Hoyer hired as Padres general manager

The San Diego Padres have hired Jed Hoyer as their general manager, a person with knowledge of the situation said Saturday.

The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the formal announcement won’t be until Monday.

Hoyer, who was in Boston’s front office when the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 and 2007, is due in San Diego today.

The 35-year-old Hoyer emerged as a favorite immediately after Padres Chief Executive Jeff Moorad fired Kevin Towers during the last weekend of the regular season. Hoyer inherits a team that struggled for much of the season before playing well the final two months to finish fourth in the National League West at 75-87.

GOLF

Matteson shoots second straight 61

Troy Matteson had never shot a 61 until this week. Now he’s done it twice in a row to set a PGA Tour record.

His second straight nine-under round at the Frys.com Open in Scottsdale, Ariz., gave him a three-shot lead at 16-under 194 heading into the final round.

Matteson’s 122 score in consecutive rounds broke the tour record of 123 set this year by Steve Stricker in the third and fourth rounds of the Bob Hope Classic.

Webb Simpson (64), Tim Clark (65) and Chris Stroud (65) were tied at 13 under.

Andy Bean shot a five-under 67 for a share of the second-round lead with Russ Cochran in the Champions Tour AT&T; Championship at San Antonio.

Cochran had a 68 to match Bean at eight-under 134 on the Oak Hills Country Club course.

Matt Every made a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a five-under 67 and a one-stroke lead over money leader Michael Sim after the third round of the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship in Charleston, S.C.

WINTER SPORTS

Hedrick edges Davis in 1,500

Chad Hedrick got back at rival Shani Davis, setting a track record to win the 1,500 meters at the U.S. speedskating trials in Milwaukee.

Hedrick beat Davis by two-hundredths of a second -- the same margin that Davis nipped Hedrick by in the 5,000 two days earlier.

So, it’s one victory apiece -- and the exact same cumulative time -- going into their final head-to-head meeting of the trials, the grueling 10,000 today.

Tanja Poutiainen of Finland won the opening race of the ski season, edging Kathrin Zettel of Austria by 0.01 of a second in the giant slalom on the Rettenbach glacier in Soelden, Austria. Two-time defending overall World Cup champion Lindsey Vonn placed ninth. American teammate Julia Mancuso, the Olympic giant slalom champion, fell shortly into her second run after placing 21st in the opening leg.

Evgeni Plushenko of Russia won gold at the Rostelecom Cup in Moscow after a soaring free skate in his first international event since becoming Olympic champion at the 2006 Turin Games.

Miki Ando of Japan prevailed in the women’s event, and Ashley Wagner of the United States rose from fifth after the short program to take silver. Alena Leonova of Russia, the world juniors champion, took bronze for her first Grand Prix medal.

TENNIS

Soderling leaves match with injury

Top-seeded Robin Soderling withdrew from the Stockholm Open semifinals because of an elbow injury, allowing Marcos Baghdatis to advance to the final against Olivier Rochus. Rochus outlasted Tomaz Bellucci, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-3, to reach today’s final.

Sabine Lisicki came back to defeat Shahar Peer, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (5), to advance to the Luxembourg Open final against Timea Bacsinszky.

Janko Tipsarevic will play Mikhail Youzhny and Francesca Schiavone will meet Olga Govortsova in the final of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow.

PASSINGS

First U.S.-born NHL official

Bill “The Big Whistle” Chadwick, the first U.S.-born official in NHL history, who was later a television analyst for the New York Rangers, died Saturday. He was 94.

New York Mets minor league pitcher Rafael Castro has died of an apparent heart attack. He was 18. Castro died Friday at the Mets’ academy in Carabobo, Venezuela.