Auto Racing

R. Gordon switching to Toyota in 2009

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Robby Gordon will switch to Toyota in 2009, his fourth manufacturer change in four years.

Gordon was with General Motors in 2006, switched to Ford the next year to receive greater support, then abruptly moved to Dodge at the start of this season in a technical alliance with Gillett Evernham Motorsports.

That partnership was dissolved late this season, freeing Gordon to align with Toyota.

"After watching their progress last season, we decided that a switch to Toyota was the right package for our team," Gordon said in a statement Tuesday.

He won a Grand National Sport Truck championship in 1989 for the manufacturer.

Toyota had a successful second season in the Sprint Cup Series, placing all three drivers from Joe Gibbs Racing in the Chase for the championship.

NBA

Pistons' Iverson fined

NEW YORK -- Detroit Pistons guard Allen Iverson was fined $25,000 by the NBA on Tuesday for making inappropriate comments toward a fan in a win at Charlotte.

Iverson made the remarks to the fan with 6.2 seconds remaining in the third quarter during the Pistons' 90-86 victory over the Bobcats on Saturday.

College Basketball

SUU dismisses player

CEDAR CITY -- Southern Utah University junior guard Eules Tompson has been dismissed from the Thunderbird varsity men's basketball team, SUU Coach Roger Reid has announced.

Thompson was dismissed because of unspecified violations of team rules.

"It has always been my policy that what happens with the team stays within the team," Reid said, indicating he will have no further comment on the matter.

Golf

Harrington voted PGA player of the year

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Padraig Harrington was voted PGA Tour player of the year by his peers Tuesday, becoming the first European player to win the award since it began in 1990.

Harrington only won twice this year, but they were majors -- the British Open and the PGA Championship -- making him the first European to win successive majors in the same season, and joining Tiger Woods as the only player to do that in the last 20 years.

Woods won four times before season-ending knee surgery in June, including the U.S. Open for the his 14th major, and he was second on the money list despite playing only six times. Woods was among the candidates, along with Vijay Singh, Kenny Perry and Camilo Villegas.

Unlike other sports organizations, the PGA Tour does not disclose the vote totals.

In other tour awards, Bernhard Langer was voted player of the year on the Champions Tour, while Brendan de Jonge won the award on the Nationwide Tour. Andres Romero was voted PGA Tour rookie of the year, while Dudley Hart was voted comeback player of the year.

NFL

Peyton, Eli Manning: QB brothers in Pro Bowl

NEW YORK -- Peyton and Eli Manning were voted to the Pro Bowl on Tuesday, the first time quarterback-playing brothers have been chosen for the same all-star game.

The Indianapolis Colts' Peyton will make his ninth appearance in 11 seasons and will start for the AFC. It will be the first appearance for Eli, who was the MVP for the New York Giants in last February's Super Bowl. He will be on the NFC team.

The Giants also landed the oldest Pro Bowler ever, 44-year-old kicker John Carney, who was signed at the start of the season as a short-term fill-in for the injured Lawrence Tynes. He has made 27 of 29 field goals -- the two he missed were blocked -- and has kept the now-recovered Tynes inactive for all but two games.

The New York Jets led all teams with seven Pro Bowlers, including quarterback Brett Favre, who will be in his 10th Pro Bowl, but his first representing the AFC. There will be six each from the Giants, Minnesota Vikings and Tennessee Titans in the game, to be played on Feb. 8 in Honolulu.

The Titans have the NFL's best record at 12-2 and won their first 10 games before losing to the Jets.

"If we were the Dallas Cowboys, it would easily be 12 of us going to the Pro Bowl," said one of Tennessee's Pro Bowlers, safety Chris Hope. "A lot of people say it's a small market or we haven't been around long enough to gain the recognition like the other teams.

"Where a team like the Dallas Cowboys has a great season, they send half their team," Hope said. "We have the best record in the league. Only a few of us get recognized and only a few of us get to go. It's just a blessing to be one of the ones to have the opportunity, but I still think there's some guys that didn't get a chance to go."

While Peyton Manning will start for the AFC, the starting quarterback for the NFC will be Kurt Warner, who led the Arizona Cardinals to the NFC West title. It will be the 37-year-old Warner's fourth Pro Bowl but his first since 2001, when he was with St. Louis and made it for the third straight season.

• Gill staying put in Buffalo with new contract: Buffalo coach Turner Gill is staying put for at least one more season and won't consider interviewing for any other jobs after receiving a contract extension and pay raise.

The new deal was announced by the school on Tuesday, and is reward for a first-time coach who in three years turned around a program that was once of the worst in major college football.

The Bulls wo n their first Mid-American Conference title this season and will face Connecticut in the International Bowl at Toronto on Jan. 3.

Gill was a candidate for openings at Auburn and Syracuse.

Auburn hired Iowa State coach Gene Chizik and Syracuse went with New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Doug Marrone last week.

There was further speculation that Gill would be considered a candidate to take over at Iowa State.

Gill put an immediate end to any further speculation by saying he's not going anywhere.

• Lawyer: Vick may be moved to halfway house in January: Former NFL star Michael Vick could be out of federal prison and in a Virginia halfway house by Jan. 20, one of his attorneys told a federal bankruptcy judge Tuesday.

Vick is serving a 23-month prison term in Leavenworth, Kan., for bankrolling a dogfighting conspiracy and is scheduled to be released from federal custody around July 20.

Last month, Vick also pleaded guilty to a state dogfighting charge, avoiding more prison time. The case's resolution also cleared the way for his early release from prison and possible transition into a halfway house.

Attorneys for the suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback contend his long-distance absence has complicated his bankruptcy proceedings in Virginia, so they are working to get him moved to the state, said Michael Blumenthal, one of Vick's bankruptcy attorneys.

Conversely, the bankruptcy case might complicate plans for Vick's transfer.

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Frank Santoro ordered that paperwork must be completed to ensure Vick's appearance at a bankruptcy hearing set for Jan. 30 in Newport News. That paperwork could take weeks to process and could delay the halfway house program, Blumenthal said.

Blumenthal on Tuesday asked Santoro to postpone the hearing by a week, which would improve the chances of Vick being transferred before his required appearance in bankruptcy court. Santoro refused.

Soccer

WPS: League on track despite economy's woes

The Women's Professional Soccer league took the next step toward its inaugural season Tuesday when it announced the home openers for all seven teams.

The economic downturn forced the Arena Football League to cancel its 2009 season a day earlier, but WPS commissioner Tonya Antonucci said her league remains on track to make its debut.

The WPS has yet to complete its contract with the U.S. national team players association, something Antonucci had been hopeful to have done months ago.

"I think we really are down to the final, final issues here," she said.

Antonucci would like to reach a deal by the end of the year before the league starts announcing the signings of international players.

The WPS recently signed Puma as a major sponsor. Other potential sponsors have pushed back their decisions because of the economy until February or March.

Seeking to learn from the lessons of the failed Women's United Soccer Association, the WPS has tried to be more fiscally conservative than its predecessor was. Antonucci believes that will allow the league to weather the tough economy.

"The business model is built on pretty modest expectations in the early years," she said. "Our costs are in line with those modest expectations. You could say in financial terms it's already priced in."

All seven teams still plan to play when the league launches this spring, Antonucci said. Several clubs are meeting ticket sales goals, she said, and owners understand that the league's growth will take time.

The first game matches the Los Angeles Sol against the Washington Freedom in Carson, Calif., on March 29.