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Woodson donates $2 million to U-M children's hospital

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Charles Woodson wants to be known as more than a football player.

Donating $2 million to the new University of Michigan Mott Children's Hospital and Women's Hospital gives him a chance to do that.

The school announced Woodson's gift on Thanksgiving before he played for the Green Bay Packers against the Detroit Lions.

Then, he intercepted two passes -- returning one for a score -- forced a fumble, recovered it and had a sack.

His donation will support pediatric research by The Charles Woodson Clinical Research Fund in the $754-million, 1.1-million square foot hospital scheduled to open in 2012.

"He's really studied and tried to understand what the issues are in doing research in pediatrics," Dr. Valerie Castle said. "What most people don't know is that less than 10 percent of the National Institute of Health budget goes toward research in pediatric disease.

"When you study those patients, you often times get clues to adult diseases."

The native of Fremont, Ohio hopes to attract the world's best researchers who want to help children with cancer, heart disease, kidney disorders and autism.

* Elsewhere

Gonzalez signed: The Toronto Blue Jays signed shortstop Alex Gonzalez to a one-year deal worth $2.75 million on Thursday, which includes a club option for 2011.

The move came a day after backup shortstop John McDonald agreed to a $3-million, two-year deal that effectively marked the end of free agent Marco Scutaro's time with the club.

The 32-year-old Gonzalez split last season between Cincinnati and Boston, batting .238 with eight home runs and 41 RBIs. The Venezuelan was an All-Star in 1999, and is a career .247 hitter with 114 home runs and 521 RBIs.

Who to play at half: The Who will perform at halftime of the Super Bowl this season. The NFL announced that the longtime rock band known for classic hits such as "Pinball Wizard" and "Baba O'Riley" will play Feb. 7 at Dolphin Stadium in Miami.

Driven by singer Roger Daltrey and guitarist and songwriter Pete Townshend, the band's two remaining original members, The Who gained fame in the mid-1960s and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

Del Potro wins: Juan Martin del Potro squeaked into the semifinals of the ATP World Tour Finals by beating Roger Federer 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3 Thursday -- the slimmest possible margin to advance and knock Andy Murray out of the tournament.

The result means Del Potro and Federer both advance after a three-way tie in Group A, with Murray's elimination literally coming down to the last game after three rounds of group matches. All three players finished the round-robin stage with two wins and identical 5-4 set records, but Murray had the lowest percentage of games won. Had Del Potro lost just one more game against Federer, Murray would have advanced at the Argentine's expense.

Proposal backed: European soccer leaders have unanimously backed a proposal to limit participation in future Olympic Games to players under the age of 21. The International Olympic Committee wants to keep the status quo of under-23s plus three overage players, which allows countries to bolster their teams with star talent and enhances the appeal and credibility of the Olympic tournament.

But UEFA's strategy council of clubs, national associations, leagues and players' unions unanimously agreed Thursday that the men's Olympic tournament should be changed to under 21.

Pays for funeral: Basketball star Shaquille O'Neal paid for the funeral of a 5-year-old North Carolina girl after being moved by national news coverage of the case of Shaniya Davis, who police say was kidnapped and killed.

The Cleveland Cavaliers player was touched by the stories he saw and got in touch with the family to see what he could do to help, a spokeswoman for O'Neal said Thursday. More than 2,000 people attended the girl's funeral Sunday. Her body was found Nov. 16 beside a rural road.

Jackets beaten: Nick Foligno scored a power-play goal with 6:10 left to help the Ottawa Senators beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1. Foligno moved out from behind the net to put a backhander past Steve Mason with Columbus defenseman Jan Hejda in the penalty box.

Race in Brazil: The Indy Racing League will open its 2010 season on the streets of Sao Paulo, the first time the IndyCar series has held a race in Brazil. The race is scheduled for March 14.