Off the wire

— FOOTBALL Rookie QBs get call

Rookie quarterbacks Andrew Luck of Indianapolis and Russell Wilson of Seattle have been added to Sunday’s Pro Bowl rosters. Luck got in for the AFC when New England’s Tom Brady pulled out with an undisclosed injury. Wilson was added for the NFC after Atlanta’s Matt Ryan withdrew because of an injury. Other replacements for the NFC are Atlanta safeties Thomas DeCoud and William Moore. AFC replacements announced Monday were Houston tight end Owen Daniel, Miami guard Richie Incognito, Buffalo running back C.J. Spiller, defensive tackle Kyle Williams and free safety Jairus Byrd and Denver guard Zane Beadles and wide receiver Demaryius Thomas.

Former Cleveland Browns Coach Pat Shurmur is joining Chip Kelly’s staff with the Philadelphia Eagles, a person familiar with the hiring told The Associated Press on Monday. Shurmur is expected to be Philadelphia’s offensive coordinator, according to the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the Eagles haven’t announced any coaching moves. Shurmur went 9-23 in two seasons in Cleveland. He was fired along with General Manager Tom Heckert on Dec. 31. Shurmur began his NFL coaching career with the Eagles, serving as an assistant under Andy Reid for 10 seasons. He was the Eagles’ tight ends coach from 1999-2001 and quarterbacks coach until 2008. Shurmur then was offensive coordinator for St. Louis for two seasons before going to the Browns.

New Arizona Cardinals Coach Bruce Arians has filled his top assistant coaching positions by hiring Todd Bowles as defensive coordinator, Harold Goodwin as offensive coordinator and Tom Moore as assistant head coach/offense. Moore has 34 years’ experience as an NFL assistant, including 12 years as Peyton Manning’s offensive coordinator with the Indianapolis Colts. Bowles, who was promoted from secondary coach to defensive coordinator with Philadelphia on Oct. 16, replaces Ray Horton, who left when Arians was hired and is defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns. Goodwin was offensive line coach of the Colts last season after five years as an offensive assistant with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

BASEBALL Murphy, Rangers agree

Outfielder David Murphy and the Texas Rangers agreed Monday to a one-year contract worth $5,775,000. The deal came three days after Murphy and the team exchanged salary arbitration figures. They agreed in the middle after Murphy sought $6.5 million and the team offered $5.05 million. Murphy hit .304 with 15 home runs and 61 RBI in 147 games last year. He was sixth in the AL with a .380 on-base percentage. Murphy is a .285 career hitter in 707 games since his major league debut with Boston in 2006.

Left-hander Pedro Feliciano is returning to the New York Mets, who also settled their salary arbitration case with first baseman Ike Davis. The Mets said Monday that Feliciano had agreed to a minor league contract after two injury plagued seasons across town with the Yankees. The 36-year-old never pitched in a game for the Yankees, spending two years on the disabled list because of a torn capsule in his left shoulder after signing an $8 million contract. Feliciano had surgery Sept. 8, 2011, and made 10 injury rehabilitation appearances in the minors last year. He has a 1.23 ERA in seven games with Leones de Ponce of the Puerto Rican Winter League. Davis gets $3,125,000, six times the $506,690 he earned last year when he hit .227 with 32 home runs and 90 RBI. He had asked for $3.7 million when players and teams swapped figures last week and had been offered $2,825,000.

BASKETBALL Varejao out for year

Cleveland Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao will miss the rest of the season after developing a blood clot in his lower right lung. Varejao, who underwent surgery on a torn leg muscle Jan. 10, remains hospitalized at The Cleveland Clinic. The Cavs said he was admitted last Thursday and will likely remain there for several more days as he receives treatment. Varejao is expected to make a full recovery but he will remain on blood thinning medication for at least three months, the team said Monday. Varejao was leading the NBA in rebounding before he injured his leg Dec. 18 against Toronto. He averaged 14.4 rebounds and 14.1 points in 25 games.

The Joe and Gavin Maloof family has agreed to sell the Sacramento Kings to a Seattle group led by investor Chris Hansen, the league confirmed in a statement Monday morning. The deal is still pending a vote by the NBA board of governors. A person familiar with the decision said that Hansen’s group will buy 65 percent of the franchise, which is valued at a total price of $525 million, and move the team to Seattle and restore the Super Sonics name. The deal will cost the Hansen group a little more than $340 million. The Maloofs will have no stake in the team. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal was waiting approval.

TENNIS Li advances to semifinals

MELBOURNE, Australia - Li Na advanced to the Australian Open semifinals for the third time in four years, bringing fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska’s 13-match winning streak to a halt.

Sixth-seeded Li, who lost the 2011 Australian Open final to Kim Clijsters only months before her major breakthrough at the French Open, had a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Radwanska at Rod Laver Arena.

“She’s a tough player. I was feeling today against a wall,” Li said. “She can hit everywhere, but without a mistake. I was feeling just very tough. You have to focus on every shot. Not every point, every shot.”

Radwanska came into the Australian Open with titles this season at Auckland, New Zealand, and Sydney, where she beat Li in the semifinals, but continued her poor conversion rate in major quarterfinals. She’s only advanced further once in seven tries - at Wimbledon last year, when she lost the final to Serena Williams.

The quarterfinals also will feature American teenager Sloane Stephens against Serena Williams, who is aiming for a third consecutive major title, and defending champion Victoria Azarenka against two-time major winner Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Stephens has heard a lot of advice from Serena Williams.

It’s been mostly gentle encouragement, occasionally spiced with headline-making comments from Williams, who has predicted the 19-year-old American will one day top the women’s rankings.

As Stephens learned earlier this month, though, it’s one thing to play with Williams, another to play against the 15-time major champion.

With a 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 victory over Bojana Jovanovski, Stephens qualified for her first quarterfinal at a major tournament. Williams already has played at that level 34 times.

“It will be tough, obviously. It’s quarters of a Grand Slam,” Stephens said. “There won’t be that, like, first time, ‘Oh, my God, I’m playing Serena.’ That’s kind of out of the window now. So that’s good.”

On the men’s side, No. 2 Roger Federer and U.S. Open champion Andy Murray stayed on course for a semifinal in their half of the draw.

Federer won 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-2 over big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic, advancing to the quarterfinals at a major for the 35th consecutive time, while Murray took advantage of Gilles Simon’s fatigue for a 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 victory.

Federer will face 2008 Australian finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, while Murray will next play unseeded Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.

Sports, Pages 16 on 01/22/2013

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