Mariners sign Griffey for 2010

Ken Griffey Jr. and the Seattle Mariners have agreed to another one-year contract that will keep the popular player in town next season.

Griffey, who turns 40 on Nov. 21, received a contract similar to the incentive-laden deal he signed to return to Seattle for the 2009 season. He is likely to again be a part-time designated hitter in his 22nd season in the major leagues.

A 10-time All-Star and the 1997 AL MVP for the Mariners, Griffey hit .214 last season with 19 homers as a part-time DH. He was limited by a swollen left knee following surgery. He is No. 5 on the career home runs list with 630.

NL Gold Gloves: Shortstop Jimmy Rollins has won his third consecutive NL Gold Glove, and Philadelphia Phillies teammate Shane Victorino has won for the second straight time in the outfield.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina and San Diego first baseman Adrian Gonzalez also were second-time winners announced Wednesday.

Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright succeeded Greg Maddux, who won his record 18th last year.

Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Orlando Hudson won for the fourth time, taking over from Cincinnati's Brandon Phillips.

Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman replaced the New York Mets' David Wright, a boyhood friend. Houston Astros outfielder Michael Bourn and Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp also were first-time winners.

Varitek stays put: Catcher Jason Varitek has exercised his $3 million option to stay with the Boston Red Sox.

Boston declined to exercise its $5 million club option on Monday, and Varitek then had two days to decide whether to exercise his player option at the lower price.

Jamie McCourt wants to buy Dodgers: Jamie McCourt says she ran the Dodgers before she was fired by her husband last month, and she wants to buy the storied franchise.

The former Dodgers chief executive told the Los Angeles Times in a Wednesday article that she handled the team's day-to-day operations and was involved in key decisions, including whether to hire manager Joe Torre.

McCourt was fired last month by her husband and Dodgers owner Frank McCourt. Soon after, she filed for divorce after 30 years of marriage.

Kyle Busch loses points

NASCAR has docked Kyle Busch 25 Nationwide points and fined crew chief Jason Ratcliff $5,000 after Busch's No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota failed inspection before last week's race at Texas.

NASCAR also placed Ratcliff on probation through the end of the year for actions detrimental to stock car racing, using improper equipment and use of an improperly attached weight.

The penalty means Busch now leads Carl Edwards by 247 points with two races remaining. The infraction was discovered last Thursday at Texas Motor Speedway. Busch won the Nationwide race at the 1.5-mile track on Saturday.

Safin's career ends in Paris

U.S. Open champion Juan Manuel del Potro ended Marat Safin's career Wednesday, defeating the two-time Grand Slam tennis title winner 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in the second round of the Paris Masters.

Top-ranked Roger Federer lost 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4 to Julien Benneteau of France. The 15-time Grand Slam champion has never been farther than the quarterfinals at the Paris Masters. Benneteau aced his first match point and fell to the floor in tears. He next plays countryman Gael Monfils.

Rafael Nadal saved five match points before advancing.

Safin, 29, a three-time Paris Masters champion, played his last match in style, showing the Parisian crowd some terrific baseline winners, a fine touch at the net and strong first serves. But the Russian also made some horrendous unforced errors and threw his racket.

Nadal, who has never won the Paris Masters, saved all five of the match points he faced at the end of the second set before edging Nicolas Almagro of Spain 3-6, 7-6 (2), 7-5 to reach the third round.

Alshammar, Jing set marks

Sweden's Therese Alshammar has broken her own world record in the women's 50-meter butterfly at a short-course World Cup swimming meet in Stockholm.

Alshammar clocked 24.46 seconds in front of a cheering home crowd on Wednesday, beating her own mark of 24.75 set last month.

Also, Jing Zhao of China has set her third world record at the event by winning the women's 100-meter individual medley.

Jing won Wednesday's final in 58.40 seconds, surpassing the 58.51 set in October by Sweden's Therese Alshammar in Durban, South Africa.

Skier Bloom decides to retire

Freestyle skier Jeremy Bloom has abandoned his comeback, ending a bid to make the 2010 Olympic team so he can spend more time on his charity work.

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