National sports briefs

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- The NHL will now decide when Marty McSorley returns to the ice.

A Canadian court found McSorley guilty of assault with a weapon for the Feb. 21 blow that sent Vancouver Canucks forward Donald Brashear sprawling to the ice. But he won't be sent to jail for his two-fisted stick attack.

McSorley, a 17-year NHL veteran who was with the Boston Bruins at the time, won't have any charges go on his record as long as he completes 18 months of probation. He was ordered not to play against Brashear during that time, in Canada or the United States.

Storied Red Sox to be sold

BOSTON (AP) -- Wanted: A buyer with deep pockets for a lovable baseball loser with a quirky ballpark.

The Boston Red Sox were put up for sale Friday by the trust of the family that has owned the franchise for 67 years.

The Red Sox, whose rich history includes Cy Young, Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski, haven't won a World Series since 1918, two years before they sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees.

They play in Fenway Park, the oldest and smallest of the 30 ballparks in the major leagues with the most expensive tickets in baseball.

The Jean R. Yawkey Trust, which has owned the team since 1992 but whose namesake has had a stake in the club for decades, has been trying to get financing for a $665 million ballpark project, which would be built on land adjacent to Fenway.

Dodgers fire Davey Johnson

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The manager and the general manager didn't get along, and one of them had to go. That someone was Davey Johnson.

Johnson was fired Friday by the Los Angeles Dodgers after failing to lead a team with one of baseball's highest payrolls to the playoffs in his two years as skipper.

Beleaguered Dodgers chairman Bob Daly said the strained relationship between Johnson and general manager Kevin Malone was a factor in the firing, and acknowledged making mistakes in several areas.

The Dodgers were 86-76 and finished second in the NL West this season after going 77-85 last year.

Sawyer fined for second time

EDEN PRAIRIE. (AP) -- Minnesota Vikings right defensive end Talance Sawyer was fined by the NFL for the second time in his four-game starting career for an illegal hit on a quarterback. Sawyer was informed on Thursday that he must pay $10,000 for a hit on Lions quarterback Charlie Batch in the Vikings' 31-24 victory over Detroit on Sunday. Sawyer was fined $7,500 for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Chicago quarterback Cade McNown on Sept. 3.