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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: Beckham says he will play out contract

Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder David Beckham will finish his contract with the MLS club. He wants to return to England. (Associated Press)

Soccer: David Beckham plans to play out the final year of his contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2011 while continuing to hope he’ll play for England again.

Beckham said in an interview with the Associated Press on Monday that he doesn’t know what will happen after his contract expires next year.

Beckham has a five-year contract with Major League Soccer worth $32.5 million. He could buy out the final year and leave next month when the playoffs end.

Beckham won’t go on loan to a European team like he did with AC Milan the last two years to keep fit during the MLS offseason, which could dash his hopes of playing for England again.

The Galaxy open the playoffs Sunday at Seattle. Beckham scored the tying goal in the team’s 2-1 weekend victory over FC Dallas to help them finish with the league’s best record of 18-7-5.

MLB: Pitching coach Dave Eiland has been fired by the New York Yankees, the first move in what should be a busy offseason in the Bronx after a disappointing loss in the American League championship series.

General manager Brian Cashman would not divulge a reason for letting Eiland go after his third year as the team’s pitching coach. Cashman says the decision was his and the reason is private. He insisted that it had nothing to do with the Yankees’ poor performance against the Texas Rangers in the ALCS.

• Blue Jays hire Farrell as manager: The Toronto Blue Jays have hired former Boston Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell as manager.

Farrell has never managed at any level. He succeeds Cito Gaston, who retired after the season.

The 48-year-old Farrell was Cleveland’s player development director for five years and Boston’s pitching coach the past four seasons.

Kostitsyn’s OT goal leads Canadiens

NHL: Andrei Kostitsyn scored 1:25 into overtime to give the Montreal Canadiens a 3-2 win over the visiting Phoenix Coyotes.

Kostitsyn put a rebound past Ilya Bryzgalov for his third goal in two games as Montreal improved to 5-2-1. Linemates Tomas Plekanec and Michael Cammalleri also scored in regulation.

Carey Price, who has started each of the Canadiens’ games, made 27 saves for his second straight win, including his first shutout in nearly two years on Saturday in a 3-0 win in Ottawa.

• Handzus wins it for Kings in 5th round of SO: Michal Handzus scored in the fifth round of a shootout to give the Los Angeles Kings a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Wild in St. Paul, Minn.

Anze Kopitar and Jarrett Stoll also scored in the shootout and Kings goalie Jonathan Quick stopped Antti Miettinen’s shot in the fifth round to secure the victory.

Kopitar had a goal and assist in regulation as Los Angeles won for the fifth time in six games. Stoll added a power-play goal and Quick stopped 20 shots.

• Kings put Doughty on IR with concussion: The Los Angeles Kings put star defenseman Drew Doughty on injured reserve while he recovers from an apparent concussion.

The Norris Trophy finalist missed his third straight game Monday night at Minnesota. Although Doughty would be eligible to play Thursday in Dallas, the Kings don’t expect him back before Saturday.

The 20-year-old Doughty was hurt last Wednesday on a hit by Carolina’s Erik Cole, who ran into him in the neutral zone.

• Rypien apologizes for grabbing fan: Canucks forward Rick Rypien has apologized for grabbing a fan during a game last week.

Rypien is serving a six-game suspension for making contact with James Engquist during a game against the Minnesota Wild in St. Paul on Oct. 19.

Rypien was headed to the locker room last Tuesday night after being assessed a double minor for roughing and 10-minute misconduct when he reached up and grabbed Engquist, a fan applauding.

Miscellany: Minnesota Timberwolves swingman Martell Webster will miss the next four to six weeks to recover from back surgery.

He was hurt in the playoffs last season with Portland and the injury flared up this month.

The former lottery pick was acquired from the Trail Blazers in a trade for the 16th overall pick on draft night in June. Webster was in line to compete with Corey Brewer for the starting shooting guard spot.

• NCAA tackles agents issue, looks to new sanctions: Several groups are working with the NCAA to find new ways to enforce rules prohibiting improper agent-related benefits for student-athletes, including possible post-NCAA financial penalties that reach into a player’s potential NFL career.

The NFL, NFL Players Association and sports agents are among those involved in talks with the NCAA that have included various proposals.

Chicago-based sports agent Rick Smith, a member of the NCAA panel, says that while discussions are preliminary, changes could come quickly.

• Gordon to be sponsored by anti-hunger campaign: Hendrick Motorsports has signed an anti-hunger campaign to be the primary sponsor on Jeff Gordon’s car beginning next season.

The multiple-year deal will be coordinated through the AARP Foundation. The campaign will be the first cause-related sponsorship of its kind in NASCAR.

DuPont and PepsiCo will continue their longtime sponsorships with Gordon in a smaller role.

• Anti-doping group funds ‘blood-spinning’ research: A group funded by the NFL and the U.S. Olympic Committee awarded $1.3 million in new grants Monday for anti-doping research that includes a project to determine how the increasingly popular therapy known as “blood spinning” might help athletes.

The treatments, called platelet-derived preparations (PRP), had been forbidden when injected through the muscles, but the World Anti-Doping Agency recently removed them from the banned list after studies showed the injections offered no possibility of performance enhancement.

• No final decision on women’s ski jump for Sochi: After losing their battle to get into the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, women jumpers will have to hold on for a few more months to learn if they’ll be competing in the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia.

The International Olympic Committee said it looks “favorably” on women’s ski jumping and six other proposed new events but put off a final decision until after their world championships in 2011.