Bochy decides to manage Giants

Bruce Bochy had no intention of leaving a winning situation with the San Diego Padres -- until the division rival San Francisco Giants came calling.

On Friday, Bochy concluded a whirlwind week with his introduction as the Giants’ manager. After guiding the Padres to consecutive National League West titles, his task now is to turn the Giants into a contender after two “off track” seasons by his assessment.

“Oh, what a great day,” Bochy said when introduced at San Francisco’s waterfront ballpark.

“I look forward to this challenge. I think this is a situation that is just going to get better. I’ve been managing in this division for 12 years. I know it.”

Bochy agreed to a three-year contract worth roughly $6 million to replace Felipe Alou after working out details late Thursday. Fittingly, Bochy’s opening-day opponent in April will be the Padres.

Bochy was the only candidate to replace Alou who has previous major league managerial experience, something General Manager Brian Sabean said he preferred.

Bochy had one year left on his contract in San Diego but was told he would not receive an extension now, and was allowed to explore other options.

He and Sabean already had an informal conversation about the job after the Sabean spoke extensively to Padres General Manager Kevin Towers about the possibility of hiring Bochy.

Bochy, 51, who just finished his 12th season as manager of the Padres, led them to consecutive NL West titles and the franchise’s winningest manager.

He spent the last 24 years in the organization, dating to his playing days as a catcher.

It wasn’t an easy decision to leave a team he helped build into a contender.

“We won 88 games -- or they won 88 games, as I should say now,” Bochy said.

“I wasn’t planning on listening until the San Francisco Giants called.”

Bochy was due to make $1.9 million in guaranteed money in 2007 from the Padres, so his new deal is a raise.

TENNIS

Top-ranked Federer

reaches semifinals

Top-ranked Roger Federer prevailed in a marathon tiebreaker and defeated fifth-seeded David Ferrer, 6-3, 7-6 (14), to reach the semifinals of the Swiss Indoors at Basel.

Federer will play Paradorn Srichaphan, who beat seventh-seeded Jose Acasuso for the fourth consecutive time, 7-6 (2), 6-3, in another quarterfinal.

Second-seeded David Nalbandian lost to Stanislas Wawrinka, 7-6 (7), 6-2. Wawrinka will play third-seeded Fernando Gonzalez, who defeated 18-year-old Juan Martin Del Potro, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

Top-seeded Maria Sharapova, yet to lose since before the U.S. Open, defeated fifth-seeded Ana Ivanovic, 7-6 (3), 7-5, to reach the semifinals of the Generali Ladies at Linz, Austria.

Sharapova will play third-seeded Patty Schnyder, who beat Vera Zvonareva, 7-6 (2), 6-4, in another quarterfinal.

MOTOR RACING

NASCAR Nextel Cup

qualifying rained out

Steady rain washed out qualifying for Sunday’s NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Bass Pro Shops 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, so the starting lineup was determined by season points.

That put series leader Matt Kenseth on the pole, runner-up Kevin Harvick alongside him and the other eight drivers in the Chase for the Nextel Cup championship right behind them.

“I would rather have qualified,” said Jimmie Johnson, who is in third place. “Maybe that would keep somebody from getting five points, and maybe that five points could make a difference in who wins the championship.”

Johnson was referring to the five-point bonus given a driver for leading at least one lap during a race.

Ninth-place Jeff Gordon trails Kenseth by 141 points and it is mathematically possible -- though unlikely -- to gain 156 points in a single race.

Because qualifying was rained out, former open-wheel driver J.J. Almendinger, who signed with Team Red Bull on Tuesday, will not make his NASCAR Nextel Cup debut at Atlanta.

PRO BASKETBALL

Seattle’s Fortson gets

one-game suspension

Seattle SuperSonics forward Danny Fortson was suspended for one game by the NBA for his flagrant foul on Ron Artest during Wednesday night’s exhibition game against Sacramento.

Fortson will serve his suspension when the SuperSonics open the season Wednesday against Portland.

In the first quarter of Seattle’s 103-88 victory, Fortson fouled Artest, making excessive contact with the head and body of the Kings forward.

SuperSonics center Robert Swift, who won the starting job with his defense and hustle in the exhibition season, will sit out the regular season after tearing a ligament in his right knee. He suffered the injury during Wednesday night’s game against the Kings.

The Houston Rockets waived guard Casey Jacobsen, reducing their roster to 15 players. The former Stanford star, who averaged 1.5 points in four exhibition games, was signed as a free agent in September.

The Rockets also exercised options on guards Luther Head and Kirk Snyder, extending their contracts through the 2007-08 season.

The Golden State Warriors waived forward Chris Taft, reducing their roster to 15 players. The former Pittsburgh star played in only 17 games last season while struggling with chronic back pain, which required season-ending surgery on a herniated disk last March.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Fullerton suspends four

players for violations

Cal State Fullerton players Bobby Brown, Frank Robinson, Curtis Battles and Scott Cutley have been suspended for the first three games this season for their misuse of book vouchers last spring.

The school self-reported the infractions, which are considered secondary NCAA rules violations.

Brown, a senior point guard, was second in the Big West Conference in scoring and assists last season with averages of 17.5 points and 4.5 assists. Robinson, a junior guard, was the conference sixth man of the year.

Battles, a senior center, averaged 1.7 points and 1.5 rebounds off the bench. Cutley, a junior forward, sat out last season after transferring from Kent State.

Fullerton opens the regular season at home Nov. 10 against California Maritime Academy.

-- Peter Yoon

George Washington freshman forward Hermann Opoku will be held out of the first 11 games of the season because of possible NCAA violations.

Colonials Coach Karl Hobbs said that the decision was made in consultation with the NCAA after discovering that Opoku might have unintentionally broken NCAA rules several years ago while playing with a club team in his native Austria.

MISCELLANY

Doping case against

Basso is dropped

The Italian cycling federation dropped doping allegations against Giro d’Italia champion Ivan Basso.

The organization upheld the Italian Olympic Committee’s recommendation that the case against Basso be dismissed, the federation said in a statement.

Basso was excluded from this year’s Tour de France after being linked to a Spanish doping investigation.

PASSINGS

Charlie Leigh, 60,

former Dolphin

Charlie Leigh, a kick returner on the unbeaten 1972 Miami Dolphins, died Thursday of lung cancer at an Albany, N.Y., hospital, his family said. He was 60.

Leigh, a running back, was with the Dolphins the year they finished 17-0, the only perfect record in NFL history. He won a second Super Bowl with Miami in 1973.

Edward F. Kenney Sr., the Boston Red Sox executive who ran the farm system when the team developed Wade Boggs, Roger Clemens, Dwight Evans, Carlton Fisk and Jim Rice, died Wednesday, the club said. He was 85.