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Angels promote Ric Wilson to scouting director

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The Angels on Thursday promoted national cross-checker Ric Wilson to scouting director, a position that opened when the team fired Eddie Bane in September.

Wilson, 51, who will oversee the scouting and signing of amateur players, served as the team’s national cross-checker since 2003, the same year Bane started with the Angels. Bane reportedly has been hired as a Detroit Tigers scout.

Prior to joining the Angels, Wilson spent 11 years in the Milwaukee Brewers’ organization as an area scout, area supervisor and West Coast supervisor.

A former catcher and first baseman, Wilson was a member of Arizona State’s 1981 national championship team and spent six seasons (1981-86) as a player in the Seattle Mariners’ farm system.

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— Mike DiGiovanna

Rather than test free agency, Detroit Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge signed an $11.5-million, two-year contract. … Sandy Alderson has met with New York Mets executives for the second time as the team searches for a new general manager. … Major league home run leader Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays has undergone surgery to repair a sports hernia. … The Cleveland Indians have acquired two minor leaguers, pitcher Andrew Shive and infielder Matt Cusick, from the Yankees, completing the July 31 trade that sent reliever Kerry Wood to New York. … A Philadelphia teenager who ran onto the field wearing a full-body red spandex suit during a Phillies game last month has been sentenced to community service.

BASKETBALL: Heat’s Miller injures thumb.

A freak injury to Mike Miller’s right thumb is expected to keep one of the NBA’s top three-point shooters sidelined for several weeks, yet another blow to the injury-prone Miami Heat. Miller was injured when the thumb on his shooting hand got tangled in a teammate’s jersey during practice Wednesday.

The NBA wants a reduction in player salary costs by about one-third, and Commissioner David Stern said on Thursday there was no quantifiable progress in collective bargaining talks over the summer. Stern said the league wants player costs to drop by $750 million to $800 million. Deputy commissioner Adam Silver said the NBA spends about $2.1 billion annually in player salaries and benefits.

The Charlotte Bobcats have waived forward Darius Miles, the former Clipper who was trying to make a comeback after being out of the NBA last season. … Baylor Coach Scott Drew declined comment on a report that the NCAA is investigating his program’s recruitment of a high school player from South America.

ETC.

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USC goes for attendance record

USC hopes to set a new NCAA attendance record during its women’s soccer game against UCLA at the Coliseum on Friday.

“The rivalry is just as big in soccer as it is in football,” USC Coach Ali Khosroshahin said.

The game is at 7 p.m. and the Trojans need 8,205 fans to beat the 2006 record when North Carolina visited Texas A&M. The last time the teams played at the Coliseum in 2008, they drew 7,804 — the second-largest crowd to attend a regular-season match.

The Bruins, ranked No. 20 by NSCAA, have won seven of their last eight meetings by one goal. But the Trojans have the most impressive win — a 2-1 upset during the NCAA semifinals in 2007, when they went on to become the only Pacific 10 team to win the NCAA championship.

USC (8-4-3, 1-2-1) is also led by Alyssa Davila, Megan Ohai and Ashli Sandoval. UCLA (9-5-1, 2-2) has Sydney Leroux, Lauren Barnes and Kylie Wright.

China won its fourth consecutive men’s team title at the world gymnastics championships, while the United States struggled on the pommel horse and finished fourth at Rotterdam, Netherlands.

European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie bruised his left side in a four-vehicle crash in Scotland and said he was lucky to escape with only minor injuries. He was driving from his home in Dunning to see his father in Glasgow at the time, authorities said. No one was hospitalized.

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Roger Federer cruised into the Stockholm Open quarterfinals in his 900th match on the ATP Tour, beating Taylor Dent of the United States, 6-1, 6-2, in 51 minutes. Federer will face countryman Stanislas Wawrinka in the next round. … Qualifier Zarina Diyas, ranked 268th, upset top-seeded Jelena Jankovic, 6-1, 6-2, in the second round at the Kremlin Cup at Moscow. … The pro tennis tournament in New Haven, Conn., is becoming a women’s-only event, with Yale University and a couple of major corporations replacing a single title sponsor.

FIFA executive committee member Amos Adamu of Nigeria denied any wrongdoing in a World Cup vote-selling scandal, but he has been provisionally suspended from duty. … The race to stage the 2018 Winter Olympics began in earnest when bid cities Munich, South Korea’s Pyeongchang and France’s Annecy made their first official pitches at a meeting of Olympic associations in Acapulco. … The LA84 Foundation, established to manage surplus funds from the 1984 Olympic Games, announced $519,902 in grants to support 20 youth sports programs in Southern California.

Kasey Kahne will finish this NASCAR season driving for Red Bull Racing.

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