BASEBALL

NATIONALS OFFER SOSA INCENTIVE-LADEN CONTRACT The Washington Nationals have offered a non-guaranteed, incentive-laden major league contract to Sammy Sosa, assistant general manager Tony Siegle said yesterday. The offer is the latest attempt by the Nationals to persuade Sosa to join the team. They previously had offered the slugger a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training.

The Nationals were awaiting a response from Sosa, who ranks seventh on the career home run list with 574. He hit .221 with 14 homers and 45 RBI last year in his only season with the Baltimore Orioles.

The Nationals also agreed to an $850,000, one-year contract with Matthew LeCroy, who gives the team depth at catcher and first base. LeCroy hit .263 with 58 home runs and 209 RBI in 430 games over six seasons with Minnesota.

REDS PLUCK TWINS’ KRIVSKY FOR GM JOB Minnesota’s Wayne Krivsky was hired yesterday as the Cincinnati Reds’ next general manager, ending a two-week search that involved eight candidates. Krivsky was a leading candidate for the job two years ago, but former owner Carl Lindner chose Dan O’Brien, who had worked for the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers. O’Brien was fired last month by new owner Bob Castellini, who wanted to bring in his own executive.

The 51-year-old Krivsky worked for the Rangers before the Twins hired him in 1994 as a special assistant. He has spent the last eight years as assistant general manager, involved in all aspects of running the AL Central team. Krivsky got a two-year contract from the Reds that includes mutual options for two additional years.

The Reds are coming off their fifth straight losing season, their longest such streak in 50 years.

HOCKEY

SCOTT NIEDERMAYER PULLS OUT OF OLYMPICS Scott Niedermayer of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks withdrew from the Canadian hockey team for the Turin Olympics because he needs surgery on his right knee. Niedermayer’s agent told Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson of the decision yesterday.

Niedermayer, who will have arthroscopic surgery during the NHL’s Olympic break, is the reigning Norris Trophy winner as the league’s top defenseman. In Turin, Canada will try to defend the gold medal it won at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.

Florida Panthers defenseman Jay Bouwmeester was added to the Canadian roster to take Niedermayer’s place. Canada already is missing defenseman Ed Jovanovski of the Vancouver Canucks, who had surgery for a groin injury. Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Bryan McCabe was confirmed as the replacement for Jovanovski.

FOOTBALL

MICHAELS APPEARS HEADED FOR NBC Do you believe in switching networks? Yes! Al Michaels appears headed to NBC after ESPN hired former quarterback Joe Theismann, Washington Post columnist Tony Kornheiser, and Mike Tirico as its Monday night broadcast crew

Michaels had been with ABC since 1976 and had been the play-by-play voice of “Monday Night Football” since 1986, when he replaced Frank Gifford. A four-time Emmy-Award winner, he is best known for exclaiming “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” when the United States upset the favored Soviet Union in the 1980 Winter Olympic hockey tournament. NBC takes over Sunday night games next season from ESPN. John Madden, Michaels’s broadcast partner for the last four seasons, agreed in June to a six-year contract with NBC.

TENNIS

NAVRATILOVA PLANS FULL DOUBLES SCHEDULE FOR 2006 Even as she approaches her 50th birthday and recovers from knee surgery, Martina Navratilova plans to play a full schedule of doubles tournaments in 2006, including the Grand Slams, and might take another stab at singles.

Navratilova originally retired in 1994, with a record 167 singles titles and having spent 331 weeks ranked no. 1. She returned to the tour as a doubles player in 2000, and eventually couldn’t resist dabbling in singles, including a first-round victory at Wimbledon in 2004.

She injured her left knee during an exhibition event in November and had arthroscopic surgery the next month, forcing her to miss the Australian Open and other events. Back at practice, Navratilova is aiming to return to the WTA Tour at the February 20-25 hard-court tournament at Dubai, United Arab Emirates, then wants to play the next week at Doha, Qatar. She hopes to play doubles at 15 tour events this season and also could enter the mixed doubles at the French Open, Wimbledon, and U.S. Open.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

SOUTH CAROLINA DOWNS FLORIDA ON DAY OF UPSETS South Carolina might want to face Florida again in the Southeastern Conference tournament. It’s about the only league team the Gamecocks match up really well against. Tre’ Kelley scored 17 points, made three free throws in the final 26 seconds, and had a key steal down the stretch that helped South Carolina upset the seventh-ranked Gators 71-67 last night.

The Gamecocks (12-10,3-6) ended the second longest home winning streak in the nation at 20 games and swept Florida for the first time since the 1997-98 season. The teams could meet again in the second round of the conference tournament next month, which might pose another problem for Florida (20-3, 6-3).

– Associated Press