Cubs manager Piniella retiring after season

Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella announced that he will retire at the end of the season, ending a storied and often colorful career that included 18 years in the majors as a player and another 22 as a manager.

The 66-year-old Piniella, who made five trips to the World Series in his career and has three championship rings, said he was looking forward to spending more time with his family. He didn't rule out consulting for the Cubs or another team, but made it clear he was getting out of the daily grind.

"It's been a wonderful experience," he said. "There's no way that I won't cherish the memories here."

But, he added: "I've been away from home since 1962. That's about 50 years."

General manager Jim Hendry said former Cubs Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg, now a minor league manager in Des Moines, will be a candidate for the job. He said Piniella's replacement won't be hired before the end of the season.

"It's not going to be a two-week process," Hendry said.

Sandberg, who spent several seasons as a spring training instructor with the Cubs after retiring in 1997, said he is interested in the job.

Pro football: Favre says no deadline for decision

Brett Favre tells USA Today that he did not discuss a deadline for making a decision on returning this season during a recent visit with Minnesota Vikings coach Brad Childress.

Favre told the newspaper Childress came to visit him in Hattiesburg, Miss., on his way home from vacation in Florida. The two chatted as they did around this time last year, but Favre still has not made a decision on returning for a 20th NFL season.

Favre had ankle surgery earlier his summer and says it "is not where I would like it to be."

He says he thinks the world of Childress and the two shared a laugh about butting heads in December over the direction of the offense.

The Vikings open training camp on July 30.

Pro baseball: Yankees put Pettitte on DL; say Mitre will start

Andy Pettitte is in a hurry to return from a left groin strain, although the New York Yankees left-hander knows it's not going to be a speedy recovery.

"When I heard four to five (weeks) I was thinking, 'Oh gosh,"' Pettitte said before the Yankees played the Los Angeles Angels. "I hope it heals up quick. I don't know if it's realistic."

The 38-year-old All-Star was injured Sunday while throwing a pitch in the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays. An MRI showed he had a Grade 1 strain, which is the mildest on a scale of 1 to 3. The move was retroactive to Monday.

Manager Joe Girardi said the problem with a groin injury for a pitcher is that once it has healed, strength must be rebuilt. Pettitte was told that he will have to take a week off to rest the groin before starting rehabilitation.

More pro baseball: Dodgers put Manny on 15-day DL with strained calf

Manny Ramirez is back on the disabled list for the third time this season.

The Los Angeles Dodgers slugger has a strained right calf. Ramirez had been out since leaving Friday's game at St. Louis with tightness in his calf.

Manager Joe Torre calls it a significant strain and says Ramirez could be out about three weeks.

Ramirez was hitless in three at-bats last Thursday against the Cardinals in his first game since returning from the DL with a strained right hamstring.

He went on the DL for the first time from April 23-May 8 with a strained right calf, although the team says his current injury isn't the same as that one.

More pro baseball: Texas outfielder Santana suspended

Texas Rangers outfielder Cristian Santana has been suspended for 50 games following a positive test for Formestane under baseball's minor league drug program.

The 21-year-old is batting .260 with 11 homers and 46 RBIs for Hickory of the Class A South Atlantic League. The suspension starts immediately.

There have been 47 suspensions this year under the minor league program. Cincinnati pitcher Edinson Volquez was suspended under the major league program.

Pro basketball: Miller signs with Rockets

Brad Miller signed with the Houston Rockets, reuniting the 7-foot center with his favorite coach in Rick Adelman.

Miller signed a three-year, $15 million contract to back up Yao Ming, who is expected to be ready for next season after sitting out a year to recover from foot surgery.

"We've been looking for somebody to give us strong minutes at the center spot and pair with Yao Ming for some time," Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said.

The 34-year-old Miller, who is entering his 13th NBA season, thinks his presence will help make things easier for Yao.

