Red Sox will sign Ryan Dempster

Two people familiar with the negotiations say the Boston Red Sox have agreed to a $26.5-million, two-year contract with right-hander Ryan Dempster.

The people spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday because the agreement is pending a physical.

Dempster, 35, has a 124-124 record and a 4.33 earned-run average in a 15-year big league career, most of it with the Marlins and Cubs.

Red Sox General Manager Ben Cherington would not confirm the deal Thursday.

ETC.

Obama comments on NHL

Mediation, once again, failed to generate any traction in the labor negotiations between the NHL and the NHL Players’ Assn. after two days of efforts by a federal official.

“I think we’re done with contact tonight,” Players’ Assn. special counsel Steve Fehr told reporters Thursday. “We’re still working on a bunch of stuff as we always are. We expect there will be contact tomorrow. “

He refused to characterize the day’s developments. But President Obama weighed in, via a TV interview with WCCO in Minnesota.

“My message to owners and to players is, ‘You guys make a lot of money. You make a lot of money on the backs of fans. So do right by your fans,’” Obama said. “You can figure out how to spread out a bunch of revenue that you are bringing in.”

—Lisa Dillman

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The Americans are bringing back Tom Watson as Ryder Cup captain with hopes of ending two decades of defeats in Europe.

The Americans have lost seven of the last nine Ryder Cups and have not won away from home since 1993, when Watson was the captain at the Belfry in England.

Australia’s Daniel Popovic shot an eight-under-par 64 to take a two-stroke lead after the first round of the Australian PGA at Coolum, then revealed that his father is battling incurable cancer.

Popovic said his father, Radi, who gave him his start in the game, is battling a form of bone cancer.

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The NCAA has filed an appeal in former USC assistant football coach Todd McNair’s defamation lawsuit against college sports’ governing body.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Frederick Shaller last month denied the NCAA’s motions to have the case dismissed and to keep emails and other documents under seal. Shaller ruled that McNair had “shown a probability of prevailing on the defamation claims” and cited emails “that tend to show ill will or hatred.”

—Gary Klein

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Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions is offering free tickets to both of its Saturday afternoon CBS-televised fights at the Sports Arena, and that night’s comeback main-event bout pitting Britain’s Amir Khan vs. Norwalk’s Carlos Molina.

Fight fans can watch the five-fight afternoon card starting at 1 p.m. at no charge, the main event being the International Boxing Federation bantamweight title defense by Leo Santa Cruz (22-0-1, 13 knockouts) vs. Alberto Guevara (16-0, six KOs).

De La Hoya is also giving away two tickets to the evening card for every unwrapped toy valued at $20 or more donated by fans. The toys-for-tickets deal is available at 2 p.m. Friday at the Coliseum statue area, site of the weigh-ins. The Saturday bouts will also include a fan fest at the Sports Arena at 3 p.m. Saturday, with doors reopening for the evening card at 4 p.m.

Larry Merchant will end his 35-year run as an HBO boxing commentator Saturday in calling the Nonito Donaire-Jorge Arce junior-featherweight title bout in Houston.

—Lance Pugmire