its Odom disappointment by ramping up efforts to trade for Utah Jazz power forward Carlos Boozer. ESPN.com also reported earlier Thursday that Riley will have a face-to-face meeting with former Indiana Pacers guard Jamaal Tinsley this weekend.

In 10 NBA seasons, Odom has averaged 15.1 points and 8.8 rebounds. He made $14.1 million last season to complete the six-year, $63 million contract he received from Miami in the summer of 2003.

Replacing Ariza with the more physical Artest this offseason had given the Lakers someone more capable of absorbing some of Odom's minutes and responsibilities. But Odom's exit undoubtedly would have been celebrated by other playoff contenders in the West, since it's the luxury of having three long-limbed big men to surround Bryant -- Odom, Gasol and Bynum -- that makes L.A. so fearsome. Odom also ranks as one of Artest's closest friends in the game, so his continued presence would theoretically help Jackson and Bryant manage the mercurial Artest.

"He makes us a much, much stronger team," Bryant said of Odom last during a promotional tour of Asia last week.

J.A. Adande and Marc Stein are senior NBA writers for ESPN.com. ESPN's Shelley Smith contributed to this report.

Red Sox Make Deal For Victor Martinez,Trade LaRoche To Braves

CLEVELAND -- The Boston Red Sox got the big bat they were looking for, acquiring All-Star slugger Victor Martinez from the Cleveland Indians on Friday.

The rebuilding Indians received right-hander Justin Masterson and minor league pitchers Nick Hagadone and Bryan Price. The trade came shortly before the 4 p.m. ET deadline to complete deals without waivers.

Prior to officially acquiring Martinez, Boston spun off first baseman Adam LaRoche and cash in a trade with his former team, the Braves. LaRoche, who was acquired from Pittsburgh for prospects on July 22, returns to Atlanta in exchange for first baseman Casey Kotchman.

The 30-year-old Martinez has split his time at catcher and first base this season. The switch-hitter is batting .284 with 15 home runs and 67 RBIs.

Martinez, who had spent his whole career with Cleveland, fought back tears after being told he'd been traded. He sat in front of his locker, hugging son Victor Jr. -- earlier in the day, the young boy asked his dad, "Are we still an Indian?"

"It's tough," Martinez said. "This is my house. This is my home."

Martinez leaves Cleveland a day before the Indians were to hold Victor Martinez Bobblehead Night at Progressive Field in their game against Detroit.

He'll move right into a pennant race with Kotchman, joining a Red Sox team that is second in the AL East behind the New York Yankees, but leads the wild-card chase.

Kotchman was traded almost exactly one year after he was acquired by the Braves from the Los Angeles Angels for Mark Teixeira.

"You've been traded already so you're a little more used to it," Kotchman said. "I'm a little surprised but not overwhelmingly surprised."

Kotchman is hitting .282 with six homers and 41 RBIs and hasn't committed an error in his two seasons with the Braves.

"It's been a privilege to play for Bobby Cox and his staff," Kotchman said.

Martinez's deal was the second major trade in three days for the disappointing Indians, who sent Cy Young winner Cliff Lee to the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday for four prospects.

Cleveland, which began the weekend 12 games out of first in the AL Central, has slashed nearly $25 million in payroll by trading Lee, Martinez, third baseman Mark DeRosa, reliever Rafael Betancourt and first baseman Ryan Garko.

"When you don't perform or have good results, things are going to happen like this," Indians center fielder Grady Sizemore said. "It's start from scratch now."

Martinez will likely share catching duties in Boston with Jason Varitek and can fill in at first base and designated hitter.

The Red Sox did not give up Clay Buchholz, one of their top pitching prospects, for Martinez. But they did part with three quality arms in order to bolster their lineup.

The versatile Masterson was Boston's second-round pick in 2006. He went 3-3 with a 4.50 ERA in 31 appearances, including six starts for the Red Sox this season. The 6-foot-6 righty was a key part of the Red Sox's run to the playoffs a year ago, going 6-5 with a 3.16 ERA in 36 games after being called up from the minors.

The 23-year-old Hagadone, a 6-foot-5 lefty, has pitched sparingly since being drafted No. 55 overall by the Red Sox in 2007. He missed much of the 2008 season after having Tommy John surgery and has worked only 25 innings this year, going 0-2 with a 2.52 ERA at Class A Greenville.

Price was drafted 45th overall in 2008. The 22-year-old righty has struggled in his first two years of pro ball, going just 5-11 with a 4.42 ERA in 31 outings.

This marked the second straight year the Red Sox made a splash at the July 31 trade deadline. Last season, they dealt away Manny Ramirez and got Jason Bay.

In 2004, the Red Sox also made a last-minute deal, trading away popular Nomar Garciaparra and acquiring Orlando Cabrera to play shortstop. Boston went on to win the World Series that year.

The Red Sox held a three-game lead in the AL East at the All-Star break, but a five-game losing streak on the ensuing road trip dropped them into second place behind the rival Yankees.

Boston has won only four of its past 12 games, has a losing record on the road and five of its starting nine are batting .250 or below.

Boston general manager Theo Epstein has already been active this month: He traded for LaRoche, sent shortstop Julio Lugo to St. Louis for minor leaguer Chris Duncan, and got outfielder Brian Anderson from the Chicago White Sox for infielder Mark Kotsay.

But a bigger deal, for Toronto ace Roy Halladay, fell apart when Boston refused to part with both Buchholz and reliever Daniel Bard.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report

White Sox Get Peavy From Padres

CHICAGO -- Jake Peavy finally agreed to pitch for the White Sox.

The San Diego Padres traded their ace to Chicago on Friday, barely beating the deadline to make deals without waivers.

The Padres got four young pitchers for the 2007 NL Cy Young Award winner -- Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Dexter Carter and Adam Russell.

In May, the Padres and White Sox agreed to a deal for Peavy, but he turned it down. This time, Peavy agreed to waive his no-trade clause and join the AL Central contenders.

"The ultimate decision was when the team you're playing for actively keeps telling you they need to move you, and one team comes after you like Chicago did, you're excited to play for a team where you know you're wanted," Peavy said during a news conference in San Diego.

"In May, we didn't think it was the right time, but now things are a little bit different on a lot of fronts. ... I think the only reason this deal was able to get done is because they did pursue it actively in May. In May, we had just won five or six games in a row and had creeped above .500, and Chicago wasn't really in the shape that they're in now."

The White Sox began play Friday in third place in the AL Central, 2½ games behind first-place Detroit.

