Patrick reaches NASCAR deal

A person familiar with the plan says Danica Patrick has reached a deal to enter NASCAR with JR Motorsports.

Patrick will announce a partial Nationwide Series schedule at a news conference in Phoenix, the person familiar with her plans tells The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because she has not officially announced her intentions.

Last week Patrick signed a three-year contract extension with Andretti Autosport to stay in the IndyCar series, but its schedule gives her enough time to also try NASCAR.

It's not clear yet how many races she will drive in NASCAR's second-tier series for team owners Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Rick Hendrick.

GoDaddy.com will sponsor Patrick in both IndyCar and NASCAR.

Pro football: Hasselbeck's shoulder sore, will play

Matt Hasselbeck is goal-oriented. Right now, that leaves him and his Seahawks in an altered state.

Seattle's captain and three-time Pro Bowl quarterback has stopped talking about the goals the team set this summer — winning the NFC West for the fifth time in six seasons, or at least returning to the playoffs after a one-year absence.

Now, with postseason hopes still almost nonexistent despite two straight wins that have the Seahawks at 5-7 with four games remaining, Hasselbeck is rallying his team around a more modest goal — a winning season.

More pro football: Rams S Atogwe may miss rest of season

Safety O.J. Atogwe, one of the St. Louis Rams' top playmakers on defense, could miss the rest of the season with a dislocated right shoulder that likely will eventually require surgery.

Atogwe hasn't ruled out finishing the year while wearing a harness. He said that he planned to speak with his agent and get other medical opinions, while also waiting for swelling to subside.

Pro baseball: Bruney traded to Nationals by Yankees

Brian Bruney was dealt to the Washington Nationals from the New York Yankees for a player to be named in the first trade of the winter meetings.

The 27-year-old right-hander was 5-0 with a 3.92 ERA in 44 regular-season appearances but pitched just once for the Yankees from mid-April until mid-June because of a strained right elbow, an injury he blamed on time he spent warming up during an umpires' video review.

"I've heard a lot of good things about him, kind of a power arm to go toward the end of our bullpen, and just we feel like we needed a little help out there," Nationals manager Jim Riggleman said. "He's got experience, and he's got a good arm."

More pro baseball: Everett stays with Tigers for $1.55 million

Smooth-fielding shortstop Adam Everett decided to stay with the Detroit Tigers, agreeing Monday to a $1.55 million, one-year contract.

Everett hit .238 with three homers and 44 RBIs for Detroit this year, his ninth season in the majors. He has a .976 fielding percentage at shortstop during his career.

Everett made $1 million last season.

Pro basketball: Knicks to play in Italy in preseason

Two people with knowledge of the team's plans say the New York Knicks will travel to Italy next fall and play at least one exhibition game in Milan.

The two people are unsure how many games, or against which opponents, the Knicks would play. They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the league has not made an official announcement.

Pro soccer: DeMerit returns from three-month layoff caused by eye

American defender Jay DeMerit has returned from a three-month layoff caused by an eye injury. The 30-year-old from Green Bay, Wis., played the second half Monday night as Watford defeated Queens Park Rangers 3-1 in England's No. 2 division, the League Championship.

Golf: Blumenherst wins her card

Duke star Amanda Blumenherst easily passed her first big test as a pro when she closed with a 4-under 68 to be medalist at LPGA Tour qualifying, one of 20 players to earn cards for next year.

Blumenherst was a three-time NCAA player of the year who won 12 times at Duke. Playing on the Champions Course at LPGA International for the final round, she played without a bogey and finished the 90-hole event at 9-under 351.

"It's kind of a one-shot deal for the whole year," said Blumenherst, the U.S. Women's Amateur champion in 2008. "I was confident in my game, but still, you never know what can happen. I just stayed in the fairway and got onto the greens and my putts were close. It was a winning combination."

Steroids: Doctor gets probation for distribution

A former medical doctor who admitted illegally prescribing performance-enhancing drugs to elite athletes has been sentenced to six months of home arrest and two years of probation. Ramon Scruggs was sentenced by a federal judge after pleading guilty in June to conspiracy to distribute steroids and money laundering.

Scruggs, who also lost his medical license, was charged with using his Costa Mesa medical clinic to prescribe drugs to several Major League Baseball players, other elite athletes and others including law-enforcement personnel from 2000 to 2003.

Cycling: Phinney getting some last-minute help with IOC

Taylor Phinney is getting some last-minute help in the quest to keep his specialty event on the Olympic cycling program.

Hard copies of an online petition with 4,408 signatures were sent to the International Olympic Committee, just two days before the group's executive board is to convene in Switzerland for a meeting.

The IOC meeting agenda for Wednesday and Thursday includes many items, including the elimination of several cycling events from the 2012 London Games, including the individual pursuit.

Racing: Iditarod reports $1M loss

The world's most famous sled dog race is feeling squeezed by the poor economy.

Organizers of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race said they've lost nearly $1 million in funding over the past year and that is forcing them to cut the prize money for the 2010 race by $100,000.

Stan Hooley, executive director of the Iditarod Trail Committee, said figures are still being worked out but he estimated the total purse will be about $525,000 — down from a high of $925,000 in 2008. The new purse is far below the $610,000 initially promised to the 70 mushers signed up for the 1,100-mile trek to Nome.

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