Briefs: Los Angeles Galaxy may loan Landon Donovan to EPL's Everton

Soccer

Donovan could gain experience for World Cup: U.S. forward Landon Donovan is in talks about a loan move to Everton that would give him experience in the English Premier League in the run up to the World Cup.

The loan would put the Los Angeles Galaxy star on the same team as U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard and allow him to play against many of the England players he will face in South Africa next June.

If a deal is reached, Donovan would likely join the Liverpool-based club in January for three months before returning to the U.S. for the start of the Major League Soccer season in March.

While Donovan has an American record 42 goals in 120 internationals, he has struggled during three previous stints in Europe.

Hockey

Canucks top Thrashers: Daniel Sedin scored Vancouver's first three goals, and the Canucks held on for a 4-2 victory over visiting Atlanta. Mason Raymond also scored, and Roberto Luongo made 23 saves as the Canucks kicked off an eight-game homestand by snapping a two-game skid.

A return to Quebec City? Quebec Premier Jean Charest is confident the NHL wants to bring a team back to Quebec City, a decade and a half after the Nordiques left to become the Colorado Avalanche. Charest told The Canadian Press that he discussed the issue with commissioner Gary Bettman at the Montreal Canadiens' 100th anniversary game.

Bettman has said in the past that he would consider Quebec City as a possible home to an NHL team if it followed through on plans to build a top arena and if a team were for sale.

Fetisov, 51, to play for Moscow team: Former NHL star Slava Fetisov is expected to play for CSKA Moscow in a competitive game in the Continental Hockey League today. Fetisov ended his professional career in 1998 at age 40.

Tennis

Safina withdraws: Former top-ranked player Dinara Safina has withdrawn from next month's Brisbane International because of a bad back, leaving her status for the Australian Open in doubt. The Sydney tournament will feature most of the women's top 10 in the week before the Australian Open, which starts Jan. 18 in Melbourne.

Swimming

World records set in Istabul: Three world records have been set at the European short-course championships in Istanbul.

Evelyn Verrastzo of Hungary topped her own mark in the women's 200-meter individual medley, finishing in 2 minutes, 4.64 seconds. Two different Russian teams broke the men's 200 medley relay record. The lineup of Stanislav Donets, Stanislav Lakhtyukhov, Evgeny Korotyshkin and Evgeny Lagunov posted a time of 1:32.08 in the heats, but that was trumped hours later in the final when Donets and Korotyshkin combined with Sergey Geybel and Sergey Fesikov to win in 1:31.80.

The event in Istanbul is one of the last meets before full-body, high-performance suits are banned.

Olympics

IOC approves cycling, tennis changes: Olympic leaders made two roster changes for the 2012 London Games: Track cycling's signature endurance race is out, and tennis mixed doubles is in.

The International Olympic Committee executive board agreed to a program of five men's and five women's track cycling events as part of a plan proposed by cycling's governing body. As a result, the Olympics will lose track cycling's 4,000-meter individual pursuit for men and 3,000-meter pursuit for women.

Cycling had seven events for men and three for women at the 2008 Beijing Games. The changes were designed to make sure male and females compete in an equal number of events in London.

The IOC said mixed doubles, which was played at several Olympics from 1900 to 1924, "will bring an added value to the Olympic program by providing another opportunity for men and women to compete together on the same field of play."

Indoor football

League readies new schedule: Indoor professional football is expected to return this spring in a mix of large and medium markets. Officials with the new Arena Football One league say they also have a more modest economic model they hope will ensure success.

Arena Football One, set to debut in April, will be a mix of former AFL and af2 teams, with Chicago as the largest market. Spokane and Oklahoma City are among the smaller markets.

Boxing

No support for Johnson pardon: The Justice Department is refusing to back a posthumous pardon for Jack Johnson, the black heavyweight boxing champion who was imprisoned nearly a century ago because of his romantic ties with a white woman.

In a letter obtained by the AP, the department's pardon attorney, Ronald L. Rodgers, told Rep. Peter King that the Justice Department's general policy is not to process posthumous pardon requests. The letter was in response to one that King, R-N.Y., and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., had sent to President Barack Obama in October urging a pardon.

Media

Man to plead guilty in ESPN reporter case: Court documents say an insurance executive has agreed to plead guilty to interstate stalking after nude videos were secretly made of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews. Michael Barrett faces up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

Seattle Times news services