White Sox general manager Ken Williams was not discouraged by the initial rejection from Peavy.

"He never said no, he just said 'not yet,' " Williams said.

"So those words 'not yet' for me meant just that. ... If you are patient in your pursuit, then sometimes you can ultimately get what you want," he said. "When we called back this time, he was better prepared -- he and his family were better prepared for what lies ahead. We were all able to make it work."

The 28-year-old Peavy is 6-6 with a 3.97 ERA in 13 starts with the Padres this season but has been on the disabled list since June 13 with a strained tendon in his right ankle. Williams said the White Sox don't expect Peavy to pitch until the end of August and he could go on a rehab assignment in the middle of the month.

"We're going to still be conservative with our approach. In our division this thing is going to go down to winning games in September," Williams said. "We want to be as strong as we possibly can in September. That's what we're focused on."

Peavy agreed, saying said he should be ready by the end of August.

Over eight major league seasons with the Padres, Peavy is 92-68 with a 3.29 ERA and 1,348 strikeouts in 212 starts. He was a unanimous selection for the Cy Young Award in 2007 when he went 19-6 with a 2.54 ERA and 240 strikeouts in 34 starts.

He will give the White Sox a top starter along with lefty Mark Buehrle, who pitched a perfect game in July. When he is healthy, Peavy will join a rotation that includes Gavin Floyd, John Danks and Jose Contreras.

Until then the White Sox will have to mix and match to find a fifth starter with Bartolo Colon injured and Richard off to San Diego.

Williams said he called Padres general manager Kevin Towers on Friday morning and got talks rekindled. Peavy's agent, Barry Axelrod, went to Peavy's house and Williams said the deal was completed mere seconds before the 3 p.m. CDT deadline.

Williams said he'd been interested in Peavy since the trade deadline a year ago and then was close to landing him in May. This time he worked on the trade with few people even knowing about it.

"I was shocked," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "We got better and now we got one guy we wanted for a long time."

Williams said he had a good talk with Peavy when the White Sox first tried to acquire him. He was convinced that Peavy's real reason for blocking the trade was that he wasn't ready.

"At the time the Padres were in just as good a position as we were [and] to have it sprung on him without all the information," Williams said. "I got it. I understood. It was a little disheartening to hear some of the insinuations about him not wanting to pitch in the American League or pitch in our ballpark. I got none of that when I spoke to him. It was simply about him being surprised."

Now Peavy, whose future has been the subject of much speculation since the offseason, is ready to move on. He is making $11 million this year.

He will have a salary of $15 million in 2010, $16 million in 2011 and $17 million in 2012. His initial contract included a $22 million club option for 2013 with a $4 million buyout.

"I certainly knew this day was going to come, whether it be now like it's happening or in the offseason. Now it's here, and I'll go to Chicago and I won't look back," Peavy said.

Richard, who pitched well in his past two starts, was the scheduled starter Friday night against the Yankees before the trade was announced.

The 25-year-old lefty was 4-3 with a 4.65 ERA in 26 games, including 14 starts, with the White Sox this season.

"Pretty surprised," Richard said, sitting in the dugout after the trade was announced.

"Because I really just thought he didn't want to come over here. He turned it down and it was put to rest. Then, out of nowhere, it happens again. But I'm excited to go over there. We'll see how it goes."

Poreda, 22, went 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 10 relief appearances with the White Sox before being optioned back to the minors on July 21. The 6-foot-5 lefty was a first-round pick by Chicago in 2007.

Russell was 4-0 with a 5.19 ERA in 22 relief appearances for the White Sox last season and has spent this year at Triple-A Charlotte. Carter is 6-2 with a 3.13 ERA at Class-A Kannapolis.

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press

Bucks Sign 1st Round Pick Jennings

MILWAUKEE -- The Milwaukee Bucks signed first-round draft pick Brandon Jennings to a two-year contract worth almost $4.5 million on Tuesday.

Jennings was picked 10th overall in June and signed the rookie-scale deal that includes team options for 2011-12 and 2012-13.

The slot for the 10th pick pays at least $3.75 million over two years, but teams can sign players for slightly than the scale. Jennings will make a just over $2.16 million this season and $2.33 million in 2010-11.

"I'm excited to sign my contract and make my NBA career official," Jennings said. "I look forward to working with Coach [Scott] Skiles and learning everything I can from him, as well as my teammates. I can't wait to get the season started and contribute to the success of our team."

Jennings, 19, is expected to be the point guard of the future for the Bucks and general manager John Hammond has repeatedly praised Jennings' unselfishness. Milwaukee's other top point guards include Ramon Sessions, who is a restricted free agent and has a qualifying offer from the Bucks, and Luke Ridnour, who has one year left on his contract.

Playing in the summer league in Las Vegas, Jennings led all players in assists (8.2) and steals (3.6) while scoring 14.6 points in the five games.

He chose to play in Italy last season instead of going to college after being the 2008 Naismith Player of the Year as a senior at Oak Hill Academy in Virginia. He had committed to play at Arizona, but elected to turn pro and joined Lottomatica Virtus Roma of the Italian League, averaging 5.5 points and 1.6 rebounds in 27 games last season.

Jennings learned one lesson shortly after he was drafted when he drew unwanted attention for a profanity-laced and provocative telephone conversation on YouTube that incorrectly discussed his new team's personnel moves.

He said he didn't know he was being recorded and shouldn't have been talking about team business that he didn't know anything about.

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press

Chandler Swapped For Okafor

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Hornets have officially found a taker for Tyson Chandler in the Charlotte Bobcats, trading for fellow center Emeka Okafor and signaling an unexpected shift in thinking that suggests New Orleans does plan to try to keep up with the contenders and spenders in the Western Conference.

Chandler

Okafor

Charlotte coach Larry Brown was willing to jettison the Bobcats' first draft pick in a deal involving 26-year-old centers, a trade that brought different financial relief to both teams and hopes they'll thrive under different big men.

The Hornets have been trying to unload the 7-foot-1 Chandler for several months. Last season they sent him to Oklahoma City, but the trade was rescinded after Chandler failed a physical amid concerns over a lingering toe injury.

Brown was willing to gamble on the injury-prone big man. It comes at the expense of Okafor, who at 6-foot-10 is smaller than Chandler and had trouble guarding the NBA's top big men.

"We're getting a young kid who is long and athletic and can play multiple positions and fills a need that we obviously have," Brown said.

