Sportsbriefs_1-5-11

By Gus Bode

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida confirmed that former Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis will be Will Muschamp’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Muschamp also hired Seattle Seahawks defensive line coach Dan Quinn as defensive coordinator and line coach. Quinn spent the past 10 years in the NFL and has seven years of college experience.

Frank Verducci was added as offensive line coach and running game coordinator. Verducci coached at Notre Dame in 2009 after eight seasons with four NFL teams.

Weis and Quinn will remain with their NFL teams through the postseason.

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Muschamp has eight assistants now, leaving one spot to fill.

BASEBALL

DENVER (AP) — Carlos Gonzalez and the Colorado Rockies agreed to an $80 million, seven-year contract, pending a physical.

Even before the agreement was reached, Fabiola Bohorquez, a publicist for the outfielder, confirmed from Venezuela the deal was imminent. Gonzalez will soon fly to Denver to sign the contract, she said.

Gonzalez had a breakout season in 2010, winning a Silver Slugger award and a Gold Glove. The 25-year-old won the NL batting title with a .336 average and also hit 34 homers and drove in 117 runs despite batting leadoff for 44 games early in the year.

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Baltimore Orioles reliever Alfredo Simon surrendered to police to face an involuntary manslaughter charge in a fatal shooting New Year’s Eve. His lawyer said he was firing celebratory shots in the air.

A judge ruled that Simon could be held for up to a year pending trial.

The Dominican pitcher is suspected of killing 25-year-old Michel Castillo Almonte and wounding his 17-year-old brother in the northeast coastal town of Luperon. The dead man is Simon’s cousin, according to the pitcher’s lawyer.

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Police said witness accounts and evidence support the involuntary manslaughter charge.

BASKETBALL

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — WNBA star Diana Taurasi’s backup doping sample came back positive and she faces a possible two-year ban, Turkish news reports said Monday.

The Turkish basketball federation and official at Taurasi’s Turkish club, Fenerbahce, did not immediately confirm the reports. The Phoenix Mercury standout and former Connecticut star tested positive for the banned stimulant modafinil while playing in Turkey’s pro league.

Taurasi was tested following a league game Nov. 13 and the positive result was confirmed last month. She has been provisionally suspended by Fenerbahce pending the result of her “B” sample test, which was analyzed at the doping lab at Hacettepe University in Ankara.

HOCKEY

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Mark Visentin made 22 saves and Canada beat the United States 4-1 in the semifinals of the World Junior Hockey Championships.

Curtis Hamilton, Quinton Howden, Ryan Johansen and Zack Kassian scored for Canada, which plays Russia for the gold medal Wednesday. Russia beat Sweden 4-3 in a shootout earlier Monday.

The U.S. will face Sweden for the bronze, seeking its first medal on home soil. The tournament has been staged four previous times in the United States.

Canada is looking for its 16th gold medal since the inception of the tournament in 1977 and will make its 10th straight appearance in the title game.

SOCCER

LONDON (AP) — David Beckham is still waiting for the Los Angeles Galaxy to approve a loan to a European club, with Tottenham among the clubs eager to sign the former England captain.

Beckham announced two weeks ago that he needed to keep playing during the winter to stay in contention for an England recall. But the MLS club said Beckham wouldn’t be allowed to go to Europe and it expected him back at the end of January for the season-opener on March 15.

The Galaxy’s reluctance comes after Beckham injured an Achilles’ tendon last March while playing in the offseason for AC Milan. He missed the first six months of the Galaxy season.

Tottenham wants Beckham even if he would only play two months for the Premier League club.

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