Cardinals, Molina agree to four-year deal

Cardinals teammates say Yadier Molina, one of the top defensive catchers in the major leagues, is a bargain at any price.

“Yadier is the best catcher in the game, period,” pitcher Adam Wainwright said Monday after Molina agreed to a $15.5 million, four-year contact. Molina threw out 50 percent of would-be basestealers last year, catching 23 of 46. He’s also coming off a career-best .275 average, with six homers and 40 RBIs in 111 games.

The 25-year-old had asked for a raise from $525,000 to $2.75 million in salary arbitration and the Cardinals had offered $1.85 million.

•Brett Tomko agreed to a $3 million, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, promising he’s worked out the problems that led to failure with the Dodgers last year.

Auto racing

NASCAR fine-tuning

NASCAR will attempt to balance the competition for drivers outside the top 35 this season by grouping them together in qualifying.

It was one of a series of small changes NASCAR announced as it prepares for 2008.

The new qualifying procedure is designed to send all drivers not already locked into the field onto the track when the conditions are essentially the same. Previously, the order was set by a random draw and drivers could benefit by the time of day they made their attempt.

Under the new format, all the drivers will make their attempt at the end of the session.

NASCAR also announced it will donate all money collected through fines to the NASCAR foundation as a part of the sport’s charitable initiative. The fines previously were put into the points fund that was split among the drivers at the end of the year.

•Jason Priestley, formerly of “Beverly Hills 90210” fame, is co-owner of a new race team that plans to enter a car in the Indianapolis 500 in May.

The new Rubicon Race Team will be managed by co-owner Jim Freudenberg, the former general manager of Kelley Racing and a close friend of Priestley, and the No. 28 entry will be built by the Indianapolis-based Sam Schmidt Motorsports.

The team plans to hire a veteran driver within the next few weeks.

College football

Chow to UCLA

Norm Chow, who tutored a pair of Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks at Southern California, is returning as offensive coordinator at crosstown rival UCLA.

Chow, fired last week by the Tennessee Titans, joins the staff of coach Rick Neuheisel, the former Bruins quarterback who took the job late last month.

•Greg Burns has been hired as cornerbacks coach at Arizona State. He is a former Idaho Vandals assistant.

Miscellany

Masters reaches out

The Masters offered special invitations to three players from Asia, part of chairman Billy Payne’s plan to help broaden the appeal of golf and its first major around the world.

Invitations were awarded to Liang Wen-Chong of China, Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand and Jeev Milka Singh of India, who will be making his second straight trip to the Masters.

•In Cortina d’ Ampezzo, Italy, the U.S. Ski Team’s 1-2 punch of Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso dominated the premiere stop on the women’s World Cup tour for the third straight season.

The Americans were awarded the Cortina Super Ski Trophy following Vonn’s downhill victory Saturday and Mancuso’s runner-up finish in Sunday’s super-G.

•Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Curlin swept Horse of the Year and 3-year-old male honors at the 37th annual Eclipse Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Curlin overwhelmed the competition in Horse of the Year voting, receiving 249 first-place votes to 12 for Belmont Stakes winner Rags to Riches. Last year’s winner, Invasor, earned two votes.