Cox

NEW YORK — Bobby Cox will retire as manager of the Atlanta Braves after the 2010 season, ending a career in which he guided the team to 14 consecutive postseason appearances and the 1995 World Series title.

The 68-year-old, a four-time Manager of the Year, agreed to a one-year contract extension for 2010, the Braves announced before Wednesday night's game against the New York Mets. He will start a five-year consulting agreement to advise the team in baseball operations after he steps down as manager.

A cigar-smoking baseball lifer, Cox managed the Braves from 1978-81, switched to manage the Toronto Blue Jays from 1982-85, then returned to manage Atlanta in 1990.

He began Wednesday with 2,408 regular-season wins as a manager, fourth behind Connie Mack (3,731), John McGraw (2,763) and Tony La Russa (2,550). Cox and Joe McCarthy are the only managers with six 100-win regular seasons.

NEW YORK — Russia's richest man has a deal to buy a controlling interest in the New Jersey Nets and nearly half of a project to build a new arena in Brooklyn.Mikhail Prokhorov's Onexim Group announced the deal with Forest City Ratner Companies and Nets Sports and Entertainment Wednesday. They say they have signed a letter of intent to create a partnership for the development of the Atlantic Yards Project.According to the agreement, entities to be formed by Onexim Group will invest $200 million and make certain funding commitments to acquire 80 percent of the NBA team, 45 percent of the arena project and the right to purchase up to 20 percent of the Atlantic Yards Development Company, which will develop the non-arena real estate.

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — Brett Favre said Wednesday he believes the fines handed down by the NFL for his absence from last year's New York Jets injury reports were "very unfair."Favre was asked by reporters for the first time about the $125,000 in penalties levied on the Jets organization ($75,000), general manager Mike Tannenbaum ($25,000), and former head coach Eric Mangini ($25,000).Favre earlier this month revealed the process he and the Jets went through in assessing the health of his throwing arm last December. He played through a torn biceps tendon, and his performance suffered. The NFL investigated and announced the fines last week for Mangini's failure to list Favre on the injury report.

GENEVA — Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal could face each other in the first round of next year's Davis Cup after Spain drew Switzerland in the draw Wednesday.Federer and Nadal, the top two players, have never met in the Davis Cup but have faced each other in seven Grand Slam finals, with Nadal winning five. Until his loss to Juan Martin del Potro in this year's U.S. Open final, Federer had been undefeated in major finals against everyone but Nadal.The draw for the World Group will also send the United States to Serbia, making a match between Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick a possibility for the best-of-five series from March 5-7.