Fast Break
Baseball
Cubs add year to Piniella’s deal
Manager Lou Piniella plans to stick with the Chicago Cubs for a while.
The Cubs picked up the option on Piniella’s contract for 2010 on Tuesday, a day before the N.L. Central champions open the playoffs against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The 65-year-old Piniella guided the Cubs to a 97-64 record, the best mark in the league.
Piniella signed a three-year, $10 million deal with a club option after the Cubs went 66-96 in 2006 under Dusty Baker.
The Cubs have gone 182-141 in two seasons under Piniella, winning consecutive division titles for the first time since 1906-08, which ended with the Cubs’ last World Series title.
College football
Locker open to new position
Washington quarterback Jake Locker said he’d play a different position while his broken right thumb heals if it would help the team.
Locker is wearing a sling and a soft cast around his right hand as he recovers from surgery Monday to stabilize his broken thumb. He was hurt in the Huskies’ 35-28 loss to Stanford last Saturday.
Speaking for the first time since the injury, Locker said he thinks his right hand caught on a defender as he tried to make a block. Locker stayed in for two more plays before leaving.
As for a new position, Locker was an all-state defensive back in high school. He said he’ll do what’s best for the team and would rather be playing than sitting on the sidelines.
On the tube
FSN picks up Cougs vs. Beavs
Washington State University and FSN Northwest said an agreement has been reached to televise the Cougars’ Oct. 11 football game at Oregon State, WSU Director of Athletics Jim Sterk announced. The Oregon State contest is set for a 3:30 p.m. start.
The addition means WSU’s first seven contests of 2008, and nine total for the season, have been selected for television. Four of the games have been or will be available in high definition on FSN HD, including Saturday’s 7:15 p.m. game against UCLA in the Rose Bowl, the USC game at Martin Stadium on Oct. 18 at 12:30 p.m. and the Apple Cup against Washington in Martin Stadium on Nov. 22 at noon.
Football
True-brew supporters
Saskatchewan Roughriders fans were accused of showering visiting B.C. Lions players with beer – cans and all – at a recent CFL game in Regina, and provincial pride is at stake here.
“Trust me on this,” wrote Cam Hutchinson of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. “Nobody from Saskatchewan would ever throw a can that still contained beer.”