Sports digest: Nelson Cruz near deal with Mariners

Free-agent slugger Nelson Cruz and the Seattle Mariners are nearing agreement on a contract, two people with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Monday. The pair spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal had not been finalized and was pending a physical.

El Caribe in the Dominican Republic first reported the agreement, saying it was worth $57 million over four years. The Mariners did not comment.

Cruz led the major leagues with 40 home runs last season and had 108 RBIs for Baltimore, which signed him to an $8 million, one-year deal. He served a 50-game suspension in 2013 for violations of the major league drug agreement in relation to the sport’s Biogenesis investigation.

College

Kentucky (7-0) still has a firm grasp on the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll. The Wildcats again got 62 of 65 first-place votes in the new rankings. No. 2 Wisconsin (7-0) was on top of the remaining ballots. Arizona and Duke remained third and fourth, followed by Louisville, Texas, Virginia, Wichita State, Gonzaga and Villanova.

South Carolina is No. 1 in the AP women’s basketball poll for the second straight week. Notre Dame, Connecticut, Texas and Texas A&M round out the first five. Stanford (5-2) dropped three spots to No. 8 after a loss to North Carolina. Cal (6-0) moved up four spots to No. 10.

A’ja Wilson scored 16 points, and South Carolina (6-0) showed off its No. 1 ranking at home for the first time in a 90-26 win over North Carolina Central.

Cal’s football team began addressing its biggest recruiting need with an oral commitment from Derron Williams-Brown, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound safety from Mesa Community College in Arizona.

Williams-Brown earned second-team all-Arizona Community College Athletic Association honors as a freshman this fall and would arrive at Cal next season with three years of eligibility.

A neuropathologist will look for signs of traumatic brain injury in Ohio State football player Kosta Karageorge, who was found dead in a trash bin of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound and had a reported history of concussions, a coroner said.

Tulsa fired coach Bill Blankenship, three days after the Golden Hurricane wrapped up a second consecutive losing season. Tulsa finished 2-10.

Miscellany

Stanford junior Maggie Steffens has been named FINA women’s water polo athlete of the year for the second time in three years. The Danville-Monte Vista alum is the first two-time winner of the award, which began in 2010. In 2014, Steffens helped lead Team USA to the FINA World Cup championship and the World League Super Final title, and Stanford’s women to their third NCAA crown in four years.

American forward Abby Wambach is among the finalists for FIFA Women’s Player of the Year. Wambach, the 2012 winner, is competing with Brazilian forward Marta, a five-time winner from 2006-10, and German midfielder Nadine Kessler, seeking the honor for the first time.

Forwards Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal and Lionel Messi of Argentina are finalists for the men’s honor along with German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, FIFA said. Winners will be announced Jan. 12.

Staff writers Jeff Faraudo and Elliott Almond contributed to this report.