SEOUL, South Korea -- Free-agent outfielder Shin-Soo Choo has agreed to a one-year contract to play for a baseball club in his native South Korea.

Choo, who spent the last seven seasons with the Texas Rangers, signed a 2.7 billion won ($2.4 million) deal with a Korean Baseball Organization team owned by an affiliate with the Shinsegae business group, the company said in a statement.

Choo, 38, has confirmed the deal.

"I was born in Korea where I was raised and started baseball. I've always had hopes in my heart for a long time to play in Korea one day. Now I think it's time to put into action and start a new chapter of my life," Choo posted on Instagram. "I might not be able to promise how good I will be, but I promise that I will do my best."

Earlier this week, E-Mart Inc., the biggest discount store chain in South Korea, finalized deals to take over the SK Wyverns baseball team based in Incheon, just west of Seoul. The team's name is tentatively called E-Mart Electros, but it could change, company officials said.

"The Shinsegae Group has listened to the voices of Incheon baseball fans who want us to bring Choo Shin-soo," the Shinsegae Group said in a statement. "[We]'ve been paying attention to his successful career, diligence and steadiness."

The 2.7 billion won annual salary for Choo is the biggest of its kind in the KBO league. Choo plans to donate 1 billion of that to social charities, according to the group statement.

During his 16-year career, Choo batted .275 with 218 home runs, 782 RBIs and 157 steals in 1,652 appearances. He was selected as an All-Star in 2018. Before the Texas Rangers, he played for the Seattle Mariners, the Cleveland Indians and the Cincinnati Reds.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The first dual-celebration in the 33-year history of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America will bring out an unprecedented gathering of motorsports legends.

Both the postponed 2020 class and the newly-selected 2021 class set for induction just days apart in a week-long celebration of motorsports in Pontiac, Mich., Sept. 27-29.

The 32nd and 33rd annual MSHFA Induction Celebrations presented by Firestone will be held in the brand-new Event Center at M1 Concourse in Michigan, an exclusive community of more than 250 secure private garages along the 1.5-mile Champion Motor Speedway.

The 2020 class will be inducted in a ceremony beginning at 6 p.m. ET on Monday, Sept. 27, while the 2021 class will officially join the MSHFA in a Wednesday, Sept. 29 celebration that begins at 6 p.m. ET.

An epic Heroes of Horsepower event at The Henry Ford Museum takes place on the day between ceremonies.

“Because of COVID-19, we had to postpone the Class of 2020 induction originally scheduled for March 2020,” MSHFA President George Levy said. “So, we’re doing an induction ‘doubleheader’ this year honoring the Classes of 2020 and 2021 at M1 Concourse in Michigan in September.”

The MSHFA will return to its normal March induction schedule in Daytona Beach next year with the Class of 2022.

The MSHFA’s version of a Dual in Detroit, the two classes mean twice as many members of racing’s royalty will be descending on M1 Concourse during American Speed Festival Week.

It will be one of the greatest concentrations of motorsports legends in one location in the history of the sport.

“All of us at M1 Concourse welcome the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America and all the new Hall of Fame inductees to Michigan for these very special events,” Tim McGrane, CEO, M1 Concourse said. “We believe our new event center at M1 Concourse will be an ideal location for these induction ceremonies, and we can’t think of a more perfect way to launch the inaugural American Speed Festival than to welcome some of the greatest names in motorsport history to our facility.”

The MSHFA Class of 2020 includes NASCAR’s first-ever champion Robert “Red” Byron (Historic), flat-track king Chris Carr (Motorcycles), early motorcycle racer, promoter and publisher Floyd Clymer (At Large), driver, official and safety advocate Wally Dallenbach, Sr. (Open Wheel), Rick Hendrick, one of NASCAR’s most successful owners (Stock Cars), Daytona 500 champion Tiny Lund (Historic), Can-Am and Rolex 24 At Daytona champion Jacky Ickx (Sports Cars), quarter-mile racing legend “Ohio George” Montgomery (Drag Racing) and multi-time Baja 1000 and SCORE champion Ivan “Ironman” Stewart (Off-Road).

The MSHFA Class of 2021 includes one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers in Davey Allison (Stock Cars), three-time land speed record holder John Cobb (Historic), three-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon Jr. (Drag Racing), Indy and NASCAR trailblazer Janet Guthrie (Open Wheel), 2006 MotoGP World Champion “Kentucky Kid” Nicky Hayden (Motorcycles), legendary Indy correspondent Robin Miller (Media), seven consecutive APBA Gold Cup winner Fran Muncey (Powerboats), multi-time USAC and NASCAR champion Ray Nichels (Historic) and world class timer/scorer Judy Stropus (Sports Cars).

