Ruiz suspended 25 games
NEW YORK — Philadelphia Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz was suspended Tuesday for the first 25 games of next season following a positive test for an amphetamine.
The 33-year-old was an All-Star for the first time this year when he hit .325 with 16 homers and 68 RBIs.
“I am sincerely regretful for my mistake in taking a prohibited stimulant,” Ruiz said in a statement issued by the Major League Baseball Players Association. “I apologize to my teammates, the Phillies organization and the Philadelphia fans. I will serve the imposed 25-game suspension to begin the season and I look forward to returning to the field and working toward bringing a championship back to Philadelphia in 2013.”
Ruiz will be eligible to participate in spring training, including exhibition games.
Ruiz became the eighth player suspended this year under the major league testing program, the second for amphetamines following Baltimore shortstop Ryan Adams. The eight suspensions are the most since 2007.
There have been 102 suspensions under the minor league testing program.
Yanks, Pettitte close to deal
NEW YORK — Andy Pettitte and the New York Yankees are nearing an agreement on a one-year contract in the range of $10 million to $12 million, a person familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because talks are ongoing.
Pettitte, who turns 41 in June, retired after the 2010 season and then decided to come back this year and signed a contract guaranteeing $2.5 million.
He went 5-4 with a 2.87 ERA in 12 starts, missing nearly three months with a broken left leg after a line drive off the bat of Cleveland’s Casey Kotchman broke his left fibula on June 27.
New York also is negotiating on a deal with closer Mariano Rivera, who turns 43 on Thursday. The career saves leader was limited to nine games this year after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee while tracking down a fly ball during batting practice in Kansas City on May 3.
Tulane, ECU to join Big East
The Big East moved quickly to replace Rutgers and braced for more possible departures, getting Tulane and East Carolina to agree to join the re-invented conference in 2014.
“I would go as far to say as this is a historic day for Tulane University … the Big East is coming to the Big Easy,” school President Scott Cowen said Tuesday.
Tulane, in New Orleans, and East Carolina, in Greenville, N.C., will make it six Conference USA schools to join the Big East in the last two years.
Rutgers announced a week ago that it would leave the Big East for the Big Ten. Cowen and athletic director Rick Dickson said serious talks with the Big East began about a week ago.
Gambling probe at Tulsa
OKLAHOMA CITY — Tulsa athletic director Ross Parmley was placed on paid leave Tuesday as the university investigates allegations that he may have been involved with an alleged bookie in Oklahoma City.
University President Steadman Upham issued a brief statement saying Parmley will be on paid administrative leave during the investigation. Upham didn’t offer details about whether the allegations involved sports betting or other forms of gambling that may or may not be illegal in the state.
The 39-year-old Parmley was hired at Tulsa in January after serving three months as interim AD. He previously served as Tulsa’s director of football operations and assistant athletic director for football, according to the school’s athletic department website.
His lawyer, Derek Chance, said Parmley is cooperating with investigators.
Upham said the university’s executive vice president, Kevan Buck, will be the acting athletic director while Parmley is on leave. A school spokesman declined further comment.
Saints to back Williams
METAIRIE, La. — Saints defensive end Will Smith says he and linebacker Jonathan Vilma will be present Friday when their lawyers cross examine former New Orleans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams in Washington, D.C.
Williams appears at a bounty hearing on Friday morning, according to a schedule set by Paul Tagliabue. The former NFL commissioner has been appointed to oversee the latest round of player appeals in the matter.
Smith and Vilma will leave Atlanta after Thursday night’s game against the Falcons. They are among four players issued suspensions of various lengths in the league’s probe of the Saints’ cash-for-hits program. Smith and Vilma are playing while their appeals are pending.
Stoops to take over Wildcats
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky has hired Florida State defensive coordinator Mark Stoops as its new football coach.
The university announced Tuesday that Stoops will replace Joker Phillips, who was fired on Nov. 4. Phillips went 13-24 in three seasons at Kentucky.
The 45-year-old Stoops will be introduced here at a news conference on Sunday. No. 13 Florida State (10-2) plays Georgia Tech in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game on Saturday.
Stoops, brother of Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops, has been the Seminoles’ defensive coordinator the past three seasons. Florida State’s defense was ranked 108th when he took over and he has turned the Seminoles into one of the nation’s top defensive teams.
The Seminoles have the nation’s second-ranked defense, giving up 249.4 yards per game. Kentucky allowed 391 yards a contest this season.
Cubs, Feldman agree to deal
CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs and former Texas Rangers pitcher Scott Feldman have agreed to a one-year contract.
The deal was announced Tuesday.
Feldman is guaranteed $6 million next season and can earn another $1 million in incentives.
The 29-year-old right-hander was 39-44 with a 4.81 ERA over eight years with the Rangers, going 6-11 with a 5.09 ERA last season.
Suit filed against Maryland
GREENSBORO, N.C. — The Atlantic Coast Conference has filed a lawsuit against Maryland seeking full payment of the $50 million exit fee for announcing a move to the Big Ten.
The Guilford County Superior Court clerk’s office said the lawsuit was filed there Monday.
In a statement, Commissioner John Swofford says the ACC’s council of presidents unanimously decided “to file legal action to ensure enforcement of this obligation.”
The league raised its exit fee to $50 million in September after adding Notre Dame in all sports except football.
From wire sources
