Sharks center Logan Couture said Monday he is close to signing a contract to play in Switzerland now that the NHL lockout has become official.

Couture, who tied Joe Pavelski for the team lead with 31 goals last season, is talking with Geneva in the same league that San Jose captain Joe Thornton played during the 2004-05 lockout.

The Sharks also announced Monday that 16 players who normally would have been in rookie training camp this week have been sent to Worcester of the American Hockey League.

• Day 2 of the NHL lockout saw no changes from either side as talks in New York between the league and the union remain unscheduled.

U.S. Speedskating to investigate allegations

• U.S. Speedskating promised a thorough investigation into allegations of abuse against the head coach of the national short-track team, even while promoting an assistant also accused of wrongdoing.

An attorney for athletes who made the charges vowed they would never again compete for any of the coaches who allegedly who mistreated them.

The governing body announced assistant coach Jun Hyung Yeo will step in for Jae Su Chun, who was placed on administrative leave after issuing a statement denying any verbal, physical or psychological abuse.

Yeo and a former assistant, Jimmy Jang, also were named in the complaint made by 14 current members of the national team.

• Dia Rianda, a swimming coach and philanthropist, claims she was wrongfully fired by former U.S. national coach Mark Schubert after she became aware of abuse allegations at the Golden West Swim Club against his close friend Bill Jewell. A lawsuit was filed in Orange County Superior Court.

General

• Three compelling bouts in the past eight years still haven't resolved the rivalry between Manny Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KOs) and Juan Manuel Marquez (54-6-1, 39 KOs), so they're stepping in the ring together for a fourth fight Dec. 8 at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.

• U.S. captain Davis Love III wanted Medinah set up to favor the Americans next week in the Ryder Cup, and he kept to a simple philosophy. The rough is down. The speed of the greens is up. The course in the Chicago suburbs has hosted the PGA Championship twice and the U.S. Open three times.

• JR Motorsports has parted ways with crew chief Tony Eury Jr., two weeks after his father was ousted as competition director. Eury Jr. was the crew chief for Danica Patrick and is a partial owner of the Nationwide Series team.

• The Miami Heat signed center Josh Harrellson. The 6-foot-10, 275-pound Harrellson played 37 games as a rookie for the New York Knicks last season, averaging 4.4 points and 3.9 rebounds.

• Texas Tech men's basketball coach Billy Gillispie said doctors have ordered him to avoid stress for 30 days in an effort to lower his blood pressure.

• American James Blake beat wild card Albano Olivetti 6-2, 7-6 (4) despite the Frenchman's 19 aces in the first round of the Moselle Open in Metz, France.

– San Jose Mercury News, Associated Press

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