Sports Briefs: Government might get involved in BCS

The Obama administration is considering several steps that would review the legality of the controversial Bowl Championship Series, the Justice Department said in a letter yesterday to a senator who had asked for an antitrust review.

In the letter to Sen. Orrin Hatch, obtained The Associated Press, Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich wrote that the Justice Department is reviewing Hatch's request and other materials to determine whether to open an investigation into whether the BCS violates antitrust laws.

"Importantly, and in addition, the administration also is exploring other options that might be available to address concerns with the college football postseason," Weich wrote, including asking the Federal Trade Commission to review the legality of the BCS under consumer protection laws.

Several legislators and many critics want the BCS to switch to a playoff system, rather than the ratings system it uses to determine the teams that play in the championship game.

Weich noted that several undefeated teams have not had a chance to play for the national championship, including TCU and Boise State this year and Utah last year.

"This seemingly discriminatory action with regard to revenues and access have raised questions regarding whether the BCS potentially runs afoul of the nation's antitrust laws," he wrote.

Hatch, a Utah Republican, was steamed that his home state team was deprived of getting a chance to play for the title last year.

Bill Hancock, executive director of the BCS, said that while it was premature to comment on the letter, "We're confident that the BCS structure complies with the laws of the country."

Baseball

■ Outfielder Xavier Nady and the Chicago Cubs signed a $3.3 million, one-year contract yesterday.

The deal, agreed to earlier this week, was contingent on Nady passing a physical. He had his second elbow ligament replacement surgery last July and appeared in only seven games with the New York Yankees last season.

Nady batted .305 with 25 home runs and 97 RBIs in 148 games with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Yankees in 2008. He is a career .304 hitter in 28 games at Wrigley Field and will be part of an outfield mix that includes Alfonso Soriano, Kosuke Fukudome and newly acquired Marlon Byrd.

■ Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski soon will be able to walk down Mazeroski Way on Pittsburgh's North Side and see a statue twice his size depicting him hitting one of baseball's most famous homers.

If a sad movie makes him cry, think how such a tribute feels to Mazeroski who, while growing up in a one-room house near Wheeling, W.Va., pretended to play baseball with a wooden stick and a rock because his family once couldn't afford to buy him a ball and glove.

Mazeroski's voice was shaky throughout a brief talk yesterday as a miniature version of the statue that will be erected outside PNC Park in his honor was unveiled as former teammates Bob Friend and Dick Groat sat nearby watching.

■ Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said he's optimistic that a new deal will get done with American League MVP Joe Mauer.

Mauer and the Twins are keeping quiet on any talks about a new contract for Mauer, who's in the final year of his current deal. Gardenhire said yesterday he's confident the sides will come together and strike a deal.

Gardenhire said he doesn't "sit and fret about it" and that he doesn't get involved in the process. But he said he thinks Mauer's contract will get done before spring.

Mauer is making $12.5 million this season.

■ Fernando Tatis has agreed to an $850,000, one-year contract to stay with the New York Mets, who also gave a minor league contract to right-hander Josh Fogg.

Tatis, who plays all four infield positions and the corner outfield spots, gives the Mets additional depth at first base in case they don't re-sign Carlos Delgado. Tatis hit .282 with eight homers and 48 RBIs in 340 at-bats for the injury-ravaged Mets last season.

■ Derrick Turnbow, a former All-Star reliever, has agreed to a minor-league contract with the Florida Marlins and will join their major-league camp for spring training.

Turnbow, a right-hander, converted 51 of 55 save chances at the start of his career but struggled with shoulder tendinitis and hasn't pitched in the majors since May 2008. He failed to land a spot with Texas out of spring training last year.

College football

■ Minnesota is sticking with Coach Tim Brewster, his vow to advance the program unfulfilled through three topsy-turvy seasons.

Brewster and the university agreed yesterday to a two-year contract extension through the 2013 season. Both sides declined to reveal terms of the deal before Brewster, who was out of town, signs it next week.

Miscellaneous

■ The most contentious America's Cup in 159 years is finally out of the courtroom and in the hands of the sailors.

Justice Shirley Kornreich of the New York State Supreme Court yesterday told two-time defending champion Alinghi of Switzerland and American challenger BMW Oracle Racing to go sail their best-of-3 nautical grudge match scheduled to begin Feb. 8 in Valencia, Spain, in giant multihulls.

According to both teams, Kornreich said during a conference call with attorneys for bickering billionaires Ernesto Bertarelli and Larry Ellison that she won't expedite a hearing in BMW Oracle Racing's motion challenging the legality of the sails on the 90-foot catamaran Alinghi 5.

■ A member of the 1,600-meter gold-medal relay team at the Athens Olympics has accepted a four-year suspension and disqualification of her results for doping.

Crystal Cox, who ran in the preliminaries for the American team led by Sanya Richards, admitted to using anabolic steroids and agreed to the penalty yesterday, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said.

She almost certainly will have her gold medal stripped, while the consequences for her teammates aren't yet known. Richards ran the final along with Dee Dee Trotter, Monique Henderson and Monique Hennegan. Moushaumi Robinson joined Cox in the preliminary heat.

Cox was a former prep star at Fayetteville Pine Forest.

■ Cyclist Vania Rossi has tested positive for doping.

The Italian Olympics Committee said that the blood-booster CERA was found in Rossi's system after she finished second in the Italian cyclecross championships on Jan. 10 in Segrate, near Milan.

She is the partner of Riccardo Ricco, who was caught using the same substance at the 2008 Tour de France after winning two mountain stages. The couple have a son, who was born in July.

Ricco's 20-month ban will expire on March 19.