Each of the MSHFA’s inductees is elected by a straight vote among 200 motorsports experts — half of them being inductees themselves.

Regular voters include Mario Andretti, Tom D’Eath, Chip Ganassi, Don Garlits, Hurley Haywood, Parnelli Jones, Scott Parker, Richard Petty, the Unsers, Don Prudhomme and other titans of the sport.

The week’s calendar also includes the annual Heritage Inductee Luncheon on Tuesday. The four Historic inductees, two from each class, will be ushered into the MSHFA as a featured highlight of the daytime celebration.

M1 Concourse is also the location later that week of the inaugural American Speed Festival, where Jim Hall (MSHFA class of 1994) is receiving the Speed Festival’s first Masters of Motorsports Award.

Even if Tuesday night's controversial goalie interference call had resulted in a victory, Claude Julien still wasn't long for the Montreal Canadiens. They squandered a hot start and tumbled down the standings in the pressure cooker North Division. General manager Marc Bergevin had seen enough.

"It's a hard thing to watch. Our team was chasing the puck. We're not in sync. Sometimes you can blame injuries. But we had none! Zero," said Bergevin.

Julien and associate coach Kirk Muller were fired on Wednesday. Julien ended his second tour of duty as Montreal head coach with a 113-113-35 record, qualifying for the postseason twice but failing to win a playoff round -- although the Canadiens did eliminate Pittsburgh in the qualification round of last season's expanded postseason.

As Dominique Ducharme takes over a 9-5-4 team on an interim basis, what's the thinking for the Canadiens? And what's next for Julien?

ORLANDO, Fla. – When Annika Sorenstam made the decision to compete at the Gainbridge LPGA in preparation for the U.S. Senior Women’s Open this summer, there was just one caveat: Her participation in the major championship would be schedule permitting.

Sorenstam was elected president of the International Golf Federation in December, a role that oversees golf’s involvement in the Olympics. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Summer Olympics were postponed from 2020 to 2021, which further added to what was already a jam-packed golf schedule.

The Summer Olympics will be held July 23-Aug. 8 in Tokyo. The U.S. Senior Women’s Open, in which Sorenstam is still hoping to play, will be held during that same time, on July 29-Aug. 1, though it's unknown yet whether that overlaps with any golf competition in Tokyo. The national championship was rescheduled from its original date at the end of August due to a conflict with the AIG Women’s Open.

Sorenstam says Antony Scanlon, the executive director of the IGF, has been supportive of her desire to play in the Senior Women's Open despite the scheduling conflict.

“Of course you're playing. We love having an active president,” Scanlon said to Sorenstam, according to Sorenstam, who added: “We're still working out the details.”

Sorenstam says a trip to Japan will be necessary at some point, depending on the travel restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, but she’s optimistic she’ll still be able to compete in the Senior Women’s Open while also maintaining her responsibilities to the IGF. She turned 50 last October, making her eligible to compete this year at Brooklawn Country Club in Fairfield, Connecticut. 

In 2020, the championship was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“They know that I take my role very seriously and I'm going to do the very best I can. It's also been very helpful to be around players, to be among the potential candidates, whether it's the U.S. or Mexico or Sweden,” Sorenstam said. “I've been able to talk to them about the things that I know and what they have to look forward to, or just some of the things that kind of are on my mind or concerns.”

Lionel Messi scored twice as Barcelona overcame an uninspiring first half to beat Elche 3-0 at home in La Liga on Wednesday and keep leaders Atletico Madrid in their sights.

The Catalans created little in one of their worst first-half displays at the Camp Nou this season but found a breakthrough early in the second when Martin Braithwaite released Messi with a classy backheel and the Argentine did the rest.

- Ratings: Messi 8/10, Braithwaite 7/10 as Barcelona thrash Elche

Barca, who failed to hold onto a narrow lead in Sunday's 1-1 draw at home to Cadiz, got an all-important second goal in the 69th when Frenkie de Jong received the ball after some clever play from 18-year-old Pedri.

The Dutchman burst through the middle of the pitch and laid the ball off for Messi to dribble into the net for an 18th league goal of the season, extending his lead at the top of the scoring charts.

Left back Jordi Alba struck the third goal from another Braithwaite assist to round off a victory which took Barca back above Sevilla and into third in the standings on 50 points, five behind Atletico but having played a game more.

Sunday's frustrating draw at home to Cadiz had interrupted a seven-game winning streak in the league and added to the pain of last week's 4-1 routing at home to Paris St Germain in the Champions League.

"This will help our confidence a lot," said Alba.

"The draw [with Cadiz] was a huge blow to the whole team and showed that if we are not at our 100% best we find it very hard to win. We struggled on Sunday and in the first half here too but we were better in the second and the goals arrived."

