Baseball Hall of Famer Musial dies at age 92

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Stan Musial (CP)

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Erik Guay (CP)

ST. LOUIS -- Stan Musial, one of baseball's greatest hitters and a Hall of Famer with the St. Louis Cardinals for more than two decades, has died. He was 92.

Stan the Man won seven National League batting titles, was a three-time MVP and helped the Cardinals capture three World Series championships in the 1940s.

The Cardinals announced Musial's death in a news release. They said he died Saturday evening at his home surrounded by family.

Musial was so revered in St. Louis, two statues of him stand outside Busch Stadium. He spent his entire 22-year career with the Cardinals.

Fiery Weaver dead

BALTIMORE -- Earl Weaver, the fiery Hall of Fame manager who won 1,480 games with the Baltimore Orioles, has died, the team says. He was 82.

The Duke of Earl, as he was affectionately known in Baltimore, took the Orioles into the World Series four times over 17 seasons but won only one title, in 1970. His .583 winning percentage ranks fifth among managers who served 10 or more seasons in the 20th century.

Weaver was a salty-tounged manager who preferred to wait for a three-run homer rather than manufacture a run with a stolen base or a bunt. While some baseball purists argued that strategy, no one could dispute the results.

Guay skis to fourth

WENGEN, Switzerland -- Erik Guay of Mont-Tremblant, Que., came close to the podium in the classic Wengen downhill on Saturday when he finished fourth after a superb run on the most physically demanding track on downhill skiing's World Cup tour.

Guay, the reigning world downhill champion, produced a smooth and strong performance on the legendary Lauberhorn course, which spans 4.415 kilometres and was lightning-fast Saturday -- with France's Johan Clarey setting a new speed record of 161.9 kilometres per hour.

Although Guay has had a number of fourth-place finishes in his career, he was happy with what is a career-best result in the Swiss downhill.

Cops quiz Crabtree

SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree has voluntarily met with police in their investigation into an alleged sexual assault in a hotel after the team's playoff victory over the Green Bay Packers last weekend, his attorney said Saturday.

"Michael fully co-operated with the inspectors and will continue to do so throughout this investigation," the attorney, Joshua Bentley, said in a brief statement emailed to The Associated Press.

The statement comes after police said they were investigating a sexual assault allegation involving Crabtree in a San Francisco hotel early Sunday. Crabtree hasn't been detained or arrested, and has agreed to be available for more questions in the future, police said.

-- from the new services

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 20, 2013 B10