Hitchcock is hired by Blue Jackets

The Columbus Blue Jackets, seeking an experienced hand to develop their young players, hired veteran Ken Hitchcock as head coach Wednesday.

Hitchcock, fired this season by the Philadelphia Flyers, was to be formally introduced as the team’s fifth head coach at a news conference today. Team President and General Manager Doug MacLean announced Hitchcock’s hiring shortly before the team took the ice in a 4-3 shootout loss at home against the St. Louis Blues.

Hitchcock said what appealed to him about the Blue Jackets was more than their core of young players.

“It’s that, but it’s also that they have veteran players who have won the Stanley Cup before, guys who know what it takes,” he said. “They’ve got people like Sergei Fedorov, Adam Foote and Fredrik Modin who know what it takes to win.”

Hitchcock said he expected to coach Friday at Philadelphia.

The San Jose Sharks put right wing Jonathan Cheechoo on injured reserve and recalled top prospect Joe Pavelski to replace the NHL’s top goal scorer from last season.

Cheechoo has missed two games because of a left leg injury incurred last week when Colorado’s Karlis Skrastins fell on top of him.

The move is retroactive to Nov. 16, and Cheechoo must sit out seven days before returning.

MISCELLANY

Colangelo expresses interest in the Cubs

Former Arizona Diamondbacks owner Jerry Colangelo would be interested in buying the Chicago Cubs if Tribune Co. -- which also owns The Times -- puts his hometown franchise up for sale.

Colangelo, chairman of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and former controlling owner of both the Suns and Diamondbacks, said he has held “preliminary discussions” with other people he would not specify who share his interest in buying the Cubs.

Areyoutalkintome, 13th in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint won by stablemate Thor’s Echo, will race California-breds only in the $100,000 On Trust Handicap today at Hollywood Park.

A 7 1/2 -furlong race, the On Trust is the main event on the holiday card with an early post time of 11 a.m.

-- Bob Mieszerski

NASCAR Nextel Cup driver Casey Mears of Bakersfield is scheduled to compete in the 66th running of the U.S. Auto Club’s Turkey Night Grand Prix of midget car racing tonight at Irwindale Speedway. Defending race winner Jason Leffler of Long Beach, who also won the event in 1999, hopes to become only the third driver to win the race three times.

-- Jim Peltz

The World Cup ski tour comes to North America with men’s speed races at Canada’s Lake Louise and women’s slaloms at Aspen, Colo. The following weekend, the women race at Lake Louise and the men compete in Beaver Creek, Colo.

Tonight’s Denver-Kansas City game on NFL Network is not available in a majority of the cable households in the L.A. market, but there is Westwood One radio coverage on KFWB 980. The announcers are Dick Enberg and Sam Wyche.

Churchill Downs in Louisville is suing TVG, claiming the horse racing network is televising its races in Britain and Ireland without its permission, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported. Magna Entertainment, which owns Churchill Downs, also owns a network that is involved in televising races in Britain and Ireland.

-- Larry Stewart

The United States advanced to the second round of the men’s volleyball world championships in Nagano, Japan, with a 25-19, 25-22, 25-23 victory over Iran.

Tiger Woods rallied to win the PGA Grand Slam of Golf for a record seventh consecutive time, closing with a bogey-free six-under-par 66 at Poipu Beach, Hawaii. Jim Furyk was second, two strokes behind Woods.

Michelle Wie had another terrible round in a men’s golf event, shooting a nine-over 81 in the first round of the Casio World Open at Kochi, Japan.