Barca looked shaken by their recent form in an insipid first half in which they were fortunate not to fall behind when Argentine forward Lucas Boye caught a clear sight of goal inside the area but blasted over the bar.

Portuguese winger Francisco Trincao was Barca's liveliest player in the first half and was twice denied by Elche keeper Edgar Badia, who also did well to keep out a header from De Jong, with Alba somehow missing the target on the rebound.

Barca regained their composure after the break and opened the scoring thanks to clever combination play between Braithwaite and Messi but were let off the hook moments later when Boye again missed the target.

Messi's second goal calmed their nerves and they were hungry for more even after Alba's strike.

Substitute Antoine Griezmann hammered the crossbar from just inside the area and then missed the target from an even easier position moments later, the twin misses summing up the France's striker's low levels of confidence.

Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini said the referee ruined the match by sending off Remo Freuler early on in his side's 1-0 Champions League last-16, first-leg defeat to Real Madrid on Wednesday.

Freuler was sent off in the 17th minute for denying Real's Ferland Mendy a goalscoring opportunity -- the earliest red card in the Champions League for over three years -- and it was an uphill battle from there for Gasperini's side.

The 10 men held on until four minutes from full-time when Mendy curled a fine winner. The match, according to Gasperini, ended as a contest with Freuler's dismissal.

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- Madrid Ratings: Mendy saves Real in 8/10 showing

"I don't know what the result would've been," Gasperini told Sky Sport Italia. "But the game was completely ruined by an incident that was judged excessively.

"I just got banned for saying something in Serie A, if I say something now then UEFA will ban me for a month. But this is football suicide. We cannot have referees who've never played the game and don't know the difference between a challenge and a foul.

"If they can't tell the difference, then they ought to go and get a different job, frankly. They should get people who played football to referee instead."

An injury-hit Real struggled to create anything against the resolute hosts for much of the match until Mendy's strike, and Gasperini took heart from a spirited showing, with the tie far from over ahead of the return leg in Madrid on March 16.

"We defended well and almost brought home the 0-0, but it would've certainly been more entertaining with 11 against 11," he added.

"We might've lost anyway, I am not complaining about the result, but we at least could've played our game.

"We're satisfied, though, and we are going to Madrid to play our game."

Megan Rapinoe scored twice and the United States won the SheBelieves Cup title with a 6-0 victory over Argentina on Wednesday night.

The United States is undefeated in 37 games in a row overall and 53 on American soil.

Carli Lloyd, Kristie Mewis, Alex Morgan and Christen Press also scored, and the U.S. women also become the first team to have three straight shutouts in the SheBelieves Cup, which is in its sixth year.

The United States shut out Canada in the round-robin tournament opener and then downed Brazil 2-0 on Sunday. Earlier Wednesday, Brazil beat Canada 2-0 at Exploria Stadium. Brazil finished second.

Argentina, a late addition after Japan dropped out because of coronavirus concerns, did not win a match but did impress with gritty performances. Rapinoe scored in the 16th minute with a well-timed strike on a through ball from Rose Lavelle for the early lead.

Rapinoe added another in the 26th minute, tapping in a cross from Lloyd. Rapinoe is the top all-time SheBelieves scorer with seven goals, including three in this edition.

Lloyd added a goal in the 34th. It was Lloyd's 124th international goal and it came in her 299th appearance with the national team.

Kristie Mewis scored on an angle into the far corner for her fourth career international goal in the 41st minute, and the United States took a 4-0 lead into the half.

Morgan scored in 84th, her first goal since giving birth to her daughter Charlie last May. It was her 108th international goal, moving her into sole possession of fifth place on the team's career list.

Press scored on a header a short time later for her 11th goal in her last 15 games.

The United States improved to 4-0 against Argentina.

Australia won the toss and decided to bowl against New Zealand

Australia's captain Aaron Finch won the toss in Dunedin and chose to bowl first for the second consecutive match as the tourists sought to reverse a yawning defeat to New Zealand in the series opener.

Both sides named unchanged teams from the opening game in Christchurch, with the Australians looking for a much more consistent display under sunny skies in the first T20I ever to be played at University Oval.

Australia last played an international match in Dunedin during the white ball phase of the 2000 tour. A 50-run victory by Steve Waugh's side that was marred by crowd disturbances and a 10-minute delay after Adam Parore was given out hit wicket after his helmet was struck by a Brett Lee bouncer and then fell onto the stumps.

