Red Sox dismiss manager Bobby Valentine

The Boston Red Sox thought Bobby Valentine would restore order to a coddled clubhouse that disintegrated during the 2011 pennant race. Instead, he only caused more problems.

The brash manager was fired on Thursday, the day after the finale of a season beset with internal sniping and far too many losses. Valentine went 69-93 in his only year in Boston, the ballclub’s worst season in almost 50 years.

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Sandy Alomar Jr., who guided Cleveland in its final six games after Manny Acta was fired last week, interviewed to become the Indians’ full-time manager.

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Major League Baseball’s average attendance rose 1.8% this year to its highest level since 2008

ETC.

Williams’ second tumor not cancerous

North Carolina says basketball Coach Roy Williams’ second kidney tumor isn’t cancerous.

The school announced the test results Thursday night, a day after the Hall of Fame coach had a biopsy of the tumor discovered on his left kidney. The school says the tumor is the same kind of non-cancerous growth that was surgically removed from his right kidney Sept. 19.

Williams is expected to be ready for the start of preseason practice next week.

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Shawn Eichorst left his job as athletic director at scandal-ridden Miami on Thursday and accepted a five-year contract to succeed Tom Osborne at Nebraska.

Eichorst will start at Nebraska on Oct. 9, first as a special assistant to Chancellor Harvey Perlman, then assume Osborne’s role Jan. 1.

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Associate coach Chris Walker will be the interim head basketball coach at Texas Tech, replacing Billy Gillispie, a person familiar with the decision said.

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Ryan Moore matched the course record and his career best with a 10-under-par 61 in the first round of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

The former Nevada Las Vegas player had nine birdies, an eagle — on the 341-yard, par-four 15th — and a bogey in perfect conditions at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas to take a one-stroke lead in the Fall Series opener.

Brendon de Jonge had a 62, and Tim Herron and John Huh shot 63. Justin Leonard, Chris Kirk and Jonas Blixt were three strokes back at 64. Kirk eagled the 15th and par-five 16th.

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South Africa’s Branden Grace birdied the final five holes at Kingsbarns for a course-record 12-under 60 in the first round of the Dunhill Links Championship at Kingsbarns, Scotland.

Grace had a two-stroke lead in the three-course event. Victor Dubuisson shot a course-record 10-under 62 on the Old Course at nearby St. Andrews. England’s Oliver Wilson and France’s Gregory Havret had the best rounds at Carnoustie, shooting 67. The final round will be played on the Old Course.

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Puerto Rican featherweight Orlando Cruz has announced he is gay, making him what is believed to be the first openly homosexual pro boxer.

Cruz, 31, is ranked as the WBO’s No. 4 featherweight. He is 18-2-1 with nine knockouts.

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Top-ranked Victoria Azarenka and No. 2 Maria Sharapova reached the China Open quarterfinals in Beijing with straight-set wins. Azarenka beat Elena Vesnina of Russia, 6-3, 6-3, and Sharapova beat Polona Hercog, 6-0, 6-2.

Azarenka will face Romina Oprandi of Switzerland; Sharapova will play Angelique Kerber of Germany. Kerber beat former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, 6-1, 2-6, 6-4.

Li Na beat Shuai Peng, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (3). Li will face third-ranked Agnieszka Radwanska.

In men’s singles, Sam Querrey of the U.S. defeated Andreas Seppi, 6-1, 6-4.