Sports in brief: Three MLB pitchers lose arbitration battles
Pitchers Chien-Ming Wang, Brian Fuentes and Jose Valverde lost in salary arbitration Friday as baseball teams improved to 4-0 with four cases potentially remaining this year.
Two players who had been scheduled for hearings next week reached agreements. Cincinnati gave second baseman Brandon Phillips a $27 million, four-year contract and shortstop J.J. Hardy and Milwaukee agreed to a $2.65 million, one-year contract.
“Oakland catcher Jeremy Brown told the Athletics that he would not report to spring training and plans to retire for personal reasons.
Golf
Mickelson in front
Phil Mickelson played golf as spectacular as the weather in the Northern Trust Open at Los Angeles, finishing with a 20-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 7-under-par 64 and a four-shot lead.
When he finished his best score at Riviera, he was at 10-under 132 and in firm command going into the weekend.
Robert Allenby did OK in warm sunshine with a 66 that put him at 136 with Jeff Quinney, who made bogey on the final hole for a 67.
“Annika Sorenstam birdied five of the final seven holes for a 5-under 67 and a share of the early second-round lead in the LPGA Tour’s SBS Open at Kahuku, Hawaii.
Erica Blasberg (68) shared the lead at 7-under 137.
Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., shot a 72 and was tied for 14th and Tracy Hanson of Rathdrum shot a 71 and was tied for 46th.
“Loren Roberts, Fuzzy Zoeller, Tom Kite and Bruce Fleisher shot 7-under 65s to share the first-round lead in The ACE Group Classic at Naples, Fla.
Miscellany
Former Longhorn jailed
Former Texas running back Ramonce Taylor, who scored 15 touchdowns in the Longhorns’ 2005 national championship season, is serving five months in jail in Belton, Texas, for violating probation.
“Tanja Poutiainen earned her first World Cup ski victory of the season by winning a slalom with a run of 1 minute, 52.83 seconds, that vaulted her from third place to first in Zagreb, Croatia.
“Missouri guard Jason Horton and former teammate Stefhon Hannah were charged with third-degree assault in connection with a January fight at a late-night restaurant in Columbia, Mo.