Dodgers Will Interview Indian Coach Skinner

The Dodgers plan to interview Cleveland Indian third base coach Joel Skinner for their managerial opening, ensuring the job won’t be filled before next week’s winter meetings.

General Manager Ned Colletti will interview former Boston Red Sox manager Grady Little today and New York Met third base coach Manny Acta on Thursday. Acta will travel to Los Angeles from the Dominican Republic, where he is beginning to assemble the World Baseball Classic team from that country. He has been appointed manager but would have to step down if hired by the Dodgers.

Skinner’s interview will be conducted before Colletti departs Sunday for the meetings in Dallas. Skinner brings the number of candidates to five.

Atlanta special advisor and former manager Jim Fregosi and former Tampa Bay bench coach John McLaren already have been interviewed.

Skinner, 44, was Indian interim manager after Charlie Manuel was fired in 2002, posting a record of 35-40. A catcher for three teams from 1983 to 1991, Skinner interviewed for the Angel opening before Mike Scioscia was hired in 1999.

Colletti, who was hired Nov. 15 to replace the fired Paul DePodesta, was unavailable for comment for the third day in a row. He answered questions during a team-sponsored online chat session during the afternoon, but a Dodger spokesman said Colletti would not speak to reporters.

-- Steve Henson

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Free-agent infielder Abraham Nunez and the Philadelphia Phillies agreed to a $3.35-million, two-year contract.

Nunez, 29, became the St. Louis Cardinals’ regular third baseman when Scott Rolen was sidelined for the year because of a shoulder injury and batted .285 with five home runs and 44 runs batted in.

Cal Eldred, 38, who returned from injury and illness in the last three seasons to pitch for the Cardinals, is retiring.

The right-hander was 1-0 with a 2.19 earned-run average in 31 games last season. He was sidelined for two months last season because of a heart infection and sat out 2002 and all but two games of 2001 after an elbow injury.

Eldred had an 86-74 record with a 4.42 ERA.

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OLYMPICS

Italy’s Doping Law Issue Is Said to Be Resolved

Valentino Castellani, chief of the Turin organizing committee, said he believed a tentative pact had been reached in the conflict over Italy’s doping laws but did not know the details.

Under Italian law, athletes can face criminal sanctions for doping violations. This raises the possibility of police raids in the Olympic Village during the Games.

Under International Olympic Committee rules, athletes face disqualification for any doping offense but no legal penalties.

The stadium Italian dictator Benito Mussolini ordered built in the 1930s is just about ready to stage the opening and closing ceremonies for the Turin Games after a $35.4-million renovation.

The stadium, unveiled Tuesday, will have a capacity of 35,000 for the Olympic ceremonies, including 8,000 temporary seats.

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SOCCER

Arena Invites Adu to U.S. Training Camp

U.S. Coach Bruce Arena is inviting Freddy Adu to his first camp with the national team and left open the possibility that the 16-year-old could be on the World Cup roster.

Arena said he plans to watch Adu during the team’s first training camp of 2006, which starts Jan. 4 at Carson.

Adu just completed his second season with D.C. United of Major League Soccer but was absent for several games while playing for the U.S. under-20 team.

Defender David di Tommaso of FC Utrecht of the Dutch league died in his sleep. He was 26.

The club said the cause of death wasn’t immediately known.

Fans last season voted the French-born Di Tommaso the team’s player of the year.

The Dutch soccer federation postponed Utrecht’s game Saturday against Willem II Tilburg. No new date has been set.

Columbus of MLS acquired defender Ritchie Kotschau from Colorado for forward Cornell Glen.

Kotschau was the second overall pick by Chicago in the 1998 college draft and helped the Fire win the MLS Cup in his rookie year.

Glen was with the Crew for less than a season. Columbus acquired him from Dallas this season for a draft pick.

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JURISPRUDENCE

Court to Give Opinion on FIFA-WADA Feud

The Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for Sport said it received requests from FIFA and the World Anti-Doping Agency to provide an advisory opinion on the unwillingness of the soccer body to adopt WADA’s recommended two-year ban for first-time drug offenses.

CAS said a decision is expected before the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, in February.

“The questions submitted to CAS are essentially related to the conformity of the FIFA rules with the World Anti-Doping Code regarding in particular the minimum sanctions in doping,� the court said in a statement.

WADA accuses world soccer’s governing body of noncompliance with the code, which dictates doping policy for the 35 Olympic sports federations. FIFA says it disagrees with WADA over an automatic two-year ban because it’s legally problematic not to take into account the extent of the offender’s guilt.

Any sport not conforming to WADA’s code risks being omitted from the Olympics.

A lawsuit filed against the University of Cincinnati by its women’s crew team charged that the school shortchanged women’s sports while spending millions on the men.

The suit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court, claims the university has violated the women’s rights to equal protection under the Constitution and Title IX, the 1972 law that prohibits sex discrimination in any educational program receiving federal funds.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court will review film of a high school football playoff game to determine whether a player should be suspended for kicking an opposing player.

Quarterback Tucker Brown of Shawnee was ejected for violating the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Assn. fighting rule with 19 seconds left in a Nov. 19 game in which the Wolves defeated Tulsa Washington, 14-10.

Brown was kneeling in an effort to run out the clock when a Washington player grabbed Brown’s helmet and pulled him to the ground. Brown then kicked the player.

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MISCELLANY

L.A. Lacrosse Franchise Is Named Riptide

The Los Angeles-based Major League Lacrosse franchise will be called the Riptide, former John Hopkins All-American John Tucker will be the coach and former Penn goalie G.W. Mix will be the general manager, team officials announced.

-- Peter Yoon

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Champ Car will reinstate the Road America race at Elkhart Lake, Wis., next year and drop Las Vegas from the schedule.

The race is scheduled for Sept. 24. It was not on the schedule this season after being a fixture since 1982.

Sprinters Justin Gatlin and Allyson Felix will receive Jesse Owens Awards from USA Track & Field on Thursday at Jacksonville, Fla., as the top U.S. male and female track and field athletes of the year.

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PASSINGS

Ex-Angel First Baseman Power Dies of Cancer

Vic Power, a four-time All-Star and the last major league player to steal home twice in a game, died of cancer in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He was 78.

Power won seven Gold Gloves at first base from 1958 to 1964. He batted .284 with 126 HRs and 658 RBIs in a 12-year career with several teams. His last season was with the Angels in 1965.

Jack Concannon, the former Boston College star who started at quarterback for the Chicago Bears in the late 1960s and early ‘70s, died Monday of a heart attack near Boston. He was 62.

Concannon played for four teams in a 10-year NFL career. He was a member of the Screen Actors Guild, appearing in the movie “MASH� as well as “Brian’s Song.