Soccer

L.A. Galaxy ousts San Jose

Robbie Keane scored two goals and Mike Magee added another as the Los Angeles Galaxy beat the host San Jose Earthquakes 3-1 Wednesday night to complete a 3-2 aggregate victory in the teams' Western Conference semifinal series.

The win kept alive the Galaxy's hopes of repeating as MLS Cup champions for a second consecutive season. They will face Real Salt Lake or Seattle in the Western Conference finals.

Houston KOs Sporting KC

The Houston Dynamo held off host Sporting Kansas City after Seth Sinovic scored his first career goal in the second half, falling 1-0 but advancing to the Eastern Conference finals with a 2-1 aggregate-goal result.

The Dynamo will open the conference finals on the road against D.C. United or the New York Red Bulls in another two-game, aggregate-goal series scheduled to begin Sunday. United and the Red Bulls played to a draw in their first game, while their return game Wednesday was postponed by snow. The game will be played Thursday.

U.S. qualifying schedule set

The United States opens the final round of World Cup qualifying at Honduras on Feb. 6 and plays three of its first four games on the road. Seeking its seventh consecutive World Cup appearance, the United States hosts Costa Rica on March 22 and then goes to Mexico four days later. The Americans are at Jamaica on June 7.

NBA

Jazz drops Lakers to 1-4

Al Jefferson scored 18 points and Randy Foye added 17 on five three-pointers to lift the host Utah Jazz over the Los Angeles Lakers 95-86. Kobe Bryant scored 29 points as the Lakers fell to 1-4. Dwight Howard added 19 points.

Granger out 3 months

Indiana Pacers officials said one-time All-Star forward Danny Granger is expected to miss up to three months after receiving an injection in his left knee to treat patellar tendinosis. He was the Pacers' top scorer last season (18.7 points) and their first option in late-game situations.

Baseball

Weiss new Rockies manager

Walt Weiss was hired to replace Jim Tracy as manager of the Colorado Rockies. Weiss, the 1988 AL Rookie of the Year, and Arizona coach Matt Williams were thought to be the favorites.

McGwire Dodgers hitting coach

Mark McGwire was officially named the Los Angeles Dodgers' hitting coach. A former season home-run record holder, McGwire, 49, was the St. Louis Cardinals' hitting coach the past three seasons. McGwire replaces Dave Hansen, fired last month and then hired to be the Mariners' new hitting coach.

Mets, Bay terminate contract

Outfielder Jason Bay and the New York Mets ended their unproductive relationship after three seasons when they agreed to terminate the outfielder's contract with one guaranteed season left. The deal makes the 34-year-old former Gonzaga player a free agent and allows the team to spread out the remaining $21 million it owes him.

MVP finalists named

Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera is one of five finalists for the AL MVP award in voting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. The Detroit third baseman is joined by Texas' Adrian Beltre and Josh Hamilton, the Yankees' Robinson Cano and Angels rookie Mike Trout.

NHL

Labor talks continue

Representatives for the owners and players union will resume talks Thursday in New York, marking the third straight day they will meet.

Tennis

Djokovic holds off Murray

In what is shaping up to be a new top rivalry, Novak Djokovic held off Andy Murray at the ATP finals in London. The top-ranked Serb got the big break when he needed it late in the third set and beat the Scotsman 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 in the late Group B match, keeping all four players alive in the season-ending tournament.

Elsewhere

• A Nashville judge signed off on a deal between two-time Olympic gold medalist snowboarder Shaun White and prosecutors to settle public-intoxication and vandalism charges. Prosecutors agreed to dismiss charges if White completed alcohol treatment, performed 24 hours of community service and paid restitution.

• Carmen Basilio, a Hall of Fame welterweight and middleweight boxing champion of the 1950s who fought two brutal bouts with Sugar Ray Robinson, winning his middleweight title and then losing it to him, died Wednesday in Rochester, N.Y. He was 85.

• Former Detroit Tigers slugger Delmon Young pleaded guilty to aggravated harassment for shouting an anti-Semitic slur and tackling a man to the ground outside a New York City hotel last spring. Young, 27, was ordered to complete 10 days of community service and enroll in a program at the Museum of Tolerance New York.

• A judge in New Bern, N.C., sentenced former New York Yankees pitching prospect Brien Taylor to 38 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to distributing cocaine.

• San Diego Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal was suspended 50 games because of a positive test for testosterone. Grandal hit .297 with 36 RBI in 60 games.

• Tour de France champ Bradley Wiggins was recovering in a hospital after being hit by a car while riding his bike in northern England. His injuries were not serious.

• Four-time overall World Cup skiing champion Lindsey Vonn will skip the first World Cup slalom of the season in Finland this weekend, choosing instead to prepare for home races in Aspen, Colo., Nov. 24-25.

• Former Penn State president Graham Spanier was arraigned and released on bail at a brief court appearance in Harrisburg, Pa., on charges he lied about and concealed child sex-abuse allegations involving former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.

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