Timothy Bradley signs with Top Rank

Unbeaten Coachella Valley boxer Timothy Bradley signed a new promotional contract Thursday and was assigned a prominent semi-main event fight, probably against former champion Joel Casamayor, under the Nov. 12 Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez pay-per-view bout at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Bradley (27-0, 11 knockouts) hasn’t fought since January while splitting with former promoters Gary Shaw and Ken Thompson, who have sued the fighter. Bradley hasn’t settled with Shaw and Thompson, the boxer’s manager, Cameron Dunkin, said, but he has been advised he can sign with veteran fight promoter Bob Arum’s Top Rank company.

“He hasn’t been promoted correctly,” Arum said. “We’ll figure out a way, and showing him to the audience we’re most dependent upon — the pay-per-view fans — is a great way to get this moving along.”

Should Pacquiao and Bradley win Nov. 12 and Floyd Mayweather Jr. remains unavailable to Pacquiao, Bradley is now strongly poised to have a shot at the Filipino superstar. Arum said he hasn’t promised that bout to Bradley, but Dunkin said, “Fights like that can happen for him now. It opens the door. He’s ecstatic.”

—Lance Pugmire

ETC.

Report: Terry Francona probably out

Terry Francona will meet with Boston Red Sox management Friday morning, and the expected resolution is that he no longer will be the team’s manager, foxsports.com reported late Thursday.

Although Francona’s departure is not certain, it is the probable outcome, in part because he is pressing for a resolution, people in the major leagues with knowledge of the situation told the website. He would not be fired; the Red Sox would simply decline their club options on his contract for 2012 and 2013.

UCLA freshman guard Norman Powell sustained a concussion Tuesday when he was struck by a teammate’s stray elbow during basketball workouts. Three staples were needed to close a small cut on his forehead. Powell is being monitored daily and is listed as day to day.

The 6-foot-5 sharpshooter is a candidate to back up starting point guard Lazeric Jones in the Bruins’ season opener against Loyola Marymount on Nov. 11, with regular backup Jerime Anderson suspended after he was accused of stealing a laptop computer in July. He pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge this month.

—Ben Bolch

The NCAA put the University of Cincinnati on two years of probation for violating rules on calling recruits in its women’s basketball and football programs.

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Louis Oosthuizen put himself in contention for another memorable victory at St. Andrews, taking a share of the first-round lead in the Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland.

The South African, who won the British Open last year at St. Andrews, shot a six-under-par 66 at Kingsbarns and was atop the leaderboard along with Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Markus Brier and Michael Hoey. Cabrera-Bello also played Kingsbarns, while Hoey and Brier opened at St. Andrews — the site of the final round.

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Jhonattan Vegas and William McGirt shot eight-under 63s and shared the lead after the first round of the PGA Tour’s Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at Las Vegas. Nathan Green and Charlie Wi were one shot back.

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The lawyer for a man who threw a banana at a black NHL player said his client deeply regrets what he did and had no idea his actions could be seen as racist.

Lawyer Faisal Joseph said Chris Moorhouse was caught up in the drama of a tense game featuring his favorite hockey team and threw the banana at the Philadelphia Flyers’ Wayne Simmonds in hopes of preventing the winning goal. The Detroit Red Wings won in a shootout in the game played in London, Canada.

The lawyer said Moorhouse, 26, is “mortified” and deeply remorseful. Moorhouse fears the reputations of his family and hometown have been clouded.

Moorhouse has been charged under Ontario’s Trespass to Property Act and faces a maximum fine of $2,000. Police said Moorhouse’s actions do not meet the test for a hate crime or mischief charge.