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Braves’ Chipper Jones will retire after the season

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With his 40th birthday approaching, Chipper Jones announced on Thursday that he will retire after his 19th season with the Atlanta Braves.

The third baseman, who has spent his entire career with Atlanta, has battled injuries for the last several seasons and actually decided to retire in 2010, only to change his mind.

This time, he means it.

The team issued a statement to announce this would be Jones’ final season. No matter what happens, the 1999 National League most valuable player will go down as one of baseball’s greatest switch-hitters, and a strong candidate for the Baseball Hall of Fame with his .304 career average, 454 home runs and 1,561 runs batted in.

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The Philadelphia Phillies’ Ryan Howard is working out without a boot on his left foot.

The 2006 NL MVP fielded grounders while sitting on a stool Thursday and wasn’t wearing the protective boot on the field for the first time since a setback three weeks ago.

Howard had a procedure Feb. 27 to remove an infection around his surgically repaired left Achilles’ tendon. He was cleared to start light exercises in a boot last week. On Wednesday, he got the OK to shed the boot.

It’s still uncertain when the three-time All-Star first baseman will return to the lineup.

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Jeff Moorad stepped down as the chief executive of the San Diego Padres, perhaps believing he won’t get the votes needed to take control of the club.

ETC.

Serena wins at Key Biscayne

Serena Williams returned to tournament tennis after a two-month absence and beat Zhang Shuai of China, 6-2, 6-3, in the Sony Ericsson Open at Key Biscayne, Fla.

No. 2-seeded Maria Sharapova overcame 12 double faults and erased 10 break points to rally past Shahar Peer of Israel, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Two-time champion Kim Clijsters defeated No. 14-seeded Julia Goerges of Germany, 6-2, 7-5. No. 13 Jelena Jankovic lost her opening match to Mona Barthel of Germany, 6-0, 6-3.

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Tottenham Hotspur, one of the iconic clubs in the English Premier League, is set to visit the Home Depot Center on July 24 to meet the Galaxy in an international friendly.

The two-match U.S. tour, which is also scheduled to include a July 31 game against the New York Red Bulls, is part of Tottenham’s preseason schedule.

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The Galaxy’s Robbie Keane played for Tottenham before leaving for Major League Soccer, and David Beckham trained with the English club team a year ago. Beckham may not be in Los Angeles to greet his old mates, however, because the opening ceremony of the London Olympics takes place that weekend. Beckham is hoping to captain the British team in those Games.

Kevin Baxter

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USC basketball player Ari Stewart, who redshirted this season after transferring from Wake Forest, was booked on suspicion of possessing marijuana and drug paraphernalia last month in Arizona.

Stewart, 21, was arrested in Tempe by Arizona State University police after an incident on Feb. 24. A spokesman for the Maricopa County Attorney’s office said that campus police submitted their case on Thursday and that there was no timetable for how long it would be reviewed before a decision was made about whether to formally charge Stewart.

USC played its final regular-season road game at Arizona State on Feb. 25. Stewart was not traveling with the team, Coach Kevin O’Neill said.

Stewart could not be reached for comment.

Gary Klein

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