Midwest snow forces postponement of games

The St. Louis Blues saw plenty of snow and ice, but no Avalanche.

The Blues’ game against the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night was postponed because of a storm cutting a frigid path across much of the nation.

A makeup date was not immediately set for the NHL game, which would have been the first since the All-Star break for both teams.

The Toronto Raptors, meanwhile, were still hoping to make it to Atlanta for Wednesday night’s NBA game. In the meantime, they were stuck in Indianapolis for a second straight day.

The men’s Big 12 basketball game in Norman, Okla., on Tuesday night was called off and rescheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

Also postponed were the men’s and women’s Tuesday night games featuring Southeast Missouri at Southern Illinois-Edwardswille.

The airport in Dallas — the destination for thousands trying to get to Sunday’s Super Bowl — was among those shut down. Walkways outside Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, were like sheets of ice.

The storm also had an effect in the East, where Aqueduct canceled Wednesday’s racing card. The forecast for the New York area called for a mix of rain, sleet and ice. The Sparks traded reserve point guard Andrea Riley to the Tulsa Shock in exchange for a 2012 second-round pick. Riley, who was drafted by the Sparks as the eighth overall pick last season, averaged 3.4 points and one assist in 29 games.

Riley is pregnant and is due late March. A native of Dallas, the trade will send her closer to her family and friends.

Sparks General Manager Penny Toler said the team plans to fill the position soon by signing a free-agent to back up Ticha Penicheiro, the team’s veteran point guard. Penicheiro is a free agent but is expected to re-sign with the Sparks, according to a person close to the team.

— Melissa Rohlin

AP names Brady its NFL Offensive Player of the Year

Tom Brady tore up the NFL with his precision passing and dynamic guidance of the New England Patriots’ offense.

That was in 2007, when he ran away with the Associated Press NFL Offensive Player of the Year award.

Ditto for 2010.

Brady won the honor Tuesday for the second time in four seasons. The record-setting quarterback, who had a string of 355 passes without being intercepted, received 21 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league. He easily beat Philadelphia quarterback Michael Vick, who got 11 votes.

“To me it comes down to the mental toughness and determination of the players and coaches,” Brady said.

A unanimous choice for the All-Pro team, Brady threw for 36 touchdowns while being picked off just four times. When he won the award in 2007, Brady set an NFL mark with 50 touchdowns passes as New England went undefeated in the regular season.

Punter Sam Koch has agreed to a five-year contract with the Baltimore Ravens.

Alexei Ramirez, White Sox agree to deal

Shortstop Alexei Ramirez and the Chicago White Sox have agreed in principle to a new contract that guarantees $32.5 million in new money over four years through 2015, a person familiar with the negotiations told the Associated Press.

The deal includes a $10-million option for a fifth year, according to El Nuevo Herald in Miami, which was first to report the agreement.

The 29-year-old Ramirez hit .282 with 18 home runs and 70 RBIs last season and is considered one of the AL’s best-fielding shortstops.

Free-agent outfielders Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon signed one-year contracts with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Willie Mays Aikens, who went from World Series star to federal prison inmate, has been hired by the Kansas City Royals as a minor league coach.

Aikens, 56, hit four home runs for the Royals in their 1980 World Series loss to Philadelphia. He later served almost 14 years on gun, bribery and crack cocaine charges.

The former first baseman will be based at Kansas City’s complex in Surprise, Ariz.

Pennsylvania businessman to buy Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo Sabres owner Tom Golisano agreed to sell the NHL franchise to Pennsylvania businessman Terry Pegula.

Pegula is the founder and former president of the energy company East Resources Inc., a major player in Pennsylvania’s burgeoning natural gas industry that was sold to Royal Dutch Shell PLC for $4.7 billion last year.

In September, he and his wife, Kim, donated $88 million to Penn State to fund a new multipurpose arena and help upgrade the men’s hockey program.

Pegula, 59, is a Penn State graduate and has ties to western New York. His wife is from Rochester and they’ve previously lived in Orchard Park, a Buffalo suburb, and Olean, a 90-minute drive south.

Nadal has muscle tear

Top-ranked tennis player Rafael Nadal will need 10 days to recover from a leg muscle injury picked up in his quarterfinal loss at the Australian Open.

A statement released Tuesday said a medical scan revealed Nadal tore a muscle in his right leg during last week’s straight-sets loss to fellow Spaniard David Ferrer.

Ivanisevic loses in comeback

Former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic lost his doubles match Tuesday in a one-time return to ATP competition at the Zagreb Indoors in Croatia.

