Fernando Valenzuela is stepping away from his broadcast duties with the Dodgers for the rest of the season so the former major league pitcher can focus on his health.

Valenzuela, who turns 64 on Nov. 1, is a Spanish language broadcaster for LA. The team said Wednesday he is hoping to return for next season.

The Dodgers will host San Diego in Game 1 of their NL Division Series on Saturday night.

Valenzuela spent the first 11 of his 17 years in the majors with Los Angeles. He helped the Dodgers win the 1981 World Series, winning the NL Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year after he went 13-7 with a 2.48 ERA in 25 starts.

The six-time All-Star won at least 10 games and made at least 25 starts in nine seasons with the Dodgers. He went 21-11 with a 3.14 ERA in 1986, throwing 20 complete games and finishing second to Mike Scott in balloting for the NL Cy Young Award.

• According to the medical examiner, baseball’s all-time hits king Pete Rose, who died Monday in Las Vegas at age 83, had hypertension and heart disease as well as diabetes, but his “manner of death was natural.”

Clippers’ Mann gets a $47M extension

The Clippers signed guard Terance Mann to a contract extension, reportedly a three-year deal worth $47 million.

Mann averaged 8.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists while shooting 51% from the field in 75 games last season. He was drafted by the Clippers with the 48th overall pick in 2019.

He figures to have a bigger role this season with Paul George and Russell Westbrook having departed to other teams.

• Karl-Anthony Towns officially joined the Knicks on Wednesday after the Timberwolves sent their four-time All-Star to New York in a three-team trade that also included the Hornets.

The deal was agreed to Friday but took a few days to complete under the NBA’s complicated new trade rules, meaning Towns has not been able to practice with the Knicks in their first two days of training camp in Charleston, South Carolina.

• A gambler pleaded guilty in a sports betting scandal that got NBA player Jontay Porter kicked out of the league earlier this year.

Long Phi Pham, also known as Bruce Pham, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud, admitting that he schemed to con sports betting companies, according to prosecutors and a court document. He could face anything from a no jail punishment to 20 years in prison at his sentencing, set for April 25 in a Brooklyn, New York, federal court.

Pham and three other men were charged in June with plotting to cash in on from a player’s secret plans to claim illness to pull out of two games early. The withdrawals ensured a payout for anyone who bet on him to underperform expectations.

The complaint didn’t name the player, but details made clear it was Porter, whom the NBA banned for life in April after conducting its own investigation.

Atlanta’s Wright is latest coach fired

The Atlanta Dream fired coach Tanisha Wright after three seasons.

Wright took over the team in 2022 and helped them reach the playoffs the last two seasons. The Dream lost both years in the opening round of the postseason.

Wright is the third head coach in the 12-team league to be fired since the end of the regular season. Curt Miller was let go by the Sparks, and Teresa Weatherspoon parted ways with Chicago. Miller was only in his second year with the Sparks and Weatherspoon completed her first in Chicago.

Atlanta went 15-25 this year. The Dream haven’t had a winning record since the 2018 season.

Pochettino sets his first USMNT roster

Mauricio Pochettino’s first roster as U.S. men’s national team coach brought back goalkeeper Zack Steffen, who was dropped under Gregg Berhalter.

Midfielder Gianluca Busio was the other notable addition to the 25-man roster for friendlies against Panama on Oct. 12 at Austin, Texas, and Mexico three days later at Guadalajara.

Defenders Antonee Robinson and Miles Robinson and midfielder Weston McKennie were added after being given the September games off to remain with their clubs.

Goalkeeper Diego Kochen and defender Caleb Wiley were dropped.

Injured players who will miss the matches include defenders Sergiño Dest, Chris Richards and Cameron Carter-Vickers, and midfielder Tyler Adams.

Pochettino was hired Sept. 10 and becomes the 10th U.S. coach in 14 years.

Steffen, Matt Turner, Ethan Horvath and Patrick Schulte are the goalkeepers on the roster.

• Inter Miami beat Columbus 3-2, claiming the Supporters Shield (best record) and home-field advantage throughout the MLS playoffs.

Sorenson suspended six years for abuse

Canadian figure skater Nikolaj Sorensen was suspended for at least six years for sexual maltreatment, the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner announced.

The suspension was listed on the office’s abuse-free sport registry and is subject to challenge or appeal.

Skate Canada, the country’s governing body of figure skating, said in a statement it “has been made aware of the decision from Abuse-Free Sport in this matter and is taking the necessary action to comply with it. ... The ban will be issued by Skate Canada.” The ban is a result of an investigation into an allegation that Sorensen sexually assaulted an American figure skating coach and former skater in 2012.

Sorensen has denied the allegation, which has not been tested in court.

Alcaraz rallies past Sinner for China title

Carlos Alcaraz won seven straight points in the decisive tiebreaker to beat top-ranked Jannik Sinner 6-7 (6), 6-4, 7-6 (3) and win the China Open. The third-ranked Alcaraz has now won all three of his meetings with Sinner this year. Alcaraz also ended Sinner’s winning streak at 14 matches .

• World Gold Hall of Famer Susie Maxwell Berning, the three-time U.S. Women’s Open winner who was a pioneer as a mother while competing on the LPGA Tour, died after a two-year battle with lung cancer. She was 83.