FOOTBALL

• 49ERS JACOBS SAYS “ROTTING AWAY” IN LIMITED ROLE: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — 49ers running back Brandon Jacobs is becoming even more frustrated with his extremely limited role for San Francisco.

Jacobs on Saturday said via Instagram that he is “on this team rotting away” while referring to his first season with the Niners as his “worst” yet during an eight-year career that included seven with the New York Giants.

The 30-year-old Jacobs has five carries for 7 yards while being active for only two games with the NFC West-leading Niners (8-3-1), who hosted the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. Jacobs — inactive again with rookie LaMichael James active for the first time — has repeatedly referred any questions about his playing time to head coach Jim Harbaugh.

On Twitter later, Jacobs said, “I don’t understand why people are angry at me because I want to do what I am paid to do.”

Jacobs, hampered by a knee injury earlier this season, spends approximately 20 minutes before games punching the goal-post padding.



BASEBALL

• DODGERS SIGN SOUTH KOREA PITCHER RYU TO DEAL: LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers signed South Korean pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin to a $36 million, six-year deal on Sunday, bolstering their starting rotation for next year.

The team and Ryu (Ree-YOO He-YUN Jin) had until 2 p.m. PST to reach an agreement or else the left-hander would have returned home and the Dodgers would have been refunded the $25.7 million fee they paid for exclusive rights to negotiate with him.

Ryu becomes the first player to go directly from the Korea Baseball Organization to the U.S. big leagues, and he’s expected to join a strong rotation that includes 2011 NL Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Josh Beckett, Ted Lilly, Chris Capuano and Aaron Harang. The Dodgers also are trying to sign free-agent right-hander Zack Greinke.

Ryu’s agent, Scott Boras, said last month he was confident a deal could be struck with the Dodgers, whose new ownership has shown a willingness to spend money on new players.



SKIING

• HIRSCHER WINS WCUP GIANT SLALOM AHEAD OF LUITZ: VAL D’ISERE, France (AP) — Defending World Cup champion Marcel Hirscher of Austria protected his first-run lead to comfortably win a giant slalom race on Sunday, helped by Frenchman Alexis Pinturault’s clumsy mistake three gates from the end.

Hirscher, who was third in Saturday’s slalom, secured his first win of the season, his third consecutive podium spot and fifth so far.

“I heard a lot of questions recently, like ‘What’s going on, you’re only second?’” Hirscher said. “Whoa, I thought second was OK. But now I guess those questions are over. “

He finished 1.16 seconds ahead of Germany’s Stefan Luitz, with American Ted Ligety climbing up from sixth to finish 1.42 behind in third place on the Stade Olympique de Bellevarde course.



SKATING

• KIM YU-NA POSTS SEASON’S BEST TO SEAL RETURN: DORTMUND, Germany (AP) — Olympic champion Kim Yu-na completed her triumphant return to figure skating competition Sunday by winning the NRW Trophy with the season’s best total score.

Kim overcame one fall in an otherwise assured free skate to end her 19-month sabbatical with 201.61 points, including the 72.27 awarded for the season’s best short program Saturday.

The 22-year-old South Korean was competing in the second-tier competition to secure a place at next year’s world championships.



SOCCER

• MESSI BREAKS 40-YEAR RECORD WITH 86TH GOAL OF 2012: BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Lionel Messi broke German great Gerd Mueller’s 40-year-old record for most goals in a year by scoring for the 86th time in 2012 on Sunday.

The Argentina forward scored twice to lead Barcelona to a 2-1 win at Real Betis in the Spanish league match.

His first was an individual effort in the 16th minute to equal Mueller’s mark, and he eclipsed the 1972 milestone with a familiar left-footed finish nine minutes later.



COLLEGE SOCCER

• INDIANA WINS NCAA MEN’S SOCCER TITLE: HOOVER, Ala. (AP) — Nikita Kotlov scored off a header pass from Eriq Zavaleta midway through the second half to give Indiana a 1-0 victory over Georgetown on Sunday to win the NCAA men’s soccer championship.

It is the eighth championship for the Hoosiers (16-5-3), their first since 2004.

Indiana midfielder Patrick Doody lofted a crossing pass to the right of the goal that brought Georgetown goalkeeper Tomas Gomez out from the net.

Zavaleta got to the ball before either Gomez or Hoyas defender Jimmy Nealis and sent a header to Kotlov, who kicked it into the open net with 27 minutes left.