Ball State stays unbeaten

Nate Davis threw four touchdown passes, and No. 14 Ball State survived a scare from Central Michigan on Wednesday night in a 31-24 victory at Mount Pleasant, Mich., that gave the Cardinals a school record for wins in a season.

The victory also clinched a share of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference for Ball State (11-0, 7-0), which has never played in the league title game.

The Cardinals can win the division outright with a win over Western Michigan on Tuesday.

Davis hit Briggs Orsbon in the corner of the end zone from 11 yards out with 7:29 left to give Ball State a 31-24 lead.

Central Michigan (8-3, 6-1) had a chance to tie the score in the closing minute, but Dan LeFevour’s pass was intercepted by Sean Baker at the Ball State nine with 35 seconds left to seal it.

BASEBALL

Red Sox trade Crisp to Royals

The Kansas City Royals picked up the leadoff hitter they had been seeking, acquiring center fielder Coco Crisp from the Boston Red Sox for reliever Ramon Ramirez.

As a setup man, Ramirez had a 3-2 record with a 2.64 earned-run average and 70 strikeouts in 71 2/3 innings.

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New York Yankees right-hander Mike Mussina intends to retire and will make the move official this week, FoxSports.com reported. Mussina, who turns 40 next month, would become the first pitcher to call it quits after a 20-win season since Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax in 1966.

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As expected, Don Wakamatsu became the first Asian-American manager in major league history when he was hired by the Seattle Mariners.

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Bidders for the Chicago Cubs have until Dec. 1 to submit offers, Major League Baseball said after a meeting of its ownership committee.

Bob DuPuy, baseball’s chief operating officer, said the latest deadline was set by the Tribune Co., which also owns The Times.

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Fans will be able to take some hacks in Angel Stadium during the Angels groundskeepers’ eighth annual Thanksgiving holiday canned food drive Friday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

Donations of two cans of food will be good for one swing against a pitching machine with a maximum of 20 pitches per participant. Fans may also donate $1 per pitch as well. The Angels will provide bats, balls and helmets.

All proceeds will benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County in the fight against hunger during the holiday season. Those who are unable to attend but would like to make a donation may send checks to the Second Harvest Food Bank at 8014 Marine Way, Irvine, CA 92618.

-- Mike DiGiovanna

ETC.

Bela, Martha Karolyi are accused of abuse

USA Gymnastics has never received a complaint about Bela or Martha Karolyi in the nearly 30 years they have been coaching in the United States, the governing body said Wednesday, a day after a Romanian gymnast alleged the two had abused her.

Trudi Eberle Kollar, a double silver medalist at the 1980 Olympics, said the Karolyis hit her when she was at the Romanian national training center in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Karolyis coached the Romanian team before they defected to the United States in 1981.

In an interview with Romanian daily Cotidianul, Bela Karolyi did not deny Kollar’s allegations, but said he felt no guilt for anything he did.

“Some of the girls have bad memories. Perhaps others say it was the best time of their lives,” Bela Karolyi told the Cotidianul.

The allegations were first reported by KCRA, a television station in Sacramento, where Kollar now coaches.

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The LPGA tour announced that it will offer three fewer tournaments in 2009 than this year, all because of sponsorship loss. . . . North Carolina says freshman forward Tyler Zeller probably will miss the rest of the season because of a broken wrist. . . . U.S. Auto Club driver Cameron Dodson was critically injured in a crash along a rural Hancock County (Ind.) road. Dodson, 20, drives for NASCAR driver Carl Edwards’ team and was the USAC Silver Crown series rookie of the year in 2007. He won one race in four starts this year.

PASSINGS

Graebner, 65; was doubles champion

Carole Caldwell Graebner, who won doubles titles at the U.S. and Australian Championships in the 1960s, died in New York after a brief battle with cancer. She was 65.

The top-ranked doubles player in the United States in 1963, Graebner teamed with Nancy Richey to capture doubles titles at the 1965 U.S. Championships, now the U.S. Open, and the 1966 Australian Championships, now the Australian Open.