Bradford bypasses NFL Squeezed Orange

Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford wasn’t ready to give up the life of a college quarterback -- not without a national championship.

The third-year sophomore will return to Oklahoma next season, passing on a chance to be a high NFL draft pick.

“I’ve dreamed about playing at Oklahoma since I was little, and my three years here have been probably three of the best years of my life, and I really feel that there’s no need to cut this experience short,” Bradford said Wednesday at a news conference.

Bradford led the nation with 50 touchdown passes and a quarterback rating of 180.8.

Pittsburgh running back LeSean McCoy is passing up his final two seasons of eligibility to enter the NFL draft. McCoy rushed for 1,488 yards and 21 touchdowns this season. Ohio State wide receiver Brian Hartline is also making himself eligible for the draft, skipping his final year of eligibility.

Freshman tight end Morrell Presley, who enrolled early at UCLA, will have wrist surgery today. A screw will be inserted to help repair a fracture he suffered last season at Carson High.

-- Chris Foster

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BASEBALL

Figgins, Angels agree to one-year contract

The Angels avoided arbitration with third baseman Chone Figgins by agreeing to a $5,775,000, one-year contract. Figgins, who turns 31 next week, hit .276 with one home run and 22 runs batted in in 116 games with the Angels last season.

The Dodgers officially announced that they reached an agreement on a one-year contract with right-hander Guillermo Mota.

Mota, 35, will be guaranteed $2.35 million. The deal includes $300,000 in incentives for games finished. The bonuses start at 30 games finished.

The Dodgers are expected to release outfielder Andruw Jones today as a condition of the agreement to restructure his contract. In exchange to being granted free agency or a trade, Jones agreed to defer most of the $22 million remaining on his two-year, $36.2-million deal.

-- Dylan Hernandez

The Chicago Cubs hope to have a new owner by opening day. It’s an optimistic time frame, because the sale of the storied National League franchise still must be approved by major league owners. But club Chairman Crane Kenney said he hoped Commissioner Bud Selig would help speed the process.

“I think if we could get some assistance with the commissioner, there’s a vetting with the ownership committee, and then there would be a full vetting with the ownership groups,” Kenney said.

Tribune Co., which owns The Times, announced on opening day 2007 that, besides accepting a buyout offer from real estate mogul Sam Zell, it was selling the Cubs and Wrigley Field.

The New York Mets have agreed to a one-year, $2-million contract with infielder Alex Cora, according to the New York Times.

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ETC.

Meggett is jailed on another rape charge

Several months after he was charged with raping a South Carolina woman, former NFL running back David Meggett was in jail on allegations of another sexual assault.

Meggett, 42, was arrested and charged with raping a 21-year-old woman in her North Charleston, S.C., home, authorities said.

The woman told police she woke up at 1 a.m. Tuesday and found a man she knew as “Mike” sitting on her bed, according to an incident report. The man demanded that she repay $200 she owed him and raped her when she said she didn’t have the money, police said.

Manchester City offered a record $145 million to buy AC Milan’s Kaka, who says the Italian team will decide his future. The 26-year-old Brazilian midfielder was quoted on the website of Mediaset as saying that he is happy to stay at Milan, his team since 2003.

The Galaxy acquired midfielder Mike Magee from the New York Red Bulls for a second-round pick in today’s MLS SuperDraft.

Magee is a six-year MLS veteran who has 23 goals and 13 assists in 130 games.

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney was ruled out for three weeks with a hamstring injury after scoring the goal that lifted the defending champions into second place in the English Premier League.

Rooney’s ninth goal of the season after 56 seconds clinched a 1-0 victory over Wigan, but he limped off the field about five minutes later.

American midfielder DaMarcus Beasley wants to leave Glasgow Rangers if he can’t get a regular place in the starting lineup.

Beasley, who joined the Scottish Premier League team in 2007, has been used sparingly this season and hasn’t played since Dec. 6.

Dave Mahan, a member of the group that owned 2003 Kentucky Derby winner Funny Cide, has died in Waterbury, Conn. He was 61. Mahan suffered from a brain tumor and had been hospitalized since Dec. 26.