Clukey makes USA Luge World Cup roster

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. (AP) — Olympic bronze medalist and former world champion Erin Hamlin and six-time national champion Chris Mazdzer are among 11 sliders on USA Luge’s roster for the fall World Cup season.

Hamlin will be joined on the women’s team by World Cup medalist Julia Clukey ”“ an Augusta, Maine native ”“ as well as 2014 Olympian Summer Britcher and 2013 junior world champion Emily Sweeney.

Mazdzer’s teammates on the men’s squad are fellow Olympians Tucker West and Aidan Kelly. Taylor Morris may join the group later this season after he recovers from ankle and wrist injuries.

Matt Mortensen and Jayson Terdiman will lead the doubles roster. Jake Hyrns and Andrew Sherk will team up for some of the early season races.

The World Cup season opens later this month in Igls, Austria, then continues in December in Lake Placid and Calgary.

Peterson avoids jail time in plea deal

CONROE, Texas (AP) —Minnesota Vikings star Adrian Peterson avoided jail by reaching a deal with Texas prosecutors to resolve a child abuse case that revived a national debate about corporal punishment.

Peterson was sentenced to a form of probation after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor charge of reckless assault for using a wooden switch to discipline his 4-year-old son. It was not immediately clear how the plea deal would affect his playing status or whether he might be subject to a new NFL policy that calls for a six-game suspension without pay for a first domestic violence offense.

The All-Pro running back was indicted in September on a felony charge of injury to a child after the incident earlier this year in suburban Houston. He has been on paid leave under a special exemption from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

Dodgers tab Oakland’s Zaidi as next GM

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers agreed to hire Oakland Athletics assistant GM Farhan Zaidi as the club’s new general manager, a person with knowledge of the negotiations said.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Dodgers hadn’t announced a deal with Zaidi, who just completed his 10th season in Oakland’s front office as one of general manager Billy Beane’s creative assistants and analysts. Zaidi will now work under new Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, who joined the team last month from the Tampa Bay Rays.

MIAMI (AP) — The U.S. government says New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez gave his cousin nearly $1 million last year to keep secret Rodriguez’s use of performance enhancing drugs.

In court documents filed last week in Miami, federal prosecutors said Rodriguez made four wire payments totaling $900,000 between June 2013 and September 2013 to settle a threatened lawsuit by Yuri Sucart, who had worked as Rodriguez’s personal assistant. The total value of that settlement could be nearly $2 million, when factoring in other elements of the deal such as a home, a car and insurance.

Sucart, in a letter from his lawyer, threatened to expose Rodriquez’s PED use if he wasn’t given $5 million and a home.

Alfonso Soriano to retire after 16 seasons

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Seven-time All-Star Alfonso Soriano says he is retiring from the major leagues after a season in which he was released by the New York Yankees on July.

“I’ve lost the love and passion to play the game,” said Soriano in a radio interview Tuesday in his native Dominican Republic. “Right now, my family is the most important thing.”

Soriano, 38, completed in 2014 the final year of his $136 million, eight-year contract he signed with the Chicago Cubs before the 2007 season. He ends his career 50th in baseball history with 412 home runs.

“Although I consider myself in great shape, my mind is not focused on baseball,” said Soriano.

Soriano was released by the Yankees after playing just 67 games. He was hitting .221 with six home runs and 23 RBIs.