Manny Ramirez taking “serious offers.” An agent for baseball star Manny Ramirez says the player is accepting bids after the L.A. Dodgers general manager laid out his latest offer. The recently traded Ramirez helped the Dodgers to a successful season, and GM Ned Colletti proposed a two-year, $45 million contract to bring him back. But Scott Boras says Ramirez won’t bite unless L.A. sweetens the deal. “On behalf of Manny Ramirez, we will, for the first time, begin accepting serious financial offers on Friday,” Boras said Thursday. Reports suggest that the Dodgers may guarantee Ramirez a third year and an increase in their offer, though Colletti said the initial proposal could be withdrawn. Ramirez, 36, ended a tumultuous career in Boston before joining L.A. this year.

Sacramento’s Reggie Theus must pay $25,000. Retired NBA player Reggie Theus knows that athletes are penalized big bucks for dissing refs. But it’s in his Sacramento coaching capacity that Theus will have to cough up $25,000 after critical comments this week. The Kings will also pay $25,000 as a team after Theus called it “ridiculous” that Detroit shot 36 free throws to Sacramento’s 17. The criticism came following the Pistons 100-92 win against the Kings. The fines were announced on Thursday.

Bengals receiver says Donavan McNabb influenced him. Following an off-season that found him criticizing the organization that hired him, a NFL player thanks an opponent for showing the way. The former Chad Johnson, who legally changed his name to Chad Ocho Cinco, says Philly quarterback Donovan McNabb helped him see the light. McNabb reminded Ocho Cinco that many would choose to trade places with the Bengals star, who wanted out of his contract. “Donovan was a big influence,” Ocho Cinco tells The Philadelphia Inquirer. “(He) really is one of the reasons why I really turned myself around and looked at my situation as more of a positive … thinking about all the people that would love to play this game, you know?” Calling McNabb a close friend, Ocho Cinco says they talk often. Even with team losses, Ocho Cinco says, he’s keeping focused.

Kevin Johnson will hold court as mayor. Barack Obama isn’t the only Black man to make political history in last week’s elections. Ex-Phoenix Suns star Kevin Johnson was voted Sacramento’s first Black mayor. Johnson, who specializes in community development, was once among the NBA’s most talented point guards. He convincingly defeated incumbent Heather Fargo in the mayoral race. Like Obama, “KJ,” as he was called on the court, faces the task of reversing an enormous financial deficit. Sac-town is reportedly $58 million in the hole.

Venus Williams wins WTA Championships. Venus Williams is the first American to win the Sony Ericsson WTA Championships since her sister Serena took the title in 2001. Williams beat Vera Zvonareva in the final win, as her younger sister sat out the remainder of the tournament due to injury. “It was a hard fought match right down to the end,” Williams says. “I am so excited. I wanted it so bad.” Williams’ $1.3 million prize in the tournament moves her past Martina Navratilova into fourth place as top tennis money-makers.

Sacramento leaders are willing to pay for less gang activity
City leaders decided Tuesday that getting rid of Sacramento’s gangs is worth paying for. Five of the seven members of the Sacramento City Council agreed that a quarter-percent sales tax is needed to wipe out gangs. The next step is for Sacramento city leaders to decide whether to put the measure on the November ballot. The measure, which would require approval of two-thirds of city voters, would produce an estimated $16 million a year for the next 30 years, raising the city sales tax rate from 7.75 percent to 8 percent. “This has become a big issue for this city,” Mayor Heather Fargo told The Sacramento Bee. “I hear people explaining to me that this is affecting their quality of life, making them fearful, making them uncomfortable, and I think this is a real solution.” Scores of people poured into the City Council chamber Tuesday night – arguing vehemently on both sides of the issue. Some critics say that while the measure provides for 60 percent of the funds accumulated would go toward prevention and intervention, including more law-enforcement officers to carry out anti-gang work, the plan is short on specifics. For example, they say, it does not specify how many officers would be added. Others complain that the current economy makes more taxes unbearable. But those who support the initiative say that everyone stands to benefit from efforts to reduce gang activity.

The Minneapolis policemen claim the department is rife with racism
Five of Minneapolis’ top Black cops, with an average of 20 years on the force, could be splitting $2 million following settlement of their lawsuit alleging a long history of racial discrimination in the Minneapolis Police Department. The meat of the lawsuit focuses on Police Chief Tim Dolan, who plaintiffs contend helped institutionalize racism within the department after taking the helm in 2007. The settlement, if approved by the City Council Friday, could help ease a year and a half of steadily intensifying racial tensions, The Associated Press reports. In addition to providing monetary atonement, the agreement would establish a special unit headed by a deputy chief who would oversee diversity and race issues, according to AP. In their lawsuit, two Black lieutenants, Don Harris and Lee Edwards, said they were unfairly demoted by the chief; and a sergeant, Charlie Adams, was transferred following some insubordination charges. The two other plaintiffs are Lt. Medaria Arradondo and Sgt. Dennis Hamilton. The actions against these men prompted several angry responses from African-American officers to the civil rights division, but their complaints were dismissed as grumblings from “disgruntled cops near the end of their careers,” according to the suit. Giving credence to the lawsuit was a recent federal investigation, which found that Edwards had not been involved in criminal wrongdoing, as alleged by the department. The five officers alleged that the Minneapolis Police Department is far less likely to train, provide detail and overtime opportunities, and assign fewer key appointments to Black officers. In addition, it claims that the department is not meeting numerous diversity goals outlined in an earlier mediation agreement developed with the help of the U.S. Justice Department.