Holding call: Galaxy retain Beckham

February 14, 2009

David Beckham is coming back to the Los Angeles Galaxy. The English midfielder will return to the MLS team next month as scheduled after his two-month loan agreement with AC Milan ends despite his wish to stay in Italy. AEG executive Tim Leiweke, owner of the Galaxy, said the Italian club didn't make a second offer to the Galaxy to keep Beckham so the team will adhere to MLS commissioner Don Garber's Friday deadline to resolve the situation. The Galaxy had already rejected Milan's first offer. "I know David is emotionally invested, but I don't think Milan really was that interested in spending the money we would have had to receive to compensate us for our losses," said Leiweke, who confirmed that Beckham, in the third year of a five-year contract with MLS, has a clause in the deal that would allow him to leave at the end of this season.

Top-ranked Rafael Nadal withstood 26 aces from Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to win, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, and earn a semifinal berth at the ABN Amro in Rotterdam. Next up will be fifth-seeded Gael Monfils, who beat Julien Benneteau, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1. Monfils beat Nadal for the first time last month in the Doha quarterfinals. Andy Murray and Mario Ancic also gained semifinal berths . . . Top-ranked Serena Williams defeated Emilie Loit, 6-4, 6-1, to set up a semifinal with Elena Dementieva for the third straight tournament at the Open GDF Suez in Paris. In the other semifinal, second-seeded Jelena Jankovic will meet two-time champion Amelie Mauresmo. Third-seeded Dementieva, already a two-time winner this year, beat French wild-card Nathalie Dechy, 6-3, 6-2, without conceding a break point. Mauresmo routed fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-2, 6-0, and Jankovic, who entered as a wild card, rallied past Alize Cornet, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 . . . James Blake beat Sam Querrey, 7-6 (9-7), 6-3, to advance to the semifinals of the SAP Open in San Jose, setting up an intriguing meeting with doubles teammate Mardy Fish. After Fish and Blake meet in a semifinal match this afternoon, they'll team up for a doubles match tonight . . . In the Champions Cup event at Agganis Arena, Todd Martin defeated Mikael Pernfors, 6-4, 6-2, to advance to today's semifinal against Pete Sampras. John McEnroe played Jimmy Arias later last night, with the winner drawing Jim Courier tonight.

Forward Sean Avery is expected to play his first game with the Hartford Wolf Pack when the New York Rangers' affiliate hosts Manitoba tonight. Avery, signed to a four-year deal by the Dallas Stars in the offseason, hasn't played since the NHL suspended him in December for making a crude remark about other hockey players dating his former girlfriends. He completed treatment in a league counseling program last weekend and cleared waivers Monday . . . The San Jose Sharks placed center Marcel Goc on injured reserve because of a lower-body injury.

Coach Charlie Weis will take over offensive coordinator duties for Notre Dame next season, the biggest in a series of changes in coaching responsibilities announced yesterday. Defensive coordinator Corwin Brown will share the title of defensive coordinator with Jon Tenuta while adding the title of associate head coach. Tenuta, the linebackers coach, will call plays on defense. New offensive line coach Frank Verducci has added the title of running game coordinator, while receivers coach Rob Ianello will be assistant coach for offense. Weis called the offense for three seasons before handing over the duties last season over to Mike Haywood, now the head coach at Miami of Ohio.

Chicago touted its financial strength in its 2016 Olympic bid, with organizers saying they have at least a $1 billion safety net if the games exceed an estimated $4.8 billion price tag. Chicago is competing against Tokyo, Madrid, and Rio de Janeiro. Chicago's bid, supported by President Barack Obama, proposes centering the games along the city's scenic lakefront. The IOC will choose the 2016 host city Oct. 2 . . . Lis Hartel, an equestrian who won two Olympic silver medals for Denmark in the 1950s despite being paralyzed below the knees because of polio, has died. She was 87 . . . Lolo Jones of the United States fell and did not finish the women's 60-meter hurdles at the PSD Bank meet in Duesseldorf, Germany. American Yvette Lewis won in 8.06 seconds.