*SOCCER: Real Madrid announced the signing of Brazilian star Kaka from AC Milan. Reports said the Spanish club will pay Milan $92 million for the attacking midfielder, making it one of the richest deals in soccer history. The largest previous transfer was Zinedine Zidane (Madrid from Juventus for $65 million, 2001).
*COLLEGES: Texas advanced to the College World Series for the 33rd time with a 5-2 victory over Texas Christian, completing the field. The other qualifiers are Arkansas, Virginia, LSU, Cal State Fullerton, Southern Miss, North Carolina and Arizona State. The tourney begins Saturday in Omaha. … An NCAA committee approved three basketball rules changes intended to clarify block-charge calls (secondary defenders must establish position outside the area between the backboard and the front of the rim to draw a charge call), who can shoot free throws after an injury (the opposing coach must select from the four players remaining on the court) and the expanded use of replay (to determine flagrant fouls). … Tennessee is looking into whether it committed another recruiting violation by allowing media to be present during a meeting between football coach Lane Kiffin and recruits.
*NFL: The Cowboys say there are no plans to bring back Adam “Pacman” Jones, the cornerback whose career has been marred by off-the-field problems. Owner Jerry Jones had raised the possibility in an interview with the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram.
*AUTO RACING: Johnny Benson lost his ride when Red Horse Racing folded his team because it couldn’t find sponsorship for the defending Truck Series champion. Red Horse will continue to field the No. 11 truck for T.J. Bell, who has some funding but is not fully sponsored. … Richard Petty Motorsports laid off nine employees and reduced salaries throughout the organization, a byproduct of Chrysler’s bankruptcy filing. RPM, which fields cars for Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler, AJ Allmendinger and Reed Sorenson, is in the final year of its contract with Dodge and widely believed to be trying to negotiate a switch to Toyota in 2010.
*ALSO: The Anaheim Ducks signed right wing Mike Brown to a two-year contract extension. … Center Marty Reasoner, who set a career high with 14 goals for the Thrashers last season, re-signed with the team. … LSU forward Tasmin Mitchell withdrew from the NBA draft and will return to the Tigers as a fifth-year senior. … Spurs forward Fabricio Oberto, bothered by arrhythmia the last few seasons, underwent a heart procedure and could resume strenuous exercise in about a month. … NBA officials Jim Clark, Luis Grillo and Jack Nies will retire following the season. They have officiated a combined 73 seasons in the NBA.
———–
EDITED BY JIM HARDING
