Blue Jays give manager contract extension

DUNEDIN, Fla., Feb. 20 (UPI) -- Toronto Blue Jays Manager John Gibbons has signed a contract extension that covers the 2008 season.

Gibbons will be paid $650,000 of the last season of the deal, the Globe and Mail in Toronto reported.

Gibbons, 42, was named the Blue Jays' interim manager on Aug. 8, 2004. He was given a one-year contract after that season but that deal was extended shortly after the 2005 season began.

Toronto is 187-187 under Gibbons and finished second in the American League East with an 87-75 mark last year. That was the best finish for the team since the Blue Jays won the World Series in 1993.