Pirates deal Gonzalez for LaRoche

After two months of trying, the Pittsburgh Pirates finally landed a deal for Atlanta power hitter Adam LaRoche yesterday when they agreed to acquire the first baseman for lefthanded closer Mike Gonzalez and another player. The Braves also get shortstop prospect Brent Lillibridge, while the Pirates will receive outfielder Jamie Romak, according to a baseball official familiar with the negotiations who requested anonymity because the deal was still being finalized . . . J.J. Putz cashed in on his breakout debut season as the Seattle Mariners closer, agreeing to a $13.1 million, three-year contract. Putz gets a $1.5 million signing bonus, plus base salaries of $2.2 million this season, $3.4 million in 2008, and $5 million in 2009 . . . Lefthander Chris Capuano and the Milwaukee Brewers avoided arbitration and agreed to a $3.25 million, one-year contract. The Brewers have four players still eligible for arbitration. Catcher Johnny Estrada asked for $3.9 million and was offered $3 million; utility player Tony Graffanino asked for $3.7 million and was offered $2.8 million; utility player Bill Hall asked for $4,125,000 and was offered $3 million; and righthander Claudio Vargas asked for $2.85 million and was offered $2.15 million . . . Former major league star Fred McGriff was hired as a special adviser by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays .

Pennsylvania's governor Ed Rendell and local leaders are expected to meet again today with the Pittsburgh Penguins as the sides appear to be getting closer to completing a deal to build a new downtown arena. The private meeting would be the first since Jan. 4, when Penguins owner Mario Lemieux came away from a preliminary session with Rendell, county and city officials saying he was "very optimistic" that an agreement could be reached. The Penguins' lease at 45-year-old Mellon Arena ends in June . . . Penguins forward Sidney Crosby felt fine a day after the second-year star was speared by New York Islanders' All-Star Jason Blake. "It just kind of knocked the wind out of me," Crosby said. "It's not something you want to dwell on." Blake didn't receive a penalty following the hit Tuesday night. Crosby, however, was sent to the penalty box for unsportsmanlike conduct . . . Martin Straka agreed to a one-year contract extension with the New York Rangers that will pay the center $3.3 million next season -- a $200,000 raise . . . David Krejci got two goals and Petr Kalus added another as the Providence Bruins defeated the host Hartford Wolf Pack, 3-2, in the AHL. Dwight Helminen and Nigel Dawes scored for Hartford. Providence is now on a five-game winning streak.

Preki Radosavljevic, Major League Soccer's only two-time Most Valuable Player, was hired to replace Bob Bradley as coach of Chivas USA. Bradley stepped down last month after being hired as the US under-23 coach and interim national team coach. Radosavljevic served as an assistant to Bradley last season and oversaw last week's MLS draft for Chivas USA . . . Giuseppe Rossi, a 19-year-old forward eligible to play for the national teams of the United States and Italy, was acquired by Parma from Manchester United on a loan through the end of the season.

Former North Carolina State football coach Chuck Amato is returning to Florida State as part of Bobby Bowden's staff overhaul. Amato, who was fired by North Carolina State in November, spent 18 seasons with Bowden through the program's peak years in the 1980s and '90s. Amato, 60, succeeds Kevin Steele as executive head coach and linebackers coach. Steele left to become Alabama's defensive coordinator . . . Notre Dame point guard Kyle McAlarney, suspended indefinitely after his arrest last month on a marijuana possession charge, has entered into a pretrial diversion program. The agreement would allow McAlarney to have the charge against him dismissed in a year, if he passes random drug tests and stays out of trouble.

Kevin Ryan, the US attorney for California's Northern District who has led the high-profile BALCO steroids investigation, announced he is stepping down. Ryan, who was appointed to the post in 2002, did not give a date for his last day on the job. The BALCO case has resulted in five guilty pleas. US attorney spokesman Luke Macaulay said Ryan reached a "mutually agreeable decision with Washington" to step down. Macaulay declined to say whether President Bush had asked Ryan to resign . . . Pete Sampras was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, R.I. He is joined in the 2007 class by Arantxa Sanchez- Vicario, Sven Davidson and Russ Adams. They'll be inducted July 14 . . . The NBA fined Washington Wizards coach Eddie Jordan was $15,000 for failing to leave the court in a timely manner after getting ejected from a game Saturday . . . Boys' coach Jack Curran of Archbishop Molloy High School in New York and girls' coach Leta Andrews of Granbury (Texas) High School have been selected as the inaugural recipients of the Morgan Wootten Award, the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield announced. The award, named for the Hall of Famer who coached at DeMatha High School for 46 years, is presented to one boys and girls coach for lifetime achievement. Curran is in his 49th season at Molloy, where he has won 873 games and coached five future NBA players . Andrews has 1,228 wins, a national record for a girls high school coach, and has led her team to 16 state final fours and one state championship.