BASEBALL
Hall candidates fall short
The doors to baseball’s Hall of Fame remained shut to this year’s Golden Era committee candidates. Nine players and one executive whose primary contributions were in 1947-1972 all failed to receive the 75 percent of the vote needed for election. “The results today are a reminder that election to the Hall of Fame is incredibly difficult and the highest honor an individual can receive in baseball,” Hall of Fame chairman Jane Forbes Clark said after the voting was announced Monday at the annual winter meetings, held in San Diego. Dick Allen and Tony Oliva came closest, each receiving 11 of 16 votes, one shy of the 75 percent needed for election. Jim Kaat appeared on 10 ballots, Maury Wills nine and Minnie Minoso eight. Ken Boyer, Gil Hodges, Billy Pierce and Luis Tiant each received three or fewer votes, as did the late Cincinnati Reds General Manager Bob Howsam. Voters who deliberated at Sunday’s confidential committee meeting included Hall of Famers Jim Bunning, Rod Carew, Pat Gillick, Ferguson Jenkins, Al Kaline, Joe Morgan, Ozzie Smith and Don Sutton; baseball executives Jim Frey, David Glass, Roland Hemond and Bob Watson; and media members Steve Hirdt, Dick Kaegel, Phil Pepe and Tracy Ringolsby. The pre-Pre-Integration Era committee, which considers candidates whose primary contributions were through 1946, gathers at next year’s winter meetings in Nashville, Tenn. The Expansion Era committee (1973 and later) votes again at the 2016 winter meetings in Washington, D.C. Last summer it cut a player’s eligibility from 15 years to 10 on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot. The BBWAA failed to elect a player in 2013. The BBWAA will announce its vote Jan. 6.
m In the first trade of the four-day winter meetings, the Oakland Athletics sent first baseman-outfielder Brandon Moss to the Cleveland Indians for minor league infielder Joey Wendle. That followed last month’s trade of third baseman Josh Donaldson to Toronto. The Chicago Cubs got a player back, agreeing to a $20 million, two-year contract with right-hander Jason Hammel — a pitcher Chicago traded to Oakland last summer. That deal was confirmed to The Associated Press by a person familiar with the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity because it had not been announced. Also, Arizona finalized its $68.5 million, six-year contract with Yasmany Tomas, a 24-year-old Cuban defector the Diamondbacks may move from the outfield to third base.
HOCKEY
Senators fire MacLean
Paul MacLean was fired as coach of the Ottawa Senators on Monday, less than 18 months since he was named the NHL’s coach of the year. The coaching dismissal was the first in the NHL this season and comes with the team off to an 11-11-5 start. Team executives had problems with MacLean dating to last season when the Senators missed the playoffs. Assistant Dave Cameron is the new coach, General Manager Bryan Murray said at a news conference. Cameron’s first game behind the bench will be at home Thursday against the defending champion Los Angeles Kings. MacLean, who previously worked as an assistant to Mike Babcock in Anaheim and Detroit, was in the first season of a three-year deal. The Senators, widely believed to have the lowest payroll in the league, are 10th in the Eastern Conference. They have struggled since the retirement of longtime captain Daniel Alfredsson, who was honored in a pregame ceremony last week.
OLYMPICS
IOC approves changes
The International Olympic Committee approved a wide-ranging reform package Monday in Monaco, including a more affordable bidding process, creation of an Olympic television channel and a more flexible sports program that could bring baseball and softball into the 2020 Tokyo Games. The IOC also approved the rewording of nondiscrimination policy to include sexual orientation — a move that followed the controversy over Russia’s law against gay “propaganda” ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. The International Olympic Committee voted in favor of the new rules on the opening day of a special session to adopt President Thomas Bach’s 40-point “Olympic Agenda 2020” program, the biggest changes in the IOC in decades. All the recommendations were approved unanimously in one day, rather than the scheduled 1 1/2 days. The IOC abolished the cap of 28 sports for the Summer Games to move to an “events-based” system that would allow new competitions to come in, while keeping to about 10,500 athletes and 310 medal events. Host cities will also be allowed to propose the inclusion of one or more additional events for their games. The new rules clear the way for Tokyo organizers to request that baseball and softball be included in the 2020 Games. Both sports, dropped after the 2008 Beijing Games, are highly popular in Japan. Other sports like squash and karate are also hopeful of joining the Tokyo program. The new bidding process, meanwhile, is aimed at making the system cheaper and more flexible to attract future candidates — including the option of holding events outside the host city or country. This opens the door to joint bids by cities, neighboring countries or regions.