New Zealand 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Tim Seifert (wk), 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Devon Conway, 5 Glenn Philipps, 6 Jimmy Neesham, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Kyle Jamieson, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Ish Sodhi, 11 Trent Boult

Australia 1 Aaron Finch (capt), 2 Matthew Wade (wk), 3 Josh Philippe, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Daniel Sams, 8 Ashton Agar, 9 Jhye Richardson, 10 Kane Richardson, 11 Adam Zampa

PHOENIX -- Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker was selected Wednesday to replace injured Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis in the NBA All-Star Game.

Commissioner Adam Silver chose Booker to take Davis' spot a day after Booker was snubbed by the league's head coaches for a reserve spot in the March 7 game in Atlanta.

Booker received a big ovation from the home crowd Wednesday night when the sixth-year guard was announced as a two-time All-Star during the starting lineup introductions. Coach Monty Williams said pregame that the honor was well deserved.

"The situation at the time was a bit weird for us when Devin didn't get the call, but we're grateful for what has transpired over the last few hours and we're just happy for Book,'' Williams said.

After Booker was snubbed Tuesday night, there was a chorus of disbelief from some of the league's top players, including LeBron James.

"Devin Booker is the most disrespected player in our league!!! Simple as that,'' the Lakers star and Western Conference captain tweeted.

Davis, voted in as a reserve, is sidelined by a strained right calf and Achilles tendinosis.

Booker has received both of his All-Star selections as an injury replacement. He's averaging 24.7 points, 4.3 assists, 3.8 rebounds and shooting a career-high 50.1% from the field.

Booker and fellow All-Star Chris Paul have helped Phoenix to a 20-10 record, fourth-best in the NBA. The Suns last had two All-Stars in 2009-10 with Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire.

James and Eastern Conference captain Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets will draft their rosters from the pool of starters and reserves on March 4.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Shohei Ohtani said he topped out at 97 mph while throwing live batting practice on Wednesday, an encouraging development that further supports the enthusiasm voiced by prominent members of the Los Angeles Angels throughout the offseason.

Ohtani, the two-way player from Japan who hasn't pitched regularly since the start of the 2018 season, threw against infielders Jared Walsh and Luis Rengifo from the team's spring training complex in Tempe, Arizona, and stated through an interpreter that his elbow feels "much better compared to last year." The session came 24 hours after Ohtani hit in live batting practice, which falls in line with the Angels' plan not to be so restrictive with his usage.

Ohtani, 26, made his highly anticipated return from Tommy John surgery during the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season, but lasted two starts -- recording only five outs -- before straining the flexor pronator mass near his surgically repaired elbow, limiting him to only hitting.

After a rough summer on both sides of the field, Ohtani set out on an aggressive offseason program in which he put himself in more game-like situations, adjusted his diet, tweaked his weight-training program, collected data to better measure his fatigue and sought counsel from third parties, including, sources said, experts at the popular training facility Driveline.

"We just kind of lift up the hood this offseason and really got down to the nitty-gritty to find out what we're dealing with," Ohtani's agent from CAA, Nez Balelo, said. "And then from there we built him back up and formed a program that we thought was extremely applicable to where he's at right now in his career."

The Angels checked on Ohtani's progress constantly. And as he navigated through his first offseason as the team's general manager, Perry Minasian raved about the reports he received, at one point predicting Ohtani would be "a difference-maker-type player" in 2021. The Angels vowed to keep him as a two-way player and not treat him as cautiously as they might have in prior years.

"The rules are there aren't going to be any rules," Angels manager Joe Maddon said shortly after pitchers and catchers reported on Wednesday.

The following day, Maddon met with Ohtani and his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, to lay out the details of a weekly schedule in which Ohtani's hitting would play off his pitching and also stress upon the importance of transparency.

"I want him to take charge and command his career more, in a sense, and what happens on a daily basis," Maddon said. "The thing about him, coming from Japan -- he comes from such a respectful background where I think authoritative figures are not gonna be questioned as much as it happens over here. And I wanted to tell him, 'Hey, I'm good with this. I want you to know that I want you to tell me what you're thinking. I don't want you to hold back.'"

Thirty teams basically wanted Ohtani when he made himself available three offseasons ago. He chose the Angels partly because of their promise to commit to him as a two-way player, then flashed that potential in April and May of his first season -- before suffering the torn ulnar collateral ligament that necessitated surgery. While rehabbing, Ohtani remained a productive designated hitter, batting .286/.351/.532 in 792 plate appearances from 2018 to 2019.

In 2020, though, Ohtani managed a .190 batting average and a 37.80 ERA. Maddon saw a pitcher who struggled to repeat his delivery and a hitter who constantly overrotated, clear indications, in his mind, of someone who had been taken out of his routine and might have put too much pressure on himself to produce in a limited schedule.

This year, Ohtani said, "I wanna have fun and just feel good out there. And do my job where it's [needed]. I wanna make Joe use me as much as possible."