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COYOTES-STARS

Vrbata, Smith lead Coyotes past Stars 4-1

DALLAS (AP) Radim Vrbata scored his 25th goal, former Dallas backup Mike Smith made 28 saves and the Phoenix Coyotes improved their playoff positioning with a 4-1 victory over the Stars on Tuesday night.

Vrbata gave Phoenix a 2-1 lead at 14:30 of the second period when he tapped Rostislav Klesla's centering pass by Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen.

Keith Yandle, Raffi Torres and Derek Morris also scored for the Coyotes, who have won three straight and four of five including Monday night's 3-1 home victory over Western Conference-leading Detroit.

Phoenix, playing its third game in four nights, improved to 58 points, good for an eighth-place conference tie with Minnesota. The Wild lost at Columbus 3-1 earlier Tuesday night.

TEXAS TECH-KANSAS ST

Kansas State defeats Texas Tech 65-46

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) Shane Southwell scored 13 points to lead Kansas State to a 65-46 victory against Texas Tech on Tuesday night.

Will Spradling and Rodney McGruder had 10 points each for the Wildcats (17-6, 6-5 Big 12).

Luke Adams, a 5-foot-9-freshman, scored 15 points for the Red Raiders (7-16, 0-11).

Offense was a challenge for both teams, especially in the first half. Kansas State shot 6 of 26 (23.1 percent) in the half but led 31-17 at the break. Midway through the first half, there was a stretch of more than five minutes where neither team scored.

Texas Tech went 8 minutes, 24 seconds without a field goal in the first half and did not make its first basket of the second half until Jaye Crockett sank a baseline jumper with 10:11 remaining.

The Red Raiders cut the lead to 50-40 with 2:53 remaining after an 18-3 run that featured three Adams 3-pointers, but Kansas State regrouped and pulled away.

RANGERS-ANDRUS

AP Source: Rangers and Andrus agree to 3-year deal

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) A person familiar with the deal tells The Associated Press the Texas Rangers and shortstop Elvis Andrus have agreed to a three-year contract, avoiding a salary arbitration hearing.

The person said Tuesday night the deal that runs through the 2014 season is pending a physical. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal hasn't been finalized.

The agreement comes two days before a scheduled arbitration hearing.

The two-time defending American League champions are still talking with catcher Mike Napoli and outfielder Nelson Cruz, who have salary arbitration hearings scheduled next week.

RANGERS-HAMILTON

Hamilton visits MLB docs after alcohol relapse

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton has been to New York to visit with doctors for Major League Baseball and the players' association following his admitted relapse with alcohol.

General manager Jon Daniels says Hamilton was accompanied to New York on Monday by Shayne Kelley, the team's newly hired major league staff assistant whose job will include being in a support role for Hamilton.

Daniels, speaking Tuesday night before an appearance during the team's winter caravan, said he has not yet gotten a report from the doctors regarding their evaluation. But Daniels says any discipline by the team against Hamilton was unlikely after the outfielder and recovering drug addict had several drinks last week while out in Dallas.

Daniels says Hamilton worked out at Rangers Ballpark earlier Tuesday.

T25-KANSAS-BAYLOR REMATCH

Baylor gets top 10-rematch at home against Kansas

WACO, Texas (AP) Baylor is getting a top-10 rematch against Kansas.

For the sixth-ranked Bears, that means trying once again to stop Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor. The Jayhawks' inside-out combo combined for 55 points three weeks ago in an 18-point home victory that was Baylor's first loss of the season.

This time, the seventh-ranked Jayhawks play Wednesday night at Baylor (21-2, 8-2 Big 12). The winner takes a share of the Big 12 lead with fourth-ranked Missouri, which has already beaten them both.

Kansas (18-5, 8-2) is coming off a loss at Missouri. But the Jayhawks haven't lost consecutive games in more than six years a span of 227 games.

The Bears have won four in a row since their consecutive losses to Kansas and Missouri.

JUCO PLAYER SUSPENDED

Texas juco center suspended for 'violent behavior"

(Information in the following story is from: The Paris News, http://www.theparisnews.com/nf/omf.sni/parisdaily/aboutparis.html)

PARIS, Texas (AP) The National Junior College Athletic Association has suspended a northeast Texas junior college center for the season after his second ejection for "violent behavior."

Paris Junior College sophomore Raymon Austin was ejected after he was called for a flagrant technical foul for fighting in a 65-59 loss to San Jacinto College on Saturday.

The Paris News (http://bit.ly/xVNCHi) reports Austin was previously ejected from a Jan. 7 game against Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa, for leaving the bench and stepping onto the court during a mild skirmish.

No telephone number could be found listed for Austin. The 6-foot-8, 235-pound center from Chattanooga, Tenn., was the team's second-leading scorer with 11.6 points per game and had a team-leading 7.0 rebounds per game.

COWBOYS CLASSIC-MICHIGAN

Michigan sells out its tix allotment for Bama game

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) Michigan has sold out its allotment of tickets to the Cowboys Classic game against Alabama.

The school announced Tuesday that it has sold nearly 25,000 tickets to the game against the national champions on Sept. 1 in Arlington, Texas.

Michigan chief marketing officer Hunter Lochman says the ticket demand was at least as strong as it has been for any event in the athletic department's history.

Alabama spokesman Doug Walker says the school also expects to sell its allotment to the game.

RICKY WILLIAMS RETIRES

RB Ricky Williams says he's retiring from NFL

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) Baltimore Ravens running back Ricky Williams says he's retiring from football.

The 34-year-old Williams still has a year left on his contract with Baltimore, but told the team Tuesday that he does not intend to play next year.

After winning the Heisman Trophy with Texas, Williams broke into the NFL in 1999 with the New Orleans Saints. He had five 1,000-yard rushing seasons over 11 years.

This season, his first in Baltimore, he ran for 444 yards and scored two touchdowns as a backup to Ray Rice.

Williams led the NFL in 2002 with 1,853 yards rushing with the Miami Dolphins and made the Pro Bowl that season.

He retired previously before the 2004 season when facing a four-game suspension for violating the league's drug policy. He returned in 2005.