LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Pitcher Clayton Kershaw agreed Wednesday to a $215 million, seven-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, a person familiar with the negotiations told the Associated Press, a deal that makes the two-time Cy Young Award winner baseball’s first player with a $30 million average salary.The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not yet been announced.Kershaw receives the most lucrative deal for a pitcher, breaking the mark of $180 million set by Just

BaseballJan. 16, 2014

MADRID (AP) ― Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated his Ballon d’Or triumph by scoring from one of his trademark free kicks as Real Madrid beat Osasuna 2-0 on Wednesday to reach the Copa del Rey quarterfinals on Wednesday.Ronaldo smashed a swerving shot from 25 meters around the defensive wall and straight at goalie Andres Fernandez. The keeper tried to punch it out but ended up sending it down off the ground and between his legs into the net.Ronaldo’s 22nd-minute strike effectively sealed the contest, w

SoccerJan. 16, 2014

A trio of reigning Olympic speed skating champions said Wednesday they’re looking forward to their title defense on a familiar ice surface at the upcoming Sochi Winter Games.Lee Sang-hwa, the women’s 500-meter gold medalist from the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, was joined by Mo Tae-bum, the men’s 500 m champ from Vancouver, and Lee Seung-hoon, the men’s 10,000 m winner four years ago, at their joint press conference at the National Training Center in Seoul.They all spoke of their affinity for

Olympic GamesJan. 15, 2014

As South Korean men's national football team was getting ready to open the first overseas training camp in Brazil on Tuesday, head coach Hong Myung-bo stressed the importance of team spirit over competition for playing time.The team of 23 players from South Korean, Japanese and Chinese leagues arrived here earlier in the day to start their one-week training in Brazil, the host nation of the 2014 FIFA World Cup kicking off this summer. The national team will later fly to the United States to face

SoccerJan. 15, 2014

Major League Baseball (MLB) has requested a status check on South Korean star pitcher Yoon Suk-min, baseball officials here said Tuesday, a formal administrative step before a big league club can sign any professional player from Korea.The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said it informed MLB that Yoon is eligible for free agency after being asked about the 28-year-old's status in the top domestic league.The request is the second of its kinds after MLB first tendered a status check to the KBO i

BaseballJan. 14, 2014

BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) ― Arsenal scored two goals in the space of 59 seconds on its way to a 2-1 win over Aston Villa that put the visitors back on top of the Premier League on Monday.Jack Wilshere’s 34th-minute opener was quickly followed by a goal by Olivier Giroud, which proved to be enough to lift Arsenal back above Manchester City and Chelsea after their victories over the weekend.Belgium striker Christian Benteke scored his first goal since mid-September to give Villa hope in the 76th mi

SoccerJan. 14, 2014

Coming off a successful season in which his club lifted two major trophies in domestic football, Pohang Steelers’ head coach Hwang Sun-hong said Tuesday he’s braced for “a new challenge.”In 2013, the Steelers captured the K League Classic championship and also won the FA Cup, becoming the first South Korean club to win those titles in the same year. They did so without the service of foreign players, and the historic season earned Hwang, a former star striker, his first K League Classic Coach of

SoccerJan. 14, 2014

All nine clubs in the top South Korean baseball league will begin their overseas training camps this week, starting their offseason preparation in earnest.The Korea Baseball Organization clubs will all leave the country on Wednesday and spend around 50 days in warmer regions before returning home in early March.Away from the biting winter in South Korea, the three-time defending champs Samsung Lions, along with pitchers and catchers of the Kia Tigers, will set up their camps on the Pacific islan

BaseballJan. 14, 2014

The top domestic baseball league decided Tuesday to abolish the salary cap imposed on foreign players, a move that followed a series of controversial signings of late.The presidents of teams in the Korea Baseball Organization agreed to get rid of the $300,000 salary cap in their board meeting.The KBO clubs have increasingly faced allegations that they hadn’t been honoring the salary cap and that they were paying their foreign players more money under the table, bringing into question the effecti

BaseballJan. 14, 2014

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) ― Roger Federer kept his cool on a scorching second day at the Australian Open, starting his record 57th consecutive Grand Slam tournament with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 victory in his first match with Stefan Edberg as a coach.Federer was the second match on Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday, and the temperature topped 41 degrees Celsius during his win over Australian wild-card entry James Duckworth.Two-time defending women’s champion Victoria Azarenka played the previous match on the c

More SportsJan. 14, 2014

Cristiano Ronaldo wins FIFA best player awardCristiano Ronaldo was awarded the 2013 FIFA Ballon d’Or in Zurich on Monday, ending the four-year dominance of Lionel Messi, according to foreign news reports.AFP reported that the tearful 28-year-old Real Madrid and Portugal star, who won the award in 2008, had been the overwhelming favourite to pip Barcelona and Argentina wonder Messi, winner the previous four years, and France‘s Franck Ribery, who claimed the treble with Bayern Munich in 2013.Ronal

SoccerJan. 14, 2014

After his team won the past three South Korean baseball titles in a row, Ryu Joong-il, manager of the Samsung Lions, said the club is ready for a fresh start.The Lions held their inaugural meeting of 2014 at their training facility in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province, about 330 kilometers southeast of Seoul. Afterward, Ryu told reporters the Lions will face a crossroads in the 2014 Korea Baseball Organization season.“When a team at the top stays complacent, then it’s bound to take a fall,” t

BaseballJan. 13, 2014