But the Hornets were intrigued by Okafor's superior rebounding and durability, giving New Orleans a reliable big man with a longer contract as they try to recover from last season's first-round playoff exit. The deal was consummated just days after star guard Chris Paul wondered aloud about the Hornets' relative inactivity this offseason at the NBA's annual summer league in Las Vegas.

"We looked at this trade as an opportunity to improve our team," Bobcats general manager Rod Higgins said. "Tyson brings that unique level of athleticism in a 7-footer that puts us in a position to compete night in and night out with the other quality centers in the league."

"Emeka is one of the premier centers in the NBA with All-Star caliber scoring and rebounding averages throughout his career," Hornets general manager Jeff Bower said. "His potential to improve is endless once you put him on the court running with Chris Paul."

Paul and Chandler comprised a constant alley-oop threat when Chandler was healthy, and the two were close off the court.

"I'm losing a great friend, a brother. T.C. is my man. ... I'm going to miss him," said Paul, who was attending a basketball camp in New Orleans.

"It's going to take some time to see how this works out," Paul continued. "I want Emeka to come in here and be the best player he's ever been. From today on out, that's my teammate. ... Hopefully we can eventually have the same relationship that me and Tyson had."

The deal is the fourth trade Charlotte has made since managing partner Michael Jordan hired Brown before last season. Brown, in his record ninth NBA head-coaching job, has continued his history of numerous trades to mold the team into his defensive-minded liking.

Now it includes sending the centerpiece of Charlotte's new franchise to the city's old team.

Two years after the Hornets left Charlotte for New Orleans, the expansion Bobcats took Okafor with the No. 2 pick in the 2004 draft -- after Orlando grabbed Dwight Howard.

Okafor, who won a national championship at Connecticut, had injury problems early in his career. But he has played all 82 games in each of the past two seasons while providing Charlotte with solid, if unspectacular, play.

Okafor averaged 13.2 points and 10.1 rebounds last season, but his style didn't mesh with Brown. The coach questioned his basketball fire at the end of last season.

"I wanted him to have a passion and work on his game," Brown said Tuesday. "I think he made unbelievable progress in that regard. When we had an exit meeting this past season he told me he was going to do that, he was going to work on his game. ... This was a basketball decision. It had nothing to do with Emeka."

Chandler gives the Bobcats a center who can better defend big players. But Chandler is coming off surgery, and despite their identical ages, Chandler has played four more seasons than Okafor because he came to the NBA directly from high school in 2001.

"We appreciate what Tyson has done for our club in the past and wish him the best, but our intention this summer was to improve our team and this trade is definitely a positive move in that direction," Bower said.

Chandler averaged 8.8 points and 8.7 rebounds in only 45 games last season. He then underwent procedures on his left ankle and toe in May after being ineffective in the first-round series loss to Denver.

Provided there are no complications with Chandler's physical in Charlotte, his arrival and Okafor's exit will leave swingman Gerald Wallace as the only holdover from the Bobcats' original roster in 2004-05. Okafor stands to be the fourth of Charlotte's seven lottery picks to leave town, joining Sean May (waived), Adam Morrison (traded last season to the Los Angeles Lakers) and Brandan Wright (traded to Golden State on draft day in 2007).

The Bobcats were willing to take a chance that Chandler will be fully recovered by the start of next season and pulled the trigger on the deal that brought financial relief to both sides.

For the Hornets, it immediately lowers their payroll and would reduce luxury tax payments. Okafor is scheduled to make $10.5 million next season and Chandler $11.8 million. The Hornets entered the week with a payroll of about $78 million, triggering a dollar-for-dollar tax over the NBA's luxury tax threshold of $69.9 million.

But the Bobcats unload a much longer long-term commitment. Okafor still has five years left on a six-year, $72 million deal he signed last year. Chandler would make $12.7 million in a player option in 2010-11, the final season of his deal.

Bobcats owner Bob Johnson, who is looking to sell the team after losing millions of dollars, has ordered management not to reach the luxury tax threshold. Getting Okafor's big contract off the books will help achieve that goal in future seasons.

"Emeka is a great kid, but we all felt that with the way Tyson plays, with his quickness and his ability to handle the ball and his length, that was something that was very important to us," Brown said. "That was the overriding factor."

Information from The Associated Press and ESPN.com senior NBA writer Marc Stein was used in this report.

Pirates Trade Infielder Sanchez To Giants

by Jerry Crasnick
ESPN.com

The San Francisco Giants, taking another step to upgrade the National League's 15th-ranked offense, acquired three-time All-Star Freddy Sanchez from Pittsburgh on Wednesday for pitching prospect Tim Alderson.

Sanchez, 31, won the National League batting title in 2006. He's hitting .296 this year and ranks fifth in the major leagues in doubles. He helps upgrade a San Francisco offense that ranks 15th in the National League in runs scored.

Freddy Sanchez

#12 2B
Pittsburgh Pirates

2009 STATS

• GM86
• HR6
• RBI34
• R45
• OBP.334
• AVG.296

The teams announced the trade right after the Giants beat Pittsburgh 1-0 in 10 innings. Sanchez had to change clubhouses to join his new team, which is in the thick of the NL wild-card race.

He gave his hugs and handshakes and bid farewell on the visitor's side, then walked to San Francisco's locker room to pull on his new No. 28 jersey and a black Giants cap before being introduced.

"It's crazy," said Sanchez, who's unsure when he'll make his Giants debut because of a knee injury. "I'd be lying if I didn't say it's a little crazy, a little hectic. I'm here for a reason."

The Giants, 54-46 and tied with Colorado for first in the NL wild-card race, have remade the right side of their infield leading up to Friday's trade deadline. They acquired first baseman Ryan Garko in a trade with Cleveland on Monday, and will now plug in Sanchez at second base.

"Simply put, our long-awaited next move has finally been consummated," Giants general manager Brian Sabean said. "A kid that has distinguished himself as an All-Star three out of the last four years and a batting champ within that time frame. The timing's great."

The Giants paid a big price for Sanchez in surrendering Alderson, who was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 4 prospect in the San Francisco organization entering this season. Alderson, 20, is 6-foot-6 and 217 pounds. He has a 7-2 record and a 3.65 ERA in two minor league stops this season.

The Giants selected Alderson with the 22nd overall pick in Major League Baseball's first-year player draft two years ago and gave him a $1.29 million signing bonus.

