Girardi Hired to Manage Marlins

The crowds will be smaller, the budget tighter, the odds of winning longer. Still, the chance to manage lured Joe Girardi from the New York Yankees to the Florida Marlins.

The Yankee bench coach accepted a three-year contract Wednesday to take over the Marlins.

It’s the first managerial job for Girardi, who also interviewed for the Tampa Bay vacancy. He spent 15 years as a major league catcher, then went into broadcasting in 2004 and came out of the booth to join the Yankee staff this season.

“I am extremely pleased to have Joe in our organization, and I look forward to his input as we start focusing on next year,” Marlin owner Jeffrey Loria said in a statement.

Girardi declined to comment until today, when he’ll be introduced at a news conference.

The 41-year-old Girardi succeeds Jack McKeon, who led the Marlins to the World Series title in 2003 but resigned after the team finished a disappointing 83-79 this year.

Leo Mazzone reached agreement on a three-year contract to become pitching coach for the Baltimore Orioles.

Mazzone, considered to be one of the finest pitching coaches in the majors, has been in the Atlanta organization since 1979 and was pitching coach of the Braves since 1990. He will replace Ray Miller, who served as pitching coach of the Orioles since June 26, 2004.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays were granted permission to interview Joe Maddon for their vacant managerial job, and the long-time Angel bench coach is expected to be one of the leading candidates to replace Lou Piniella.

“This job excites me because of the team,” said Maddon, who recently completed his 31st season in the Angel organization, 12 in the big leagues. “They have an exciting team; they’re cut from the same cloth we were a few years ago.”

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BASKETBALL

Jordan Talks Gambling in Television Interview

Michael Jordan admits being “stupid” in his gambling but never jeopardized his livelihood or his family, he told CBS’ “60 Minutes” in an interview to be broadcast Sunday.

“Yeah, I’ve gotten myself into [gambling] situations where I would not walk away and I’ve pushed the envelope,” says Jordan, who led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles in the 1990s. “It’s very embarrassing

Jordan also discusses his love of basketball, his father’s murder and his pursuit of privacy.

Former USC standout Sam Clancy was waived by the Portland Trail Blazers. Clancy, who spent last season playing in Spain, played in two exhibition games and averaged 2.5 points and one rebound.

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TENNIS

Second-Seeded Roddick Is Upset by Karlovic

Andy Roddick blew a match point and lost, 3-6, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (3), to Ivo Karlovic in the second round of the Madrid Masters in Spain. Roddick, seeded second, was playing his first tour match since losing in the first round of the U.S. Open.

Elsewhere, Rafael Nadal beat Victor Hanescu, 7-6 (5), 6-3, and will next play Tommy Robredo, who outlasted Carlos Moya, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1. Seventh-seeded Gaston Gaudio lost to Jose Acasuso, 7-6 (4), 6-2.

Patty Schnyder advanced to the quarterfinals of the Zurich Open in Switzerland with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Magdalena Maleeva, who plans to retire after the tournament. Third-seeded Mary Pierce withdrew, citing a right thigh strain.

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL

USC-Notre Dame Pulls In Big Ratings

USC’s last-second win over Notre Dame was seen by 30 million viewers, making it the most watched regular-season college football game in nine years.

NBC’s coverage of the top-ranked Trojans’ 34-31 victory Saturday earned a 6.7 national rating, which tied it with the Ohio State-Notre Dame in 1996 for the highest-rated Fighting Irish game on the network in more than a decade.

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HIGH SCHOOLS

Pacifica Softball Coach Fired by School District

Rob Weil, who coached Garden Grove Pacifica to national softball prominence, was fired Friday by the school for errors in judgment, according to a school district spokesman.

Over 16 seasons, Weil’s teams won 14 consecutive Garden Grove League titles, compiled a record of 460-74-3, and gained national recognition.

“There are reasons for this decision, and because it’s a personnel matter it would be inappropriate for us to comment further other than to say it was related to judgment by the individual on multiple issues,” said Alan Trudell, spokesman for the Garden Grove Unified School District.

Weil would not elaborate, but the coach called the matter “a booster issue with a disgruntled parent” and that he does not have plans to coach this season.

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MISCELLANY

Commission Approves Redesign for Coliseum

The Los Angeles city Cultural Heritage Commission approved the proposed redesign of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, another advance for those seeking to lure an NFL team to the historic venue.

The move, designed to avert controversies such as those that plagued the makeover of Soldier Field in Chicago, all but completes a to-do list of essential bureaucratic and technical matters that Coliseum backers had sought to finish in advance of an NFL meeting next week in Kansas City.

Last week, the City Council and the Community Redevelopment Agency gave their OK to a plan to finance infrastructure around the Coliseum. Earlier this month, the city planning department authorized Coliseum redevelopment plans.

The proposed redesign of the Coliseum would take it from its bowl shape to a three-deck structure rising around and above the famed peristyle end. Seating would drop from 92,000 to 68,000 for the NFL, 80,000 for USC football games.

With Hurricane Wilma expected to arrive with potentially devastating force in Florida this weekend, school and Atlantic Coast Conference officials postponed Saturday’s college football game between Miami and Georgia Tech. The teams will play Nov. 19 in Miami.

Also postponed was West Virginia’s trip to Tampa to face South Florida. Central Florida’s home game with Tulane will be played Friday night.

Meanwhile, the Miami Dolphins were taking a wait-and-see approach about their home game Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.

In golf, the Nationwide Tour canceled the Miccosukee Championship in Miami. It was supposed to be the final full-field event of the season, giving players one last chance to finish among the top 60 on the money list and qualify for the Nationwide Tour Championship.

Jeff Hart shot a six-under-par 66 to take a two-shot lead in the first round of the California State Open at Redhawk Golf Club in Temecula.

Eric Meichtry, Brendan Steele and Andy Barnes all shot 68s to tie for second in the event, which was suspended by darkness with 21 players on the course.

Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, a winger for Manchester United and a starter for Portugal’s national team, was arrested in England and questioned on suspicion of rape, reports said.

Floyd Mayweather Jr., World Boxing Council super-lightweight champion, will face Sharmba Mitchell on Nov. 19 in a welterweight bout at Rose Garden Arena in Portland, Ore.

David Coulthard is set to return next season as the No. 1 driver for Red Bull Racing’s Formula One team.... Al Unser, 66, remained hospitalized in Albuquerque because of pancreatitis, and his wife said the four-time Indianapolis 500 champion would stay through next week for gallbladder surgery.... A National Stock Car Racing Commission panel unanimously upheld the two-race suspension and other penalties handed down by NASCAR to Todd Berrier, Kevin Harvick’s crew chief.