Johnson gets rich reward from Arizona

Baseball

Randy Johnson agreed yesterday to a $26 million, two-year contract with Arizona, leaving only physicals and final approvals to complete his trade from the New York Yankees back to the Diamondbacks. Johnson, 43, most likely will take his physical today , and the trade probably will be finalized tomorrow. Arizona general manager Josh Byrnes confirmed the agreement but otherwise declined comment until after the medical information is reviewed. New York, which acquired the Big Unit from Arizona two years ago, would receive reliever Luis Vizcaino, minor league righthanders Ross Ohlendorf and Steven Jackson, and minor league shortstop Alberto Gonzalez. Johnson's new deal calls for a $12 million signing bonus, of which $3.5 million is payable this year, $500,000 in 2008, and $4 million each in 2009 and 2010, a baseball official with knowledge of the negotiations told the Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because the terms weren't disclosed. Johnson gets salaries of $4 million this year and $10 million in 2008. As part of the trade, New York would pay $2 million of Johnson's salary this year . . . Miguel Cairo decided to remain with the Yankees, reaching a preliminary agreement on a $750,000, one-year contract. Cairo hit .239 with 30 RBIs in 222 at-bats last season . . . Gene Budig, the American League president from 1994-2000, is returning to baseball as a part-owner of the Single A Charleston (S.C.) RiverDogs.

Colleges

Foul play probably was not a factor in the death of Southern California kicker Mario Danelo, whose body was found about 120 feet down a rocky cliff, police said. "It was fairly apparent that this was either an accident or suicide," said Lieutenant Paul Vernon. Investigators were examining evidence recovered after Danelo's body was found Saturday afternoon near Point Fermin lighthouse in Los Angeles's San Pedro section. While police have not completely ruled out foul play, Vernon said "there didn't appear to be a crime involved." An autopsy could be performed as early as today, coroners officials said. Danelo, the 21-year-old son of former NFL kicker Joe Danelo, made 15 of 16 field goals this season and led the Trojans in scoring with 89 points . . . LSU forward Glen Davis was taken to the hospital for evaluation after being in an early-morning automobile accident in Baton Rouge, La., just hours after the Tigers' 66-49 victory over Connecticut. LSU coach John Brady said Davis was released from Baton Rouge General Medical Center later in the morning and would likely be ready to play in 14th-ranked LSU's Southeastern Conference opener tomorrow night at No. 8 Alabama.

Winter sports

Marc Berthod's improbable World Cup slalom victory was helped by nearly impossible conditions in a race in which all three American men failed to finish. Berthod captured his first victory at Adelboden, Switzerland, starting from the 60th position and taking advantage of slushy, deteriorating slopes to win a slalom and become the first Swiss man to win a World Cup race in nearly three years. The 23-year-old Berthod won with a two-run time of 1 minute 47.42 seconds. No American finished both runs. Jimmy Cochran and Ted Ligety did not complete the first run. Bode Miller was 11th after the opening run, but lost his right ski midway down the second run and has not completed a slalom in almost a year . . . Austrian Marlies Schild extended her dominance in the slalom, winning her second race in four days and capturing her fifth victory in the discipline this World Cup season. Schild had a two-run time of 1: 40.96 on the icy Podkoren course in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia. Kaylin Richardson was the top American, finishing a career-best eighth.

At Ste.-Adele, Quebec, freestyle skier Cord Spero of Canada won an aerials event for his first World Cup victory, his quadruple-twisting triple back flip producing a winning score of 120.36. Jacqui Cooper of Australia was the women's winner. Cooper had the highest one-jump score in women's history, 116.64 . . . Anders Jacobsen won the Four Hills title at Bischofshofen, Austria, by finishing second in a World Cup ski jumping event. The 21-year-old Norwegian had jumps of 137.5 and 142 meters, which earned him 289.1 points. Gregor Schlierenzauer of Austria won the event by jumping 139.5 and 141, but his total score of 291.9 points was not enough to beat Jacobsen overall . . . Tobias Angerer of Germany won the men's competition and Virpi Kuitunen of Finland took the women's title at Val Di Fiemme, Italy, in the inaugural Tour de Ski cross-country race. Angerer covered the 11-kilometer Mount Cermis course in 33: 39.5. In the women's 10-kilometer pursuit race, Kuitunen finished in 36:36.7 . . . At Oberhof, Germany, Nikolay Kruglov won his third biathlon World Cup event, taking the 12.5-kilometer pursuit race in 36: 18.2, with one missed target.

Miscellany

Bobby Hamilton, who drove in all of NASCAR's top three divisions and won four times in 37 starts in what is now the Nextel Cup series, died of head and neck cancer at his home in Nashville. He was 49. Hamilton, the 2004 Craftsman Truck Series champion who also won 10 truck races and one Busch Series race, competed in the top-level NASCAR series from 1989-2005. Obituary, Page D7 . . . Third-seeded Xavier Malisse captured the second title of his career, defeating Stefan Koubek, 6-1, 6-3, in the final of the Chennai Open in India. The 37th-ranked Malisse took advantage of serving struggles by the unseeded Koubek, ranked No. 80 . . . Samantha Stosur and Tatiana Golovin advanced to the second round of the Sydney International with straight-set victories today. Stosur beat Vera Zvonareva, 6-1, 6-4, and Golovin defeated qualifier Peng Shuai, 6-4, 7-5 . . . Top-seeded Anna Chakvetadze beat Lourdes Dominguez Lino, 6-0, 6-4, in the only completed first-round singles match at the rain-delayed Hobart International tournament in Australia.