"We are pleased to bring in a pitcher as highly regarded as Alderson into our system," Pirates GM Neal Huntington said. "Tim has the size, frame, athleticism and an advanced feel for pitching at his age to become a high quality Major League starting pitcher. He has a solid arsenal of pitches with plus command that has allowed him to move through the Giants' deep system at an accelerated pace."

Sabean went ahead with the deal after the team's medical staff checked out Sanchez's tender left knee Wednesday for the second time this week. Dr. Ken Akizuki found noticeable improvement in the knee since a previous exam Monday and categorized Sanchez as day to day.

"It's tough coming to a new team not knowing if you can play or not," Sanchez said. "That's the last thing you want to do is come to a new team and be in the trainer's room. I want to get there as soon as I can but I also want to be smart about it."

Sanchez was out of the lineup and replaced at second base by Delwyn Young in the Pirates' 1-0, 10-inning loss to San Francisco on Wednesday afternoon.

Huntington has already traded away Nate McLouth, Nyjer Morgan and Adam LaRoche this season, and the Pirates sent pitcher Ian Snell and shortstop Jack Wilson to Seattle in a seven-player trade Wednesday.

Sanchez has an $8 million option that vests if he accrues 600 plate appearances this season, and the Pirates moved him after determining that price was beyond their comfort zone. The Pirates recently proposed voiding the option and signing Sanchez to a two-year, $10 million option.

Sanchez and his representatives rejected the proposal and made a counteroffer for a deal that would pay him $6.5 million next year, $6.5 million in 2011 and $7 million in 2012, but the Pirates rejected that offer.

The Minnesota Twins, whose second-base contingent ranks last in the major leagues with a feeble .505 OPS, were also reportedly interested in Sanchez.

Phllies Trade For Pitcher Lee

The Cleveland Indians traded Cliff Lee and outfielder Ben Francisco to the Philadelphia Phillies for four minor leaguers on Wednesday.

Triple-A right-hander Carlos Carrasco, Class A righty Jason Knapp, catcher Lou Marson -- the likely heir apparent to Victor Martinez -- and shortstop Jason Donald were sent to Cleveland.

"At the root of this deal was balancing the conviction of our ability to compete in 2010 with the opportunity to impact the team's construction for years to come," Indians general manager Mark Shapiro said in a statement. "Without the sense of confidence in the team's ultimate competitiveness, we acted aggressively to add players that will impact the organization in 2010 and beyond."

The Phillies weren't required to give up pitcher J.A. Happ or the three prospects they balked at trading for Roy Halladay -- outfielders Dominic Brown and Michael Taylor and pitcher Kyle Drabek.

Asked in Seattle whether he felt the Blue Jays dodged a bullet by the Phillies acquiring Lee instead of Halladay, Toronto manager Cito Gaston noted that some of Philadelphia's top prospects were still available and said with a chuckle, "Yeah, I guess. Who knows? They may come back and get [Halladay], too. That'd be a pretty good staff there, wouldn't it?"

Lee, the 2008 AL Cy Young winner who turns 31 next month, is having another solid season for the Indians, posting a 3.14 ERA while walking just 33 in 152 innings. He will make $8 million in 2010 and then be eligible for free agency.

Lee, who was a guest on ESPN950 in Philadelphia on Wednesday morning, was asked if he definitely plans to test free agency.

"That's where every player wants to be, so honestly, the closer I get to that point, the more likelihood I'm going to be testing free agency," he said. "But I still have a year and two months 'til then, so we'll see."

Lee would be the sixth Cy Young winner to be traded in the offseason or during the season following his Cy Young win. Last season, 2007 AL Cy Young winner CC Sabathia was traded by the Indians to the Milwaukee Brewers.

Lee gives the Phillies another top starter to join Cole Hamels. Hamels, who was MVP of the World Series and NLCS last fall, has been inconsistent this season. He's 7-5 with a 4.42 ERA, though he pitched well in a Tuesday night victory over the Diamondbacks.

The Phillies have a comfortable lead in the division -- seven games ahead of second-place Florida going into Wednesday's games. They've sought pitching help since No. 2 starter Brett Myers had hip surgery in June. Forty-six-year-old Jamie Moyer leads the staff with 10 wins, but he has a 5.32 ERA.

"Obviously the Phillies are the defending world champions, they're a good team and they're in first place," Lee, sitting in the Indians' clubhouse in Anaheim, Calif., said hours before the deal reached fruition. "Honestly, it's an honor and I look at it as a good thing. If other teams are wanting me and are willing to trade some of their key players and future players for me, it's a compliment."

Francisco is batting .250 with 10 homers and 33 RBIs. He upgrades Philadelphia's bench, which has lacked a solid, right-handed hitter.

FSU Sues NCAA Forcing Documents To Be Released

By Heather Dinich
ESPN.com

Florida State is taking legal action to force the NCAA to make the Committee on Infractions' most recent correspondence with the university public, the school announced Friday.

Florida State is appealing the NCAA's ruling forcing the Seminoles to vacate as many as 14 wins because of a highly publicized cheating scandal. Vacating the victories could cost Bobby Bowden the title of college football's winningest coach.

Earlier this month, the NCAA's Committee on Infractions responded to FSU's appeal, but the June 2 document was in a read-only format and unavailable to the public. FSU officials say the format prohibits downloading or printing. That has made it technically impossible for Florida State to provide the document to the public in compliance with Florida law.

Several news media organizations have sued both the NCAA and FSU to compel the release of public records associated with the university's appeal. On June 17, FSU officials released a typed transcript of the document with the student names redacted, but several media outlets are still seeking the original document. FSU officials would have had to make the same redactions on the original document because of student privacy laws.

Friday, the university filed a "cross-claim" in Leon County (Fla.) Circuit Court, essentially against the NCAA. The university also seeks compensation from the NCAA for legal fees and other costs it has incurred because of the NCAA's refusal to release the documents in question.

"The university has consistently complied with the Public Records Act to the degree that it is able to do so," Betty Steffens, the university's general counsel said in a prepared statement. "We do not have custody or control of the documents in question."

The case is pending in Leon County Circuit Court and is set for a hearing on Aug. 5-6.

This is an entirely separate case from Florida State's initial appeal, which is ongoing. The NCAA's Infractions Appeals Committee will have a hearing most likely in Indianapolis, but FSU officials haven't received a date. It will give them a chance to plead their case in person with a decision rendered afterward.

Heather Dinich is a college football reporter for ESPN.com.

Vols' Kiffin Not Apologizing At SEC Media Days

Associated Press

HOOVER, Ala. -- Lane Kiffin has made no secret that he wanted to make a splash at Tennessee, drawing recruits and attention to the program.

