Sports Briefs January 18, 2011
Football
Brett Favre has made another move toward leaving the game for good by filing retirement papers with the league, an NFL spokesman confirmed Monday.
The filing was a procedural matter, to start the clock on a player's pension and Hall of Fame eligibility.
Baseball
Joey Votto signed a three-year, $38-million deal that allows the Cincinnati Reds to avoid going to arbitration with the National League MVP.
The first baseman was arbitration-eligible for the first time and would have received a huge increase over the $525,000 he made last season.
• The Colorado Rockies have agreed to a minor league contract with Jason Giambi, who could make the club as a late-inning pinch-hitter.
The former AL MVP, who turned 40 this month, hit .244 with six homers and 35 RBIs in 176 at-bats last season for the Rockies.
• The Kansas City Royals have reached agreement with pitcher Robinson Tejeda on a one-year deal worth $1.55 million.
The Royals avoided arbitration by agreeing to the deal with the 28-year-old right-hander.
Top 25 Men
The Ohio State Buckeyes (18-0) moved up one spot to replace Duke, which was No. 1 in the preseason Top 25 and the first nine polls of the regular season.
The Blue Devils' loss at Florida State on Wednesday opened the way for the Buckeyes.
• No. 2 Kansas 85, Baylor 65: At Waco, Texas, Marcus Morris scored 25 points to help Kansas (18-0, 3-0 Big 12) coast home and end Baylor's (12-5, 2-2) 15-game home winning streak.
• No. 5 Pittsburgh 74, No. 3 Syracuse 66: Host Pittsburgh (18-1, 6-0 Big East) scored the first 19 points only to lose the lead, then came back to hand Syracuse (18-1, 5-1) its first loss.
• No. 8 Connecticut 61, No. 7 Villanova 59: At Storrs, Conn., Kemba Walker hit a drive down the lane with 2.5 seconds to play to lift Connecticut (15-2, 4-2) over Villanova (16-2, 4-1 Big East), snapping the Wildcats' 11-game winning streak.
• No. 13 Missouri 75, Kansas State 59: At Columbia, Mo., Marcus Denmon scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half and Missouri (16-3, 2-2 Big 12) forced Kansas State (13-6, 1-3) into 24 turnovers.
Bruins 7, Hurricanes 0: Tim Thomas stopped 31 shots for his seventh shutout to lift host Boston over Carolina.
Devils 5, Islanders 2: At Uniondale, N.Y., Vladimir Zharkov scored his first NHL goal to help New Jersey past New York.
Sharks 4, Coyotes 2: At Glendale, Ariz., Patrick Marleau scored early and San Jose beat Phoenix.
Canadiens 5, Flames 4: P.K. Subban scored in overtime and host Montreal edged Calgary.
Thrashers 3, Panthers 2: At Sunrise, Fla., Bryan Little and Alexander Burmistrov scored in the shootout and Atlanta beat Florida.
Stars 2, Kings 1: Jamie Langenbrunner scored to help host Dallas Stars over Los Angeles.
Auto racing
NASCAR is considering scrapping the points system it has used since 1975 in favor of a simpler method that awards points per finishing position.
Two officials involved with the selection process confirm Davis Love III will be the next U.S. captain. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the official announcement was not until Thursday at Medinah, where the 2012 matches will be played.
- The Associated Press