The 39-year-old Ivanisevic and Croatia’s top-ranked player Marin Cilic lost 7-6, 6-4 to Filip Polasek and Igor Zelenay of Slovakia.

Ivanisevic won Wimbledon in 2001 and retired in 2004. He made a return to promote the tournament in his home country.

“Once is enough, and I won’t be doing it any more,” Ivanisevic said.

Larry Bird safe GM, Pacers owner says

The Indiana Pacers have replaced their coach, but they’ll keep team President Larry Bird at least through the season.

Owner Herb Simon told the Associated Press on Tuesday that he believes Bird has performed well under difficult circumstances, and he could be back next year. On Sunday, the Pacers fired coach Jim O’Brien and replaced him with assistant coach Frank Vogel.

Some fans have grown restless because the Pacers have missed the playoffs for four straight seasons. Many have been critical of Bird, an Indiana native and former Boston Celtics star.

Okafor could miss three weeks of play

The Hornets said center Emeka Okafor will be sidelined from one to three weeks because of his strained left oblique muscle.

The team announced that an MRI revealed a strain resulting from an injury that occurred late in the first half of New Orleans’ loss at Phoenix on Sunday night.

UCLA interviews Seto for coaching position

Former USC assistant coach Rocky Seto has been interviewed for UCLA’s defensive coordinator position, according a person in the Bruins’ program who was not authorized to speak on the subject.

Seto spent last season as the defensive quality control coach with the Seattle Seahawks. He was promoted to assistant secondary coach in January.

Chuck Bullough, UCLA’s defensive coordinator the last two seasons, was fired on Dec. 18.

Seto was USC’s defensive coordinator in 2009 and then followed former Trojans’ coach Pete Carroll to Seattle. Seto was the USC’s secondary coach from 2006 to 2008 and linebacker coach from 2004 to 2007.

UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel interviewed former Miami coach Randy Shannon for the position.

— Chris Foster

Ian Thorpe ending retirement, aiming for Olympics

Five-time Olympic gold medalist Ian Thorpe says he will end his retirement with the goal of swimming at next year’s London Games.

Speaking at a media conference, Thorpe said he is returning to competitive swimming and will train ahead of the Australian Olympic selection trials in February or March 2012.

He says he will concentrate on the 100-meter freestyle and hopes to compete in the relay events at London.

The 28-year-old Thorpe retired in November 2006 after setting 13 world records and winning 11 world championship golds. He won the 200- and 400-meters freestyle at the 2004 Athens Olympics in his last major international meet.

Frank Busch is to be named USA Swimming’s National Team Director, filling the vacancy created by Mark Schubert’s dismissal.

The official announcement will be made Wednesday by USA Swimming.

Busch, in his 22nd year as the head swim coach at the University of Arizona, has been named NCAA coach of the year six times and has been on the Olympic team staffs at the 2004 and 2008 Games.

Additionally, Eddie Reese, the coach of backstroker Aaron Perisol, said that the multiple Olympic gold medalist would be retiring from swimming. Peirsol, who grew up in Orange County and now lives in Texas, could not be reached for comment and his agent would not confirm Reese’s information.

— Lisa Dillman

D.A. won’t file felony charges against Everson Griffen

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office declined to file felony charges Tuesday against former USC football standout defensive lineman Everson Griffen, who allegedly grabbed the crotch of a Los Angeles police officer during a traffic stop near campus.

Prosecutors said they would refer the case to the city attorney’s office for possible misdemeanor filing because Griffen, who now plays for the Minnesota Vikings, does not have a criminal record and because of the “absence of injury” to the police officer.

Prosecutors did not reference a 2009 case in Massachusetts in which Griffen was arrested on suspicion of breach of the peace.

Griffen was booked on suspicion of felony battery in the incident, reported about 4 p.m. Monday at 30th and Hoover streets, said LAPD spokeswoman Karen Rayner.

The incident took place during a stop for “multiple traffic violations,” prosecutors said. Officers asked Griffen for his license, which turned out not to be valid, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

Griffen refused to comply with the commands of officers and refused to be handcuffed or go to jail, prosecutors wrote. At one point Griffen “turned and faced [an] officer in a threatening manner.” The officer used a Taser on the defensive lineman and told him to stop resisting.

As Griffen continued resisting, he was jolted a second time, according to the filing declaration. As the officer tried to restrain Griffen, he grabbed the officer’s crotch, according to police.

— Andrew Blankstein