And the brash 34-year-old coach wasn't apologizing Friday for his tactics -- even if it meant rankling some other teams' coaches and fans.

"We had to put Tennessee in the national media," Kiffin said at Southeastern Conference media days. "Do I love every single thing I've done for my seven months? No, I haven't loved having to do it. But it needed to be done, in my opinion, for us to get to where we needed to be."

The hiring of Kiffin and Auburn's Gene Chizik met with some skepticism. Both have resumes that included dismal records in limited head coaching experience at tough jobs, along with impressive track records as assistants.

Kiffin, a former Southern California assistant, was 5-15 with the NFL's Oakland Raiders. Chizik sports a 5-19 mark after two seasons at Iowa State but was part of an unbeaten season as Auburn's defensive coordinator and then a national championship at Texas.

Neither seems to let the doubters faze them.

"We don't really pay any attention to all of the external issues out there," Chizik said of the Tigers. "We put enough pressure on ourselves to be great."

Chizik hasn't created nearly the publicity ripple that Kiffin has stirred up in the months since their hirings.

Kiffin has piled it on with comments that included accusing Florida's Urban Meyer of cheating after national signing day. The verbal exchanges between coaches was a hot topic in the SEC's spring meetings, where Kiffin said "Urban was very nice to me."

Kiffin's comments have been much more warmly received among his players, safety Eric Berry said.

"Just seeing somebody having that type of faith in us after a 5-7 season, who wouldn't want to play for him?" Berry said. "Who wouldn't want to put themselves on the line for him? That's what we're doing right now in this offseason. That's what we're going to do in the season."

Negative comments are bringing negative recruiting against the Volunteers, too, as evidenced when a recruit's worried mom sat on his office couch earlier this week.

"She said to me, 'Well, we really like everything about Tennessee, but another coach told us, 'Why would you ever go to Tennessee? It's a renegade program. They're going to become the next Miami, what Miami used to be,'" Kiffin said. He pointed to the team's grade-point average to demonstrate that the Vols aren't renegades.

South Carolina's Steve Spurrier might have been supplanted by Kiffin as the league's most outspoken coach, a reputation that dates back to his days at Florida. That included dubbing Florida State "Free Shoes University" and saying you can't spell Citrus without UT, referring to Tennessee's stints at the Citrus Bowl.

"It's something I'm often asked, 'Do you wish you hadn't said this years ago?" Spurrier said. "Probably looking back I was a little arrogant and probably said too many things. But when you're winning a lot and winning sort of big, you naturally do that."

However, sometimes there's virtue in keeping your mouth shut.

"I think we all try to let our teams do the talking for you as a coach," Spurrier said. "That's the best way to do it."

Chizik drew plenty of publicity in Alabama when his assistant coaches piled into a limo for a "Tiger Prowl" recruiting tour en masse to selected high schools across the state.

The low-key Chizik doesn't exactly court attention or crave it for himself.

"I've got three children and my wife. I get plenty of attention when I go home," he said. "What gets you attention is when you win. It's that simple. I don't have to go out and try to gather attention for myself. This isn't about me. It is about Auburn.

"I don't care to draw a lot of attention to myself. It's who I am."

One thing neither Kiffin nor Chizik are having to combat this summer is high outside expectations. Auburn was picked to finish fifth in the SEC West by league media while Tennessee was projected at No. 4 in the Eastern Division.

"Everybody's got an opinion," Chizik said. "Everybody's entitled to their opinion. But the last time I checked I don't think the rankings at the end of the year had anything to do with the rankings at the beginning."

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press

LeBron James Admits To Drug Use In High School

Associated Press

CLEVELAND -- LeBron James struggled with sudden fame after appearing on Sports Illustrated's cover as a 17-year-old and admits he smoked marijuana during his junior year in high school.

Those are two of the revelations in a book chronicling James' rise from Akron, Ohio, hoops prodigy to NBA superstar.

“

I was arrogant, dubbing myself 'The Chosen One.' ... In hindsight, I should have kept quiet, but I also was what I was, a teenager where every reporter in the world seemed to be rushing toward me at once.

” -- LeBron James

In "Shooting Stars," written by James and co-author Buzz Bissinger, James said the SI cover and the media attention he and his high school teammates received was difficult to handle.

"We had become big-headed jerks, me in particular," James said, "and we are to blame for that, but so are adults who treated us that way and then sat back and smugly watched the self-destruction."

In the book, scheduled for release in September, the NBA's reigning MVP recounts the media circus that enveloped his final two years at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School following his SI cover appearance. James said he and close friends Dru Joyce, Sian Cotton, Romeo Travis and Willie McGee -- nicknamed the Fab Five -- became "rock stars" and took advantage of their celebrity.

"I was arrogant, dubbing myself "The Chosen One," James said. "In hindsight, I should have kept quiet, but I also was what I was, a teenager where every reporter in the world seemed to be rushing toward me at once."

James also revealed he and his teammates smoked marijuana one night after getting access to a hotel room in Akron.

James feels he was unfairly targeted by the media, which he described as "excited spectators at a car crash" after it was learned that his mother, Gloria, obtained a loan to buy him a $50,000 Hummer for his birthday. He said the scrutiny was humiliating for his mother, who was living with him in a rental-assistance apartment.

"Was the vehicle excessive, with its bank of three televisions? Maybe. Probably. Of course it was," James said. "So were the BMWs parked in the St. V lot, belonging to fellow students. But nobody ever questioned those."

James also recounts being suspended by the Ohio High School Athletic Association for accepting two throwback jerseys as gifts from a Cleveland area clothing store. He describes the OHSAA as "ravenous" and is highly critical of former commissioner Clair Muscaro.

James said Muscaro, whose suspension of him was later reduced in court, wanted to put James and his school "in our place. ... "this was a witch hunt, one-man posse's attempt to humiliate me, subject me to ridicule, rip open rumors that I was corrupt and ruin a dream."

James said the experiences drew he and his friends closer and proved to be valuable life lessons, many of which he attributes to "karma."

James and Bissinger focus almost entirely on James' final two years of high school and do not delve into his early career with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Bissinger is best known for "Friday Night Lights," a bestseller on Texas' obsession with high school football.

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press

A's Trade Holliday To Cards For Prospects

PHILADELPHIA -- Matt Holliday wanted to join his new team quickly, so he hopped on a train with his wife and two sons and got to the ballpark in plenty of time.

