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MLB • Ozzie Guillen was fired Tuesday after one year as manager of the last-place Miami Marlins, whose promising season began to derail in April when his laudatory comments about Fidel Castro caused a backlash.

Miami's next manager will be the fifth for owner Jeffrey Loria since early 2010. Two managers he fired made the playoffs this year. The Marlins still owe Guillen $7.5 million for the three years remaining on his contract.

"After careful consideration following the disappointment of the 2012 season, we decided to dismiss Ozzie," president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest said in a statement.

Earnhardt Jr. cleared to race in Charlotte

NASCAR • Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been cleared to race this Sunday at Martinsville Speedway in Charlotte, N.C.

Earnhardt missed two races because of two concussions suffered in a six-week span. He was cleared Tuesday to resume racing by neurosurgeon Dr. Jerry Petty.

The visit to Petty came a day after Earnhardt tested a car at Gresham Speedway in Georgia to see how he felt behind the wheel.

Williams wins in first round of WTA

Tennis • With the year-end top ranking out of reach, Serena Williams will settle for the title at the WTA Championships in Istanbul.

In her first match since winning the U.S. Open in September, Williams defeated Angelique Kerber 6-4, 6-1 Tuesday to start round-robin play in the season-ending event featuring the top eight players in the world.

In White Group matches, Agnieszka Radwanska defeated titleholder Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-2, and Maria Sharapova defeated Sara Errani 6-3, 6-2 in a repeat of the French Open final.

NHL gave 2-day window to clubs

NHL • The NHL gave its owners and general managers a 48-hour window last week to discuss the league's latest contract offer with locked-out players.

The union hierarchy wasn't informed about it at the time, and isn't happy about it, either.

Union special counsel Steve Fehr says most owners are not allowed to attend bargaining meetings and no owners are allowed to speak to the media about the bargaining. He adds that's "interesting that they are secretly unleashed to talk to the players about the meetings the players can attend, but the owners cannot."

Items from pitcher's company auctioned

Baseball • An auction of items from former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling's failed video game company has begun in Providence, R.I., with early bidders snatching up swords, lamps and even a wheelchair left behind when 38 Studios collapsed.

From wire reports