Off the wire

LITTLE ROCK — BASEBALL Arbitration shutout

Baseball is set to finish its first arbitration shutout. Cincinnati Reds pitcher Homer Bailey and San Diego Padres left-hander Clayton Richard agreed to oneyear contracts Saturday, making it all but certain there will be no salary arbitration hearings this year for the first time since the process began in 1974. No cases have been argued before three-person panels after 133 players filed for arbitration last month. Only one remains scheduled for a hearing next week - and those sides already have a deal in place. Relief pitcher Darren O’Day and the Baltimore Orioles have an agreement on a $5.8 million, two-year contract that is pending a physical. As long as that deal is completed, arbitration season is over.

TENNIS Serena makes final

A day after securing the No. 1 ranking, Serena Williams beat Maria Sharapova for a 10th consecutive time, 6-3, 6-2 to reach the Qatar Open final in Doha on Saturday. Williams faces Victoria Azarenka, whom she will replace at the top in Monday’s new rankings. Azarenka beat Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 6-3 in the other semifinal, earning her 13th consecutive victory in 2013.

Rafael Nadal outlasted 111thranked Martin Alund 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-1 at the Brazil Open on Saturday in Sao Paulo, making it to his second consecutive final after a long layoff to treat his ailing left knee. Nadal next plays David Nalbandian, the former world No. 3 who defeated Simone Bolelli of Italy 6-3, 7-5 to make it to his first final since being disqualified for injuring a line judge at Queen’s Club last year.

Juan Martin del Potro and Julien Benneteau won their semifinals in straight sets Saturday and will play for the title of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament. Del Potro reached his second consecutive final at the Rotterdam, Netherlands, tournament by beating Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-4. Benneteau then defeated fellow Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-4, 7-6 (2), with Simon troubled by an upper thigh injury through much ofthe second set.

Tommy Haas reached his first final in six months, beating John Isner 6-3, 6-4, Saturday in the SAP Open semifinals in San Jose, Calif. The 34-year-old German qualified for his 25th career final and will be looking for his 14th career title. He will face top-seeded Milos Raonic, who downed third-seeded Sam Querrey 6-4, 6-2.

HORSE RACING Dice Flavor wins

Dice Flavor, ridden by Jose Valdivia Jr., rallied from 10 lengths back to win the Grade III $200,000 El Camino Real Derby on Saturdayat Golden Gate Fields in Berkeley, Calif. Dice Flavor, a son of Scat Daddy, earned 10 points in the 36-race Road to the Kentucky Derby series. Dice Flavor split horses at the top of the stretch and drew off to a 3 3/4-length victory over long shots Nina’s Dragon and Counting Days, who finished second and third, respectively. Manando, one of two horses trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, posted fractions of 23.10 and 47.34 in the first half of the 1 1/8-mile race. Manando was unchallenged to the quarter pole, but the field began to logjam into the stretch as Manando faded to last as the 2-1 favorite.

Great Hot went to the front early and earned a half-length victory in the $200,000 Santa Maria Stakes for older fillies and mares at Santa Anita on Saturday in Arcadia, Calif. Ridden by Hall of Famer Gary Stevens, Great Hot ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.08 and paid $20.80, $5.60 and $3.40. It was Stevens’ fifth win in the race, having won it for the first time in 1988. Book Review returned $2.80 and $2.10 as the even-money favorite for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. Lady of Fifty was another 3 3/4 lengths back in third and paid $2.80 to show.

HOCKEY Franzen goes on IR

The Detroit Red Wings have put forward Johan Franzen on injured reserve. Franzen has missed Detroit’s past two games with a hip injury.

SKIING U.S. teen wins title

American teenager Mikaela Shiffrin became the youngest women’s slalom world champion in 39 years Saturday in Schladming, Austria. At 17 years, 340 days, Shiffrin beat all of her more experienced rivals to earn the U.S. team its fourth gold and fifth medal overall at the world championships, more than any other nation. She was third after the opening run but finished in a combined time of 1 minute, 39.85 seconds to beat Michaela Kirchgasser of Austria by 0.22 and Frida Hansdotter of Sweden by 0.26. The only slalom world champions younger than Shiffrin were Hanni Wenzel of Liechtenstein in 1974 and Esme Mackinnon of Britain in 1931.

CYCLING Froome takes tour

Tour de France runner-up Christopher Froome won the Tour of Oman on Saturday, holding off Alberto Contador and Cadel Evans to claim his first stage-race victory. Froome, a Team Sky rider who grabbed the lead after the fourth stage, crossed the Matrah Corniche in Muscat as part of the peloton to safely protect his 27-second lead over Contador, the two-time Tour de France winner who rides for Team Saxo. Evans, who won the Tour de France in 2011, was a further 12 seconds back in third.

BASKETBALL Hunter voted out as head of NBA players’ union

HOUSTON - Billy Hunter was ousted from his job as executive director of the NBA players’ uunion in a unanimous vote by the players, who said Saturday they will “no longer be divided, misled, misinformed.”

“This is our union and we have taken it back,” players’ association President Derek Fisher said.

Fisher (Little Rock Parkview, UALR) said it was a day of change for the union, which has seemed inevitable since a review of the union last month was critical of Hunter’s leadership and urged players to consider whether they wanted to keep him.

They didn’t.

“We want to make it clear that we are here to serve only the best interests of the players,” Fisher said. “No threats, no lies, no distractions will stop us from serving our memberships.”

Hunter said in a statement that he hadn’t received word of his dismissal and blasted the interim executive committee for the process it followed, saying “certain individuals made sure the outcome was preordained.”

“In addition, given the legitimate legal and governance questions surrounding the eligibility of the members who voted and the adherence, or lack thereof, to the constitution and bylaws, I do not consider today’s vote the end, only a different beginning,” Hunter said. “My legal representativesand I will resume communication with the NBPA to determine how to best move forward in the best interests of all parties.”

In brief remarks, Fisher said a new executive committee was elected and he will remain as president. The San Antonio Spurs’ Matt Bonner is vice president, Miami’s James Jones is secretarytreasurer and the Brooklyn Nets’ Jerry Stackhouse the first vice president. The Los Angeles Clippers’ Chris Paul, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Denver’s Andre Iguodala, the New Orleans Hornets’ Roger Mason Jr. and the Clippers’ Willie Green are vice presidents.

Hunter had led the union since 1996, guiding the players through three collective bargaining agreements and helping bring their average salaries to more than $5 million, highest in team sports. But Fisher pushed for the review after a falling out between the two leaders, and though it found Hunter wasn’t guilty of any criminal activity involving union funds, it cited a number of conflicts of interests and poor choices that led the players to remove him.

“We await notification from the union as to who we should be dealing with because it has been a principle of faith with us that we will deal with whomever the union tells us to deal with,” Commissioner David Stern said.