Wedge, Melvin named managers of the year
NEW YORK, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Cleveland's Eric Wedge and Arizona's Bob Melvin were voted the American League and National League managers of the year.
Both took their teams to the playoffs in 2007 but both also were eliminated from the league championship series.
Wedge became the first Cleveland Indians skipper to win manager of the year honors after he guided the team to a 96-66 record and the first division title in six seasons.
He received 19 first-place votes, six votes for second and three thirds for 116 points. Los Angeles Angels Manager Mike Scioscia was second with 54 points.
Melvin helped the Diamondbacks to the NL West title, despite putting one of the youngest lineups in the league on the field every day. The 90 victories Arizona piled up was the most in the National League in 2007.
Melvin was mentioned first on 19 ballots, second on seven and third on three for 119 points. Philadelphia Manager Charlie Manuel was second with 43 points.
Manager of the year voting is conducted by the Baseball Writers Association of America. A first-place vote was worth five points, a second-place mention, three points, and third-place, one.
Roddick dominant at Shanghai Masters
SHANGHAI, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Fifth-seeded Andy Roddick Wednesday recorded his second round-robin victory at the $3.7 million Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai.
Roddick dominated Fernando Gonzalez in the 6-1, 6-4 rout that took just 65 minutes. Roddick won 59 points in the match, compared to 38 for Gonzalez, and improved to 2-0 in Red Group play.
Also Wednesday, world No. 1 Roger Federer rebounded from a loss Monday to Gonzalez with a 6-4, 6-3 win over fourth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko. Federer and Gonzalez are 1-1 in the round-robin. Davydenko is 0-2 and cannot qualify for the tournament semifinals.
Roddick plays Federer in the final day of round-robin play Friday with Davydenko and Gonzalez paired off in the other match.
The Gold Group completes its round-robin play Thursday with sixth-seeded David Ferrer (2-0) playing third-seeded Novak Djokovic (0-2) and world No. 2 Rafael Nadal (1-1) playing eighth-seeded Richard Gasquet (1-1). The Nadal-Gasquet winner will join Ferrer in the semifinals.
The top two finishers in each group qualify for Saturday's tournament semifinals and those victors meet Sunday for the title. If a player goes through the week undefeated -- only Roddick and Ferrer remain eligible -- he would earn more than $1.5 million.
Ricky Williams cleared to rejoin Dolphins
DAVIE, Fla., Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Miami running back Ricky Williams, who hasn't played in the NFL since 2005 because of drug-policy violations, was cleared Wednesday to rejoin the Dolphins.
Williams applied for reinstatement earlier this year after completing a one-year ban. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Wednesday said Williams would be allowed to join the team.
Williams may participate immediately in team meetings and practices but won't be eligible to play in a game until Nov. 26, when the Dolphins play at Pittsburgh.
In April 2006, Williams was suspended for a fourth violation of the NFL's drug policies. He last played for Miami in 2005, rushing for 743 yards and six touchdowns over 12 games and also serving a four-game suspension for a drug-policy violation.
He missed the 2004 season, saying he was retiring, but returned to the field in 2005 when the Dolphins asked for bonus money to be returned.
Williams won the Heisman Trophy in 1998 while playing at Texas. He played his first three NFL season with New Orleans before moving to Miami. His first season with the Dolphins he led the NFL with 1,853 yards rushing.
Red Sox, Athletics open 2008 in Japan
NEW YORK, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- The Boston Red Sox open the defense of their 2007 World Series championship in Japan in March with a two-game series against the Oakland Athletics.
Major League Baseball officials Wednesday said the Red Sox and Athletics will play March 25-26 at the Tokyo Dome. It is the third time baseball will have regular-season games in Japan.
Before opening the season, the Red Sox and Athletics are to play Japanese teams in exhibitions. Oakland will be the home team for the Tokyo games against the Red Sox. The teams will return to the United States for other spring training games before resuming regular-season play in April.
Rookie Beck gets call at QB for Miami
DAVIE, Fla., Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Rookie John Beck has been given the start at quarterback Sunday for the winless Miami Dolphins against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Dolphins Coach Cam Cameron reportedly told Beck and Cleo Lemon of the change. Lemon started the last four games at quarterback for Miami, taking over for Trent Green, who suffered a concussion in the Dolphins' fifth game.
Beck, 26, was a second-round choice of Miami in last April's draft. He started 38 games at Brigham Young and was second in school history in completions, attempts and yards.
He hasn't played in an NFL regular-season game but completed 27-of-48 passes for 300 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in the pre-season. He was also sacked 10 times in the exhibitions.
