Cleveland’s Lee earns A.L. Cy Young Award

Cliff Lee went from the minor leagues to the pinnacle of pitching in one fantastic year. Now, he’s eager to repeat his award-winning performance.

Lee took the American League Cy Young Award in a runaway Thursday, capping a dominant comeback season that made him the second consecutive Cleveland Indians lefty to earn the coveted prize.

“It feels a lot better than it felt in ’07,” Lee said on a conference call from his Arkansas home. “I want to win this Cy Young again. I want to make a habit of it.”

Demoted to the minors last year, Lee went a major league-best 22-3 this season with a 2.54 ERA.

•M’s search continues: The Seattle Mariners expect to have a new manager within a week, and general manager Jack Zduriencik reiterated that it may not be one of the seven he interviewed this week.

Zduriencik ended four days of interviews by talking with two third-base coaches, DeMarlo Hale of the Boston Red Sox and Jose Oquendo of the St. Louis Cardinals.

The GM said he would know today whether he will interview anyone else or call back two or three from the group he met with this week.

•Yankees trade for Swisher: The New York Yankees started their off-season makeover by acquiring Nick Swisher from the Chicago White Sox.

Swisher, who can play first base and all three outfield spots, was obtained for pitching prospect Jeff Marquez and infielder Wilson Betemit.

Swisher, who turns 28 on Nov. 25, hit just .219 with 24 homers and 69 RBIs last season.

•Cubs add Gregg: The Chicago Cubs acquired reliever Kevin Gregg in a trade with the Florida Marlins, a move that appears to end Kerry Wood’s career with the team.

General manager Jim Hendry said Wood was deserving of a three- or four-year deal and the Cubs are not prepared to offer him one.

Basketball

Cavaliers top Nuggets

LeBron James scored 22 points, most of them coming with Carmelo Anthony guarding him, and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets and won their sixth straight, 110-99 in Cleveland.

Mo Williams scored a season-high 24 points and hit a crucial 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, a shot that put the Cavs ahead by 12.

•Gordon lights up Mavericks: Ben Gordon scored 35 points and the Chicago Bulls roared back from an early 19-point deficit to send the Dallas Mavericks to their fourth straight loss, 98-91.

•Theus earns fine: The NBA has fined Sacramento Kings coach Reggie Theus $25,000 for comments he made about the officiating following a loss to Detroit.

•Oregon signs Singler: South Medford High School forward E.J. Singler has signed a letter of intent to play at Oregon, the younger brother of Duke’s Kyle Singler.

Hockey

Rookie nets SO winner

Penguins rookie Alex Goligoski scored on his first shootout attempt after Sidney Crosby tied it late in the third period with his second goal, and host Pittsburgh rallied to beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4 after blowing a three-goal lead.

•Bruins rout Canadiens: Marco Sturm and Stephane Yelle each scored two goals and the Boston Bruins snapped a 12-game losing streak against the Montreal Canadiens with a 6-1 victory in Boston.

Football

Vick expects comeback

Imprisoned NFL quarterback Michael Vick expects to return to pro football, according to his bankruptcy attorneys who laid out a plan to pay creditors based in part on his anticipated earnings.

The former Atlanta Falcons star is serving a 23-month sentence in a federal penitentiary for bankrolling a dogfighting ring in rural Virginia and is scheduled to be released on July 20.

•Jones sure of Cowboys playoff berth: Jerry Jones “absolutely” believes the Dallas Cowboys will make the playoffs, isn’t considering a coaching change and would welcome Adam “Pacman” Jones back to the team if he’s reinstated.

“That’s not optimism,” the owner said. “I certainly do feel we’re going to be a team that plays well enough to be thinking about the playoffs.”

•Bad blood led to FSU brawl: A brawl involving Florida State football players apparently stemmed from bad blood between some of the athletes and members of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, a university investigator said.

Maj. James Russell confirmed that football players – he wouldn’t say how many – were among at least 10 students involved in the fight Wednesday afternoon at the university student union in Tallahassee, Fla.

“They weren’t just slugging it out for no reason,” Russell said.

•Charlotte votes to add football program: Charlotte’s board of trustees voted to accept chancellor Philip Dubois’ recommendation that Charlotte start a football program by 2013. But the unanimous vote came with qualifications: The school must raise about $45 million to pay for coaches, scholarships and a 12,000-seat, on-campus stadium.

Miscellany

UCLA advances

Darren Collison made two free throws with 21 seconds remaining and No. 4 UCLA survived a defensive struggle to beat Miami (Ohio) 64-59 at college basketball’s 2K Sports Classic in Los Angeles.

The Bruins (2-0) advanced to next week’s semifinals against Michigan at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

•Ochoa struggles at own event: Golfer Lorena Ochoa struggled in the first round in her Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Guadalajara, Mexico, shooting a 1-over-par 73 on her home course to drop five strokes behind the other leaders.

LPGA Championship winner Yani Tseng, No. 2 in the world behind Ochoa and ahead of Annika Sorenstam, topped the leaderboard at 68 along with Sorenstam, Angela Stanford, Karen Stupples, Seon Hwa Lee, Nicole Castrale, Hee-Won Han and Brittany Lang.

•Castroneves looks for new trial date: Race car driver Helio Castroneves’ attorneys and employer asked a judge to delay his March trial on tax evasion charges until next November so he can continue racing, according to court documents filed.

•Baseball, softball seek spot in 2016 Olympics: Leaders of baseball and softball, along with five other sports seeking inclusion in the 2016 Summer Games, will present their cases today to the International Olympic Committee.

•Bika wins IBO title: Sakio Bika captured the vacant International Boxing Organization super middleweight title, stopping Peter Manfredo Jr. in the third round of a scheduled 12-rounder in Providence, R.I.