More pro basketball: Agent Babby takes job 'of a lifetime' with Suns

Prominent sports agent Lon Babby is taking a pay cut, probably a significant one, to become president of basketball operations for the Phoenix Suns, a job he called "the opportunity of a lifetime."

The 59-year-old attorney was introduced at a news conference at US Airways Center. His initial task will be to hire a general manager.

"I'm going to play to my strengths. I know what I'm good at, I know what I'm not good at," Babby said. "I've never told anybody I was Red Auerbach. I have no expectation of taking the lead on those kind of talent evaluation questions. My first order of priority is to bring somebody in here who is a basketball genius."

Suns owner Robert Sarver said the hiring of an agent for a top front-office position is "venturing outside the norm a little bit" but he believes Babby's experience representing at various times ownership and players gives him "a unique insight into this business."

Pro hockey: NHL rejects Kovalchuk's 17-year deal with New Jersey

A person familiar with the issues raised says the NHL is rejecting Ilya Kovalchuk's 17-year, $102 million contract with the New Jersey Devils because it circumvents the league's salary cap.

Speaking on condition of anonymity because the NHL has not announced the decision to void the deal, the person tells The Associated Press that Kovalchuk's contract is illegal because the years of low salary at the end of the contract were added for the sole purpose of lowering the cap hit.

The person added that no side believes Kovalchuk will play the final years of the deal at the low salary numbers that were agreed to in the deal. The star forward was slated to earn only $550,000 in each of the last five seasons of the contract.

College football: Alabama looking into possible NCAA violation

Alabama coach Nick Saban told ESPN.com that university compliance officials are trying to determine if defensive end Marcell Dareus violated NCAA rules by attending an agent's party in Florida.

NCAA investigators have reportedly interviewed North Carolina players and South Carolina tight end Weslye Saunders regarding the same party in Miami's South Beach.

The ESPN report said the NCAA is trying to determine who paid for the trip. An Alabama spokesman said the school had no immediate comment.

Dareus emerged as a rising star after winning defensive MVP honors in the BCS championship game win over Texas.

Saban, a former Miami Dolphins coach, told ESPN.com it might be time to ban NFL teams from college campuses to get the league to crack down on rule-breaking agents and "take schools off the hook."

College basketball: Brey promises some sweating for arrested players

Notre Dame basketball coach Mike Brey will wait to deal with the arrests of Tim Abromaitis and Eric Atkins on charges of underage drinking.

"It's handled downtown. It's handled by Student Affairs and then the old coach will handle it," Brey said during an offseason media availability with reporters.

Abromaitis, the Irish's second leading scorer last season, and Atkins, an incoming freshman, were among 44 people arrested Friday night after police responded to a call about a fight and discovered a party, authorities said.

Quarterback Nate Montana, the son of former Irish and NFL star Joe Montana, and seven other football players were among the 11 athletes arrested.

"We'll address it. I've been here 10 years and we've had young men put themselves in position to lose. We've had that talk. We talk about that as a team," Brey said.

Golf: Thompson takes medalist honors at US Junior

Curtis Thompson of Coral Springs, Fla., birdied his final hole to win medalist honors by one stroke at the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.

The 17-year-old Thompson, whose younger sister Alexis won the 2008 U.S. Girls Junior Championship, shot a 6-under 66 at Egypt Valley Country Club to finish the two rounds of qualifying at 10 under.

Softball: Finch retiring next month

Jennie Finch had no trouble dazzling everyone.

The striking blonde with the unhittable stuff was the most dominant softball pitcher of her time, giving her sport a new face just as it was starting to really catch on in the United States. Finch won an NCAA championship in record-setting fashion and added Olympic gold as she spread softball's popularity in America and beyond.

But after 10 years of playing internationally, Finch is turning her focus to her family and her desire to have more children. The 29-year-old Finch announced that she'll play one more week with the U.S. team and retire from the sport next month when the National Pro Fastpitch season is over.

"This whole career has been way more than I ever even imagined or dreamed," Finch said in an interview with The Associated Press.

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