USC basketball team wins final game of Brazilian exhibition trip

The USC men's basketball team wrapped up its 10-day exhibition trip to Brazil on Friday with a 76-64 win against Tijuca in Rio de Janeiro. 

USC Coach Kevin O'Neill said by phone that his team came out sloppy largely because of the absence of floor leader and senior guard Jio Fontan, who was recently diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. 

The team played much better in the second half, O'Neill said. 

Sophomore center DeWayne Dedmon scored 19 points, grabbed five rebounds and blocked four shots. Sophomore guard Maurice Jones, the team's only returning starter with Fontan out for the season, scored 16 points and had seven assists and four steals.

Freshman guard Alexis Moore, who for now is expected to replace Fontan in the lineup, had 16 points and four assists.

"He did more than I thought he'd be able to do," O'Neill said of Moore.

Junior forward Aaron Fuller scored nine points and grabbed eight rebounds, and sophomore forward Garrett Jackson scored eight points. 

"The only bad part of the trip was what happened to Jio," O'Neill said. "The rest of it was great. It was an unbelievable experience. The rest of our young players, we finally got some time to get a look at them. The unfortunate thing is that our most experienced player is still out."

-- Baxter Holmes

UCLA basketball: Coach Ben Howland enjoys ribbing people

What does UCLA basketball coach Ben Howland do during non-recruiting periods?

-- Goes on vacation to Hawaii.

-- Watches UCLA’s football practice.

-- Drums up business for a restaurant.

"I'm hungry, are the ribs here?"

Ben, don’t quit your day job.

-- Chris Foster

UPDATED: Angels recall Mike Trout from minors

The Angels have recalled outfielder Mike Trout from Double-A Arkansas, demoting relief pitcher Horacio Ramirez to clear a roster spot.

Trout is expected to start in right field tonight against the Baltimore Orioles, with Vernon Wells in left, Peter Bourjos in center and Torii Hunter as the designated hitter.

Trout was hitting .333 since being sent back down to the minors earlier this month. In a 14-game trial with the Angels earlier this summer Trout, 20, hit .163 in 43 at-bats.

The Angels, looking for offense, recalled switch-hitting catcher Hank Conger from Triple-A Salt Lake on Thursday.

-- Kevin Baxter

Irish striker Robbie Keane joins Galaxy

One day after being greeted at the airport by enthusiastic L.A. Galaxy fans, Irish striker Robbie Keane trained with the team for the first time Friday afternoon in front of equal fanfare.

In the biggest splash since the signing of David Beckham, Keane, 31, was introduced at a news conference filled with green, orange and white balloons and a buffet of corned beef and cabbage. With a mix of international media filling the east terrace of the Home Depot Center, the English Premier League’s 10th all-time leading scorer sat alongside Landon Donovan and Beckham -- the team’s other designated players -- and discussed his new home. Keane is expected to add punch to a Galaxy squad that is in first place and is seeking its first Major League Soccer Cup since 2005.

“I certainly had a good feeling about this move,” Keane said. “I had played in the Premiership for quite a long time and I had scored a lot of goals there. … It was an easy decision.”     

Coach Bruce Arena said that the Irish national team captain would play “some extended minutes” in Saturday’s match against rival San Jose. Donovan and Beckham said they are happy to have Keane here, and neither seemed fazed by the mounting pressure to win.

“In my opinion, pressure is perceived,” Donovan said. “Our jobs just got easier since Robbie got here. We want to win championships. I have no reservations about saying that.”  

Added Beckham: “Everyone loves the Irish, so we’re glad to have him here.”

-- Matt Stevens

Angels expected to recall Mike Trout from minors

The Angels are expected to make a roster move this afternoon and indications are they will recall outfielder Mike Trout from Double A Arkansas. Vernon Wells, who hurt his back crashing into the left-field wall earlier this week, will likely go on the disabled list to create a spot for Trout.

Trout was hitting .333 since being sent back down to the minors earlier this month. In a 14-game trial with the Angels earlier this summer Trout, 20, hit .163 in 43 at-bats.

Wells, meanwhile, has the second-lowest batting average in the majors at .200 and his on-base percentage is a dismal .231.

The Angels, looking for offense, recalled switch-hitting catcher Hank Conger from Triple-A Salt Lake on Thursday.

-- Kevin Baxter

Reports: New Meadowlands Soon to Be MetLife Stadium

New Meadowlands Stadium will be renamed for MetLife, the insurance company, possibly as early as next week. The Jets and Giants, who have been without the income from a naming rights deal, would split $17 million to $20 million annually over 20 years, according to published reports.

MetLife’s interest in the stadium, where it is currently a cornerstone sponsor paying about $7 million annually, was first reported in June by Sports Business Journal.

The pending announcement of the deal would come about three years after a more lucrative naming rights agreement with Allianz, a German-based insurer, collapsed amid reporting in The New York Times about the company’s ties to the Nazi government before and during World War II.

If MetLife’s contract averages as much as $20 million annually, it will equal what Citigroup is paying to have its name on Citi Field, the home of the Mets. The other sports facilities in the New York metropolitan area with corporate names are the Prudential Center, the home of the Devils; Barclays Center, the future home of the Nets; and Red Bull Arena, where the Red Bulls play. The new Yankee Stadium, which opened in 2009, did not sell a naming rights sponsorship. Madison Square Garden has no plans to change its iconic name.

And the Nassau Coliseum, where the Islanders play, has never had a corporate name on it.

Kim Clijsters will not defend title at U.S. Open

Two-time defending U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters will not be in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., later this month.

The Belgian tennis star announced Friday she will skip the U.S. Open because of a stomach muscle injury she suffered at a Women's Tennis Assn. event in Toronto last week. Clijsters, who didn't play at Wimbledon because of an ankle injury, said "two weeks of rehab is not enough to heal this injury."

"Obviously I'm very disappointed," she told the Associated Press. "I trained very hard this summer and felt in a good shape to play the U.S. Open."

Clijsters became the first unseeded woman to win the U.S. Open in 2009 after returning from a two-year hiatus from the sport to start a family. She then defeated Vera Zvonareva in the 2010 final.

Clijsters, who won the Australian Open earlier this year and is ranked No. 3 on the WTA tour, has won four grand slam titles in her career. Her first grand slam victory came at the U.S. Open in 2005.

The 2011 U.S. Open runs Aug. 29 through Sept. 11.

Here are some highlights from her 2010 U.S. Open victory:

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-- Austin Knoblauch

Photo: Kim Clijsters competes at the WTA Rogers Cup tournament in Toronto on Aug. 9. Credit: Chris Trotman / Getty Images