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Cepeda, Kim lead WBC all-tournament team

LOS ANGELES, March 24 (UPI) -- Cuba's Frederich Cepeda and South Korea's Kim Tae-kyun were unanimous selections to the World Baseball Classic all-tournament team announced Tuesday.

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Japan's Daisuke Matsuzaka, named the tournament's most valuable player after Monday night's title game, was also an all-tournament selection as were his teammates, pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma and outfielder Norichika Aoki.

Japan won the WBC championship with a 10-inning, 5-3 victory over South Korea.

Matsuzaka was 3-0 with a 2.45 earned run average in the tournament. Iwakuma was 1-1 with a 1.35 ERA while Aoki hit .324 with seven runs batted in and four runs scored.

Runner-up South Korea placed four players on the 13-member all-tournament squad. In addition to Kim, a first baseman, third baseman Lee Bum-ho, designated hitter Kim Hyun-soo and pitcher Bong Jung-keun were also all-tournament.

Cepeda, an outfielder, joined and Kim Tae-kyun as the only unanimous choices. Cepeda hit .500 with three home runs and 10 RBI and Kim led the tournament with 11 RBI. He also hit .345.

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Shortstop Jimmy Rollins, who hit .417 in the tournament, was the only U.S. player to make the team. Also selected were Puerto Rico catcher Ivan Rodriguez, Venezuela second baseman Jose Lopez and Cuba outfielder Yoennis Cespedes.

The all-tournament team was decided in a vote of media members covering the WBC.


A's give Geren contract extension

OAKLAND, Calif., March 24 (UPI) -- Oakland Athletics Manager Bob Geren has agreed to a one-year contract extension that keeps him with the A's through the 2010 season, the team said Tuesday.

The agreement includes a club option for 2011. Other contract terms weren't released by the Athletics.

Geren, 47, is beginning his third season with Oakland. The team finished in third place in the American League West each of the past two years. The A's are 151-172 under Geren.

He replaced Ken Macha as manager after spending three years as the Oakland bullpen coach and 2006 as bench coach. He managed seven years in the minor leagues, compiling a 452-390 record.

Geren played five seasons in the major leagues as a catcher, appearing in 307 games and hitting .233. He played for the New York Yankees and San Diego Padres.


Michael Vick hires defense attorney

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ATLANTA, March 24 (UPI) -- An Atlanta lawyer says he has been hired by former NFL quarterback Michael Vick, who may be released from prison in May, to be his defense attorney.

Attorney Daniel Meachum, who was an original member of Vick's defense team when the former Atlanta Falcons star was first charged with staging illegal dogfights, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he has signed an exclusive three-year contract to represent Vick.

Vick, whose sentence runs through July 21, could be released to a halfway house as early as May. Meachum said he wants to help Vick put his life back together, telling the newspaper, "My concern is helping Michael get back to his family and surround him with people like Julius Erving, Tony Dungy and Bishop T.D. Jakes. We need people around him who can help him and his family get back on the right track."

Meachum added that a rumored book from Vick "may or may not be in the making. That would too premature right now. But I'm committed to helping Mike get back on his feet."


George Kell, .306 career hitter, dies

SWIFTON, Ark., March 24 (UPI) -- Baseball Hall of Famer George Kell, who was selected to 10 All-Star teams in 15 Major-League Baseball seasons, has died. He was 86.

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Kell died Tuesday in his sleep in Swifton, Ark., KAIT-TV, Jonesboro, Ark., reported.

Kell played for the Philadelphia Athletics, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles in a career that lasted from 1943 through 1957.

He led the American League in hitting in 1949, denying Boston's Ted Williams the triple crown when he recorded a batting average of .3429 to Williams' .3427. Kell struck out just 13 times that season, a record for a league batting champion.

Kell was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1983. Over his career he played in 1,795 games and hit .306 with 881 runs scored and 870 runs batted in. He finished his career with 2,054 hits. He was selected to the American League All-Star team 10 times, starting at third base six times in the game.

Kell was also a long-time broadcaster, calling Tigers' games from 1959-96.

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