SANTA CLARA, Calif. — San Francisco 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith was charged with three felony counts of illegal possession of an assault weapon, stemming from a party at his home in June 2012.

The Santa Clara County district attorney's office said in announcing the charges that Smith is expected to surrender on his own later this month. The 24-year-old Smith is on an indefinite leave of absence from the NFC champion Niners while undergoing treatment for substance abuse at an in-patient facility following a DUI arrest Sept. 20.

NEW YORK — Joe Girardi's return as manager of the New York Yankees was all about family.Girardi signed a four-year contract that could be worth up to $20 million Wednesday to stay with New York through 2017.With the Yankees missing out on the playoffs this season for the second time in 19 years, the 48-year-old Girardi got an early start on determining his future. He went over several possible scenarios with his wife, Kim, and three children that included taking a year off, pursuing a broadcasting job or managing somewhere else.

MILWAUKEE — Andy Pafko, a four-time All-Star who played on the last Chicago Cubs team to reach the World Series and was the famously forlorn outfielder who watched Bobby Thomson's “Shot Heard `Round the World” sail over the left-field wall during the 1951 National League playoff, died. He was 92.Pafko, who had Alzheimer's disease, died Tuesday at a nursing home in Stevensville, Mich., said his nephew, Michael Nedoba.

Tennessee and Virginia Tech will play a game at Bristol Motor Speedway in September 2016, a person with knowledge of the plans told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because an official announcement is still in the works.The speedway holds 150,000. The NCAA-recognized attendance record for college football is 115,109, set last month at Michigan Stadium for the Michigan-Notre Dame game.