Nationals set to name Acta manager

Baseball

Mets third base coach Manny Acta is expected to be hired by the Washington Nationals as their manager, a baseball official told the Associated Press yesterday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he had been told Acta is getting the job . . . The Yankees and Orioles were discussing a deal that would send pitcher Jaret Wright to Baltimore for prospects. Wright and Yankees teammate Mike Mussina filed provisionally for free agency, awaiting decisions on team options for 2007 . . . Bidding closed on third baseman Akinori Iwamura, and his Japanese team has until Thursday to accept the highest offer. Iwamura, 27, hit .311 with 32 homers and 77 RBIs this year . . . The Mets and Citigroup Inc. agreed on a 20-year sponsorship deal for the team's new ballpark that is worth more than an average of $20 million annually and includes naming rights, a baseball official said. It will be called CitiField . . . Buddy Kerr, 84, an All-Star shortstop who in the 1940s played 68 consecutive games without an error, died in New York. Kerr played from 1943-51 for the New York Giants and Boston Braves.

Tennis

Justine Henin-Hardenne will finish the year as the top-ranked player in women's tennis after beating Maria Sharapova in the semifinals of the WTA Championships in Madrid. Henin-Hardenne will face defending champion Amelie Mauresmo in today's final. Mauresmo advanced to the final with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory over two-time winner Kim Clijsters. Henin-Hardenne's 6-2, 7-5 (7-5) victory over Sharapova clinched her second year-end No. 1 ranking . . . Five-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams hopes to return from a left wrist injury in time for the Australian Open.

Golf

Tiger Woods bogeyed the last two holes to slip five shots behind leader Retief Goosen going into the final round of the HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai. Woods shot a 73 to drop to 7-under-par 209. Goosen made five birdies and two bogeys for a 69. He had a one-shot cushion on Yang Yong-eun (67) . . . Lorena Ochoa moved into position to wrap up the LPGA Tour Player of the Year race and win her sixth title of the year, shooting a 9-under 63 to take a five-stroke lead in the LPGA Tournament of Champions in Mobile, Ala. . . . Long hitters John Daly and J.B. Holmes shot a 10-under 62 in the best-ball round to take a one-stroke lead in the Merrill Lynch Shootout in Naples, Fla. . . . Sergio Garcia fell out of the lead at the Taiheiyo Masters in Gotemba, Japan, dropping four strokes back after 13 holes before darkness forced suspension of the third round. Makoto Inoue of Japan is the leader at 11 under.

Winter sports

American Evan Lysacek staged another rally with his "Carmen" program to take the men's event at the Cup of China figure skating event in Nanjing. Lysacek climbed from second after the short program to score a near 21-point win over Sergei Davydov of Belarus. Hungarian Julia Sebestyen edged American Emily Hughes to win the women's title. Russians Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin scored a convincing win in the free dance and overtook Americans Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto, the Olympic ice dance silver medalists . . . Kim St. Pierre made 26 saves to help Canada win its ninth Four Nations Cup hockey title with a 5-2 victory over the United States in Kitchener, Ontario.

Miscellany

The Seattle Seahawks put defensive tackle Marcus Tubbs on injured reserve with a left knee injury, ending his season, and signed linebacker Lance Laury from the practice squad for today's game against St. Louis . . . The Dallas Cowboys cut safety Marcus Coleman after he was arrested on a charge of driving while intoxicated . . . The New York Giants placed receiver Amani Toomer on the injured reserve list and signed linebacker Tyson Smith from the practice squad. Toomer, the Giants' career receiving leader, underwent surgery Friday to repair a partially torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee . . . The Philadelphia Flyers removed the interim tag from Paul Holmgren's title and made him general manager for the rest of the season . . . Brazil defeated Germany, 25-16, 25-22, 25-15, in Osaka, Japan, to advance to the women's world volleyball championships semifinals. Russia beat the United States, 25-20, 25-21, 25-17, and will meet Brazil in today's final second-round match.