Holliday was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals from the Oakland Athletics on Friday for a package of prospects. The three-time All-Star outfielder gives the Cardinals a big bat for their pennant drive and provides protection in the lineup for slugger Albert Pujols.

Holliday was in New York for Oakland's series against the Yankees when he learned about the deal. To avoid getting stuck in traffic, he chose public transportation over a car ride down congested I-95.

"Getting from New York to Philly on a Friday afternoon can be tough," Holliday said. "I'm extremely excited to be back in the National League, to be back in a pennant race. This is a great team, a great organization."

Holliday made it to Citizens Bank Park early enough for manager Tony La Russa to pencil him into the lineup in left field and bat him cleanup behind Pujols for Friday night's game against the World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies.

"It's a heck of a move for our club," La Russa said. "There are guys who are going to lose at-bats, but they're excited because he improves our club. We'll be tough to pitch to."

Holliday's presence will make opponents think twice about pitching around Pujols, who has been intentionally walked 34 times.

"You look at the lineup card and it's exciting," said outfielder Ryan Ludwick, who moves down to the No. 5 spot from cleanup. "You take a hitter like him and it's instant offense."

The NL Central-leading Cardinals had a 1½-game lead over the Chicago Cubs and Houston entering Friday's games. They already added utilityman Mark DeRosa from the Cleveland Indians late last month and then shortstop Julio Lugo in a Wednesday swap with the Boston Red Sox.

"Matt is an impact player who gives us an instant added threat in the middle of our lineup," Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said. "These types of opportunities are rare. The price to complete this deal was steep, but our organization feels that it should greatly improve our chances to compete for a postseason berth."

The A's sent Holliday and $1.5 million to the Cardinals and receive power-hitting third baseman Brett Wallace, a top offensive player in the St. Louis farm system; outfielder Shane Peterson and right-hander Clayton Mortensen.

Holliday could be an expensive short-term rental for St. Louis because he can become a free agent after the season. He's earning $13.5 million in the final year of a contract he signed after helping lead the Colorado Rockies to the World Series in 2007.

"I'm pretty sure I'm excited to be a St. Louis Cardinal and pretty excited to hit," Holliday said, ducking a question about testing the free-agent market.

Holliday struggled in his only season with the A's, batting .286 with 11 home runs and 54 RBIs. Oakland traded for Holliday during the winter, knowing he might only be with the club for half a season.

"We knew there were going to be a lot of options," A's general manager Billy Beane said in a conference call. "We're happy we traded for Matt. We had to be prepared for anything."

The 29-year-old Holliday had his best game for Oakland at home on Monday, hitting two home runs with a grand slam as the A's rallied from 10 runs down to beat the Minnesota Twins 14-13.

Many scouts attended recent games in Oakland to watch Holliday, who spent his first five major league seasons with the Rockies.

"I wouldn't say it's surprising," said Oakland's Mark Ellis, who learned about the trade when Holliday stopped by his hotel room Friday morning. "It's disappointing. Maybe if we would have played better we would have hung onto him."

The teams began discussions about a month ago, and things picked back up this week. Most of the work was finished Thursday night, Beane said, with final details completed Friday.

"They were definitely the most motivated," Beane said.

Wallace could provide the A's some depth at third base in the absence of six-time Gold Glove winner Eric Chavez, who is recovering from season-ending back surgery. The A's are optimistic Chavez will be ready by spring training 2010.

"We're all hopeful Eric's our third baseman next year," Beane said. "Obviously long term it's probably one area in the organization we have a need. We're going to keep (Wallace) over there, be patient with him and see how it goes."

Wallace, who Oakland has liked since he was a freshman at Arizona State, moved quickly through the Cardinals farm system and was considered their top offensive prospect. The 13th overall draft pick last year, he was already at Triple-A Memphis.

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Wallace, a left-handed hitter born in the Bay Area, was batting .293 with six homers, 19 RBIs and 11 doubles in 62 games for Memphis after starting the year in Double-A. He played in the All-Star Futures Game in St. Louis earlier this month.

The Cardinals have been without third baseman Troy Glaus, who had shoulder surgery in January.

The A's recalled infielder/outfielder Eric Patterson from Triple-A Sacramento to fill Holliday's spot on the 25-man roster. He was expected to join the team for Friday night's game at New York.

"We got three players that we've always kind of liked," A's manager Bob Geren said. "Happy about the trade, happy for Matt, too. Matt's going to go over to St. Louis and be right in the middle of a pennant race. It's a good deal for everybody."

ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney and Tim Kurkjian and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

PG Miller Signs Deal With Blazers

LAS VEGAS -- The Portland Trail Blazers have agreed to a two-year, $14 million contract with free agent point guard Andre Miller, a source familiar with the negotiations told SI.com. The deal includes a team option for a third season at $7 million.

Miller, one of the top free agents remaining on the market, has played for the 76ers since being traded from Denver in the middle of the 2006-2007 season. Since free agency opened the 76ers interest in re-signing Miller has been lukewarm, primarily because Miller was seeking a three or four year contract and the Sixers, who have made a commitment to building around young players, preferred to give the 33-year old Miller a one or two year deal. Philadelphia drafted point guard Jrue Holiday with the No. 17 pick in the draft last month and considered Holiday it's point guard of the future.

Philadelphia guard Andre Iguodala, in Las Vegas for the USA Basketball mini camp, expressed disappointment that Miller would not be returning.

"It's a tough summer for guys," said Iguodala. "I wanted him back. He was a great teammate."

The Trail Blazers had been attempting to sign a player with their nearly $10 million in cap space for weeks. They believed they had a deal in place with Hedo Turkoglu but Turkoglu spurned the Blazers for Toronto at the 11th hour. Last week the Blazers signed forward Paul Millsap to an offer sheet but it was matched by Utah. Portland also was interested in David Lee, going as far as sending top executives Kevin Pritchard and Tom Penn and head coach Nate McMillan to meet with Lee in Las Vegas. But Lee's contract demands ($10 million per season) and restricted free agent status scared the Trail Blazers off.

Miller is expected to step into the starting position that was occupied by Steve Blake last season. Blake, who has been the full time starter in Portland for each of the last two seasons, could ask for a trade. One Western Conference executive expressed surprise that Blake was not involved in a sign-and-trade deal for Miller.

"I figured they would get something for him," said the executive. "And Blake played in Washington so he knows [Sixers coach] Eddie Jordan's system."

A formal announcement on Miller's signing could come this weekend.

