James Loney, Dodgers approve deal

The Dodgers settled the last of their pending arbitration cases, agreeing with first baseman James Loney on a one-year, $4.875-million contract.

Loney’s salary will fall $100,000 short of the midpoint of the figures he and the Dodgers exchanged last month. Loney asked for $5.25 million and the Dodgers countered at $4.7 million.

Loney will not be eligible for free agency until after the 2012 season. He earned $3.1 million last season.

Had the sides failed to reach a settlement, they would have pleaded their respective cases in front of an arbitration panel Feb. 18. Teams generally prefer to avoid arbitration hearings, fearing they could damage their relationships with players by arguing why they are not worth as much as they are asking for.

The Dodgers also avoided hearings with their two other arbitration-eligible players, Chad Billingsley and Hong-Chih Kuo.

— Dylan Hernandez

Officials with the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office said Friday that they would not file a criminal charge against former Dodgers outfielder Milton Bradley for allegedly making threats against a woman, officials said Friday.

Bradley, currently with the Seattle Mariners, was arrested by Los Angeles police Jan. 18 for allegedly making threats against a woman at a residence in Encino.

— Andrew Blankstein

ETC.

Kim Clijsters regains No. 1 ranking

Kim Clijsters is No. 1 in women’s tennis again after defeating Jelena Dokic of Australia, 6-3, 6-0, to reach the semifinals of the Open Gaz de France in Paris.

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Gael Monfils pulled out of the SAP Open with a left wrist injury hours after beating Tim Smyczek, 6-4, 7-6 (6), to advance to the semifinals of the San Jose tournament. Monfils originally hurt the wrist in the first round of the Australian Open last month. The withdrawal sends Milos Raonic into his first career final after beating Richard Berankis, 6-4, 7-6 (2). Juan Martin del Potro will play Fernando Verdasco in the other semifinal.

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A horse mentioned frequently alongside current Kentucky Derby favorite Uncle Mo will give local fans a look Saturday. Trainer Steve Asmussen’s Tapizar is the likely favorite in Santa Anita’s $250,000 Grade II Robert Lewis Stakes.

Tapizar won the Jan. 15 Sham Stakes by 4½ lengths and is expected to make an impressive enough showing in the Lewis to propel him into the April 9 Santa Anita Derby and, with continued success, on to the Kentucky Derby on May 7.

The other major race Saturday, the $150,000 Santa Maria Stakes for older fillies and mares, features the return of St. Trinians, who won last year and also gave Zenyatta a good race in last year’s Vanity Handicap at Hollywood Park. Also entered is trainer John Shirreff’s Zardana, the 7-year-old mare who made a name for herself last March by beating 2009 horse of the year Rachel Alexandra in New Orleans.

Sunday’s top race at Santa Anita will be the $150,000 La Canada, where Kentucky Oaks and Eclipse award winner Blind Luck will make her second run of the year. Four-year-old Blind Luck has won $2.5 million in finishing 9-5-2 in 16 races.

— Bill Dwyre

Platinum Equity LLC founder Tom Gores has been given a 14-day exclusive negotiating period to work out a deal to buy the Detroit Pistons.

The 46-year-old Gores is a Flint, Mich., area native and Michigan State graduate. He is the founder and chairman of Platinum Equity, a Beverly Hills-based private equity investment firm that owns more than 30 companies in a range of industries.

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The University of California reinstated three teams that were slated to be eliminated in a cost-cutting move after an aggressive fundraising campaign to keep the programs, while going ahead with plans to get rid of the baseball and men’s gymnastics teams.

Chancellor Robert Birgeneau partially reversed a decision announced in September when he said that enough money has been raised to keep the men’s rugby, women’s lacrosse and women’s gymnastics teams. The two women’s teams had been slated for elimination, while men’s rugby was going to be reclassified as a “varsity club sport.”

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Chuck Tanner, a World Series-winning manager with the Pittsburgh Pirates of “We Are Family” fame, died Friday in his hometown of New Castle, Pa., after a long illness at the age of 82.