Sports in brief

BASEBALL

Santana cleared for rehab work

Johan Santana (shoulder surgery) has been cleared to begin a rehab program after visiting with Mets doctors in New York this week and should be throwing before spring training. He is not expected back before midseason.

The Mets were close to signing infielder/outfielder Willie Harris to a minor-league contract. Harris, 32, hit .183 with 10 home runs and 32 RBIs for the Washington Nationals in 2010. He is best known among Mets fans as the nemesis who has made several key defensive plays to thwart the Mets in recent years . . . R.A. Dickey, Mike Pelfrey and Angel Pagan filed for salary arbitration, as did Yankees Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Boone Logan. CYCLING

Sponsoring tab for Lance: $31.9M

Newly released records show the United States Postal Service spent $31.9 million sponsoring Lance Armstrong's team during the height of the rider's Tour de France dominance. Financial records obtained by ESPN through a Freedom of Information request revealed the previously undisclosed amount of Postal Service spending from 2001 to 2004, when the federal agency heavily promoted the rider. Armstrong won the Tour each year from 1999 to 2005. Studies commissioned by the Postal Service estimated the agency received $103.6 million in domestic value from the sponsorship. The sponsorship could become an issue in either a federal investigation into doping in professional cycling, or a federal whistleblower lawsuit that disgraced cyclist Floyd Landis has reportedly filed against Armstrong.

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SEE PHOTOSCountdown: Top 10 Mets of all-time

Rodriguez donates apparel

Fired Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez has turned out to be a Michigan man after all, donating 12 bags of Wolverines apparel to a Detroit-area Salvation Army store aimed at helping people in need. Maj. John Aren says Rodriguez gave 432 items to the store in Wayne, about 15 miles west-southwest of Detroit. - AP