NFL QB Roethlisberger Accused Of Sexual Misconduct

Associated Press

RENO, Nev. -- Law enforcement officials in Nevada have no intention of opening a criminal investigation into allegations Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger raped a woman at a Lake Tahoe hotel-casino a year ago, the sheriff's department said Wednesday.

Douglas County Sheriff's Deputy Teresa Duffy said the accuser would have to file a criminal complaint to trigger an investigation into the incident the woman says occurred during a celebrity golf tournament last July while she was working as an executive VIP casino host at Harrah's Lake Tahoe.

"The victim is the only one who can do that," Duffy told The Associated Press. "Unless there was a third party that actually witnessed the incident, which according to the civil case, was not the case here."

The 31-year-old Nevada woman has filed a lawsuit saying the Super Bowl winning quarterback raped her in a hotel penthouse across the street from the golf course, a claim his lawyer vehemently denies.

She also accuses Harrah's officials, including the casino's chief of security, of orchestrating a cover-up of the incident she says she reported to him the next day. The lawsuit alleges Harrah's officials worked to silence her and undermine her credibility rather than investigate her claims.

The woman, a native of Canada who had worked at Harrah's Lake Tahoe hotel-casino since 2003, never went to outside authorities with her story, and it's unclear why she decided to file the lawsuit seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars a year after the alleged incident.

Her lawsuit says she didn't file a criminal complaint because she feared Harrah's would side with Roethlisberger -- a friend of the hotel-casino's regional president John Koster -- and she would be fired.

She said the security chief, Guy Hyder, told her she was "overreacting," that "most girls would feel lucky to get to have sex with someone like Ben Roethlisberger" and that "Koster would love you even more if he knew about this."

The lawsuit said she was treated between last August and December at five different hospitals for depression and anxiety stemming from the alleged assault, and returned to work each time after treatment.

She sought legal counsel in March after Harrah's officials told her Roethlisberger was invited to play in the 2009 celebrity golf tournament and ordered her to take a paid two-week leave during the event, the lawsuit said, "to accommodate her assailant." The tournament took place last week.

Cal Dunlap, the Reno lawyer who filed her lawsuit in Washoe County District Court on Friday, said neither he nor the woman will comment.

Dunlap is the former county district attorney who also represents Nevada first lady Dawn Gibbons in divorce proceedings against Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons. Dunlap refused to discuss the woman's whereabouts.

On Wednesday, she was not at the property where she has been living in rural Douglas County. The old dairy farm about 20 miles from Lake Tahoe has a main farm house and several outbuildings, some of which appear to be rented out as apartments.

In a statement earlier this week, Roethlisberger lawyer David Cornwell said: "Ben has never sexually assaulted anyone. The timing of the lawsuit and the absence of a criminal complaint and a criminal investigation are the most compelling evidence of the absence of any criminal conduct."

Harrah's officials said they do not comment on pending legal matters.

The lawsuit seeks a minimum of $440,000 in damages from the quarterback, at least $50,000 in damages from eight Harrah's officials and an unspecified amount of punitive damages "sufficient to deter" Roethlisberger and the others "from engaging in such conduct in the future."

Meanwhile, Roethlisberger intends to stick to his plans to participate in Shaquille O'Neal's new reality TV series. He canceled a news conference set for Thursday to promote the show, but ABC spokesman Edwin Escobar said in an e-mail Wednesday that production will proceed as scheduled Friday.

In the show "Shaq Vs." debuting Aug. 18, Roethlisberger is one of the athletes the NBA star will challenge in their respective sports.

Roethlisberger has twice led the Steelers to Super Bowl victories in his five-year career and is one of the biggest names in sports.

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press

Red Sox Make Trade For Adam LaRoche

After falling out of first place in the AL East, the Boston Red Sox took some steps to shore up their roster.

The Red Sox acquired slumping Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Adam LaRoche on Wednesday for two midlevel prospects, less than a year after they picked up All-Star outfielder Jason Bay from the Pirates.

"I'm grateful for the opportunity that a team like that wants me," said LaRoche, who is hitting .109 since July 4.

The Pirates, who have traded five starting position players since last July, will receive Double-A shortstop Argenis Diaz and Class A right-hander Hunter Strickland, an 18th-round draft pick two years ago.

Later, the Red Sox sent shortstop Julio Lugo to the St. Louis Cardinals for outfielder Chris Duncan.

Both players had fallen out of favor with their teams. Lugo, who was batting .284 with one home run and eight RBIs in 37 games, was designated for assignment July 18. The Red Sox had 10 days to trade or release him.

"We're optimistic that he will respond positively to a fresh start here in St. Louis," Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said.

Duncan, batting .227 with five homers and 32 RBIs in 87 games, was sent down to Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday.

The Pirates deal possibly clears the way for Pittsburgh to deal shortstop Jack Wilson before the July 31 deadline for trading without waivers and, maybe, NL All-Star second baseman Freddy Sanchez.

The Red Sox lost their fourth consecutive game Tuesday night to fall out of first place in the AL East, a game behind the New York Yankees. Boston was pursuing Toronto Blue Jays starter Roy Halladay, but a bat turned into the bigger priority for a team that is hitting .236 since June 17 and has scored 12 runs in five games since the All-Star break.

"We've been in the market for a player who can do some damage against right-handed pitching and help our depth at the corner infield," Red Sox GM Theo Epstein said in a conference call. "This was a chance to get at a very reasonable acquisition cost a player that ... leaves us in condition to look for more impact before the trading deadline."

The LaRoche trade was first reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on its Web site.

LaRoche, eligible for free agency after this season, is hitting .247 with 12 homers, 40 RBIs and 81 strikeouts in 87 games. He is 5-for-46 the last 2½ weeks -- 0-for-22 at one point -- with one RBI and 16 strikeouts.

"Not real good, not real good," LaRoche said of his time in Pittsburgh. "Looking back, I'm a little disappointed because I know what I'm capable of doing and what I should be doing, but I wasn't able to put it together over a six-month season. I was too streaky."

LaRoche may take some at-bats away from utility backup Mark Kotsay while giving third baseman Mike Lowell more time to rest his ailing hip.

The Pirates will recall Steve Pearce from Triple-A Indianapolis and plan to play him regularly at first starting Thursday at Arizona. He was 1-for-12 during a brief call-up earlier this season.

