Around sports: Ali rebounding from bout with pneumonia

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A spokesman for boxing great Muhammad Ali said the former heavyweight champion's condition has "vastly improved" since he was admitted to a hospital with a mild case of pneumonia during the weekend.

Ali spokesman Bob Gunnell said Monday that Ali's doctors hope to discharge him soon from the hospital where he was admitted Saturday. Gunnell declined to say where Ali, 72, is hospitalized.

Basketball

Herrera upgradedafter shooting

Former University of Houston and Rockets player Carl Herrera is out of intensive care and improving after a weekend shooting in Venezuela, the team he coaches said.

Gigantes de Guayana said in a series of Twitter posts that Herrera, the first Venezuelan to play in the NBA, is no longer in critical condition "and is improving day by day."

Herrera, 48, was shot Saturday during an apparent robbery attempt at a restaurant on Margarita Island off Venezuela's Caribbean coast.

Football

Benson charged

with intoxication

Former NFL and University of Texas running back Cedric Benson was charged with public intoxication in Austin over the weekend.

An Austin police spokesman said Benson, 31, was booked early Saturday and released several hours later. Police records show Benson was arrested after a verbal disturbance between a male and a female in a taxi.

Benson, the second-leading rusher in UT history, was a first-round pick who spent eight years in the NFL, with Chicago, Cincinnati and Green Bay. His final pro season was 2012.

In 2011, Benson pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor assault charges in Austin and served five days in jail. He was arrested in 2010 for punching a bar employee and was arrested in July 2011 for hitting a former roommate.

SOCCER

Adu leaves team

after one game

Freddy Adu is leaving Serbia's Jagodina after appearing in just one game.

The 25-year-old attacker posted id on Twitter that he is leaving the team after the expiration of his deal.

"Easy guys I signed a 6 month contract. And it's done now. I didn't get 'released'. Knew I was leaving a few months ago," Adu tweeted.

Adu made his only appearance when he entered late in the second half in a cup match against second-tier Borca on Sept. 24.

Adu, a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic team, has struggled since making his debut at age 14 for D.C. United in 2004.

Baseball

Dodgers on hook

for $18 million

The Los Angeles Dodgers owe the San Diego Padres $18 million next year as part of the $32 million they agreed to pay in last week's trade that sent outfielder Matt Kemp to San Diego.

Los Angeles will give the Padres six $3 million installments in 2015, payable on the first of each month during the regular season, according to information obtained by the Associated Press.

The Dodgers owe $3.5 million annually in each of the following four seasons, $600,000 on the first of each month from April through August and $500,000 on Sept. 1.

Kemp is due $107 million in the remaining five seasons of the $160 million, eight-year deal he signed with the Dodgers before the 2012 season.

In other news:

1Righthander Phil Hughes and the Minnesota Twins agreed to a $58 million, five-year contract that adds $42 million in guaranteed money from 2017-19. Hughes went 16-10 with a 3.52 ERA and led the major leagues among qualifying pitchers with an 11.63 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

1Free-agent reliever Sergio Romo finalized a $15 million, two-year contract with San Francisco. The 31-year-old righthander has spent all seven of his big league seasons with the Giants.

1San Francisco second baseman Marco Scutaro underwent back surgery that could end his career. Scutaro, 39, had a fusion procedure performed , and it will be four to six months before doctors determine whether Scutaro can play baseball again.

WINTER SPORTS

Neureuther wins,

takes slalom lead

Felix Neureuther took advantage of soft snow conditions to win a World Cup slalom race and take the lead in the discipline standings from Austrian rival Marcel Hirscher, who finished seventh.

Neureuther clocked a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 40.57 seconds down the steep Canalone Miramonti course in Italy to edge German teammate Fritz Dopfer by 0.82 seconds. Jens Byggmark of Sweden was third.

From wire reports