Associated Press
A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press that Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez have agreed to one-year contracts with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Damon gets $5.25 million and the chance to earn $750,000 in bonuses based on attendance, the person said. Ramirez gets $2 million.
The Los Angeles Angels acquired All-Star center fielder Vernon Wells from Toronto on Friday night, giving them the big bat they wanted to add this winter.
The Blue Jays shipped their high-priced fixture to the Angels for catcher Mike Napoli and outfielder Juan Rivera in one of baseball’s biggest trades this offseason.
The teams did not say whether the Blue Jays would also send cash to the Angels to help offset Wells’ contract. He has four years and $86 million left on the $126 million, seven-year deal he signed with Toronto.
CHICAGO ó The Chicago White Sox have picked up their 2012 option on manager Ozzie Guillen’s contract.
Known for his colorful language and wide-ranging opinions on just about every topic, the talkative Guillen has a 600-535 record.
LOS ANGELES ó The Los Angeles Dodgers and outfielder Marcus Thames have agreed to a $1 million, one-year contract. Thames had a .288 batting average and a .350 on-base percentage in 82 games, both career highs, last season with the New York Yankees.
SUPER HORSES
LOS ANGELES ó Fans of the Super Bowl can probably expect to see Clydesdales in the game for the next few years. The owner of Budweiser says it has locked up its position as the only national beer advertiser in the Super Bowl through 2014.
The brewer, which became Anheuser-Busch InBev NV in 2008, has had a presence in the NFLís championship game as the exclusive beer advertiser for 23 years.
The week of the Super Bowl, which will be played on Feb. 6, is a busy one for brewers with beer sales rising as much as 20 percent above a typical week in January or February.
FRANKLIN SUES ESPN
AUSTIN, Texas ó Former ESPN announcer Ron Franklin has sued the network over his firing for reportedly berating a female colleague.
The wrongful termination lawsuit filed Monday in state district court in Franklin’s hometown of Austin claims ESPN had no grounds for dismissing him. The suit says Franklin exchanged “contentious words” with a colleague who repeatedly interrupted a private conversation before the pair worked at the Chick-fil-A Bowl without incident.
Sideline reporter Jeannine Edwards has said Franklin called her “sweet baby” in a condescending tone. When she objected, he used a derogatory term. Edwards said a colleague reported the incident to ESPN officials.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and other fees, but not reinstatement. An attorney for Franklin didn’t immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
Franklin was pulled from Fiesta Bowl coverage on New Year’s Day, a day after the Chick-fil-A Bowl, and later apologized. He was fired Jan. 5.
The lawsuit claims ESPN and its corporate partner, ABC, spread “false and inflated versions” of the exchange and damaged Franklin’s reputation.
NHL
SUNRISE, Fla. ó Dominic Moore scored the only shootout goal and Dan Ellis stopped all three Florida shooters in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 2-1 victory over the Panthers on Friday night.
The goal withstood a video review to determine whether Moore hit the puck twice while deking Tomas Vokoun.
Ellis made 30 saves in regulation and overtime, then stopped Mike Santorelli, Michael Frolik and Stephen Weiss before Moore scored on the Lightning’s third attempt.
Islanders 5, Sabres 2
BUFFALO, N.Y. ó Michael Grabner scored twice and rookie goalies Nathan Lawson and Kevin Poulin combined to stop 36 shots for New York.
Matt Moulson, Jack Hillen and P.A. Parenteau also scored in the game the Islanders led 4-0 before Buffalo’s Nathan Gerbe scored goals 5 seconds apart late in the third period, a franchise record for the fastest goals by one player.
Canadiens 7, Senators 1
OTTAWA ó Tomas Plekanec scored twice and Max Pacioretty and Andrei Kostitsyn each had a goal and an assist in Montreal’s victory over Ottawa.
Benoit Pouliot, Brian Gionta and P.K. Subban also scored.