Big East officials meet, vow to stay together

Big East Commissioner John Marinatto said all the members of his conference are committed to staying together.

The presidents and athletic directors from the Big East football schools met for three hours at a New York hotel Tuesday.

Marinatto said each member pledged to remain in the conference and the league is aggressively searching for replacements for Pittsburgh and Syracuse. He said the non-football members also are on board.

Meanwhile, the Mountain West Conference began informal conversations with universities that might be left out in the shakeup of the college football landscape.

In addition to the league’s talks with schools from the Big 12 and Big East that might be excluded in conference realignment, Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson has had conversations with Conference USA commissioner Britton Banowsky about a football merger.

PRO BASKETBALL

Two days of labor meetings scheduled

Representatives for NBA owners and players will meet twice this week, perhaps only days before training camps would have to be postponed without a new labor deal.

Staffs from both sides will meet Wednesday without leadership from either side, a person with knowledge of the plans said Tuesday. Commissioner David Stern, deputy commissioner Adam Silver, union Executive Director Billy Hunter, President Derek Fisher of the Lakers and other top negotiators would rejoin the talks for another meeting Thursday.

Without a breakthrough then, the NBA probably would be out of time before being forced to make changes to the calendar.

The person spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the meeting details are supposed to remain confidential.

Camps have been expected to open Oct. 3. During the 1998 lockout that reduced the season to 50 games, camps that were scheduled to begin Oct. 5 were postponed on Sept. 24.

The Nov. 1 start of the regular season could be in jeopardy.

Dallas Mavericks forward Rudy Fernandez has signed to play on Real Madrid’s basketball team during the lockout. …. Denver Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari rejoined his former Italian team Olimpia Milano, agreeing to play until the lockout ends.

ETC.

Ramirez may play in the Dominican

Former Dodger Manny Ramirez, who retired in April after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug, hopes to play for a winter league team in his Caribbean homeland.

Winston Llenas, president of the Cibao Eagles, a winter league team in the northern Dominican Republic for whom Ramirez played in 1993-94, said Ramirez is expected to start training with his former team next week.

Ramirez is facing criminal prosecution in Florida on charges that he slapped his wife during a recent argument.

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The final round of competition in the 2011 Hurley Pro, the Assn. of Surfing Professionals’ World Tour event held in San Clemente, is expected to take place Wednesday at San Onofre State Beach.

The official call will be made at 7 a.m. If the swell looks good, competition is to begin at 8. The original 36-man field has been whittled to 12, but it includes 10-time world champion Kelly Slater.

— Baxter Holmes

Top-seeded Francesca Schiavone lost to Vera Dushevina of Russia, 7-6 (4), 6-2, in the first round of the Korea Open at Seoul. Second-seeded Marion Bartoli advanced at the Olympic Park by beating Nuria Llagostera-Vives of Spain, 6-2, 6-2.

Three other seeded players also advanced. No. 3 Julia Goerges of Germany defeated Yunka Sema of Japan, 6-1, 6-1, Polona Hercog of Slovenia eliminated Zuzana Kucova of Slovakia, 6-0, 6-2, and Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania defeated Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan, 6-1, 6-3.