Off the wire

LITTLE ROCK — BASEBALL

Indians fire Manny Acta

The Cleveland Indians have fired manager Manny Acta after the team collapsed from contention. Acta, hired by Cleveland in 2009 after two losing seasons as Washington’s manager, couldn’t stop the Indians from falling to last place in the AL Central. They were within three games of first place on July 21 before losing 21of 25 and eventually sliding all the way back to last place. Acta went 214-266 in nearly three seasons with the Indians, who are just 21-50 in the second half this season. He had one season left on his contract. The Indians announced Acta will not return in 2013 on Thursday, an off day before opening their final homestand.

Bo Porter has been hired as manager of the Houston Astros. Porter, who was the Washington Nationals third base coach this season, replaces Brad Mills, who was fired last month. To ny D e F r a n - cesco has served as interim manager. Porter will lead the rebuilding effort of a young team that has the worst record in the majors, wrapping up its second consecutive 100-loss season. The Astros are in their first season under new owner Jim Crane and moving from the National League to the American League next year. The 40-year-old Porter has previously worked as Arizona’s bench coach and third base coach for the Marlins.

HOCKEY

NHL preseason canceled

The NHL canceled the rest of the preseason Thursday, just a day before negotiations were set to resume in an effort to end the lockout. The league announced its secondcancellation of preseason games in a two-sentence statement. NHL owners locked out players Sept. 16 when the collective bargaining agreement expired. The NHL had already called off all the exhibition games scheduled in September. The regular season is supposed to begin Oct. 11. The two sides have scheduled talks today in New York, although they are on secondary economic issues as opposed to the core of the dispute, which is how tosplit more than $3 billion in annual revenue.

TENNIS

Monfils in quarters again

Gael Monfils edged sixth-seeded Victor Troicki of Serbia 7-5, 7-5 in the second round of the Thailand Open in Bangkok. Monfils also reached the quarterfinals last week in Metz, his first tournament since May after being sidelined by a rightknee injury. The Frenchman used five breaks of serve to trump the three he lost, beating Troicki a third consecutive time. Monfils will meet 2009 champion Gilles Simon, who defeated Go Soeda of Japan 6-4, 6-4. Fernando Verdasco of Spain edged Donald Young of the U.S. 7-5, 6-4, and Bernard Tomic of Australia reached his first quarterfinal since April, rallying past Dudi Sela of Israel 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Sam Stosur knocked two-time champion Maria Sharapova out of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, reaching the semifinals with a 6-4, 7-6 (10) victory over the Russian. Stosur broke Sharapova to go up 5-3 in the second set but then lost nine consecutive points as the Russian sent the match to a tiebreaker, which Stosur won on her fifth match point when Sharapova returned long. Topranked Victoria Azarenka withdrew after a bout of dizziness in her third-round match on Wednesday, sending Angelique Kerber of Germany to the semifinals.

BASKETBALL

Charles wins WNBA MVP

Connecticut Sun center Tina Charles is the WNBA’s Most Valuable Player, easily topping Los Angeles forward Candace Parker in voting for the honor. Charles received 25 first-place votes and 345 points overall from a panel of 41sports writers and broadcasters, the league said Thursday. Parker had seven first-place votes and 253 points, and Indiana Fever forward Tamika Catchings - last season’s winner - was third with 210. In her third season, all with theSun, Charles won her first MVP award after finishing second last year. She was the WNBA Rookie of the Year in 2010. Charles won her third consecutive rebounding title at 10.5 per game. She also set the Sun’s single-season scoring record with an average of 18 points and helped guide Connecticut (25-9) to the top playoff seed in the Eastern Conference.

BASEBALL Greenberg gets 1-day contract with Marlins

MIAMI - Adam Greenberg has faced one pitch in the major leagues, a 92 mph fastball that struck him in the head and changed his life.

More than seven years later, the Miami Marlins are giving him a second chance.

The Marlins said Thursday they have signed Greenberg, who played with the Arkansas Travelers in 2008, to a one-day contract, effective Oct. 2, and will play him that day against the New York Mets. Greenberg made his big-league debut for the Chicago Cubs on July 9, 2005 against the Marlins, getting one plate appearance but no official at-bat.

“Life’s going to throw you curveballs - or fastballs in the back of your head,” Greenberg said on a conference call Thursday morning. “I got hit by one of them, and it knocked me down and I could have stayed there. I had a choice ... and I chose to get up and get back in the box.”

The Marlins publicly extended the invitation to Greenberg on NBC’s Today show Thursday morning, but Greenberg said Marlins President David Samson called him Sunday night to tell him of the team’s plans to sign him to a one-day deal.

“I’m extremely proud to extend this opportunity to Adam,” Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria said in a statement.

Greenberg, a left-handed batter, went to the plate as a pinchhitter to face the Marlins’ Valerio De Los Santos with one out in the ninth inning of the Cubs-Marlins game. De Los Santos’ first pitch sailed up and in, striking Greenberg in the back of the helmet, the force being such that the helmet flew off and the ball ricocheted up the third-base line.

Greenberg tumbled to the dirt, both hands holding the back of his head. He has often described that moment as feeling like “my head exploded.” He awoke the next morning with symptoms of a concussion - unable to focus and feeling nauseous when seeing bright light.

After struggles in the minors the next season, the Cubs released him in June 2006. Greenberg had chances with other minor-league teams, including the Travs, but never made the majors again.

Until now.

“I look forward to seeing Adam step up to the plate and realizing his comeback dream,” Loria said.

The Mets’ probable starter Tuesday will be Cy Young candidate R.A. Dickey. Greenberg said the Marlins have not told him if he will start, pinch-hit or play the field.

Greenberg is one of only two players in baseball history to be hit by a pitch in his first-and-only major-league appearance and never take the field, the other being Fred van Dusen, who endured that fate with Philadelphia in 1955.