Off the wire

LITTLE ROCK — BASEBALL Yankees hire Girardi

Joe Girardi, 43, was hired as New York Yankees manager, agreeing to a three-year contract to replace Joe Torre. "I think any of us would be somewhat surprised to get the job because it's such an honor," Girardi said. "I'm extremely excited and thrilled. I can't be Joe Torre, because I'm made up different. I'm a different character. I'm just worried about being myself and getting the most out of the guys." Girardi's deal is worth about $7.8 million, a person familiar with the agreement said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the Yankees didn't announce the details. It includes bonuses based on how far the team advances in the postseason. Girardi was the 2006 National League Manager of the Year with the Florida Marlins. Girardi caught for the Yankees from 1996-1999 and played on three teams that won the World Series, served as their bench coach under Torre in 2005 and was a TV announcer this year.

Free agent right-handed pitcher Luther Hackman, 33, was suspended for 50 games under baseball's minor league drug program after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. He was 1-2 with a 3.61 ERA in 41 appearances last season with the Milwaukee Brewers' Class AAA Nashville team in the Pacific Coast League, then finished with the Texas Rangers' Oklahoma PCL team, going 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA in 4 games. He played in the major leagues from 1999-2003 with the Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres, compiling a 9-10 record with a 5.09 ERA in 9 starts and 140 relief appearances. If he signs with a major league organization, he will serve the penalty at the start of next season.

Cincinnati Reds Manager Dusty Baker completed his staff by hiring Chris Speier, who was Baker's thirdbase coach with the Chicago Cubs in 2005 and 2006. Speier was primarily a shortstop in his 18-year career with the San Francisco Giants, Montreal Expos, St. Louis Cardinals, Minnesota Twins and the Cubs, but played all four infield positions. The Reds hired Baker on Oct. 13, when he was working for ESPN.

BASKETBALL Tennessee player hurt

Tennessee sophomore center Wayne Chism was alert Tuesday after sustaining a head injury during practice, school officials said. Chism, one of four returning starters for the Volunteers, was taken by ambulance to University of Tennessee Medical Center, basketball spokesman Craig Pinkerton said. Coach Bruce Pearl told The Knoxville (Tenn.) News Sentinel that Chism was hurt when Jordan Howell drove to thebasket and caught him with an elbow. The blow appeared to stagger Chism, who fell to the floor and was knocked unconscious. Chism was an unanimous selection to the All-SEC freshman team last season. He led Tennessee with 5.2 rebounds a game and also averaged nine points.

Assistant Rob Senderoff resigned amid a telephone recruiting scandal that already has cost Indiana one basketball scholarship and Coach Kelvin Sampson a $500,000 pay raise. The NCAA is still conducting its own investigation, which could lead to further sanctions. The report, which does not accuse Sampson of any direct NCAA violations, details more than 100 impermissible recruiting calls,most of them by Senderoff. At least 10 of them were three-way calls that Sampson had been patched into, and another eight included incoming calls that couldn't be identified.

The Dallas Mavericks are bringing back Juwan Howard after agreeing to terms with the veteran forward Tuesday. Howard, who played for Dallas during parts of the 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 seasons, can't sign with the Mavericks until he clears waivers today, the same day Dallas plays its season opener at Cleveland. Howard and the Minnesota Timberwolves agreed to a buyout Monday.

TENNIS Two have Masters plan

Spain's Tommy Robredo and Germany's Tommy Haas kept alive their hopes of qualifying for the Masters Cup, winning second-round matches at the Paris Masters. Robredo saved four break points in the third set before beating France's Gilles Simon 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. Haas beat Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3. The last two open spots in the eight-man Masters Cup will be filled this week in Paris, and the chances for eighth-place Haas and ninth-place Robredo improved when seventh-place Fernando Gonzalez of Chile lost to Russia's Mikhail Youzhny 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Nikolay Davydenko, Andy Roddick and David Ferrer have qualified.

BOXING Two qualify for Olympics

Bantamweight Gary Russell Jr. and featherweight Raynell Williams of the United States qualified for the Olympics with victories at the World Boxing Championships in Chicago. Russell Jr. outpointed fellow 2005 world bronze medalist Ali Hallab of France 22-14 in the round of 16. Williams was leading 23-3 when his bout with Armenia's Azat Hovhannisyan was stopped in the third round.

BASEBALLLittle resigns as manager of the LA Dodgers

LOS ANGELES - Grady Little, 57, resigned as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday, paving the way for former New York Yankees Manager Joe Torre to take the job.

Little said it was a move he considered for some time, and he toldGeneral Manager Ned Colletti of his decision Tuesday. First, Little called it "a mutual resignation." Later, he said it was his choice to leave with a year remaining on his contract. "I've got my own personal reasons," Little said on a conference call.

When asked if reports that the Dodgers were speaking with Torre influenced his decision, Little replied firmly:"No."

Torre, 67, and his former bench coach with the Yankees, Don Mattingly, have discussed the possibility of joining the Dodgers together, according to a person with knowledge of those talks. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the manager's job was still open in Los Angeles.

"We haven't hired anybody," Colletti said. "We're talking to some people,that's all I'm going to tell you. We'll talk about where we go from here at a later date."

Torre managed the Yankees to four World Series championships and 12 playoff appearances in as many seasons before turning down a one-year,$5 million offer for next season with an additional $3 million in incentives Oct. 18.

Torre, who completed a three-year, $19.2 million contract this year, ranks eighth on baseball's career list with 2,067 victories and has won a record 76 postseason games.

The Dodgers entered this season as the clear-cut favorite to win the National League West and had the league's bestrecord in mid-July. But they dropped 11 of their last 14 games to fade out of contention, finishing at 82-80. The Dodgers went 88-74 and made the playoffs as the NL wild card in Little's first season as their manager before being swept by the New York Mets in the first round.

Little managed the Boston Red Sox from 2002-2003 before being fired despite winning more than 90 games each season.