Roy Halladay wins NL Cy Young Award

Roy Halladay arrived in Philadelphia to a standing ovation, a $60-million contract extension and the billing as baseball’s top ace. That was before he threw a single pitch.

Halladay added another victory to an almost perfect season Tuesday, unanimously winning the NL Cy Young Award and becoming the fifth pitcher to earn the honor in both leagues.

In the Year of the Pitcher, he became the only one ever to throw a perfect game and no-hitter in the same season.

Halladay was an easy choice after going 21-10 with a 2.44 ERA and 219 strikeouts. He led the league in wins and topped the majors in innings (250 2/3), shutouts (four) and complete games (nine).

Halladay received all 32 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Assn. of America.

Adam Wainwright of St. Louis was second and Ubaldo Jimenez of Colorado was third. San Francisco ace Tim Lincecum, who won the past two NL Cy Youngs, finished 11th.

This year’s AL Cy Young Award winner will be announced Thursday.

Halladay joined Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and Gaylord Perry as pitchers to earn the award in both leagues.

Bob Watson will retire at the end of the year as baseball’s vice president in charge of discipline.

Watson has decided penalties for brawls, intentional hit batters and other matters since 2002 in his role as VP of on-field operations. The retirement was announced by the commissioner’s office.

The 64-year-old Watson was a two-time All-Star as a player. He was general manager of the Houston Astros and New York Yankees. He became the first black GM in baseball to win a World Series title, with the Yankees in 1996.

Power-hitting second baseman Dan Uggla was dealt from the Florida Marlins to the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday for infielder Omar Infante and left-hander Mike Dunn in the first trade of the general managers’ meetings.

A two-time All-Star, Uggla hit .287 with 33 homers and 105 RBIs last season and had been discussing a possible contract extension with Florida. He made $7.8 million this year, is eligible for salary arbitration and can become a free agent after the 2011 World Series.

“We’re satisfied he’s here for one year,” Braves General Manager Frank Wren said. “He’s a kind of guy we’d like to make long-term.”

The trade reunites Uggla with former Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez, hired by the Braves to succeed Bobby Cox after the longtime Atlanta manager’s retirement.

Florida is close to replacing some of the lost power with free-agent catcher John Buck, who is nearing agreement on an $18-million, three-year contract.

Wren said Uggla will play second.

Right-hander Jake Westbrook decided to stay with the St. Louis Cardinals, agreeing Tuesday to a $16.5 million, two-year contract.

His deal, the first for a starting free-agent pitcher this off-season, includes an $8.5-million mutual option for 2013.

The 33-year-old was acquired from Cleveland on July 31 and was 4-4 with a 3.48 ERA in 12 starts for the Cardinals. Overall, he was 10-11 with a 4.22 ERA for the Cardinals and Indians.

The San Diego Padres have hired retired catcher Brad Ausmus as a special assistant in baseball operations. Ausmus had a long major league career and retired this year after playing two seasons with the Dodgers. He will work with catchers throughout the Padres system.

Major League Soccer’s reserve league to return

Major League Soccer’s reserve league will return in 2011, another step in improving player development.

The reserve league will have a 10-game regular season and playoffs, giving young players match experience on a consistent basis. Most top European soccer leagues have similar systems.

“Our technical committee … it’s their strong view that we need to have a reserve division as an essential part of our player development ladder in the United States,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said Tuesday in his annual state of the league address.

The reserve league was disbanded in 2008 after four seasons because of costs and logistics problems, but its return had been expected after Adidas extended its sponsorship deal this summer. The new eight-year deal, which begins next year and is worth more than $200 million, included a significant investment in youth development.

MLS and its teams are already devoting significant resources and attention to their development academies, which groom high school-age players and have already produced first-team starters such as MLS Rookie of the Year Andy Najar. But it’s hard for most players to make the leap from high school or even college straight to an MLS game-day roster, and there is a fear potential American stars are stagnating while they fight for playing time.

Allen Iverson scores 15 in debut with Turkish team

Former NBA All-Star Allen Iverson scored 15 points in his debut for Besiktas Cola Turka but failed to carry his team to victory against Hemofarm Stada.

Hemofarm Stada defeated Besiktas 94-91 in a European Cup game in Istanbul. Turkish fans shouted “Allen Iverson, the son of Besiktas Cola Turka” during the match.

The 11-time NBA All-Star had agreed to a $4-million, two-year contract with Besiktas after no NBA team offered him a contract for the season.

The Phoenix Suns signed center Earl Barron to fill the void created by Robin Lopez’s knee injury.

Barron has played parts of four seasons with New York and Miami. The 7-footer appeared in seven games for the Knicks last season, averaging 11.7 points and 11 rebounds.

Lopez is expected to miss several weeks after spraining two ligaments in his left knee against the Lakers on Sunday night.

Phoenix also released rookie guard Matt Janning and assigned rookie forward Gani Lawal to Iowa of the NBA Development League.

U.S. investigators talk with French anti-doping officials about Lance Armstrong

U.S. investigators interviewed French anti-doping officials at Interpol headquarters in Lyon, France, on Tuesday as part of a probe into allegations of drug use by cyclists, including Lance Armstrong, a French official told the Associated Press.

The investigation shifted its focus to France, with an American delegation seeking information from police officials and the national anti-doping agency (AFLD) that has stored some of Armstrong’s samples from the Tour de France. Armstrong won cycling’s storied race seven straight times, from 1999 to 2005.

Francoise Lasne, director of the AFLD lab, and testing director Jean-Pierre Verdy were heard as witnesses Tuesday at Interpol, an official with knowledge of the meeting told the AP. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the case.

Interpol, the international police agency, is acting an intermediary between the U.S. and French officials.

Before the meeting, a French official said the AFLD would make its information available to the Americans. The official also spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the meeting.

He said the agency would share “everything we know, everything we have, in the fridges, in the freezers, everything, everywhere” and is prepared to answer “everything that they ask.”

The official said he believes the American delegation is made up of U.S. Food and Drug Administration Agent Jeff Novitzky, as well as U.S. federal prosecutor Doug Miller and U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart.

French police officials whose job it is to investigate sports doping in France are also meeting later this week with the Americans, a senior police official said Tuesday. That official spoke on condition that he not be identified because he was not authorized to discuss the meeting publicly.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. accused of striking security guard

A security guard has accused boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. of poking him in the face several times and threatening him over parking violations outside Mayweather’s Las Vegas home, police said.

Mayweather refused to speak with police officers called to his house to investigate the Monday evening confrontation, but a misdemeanor battery report was taken and was being submitted to the Clark County district attorney for possible prosecution, Las Vegas police Officer Marcus Martin said.

The guard told police that Mayweather has been in an ongoing dispute with homeowner association security officers over parking outside his home.