OAKLAND, Calif. - The Oakland Athletics traded their second top starter in three days, sending left-hander Mark Mulder to the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday for a package of prospects.

Mulder follows Tim Hudson out of town. Hudson was dealt to Atlanta on Thursday for three mostly unproven players.

Mulder could be the top-notch pitcher the Cardinals sorely lacked when they got swept by the Boston Red Sox in the World Series.

In return, the A's acquired pitchers Danny Haren and Kiko Calero and minor league catcher Daric Barton.

Mulder, the AL starter in the All-Star game, seemed destined for Cy Young award consideration midway through the season, but went winless in his last seven starts - 0-4 with a 7.27 ERA.

LOS ANGELES - Three days after being hired as the new basketball coach at Southern California, Rick Majerus backed out of the deal and will stay at ESPN as a college basketball analyst.Majerus, who cited health reasons when he retired in January after 15 seasons as Utah's coach, was announced as the Trojans' incoming coach Wednesday. He was to assume the post on April 1.Until taking over in April, Majerus was supposed to serve on the staff and work on recruiting, filling the assistant's job vacated when Jim Saia was promoted to interim coach after Henry Bibby's firing.Saia last saw Majerus over dinner Wednesday night, when they discussed the program's future.But Majerus canceled a Thursday morning meeting with assistant coach Bob Cantu, then canceled dinner that night with assistant Eric Brown, Saia said. On Friday, Majerus canceled a meeting with the players who would still be eligible next season. He talked to the team briefly Wednesday after being introduced as the new coach.

LOS ANGELES - Glen Johnson won a split decision over Antonio Tarver in a matchup of the world's best light heavyweights Saturday night.Johnson overcame Tarver's 4-inch height advantage to win, mainly by being the aggressor through most of the 12-round bout.The 35-year-old Johnson raised his record to 42-9-2 with 28 knockouts.Tarver lost a 12-round decision to Roy Jones Jr., in November 2003 before stopping him in the second round of their rematch May 15.Johnson knocked Jones out in the ninth round Sept. 25.Both fighters gave up championships for the fight. The WBC stripped Tarver of his belt for not agreeing to fight mandatory challenger Paul Briggs of Australia. Johnson decided to relinquish the IBF version rather than fight the organization's top challenger, Rico Hoye.

ALTA BADIA, Italy - Thomas Grandi captured a giant slalom for his first victory in his 12 World Cup seasons Sunday, becoming the first Canadian man to win a World Cup race since Cary Mullen in 1994.Austria's Benjamin Raich was second and Switzerland's Didier Cuche and Austria's Hermann Maier shared third. The top U.S. finisher was Daron Rahlves in eighth place.Bode Miller missed a gate and did not finish his second run, reducing the American's lead in the overall standings. Winner of six of 13 races this season, Miller still holds a 798-479 points lead on Maier.

LONG BEACH, Calif. - Ogonna Nnamani had 29 kills to lead Stanford to the NCAA women's volleyball championship with a 30-23, 30-27, 30-21 victory over Minnesota on Saturday.The Cardinal needed rallies in the second and third games to win. The victory marked the 15th consecutive win and sixth NCAA title for Stanford.Nnamani, the national player of the year, was voted the tournament's most outstanding player after setting an NCAA record with 62 kills in the semifinal and final matches.