The 29-year-old LaRoche was expected to supply a much-needed left-handed power bat when the Pirates dealt left-handed reliever Mike Gonzalez to the Atlanta Braves for him in January 2007, but he hasn't hit better than .272 in two-plus seasons and got off to poor starts in 2007 and 2008.

LaRoche hit 32 homers for Atlanta in 2006, but his best season with Pittsburgh was 25 homers and 85 RBIs a year ago. He signed a $7.05 million contract this season to avoid arbitration, and the Red Sox will pick up all of the estimated $3 million still owed him.

"Why it didn't work here? At times he was very good and at times it was a struggle," Pirates GM Neal Huntington said. "He didn't show a lot of energy, didn't show a lot of passion and fire, but this was a guy who cared a lot and did a lot of good things for us in the clubhouse."

The Red Sox hope they're adding a bat who can complement Bay, who went into Wednesday's games with 72 RBIs, third most in the AL. The Pirates, by contrast, have gotten little out of the July 31, 2008, deal that was highlighted by Manny Ramirez going from Boston to the Los Angeles Dodgers; one of their pickups, younger brother Andy LaRoche, has four homers and 36 RBIs as their third baseman.

Diaz, a 22-year-old known for his outstanding defense, is hitting .253 with no homers and 24 RBIs in 76 games during his sixth pro season, at Portland. He will move up to Indianapolis, where he becomes Wilson's heir apparent.

Strickland, 20, is 5-4 with a 3.35 ERA in 18 games, including 12 starts, at Greenville of the South Atlantic League. He will shift to West Virginia of the same league.

Lugo signed a four-year, $36 million free-agent contract with the Red Sox before the 2007 season. Sources told the Boston Herald that the Red Sox will still pay the remaining $13.5 million on his contract, but they at least get something in return for cutting him lose. Duncan, sources told the newspaper, will be assigned to Triple-A Pawtucket.

Epstein has called Lugo's contract "a mistake" and "a lesson learned."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Reports: Steve Nash To Accept $22 Million Deal

By Marc Stein
ESPN.com

After receiving an improved offer last week and taking a few more days to deliberate, two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Steve Nash notified the Phoenix Suns over the weekend that he is accepting the Suns' two-year extension offer worth an estimated $22 million, according to team sources.

Nash

Sources told ESPN.com that Nash is expected to formally announce his decision via his Twitter Feed later Monday.

The Suns offered Nash a two-year, $20 million extension two weeks ago in addition to the $13.1 million he's owed next season, then bumped it higher in a meeting in Las Vegas last Wednesday attended by Suns owner Robert Sarver, president of basketball operations Steve Kerr and Nash's agent Bill Duffy.

Although signals had been getting stronger in recent days that Nash would inevitably accept an improved proposal from Sarver -- including a Twitter message in the early hours of last Thursday from teammate Jared Dudley that Nash would be "signin that ext anyday" -- it has been a nervy wait this month for the Suns, who have made no secret that securing Nash's long-term future was their No. 1 priority this offseason.

One team official confirmed that the Suns were aware that Nash strongly considered the idea of playing out his contract next season, which would have enabled him to join the ballyhooed free-agent class of 2010 and possibly move to the New York Knicks to reunite with former coach Mike D'Antoni. Nash, though, ultimately opted for security with the franchise that drafted him out of Santa Clara in 1996 and gave him the platform to earn the nickname "Two-Time" from teammates with his back-to-back MVP seasons in 2005 and 2006 after leaving the Dallas Mavericks to rejoin the Suns in the summer of 2004.

"This is one of the hardest-working and most resilient athletes to have ever played in the NBA," Duffy said of Nash, who has hushed fears about his durability by playing in an average of 77 games over the five seasons of his second stint with the Suns. "He earns every penny."

Nash's public comments this month on negotiations generally gave Phoenix hope that he was prepared to spend the next three seasons in the desert -- which would take him to age 38 -- in spite of the Suns' recent slide in the West. During the recent opening of his latest Steve Nash Sports Club in his native Canada, Nash said: "I still believe in everybody there and still think we can build a winner."

In the same interview, though, Nash also mentioned the "financial constraints" that prompted the Suns to trade Shaquille O'Neal to Cleveland (for the expiring contracts of Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic) after O'Neal's first and only full season as a Sun resulted in a 46-36 record that featured the midseason firing of coach Terry Porter and a failure to make the playoffs.

"We maybe don't have the deep pockets of some of the other teams," Nash said, hinting at what sources close to the process described as his concerns about the Suns' ability to reload roster-wise during the span of his new deal to return Phoenix to the Western Conference elite.

The Suns, though, made it clear to Nash that they would refuse any outside trade interest, even if he insisted on playing out his current contract to have the right to shop himself in the summer of 2010, when D'Antoni undoubtedly would have made a hard push to try to lure Nash to the Knicks in free agency.

Sources say Portland never got close in recent weeks with its determined push to convince Phoenix to part with a package of young players for Nash, who then would have received a contract richer than the deal he ultimately accepted from the Suns.

In addition to re-signing Nash, Phoenix has drafted Earl Clark, signed free-agent forward Channing Frye, re-signed Nash's close friend Grant Hill and bought out Wallace this offseason. It remains to be seen how the future of Suns forward Amare Stoudemire plays out from here, with sources indicating that the club has not ruled out trading Stoudemire after exploring the possibility in February before the league's annual trading deadline and again in June in conjunction with the draft.

Miss. State RB Dixon Charged With DUI

By Joe Schad
ESPN.com

Mississippi State running back Anthony Dixon was cited for driving under the influence after refusing to take a breathalyzer Saturday night, police said.

According to an arrest report obtained from Starkville police in Mississippi, Dixon drove off the side of a road.

There were two champagne bottles laying on the back floor of his vehicle, he had slurred speech and his eyes were bloodshot, the report said.

Dixon also was issued citations for careless driving and no proof of liability insurance, according to the report.

Since Dan Mullen succeeded Sylvester Croom as coach in December, four Mississippi State player have been arrested for infractions involving alcohol or drugs. Tight end Marcus Green was arrested last week on marijuana charges.

Mississippi State's most accomplished offensive player, Dixon rushed for 869 yards and seven touchdowns last season and had 1,066 yards and 14 touchdowns as a sophomore.

Bulldogs coach Dan Mullen is aware of Dixon's arrest and will review the facts before making any determinations about a possible suspension.

Mississippi State opens its season against Jackson State before playing at Southeastern Conference foes Auburn and Vanderbilt.

2009 NFL Free Agent Tracker

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2009 NBA Free Agent Tracker

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