Report: Favre won’t sign with Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings’ dalliance with Brett Favre has yet to reach the stage of face-to-face, close-the-deal talks.

Maybe it never will.

Vikings Coach Brad Childress remained at team headquarters in Eden Prairie, Minn., Thursday despite reports he was to travel south for discussions with the supposedly retired quarterback, who lives in Mississippi. Meanwhile, Yahoo Sports reported that Favre called Childress sometime Wednesday or early Thursday and told the coach he wants to stay retired.

Favre’s longtime agent, Bus Cook, reiterated for the second straight day that his famously fickle client hadn’t changed his plan to stay out of the game.

Yahoo cited an unidentified source close to the team in reporting that the Vikings won’t sign the 39-year-old quarterback, who owns many of the NFL’s major passing records.

The Cincinnati Bengals acquired running back Brian Leonard in a trade with the St. Louis Rams for reserve defensive tackle Orien Harris. The Bengals also signed safety Roy Williams to a one-year contract.

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BASEBALL

Diamondbacks fire Melvin

The Arizona Diamondbacks fired Bob Melvin after the team’s 12-17 start. The team said it would announce a replacement at a Chase Field news conference today.

Alex Rodriguez will make his season debut for the New York Yankees tonight in Baltimore. The All-Star third baseman had surgery March 9 to repair torn cartilage in his right hip.

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ETC.

USC, Irvine make volleyball final

Troy Murphy had 24 kills to lead USC over defending national champion Penn State, 3-1, in the NCAA men’s volleyball semifinals in Provo, Utah, ending the Nittany Lions’ run of 11 straight wins.

Penn State hadn’t lost a set since March 14 and took a 1-0 lead by winning the opener, but the Trojans won the next three -- 30-26, 30-26 and 30-24.

USC (21-10) will play top-ranked Irvine in the final. The Anteaters (26-5) defeated Ohio State in three sets, 30-25, 30-25, 30-26.

Dinara Safina rallied to beat Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0, to reach the Italian Open semifinals, and Venus Williams breezed past Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, 6-1, 6-2.

Two-time defending champion Jelena Jankovic lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-1, 7-6 (3).

The father of tennis player Jelena Dokic has been ordered to remain in jail for 30 days pending an investigation into his alleged threats against the Australian ambassador in Belgrade, Serbia. Damir Dokic was detained in his home in northern Serbia on Wednesday. Police said they found seven hunting rifles, a gun and two bombs during the search of his house.

Lorena Ochoa shot a seven-under-par 64 and took a one-shot lead after the first round of the Michelob Ultra Open in Williamsburg, Va. Lindsey Wright was one shot behind.

Running back Raymond Carter and wide receiver Dominique Johnson have been released from their scholarships so that they may transfer, UCLA football coach Rick Neuheisel said. Carter, who missed the 2007 season with a knee injury, gained 29 yards last season. He has three years of eligibility remaining. Johnson started six games in 2008 and made 34 receptions for 373 yards. He has two years of eligibility remaining.

-- Chris Foster

Danny Ozark, a minor league first baseman and a coach with the Dodgers who went on to manage the Philadelphia Phillies to three division titles in the 1970s, died Thursday at his home in Vero Beach, Fla. He was 85. Story, Section A