The nation’s top baseball league announced Tuesday it will revive an old draft system to let teams select local talent.Starting this year, teams in the Korea Baseball Organization will enter the territorial draft. This type of draft had been used from the start of the KBO in 1982 to 2008. It was replaced by an open draft with a reverse-record order, in which the team with the worst record in the previous season had the first overall pick and could select any player, regardless of his regional ba

ATLANTA (AP) ― Rick Pitino capped the greatest week of his life with the prize he wanted most of all.Luke Hancock produced another huge game off the bench, scoring 22 points, and Pitino became the first coach to win national titles at two schools when relentless Louisville rallied from another 12-point deficit to beat Michigan 82-76 in the NCAA championship game Monday night.This title came on the same day Pitino was announced as a member of the latest Hall of Fame class, a couple of days after

New foreign pitchers in the Korea Baseball Organization are off to mixed starts in the 2013 season, with some showing promise for the future and others struggling to make a good first impression.The KBO teams are each allowed to sign two foreign players. The NC Dinos, an expansion team playing in their first KBO season, have been granted an extra roster spot for a non-Korean player in a special exception, and all of their three foreigners are pitchers.The eight other teams have used all of their

LOS ANGELES (Yonhap News) ― South Korean pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin, who recently made his major-league debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers, says he is happy leading a quiet life in his new California home.Speaking with Korean reporters at his downtown L.A. apartment Thursday, the rookie pitcher said he’s had no problem adjusting to life in the U.S., and has even gained a little weight from eating the home-cooked meals his mother, who lives with him, makes every day.The 26-year-old is the first South K

ROME (AP) ― Baseball and softball’s joint bid for Olympic reinstatement is still lacking a guarantee that major league stars would be available to play ahead of a key presentation to the IOC next month.International Baseball Federation President Riccardo Fraccari is holding out hope that Major League Baseball will commit its players for at least the semifinals and finals of the proposed Olympic tournament, but he told the Associated Press on Wednesday that “we have to be realistic.”Baseball and

CINCINNATI (AP) ― Joey Votto’s first hit of the season wasn’t all that pretty, but the timing and placement were perfect. Votto’s hard grounder deflected off the glove of first baseman Albert Pujols and drove in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning Wednesday night, sending the Cincinnati Reds to a 5-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.Brandon Phillips hit a three-run homer in his new role as Cincinnati’s cleanup hitter, and Votto provided the clincher with his first hit after an 0