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LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers have jumped back into the pool of elite international talent with a resounding splash. The Dodgers signed outfielder Yasiel Puig to a seven-year, $42 million contract on Friday, a record deal for a Cuban defector and a clear indication the team has rediscovered its traditional aggression in pursuing international players. "This signing is really one snapshot of a much bigger vision, a much bigger plan," Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said. "We needed to get re-invested in international signings, obviously Asia as well, but Latin America at this time. This represents the first of many. Its a long-term plan for us to continue to build the farm system from every place we can." Just a few days after getting a look at the 21-year-old Cuban who hasnt played competitive baseball in about a year, the Dodgers persuaded Puig to choose them from among several major-league suitors. The signing is the latest bold financial move by the teams new ownership group, fronted by Magic Johnson and backed by billionaire Mark Walter, to restore the Dodgers to their traditional high-profile status. "I think the message should be that we need talent in the system," said Logan White, the Dodgers assistant general manager in charge of scouting. "Did it cost money? Certainly. But if you want to play in the game and make the Dodgers great, its going to cost money, and it feels great to be able to do that again." The Dodgers paid top dollar for this particular talent: Puig gets a $12 million signing bonus and will make $2 million in each of his first three seasons. Hell make $4.5 million, $5.5 million, $6.5 million and $7.5 million in the final four years of his deal. Puig, who is waiting for a visa in Mexico City, will get half of his signing bonus within 30 days after he reports to the Dodgers camp in Arizona and his contract is approved by Major League Baseball. The other half is payable next Jan. 15. "To compete at the highest levels for the best players. whether its Latin America or Asia, to be able to compete and have your scouts go out and do their jobs, thats how this organization really made its mark in the 60s and 70s and onward in the 80s," Colletti said. "It was able to scout and develop some of the best players." Colletti is putting no timetable on his high-priced acquisition, saying the Dodgers "will let his talent dictate" how quickly Puig makes the majors. Hes more interested in getting Puig into the country to see what he can do to restock the Dodgers talent base. "Its kind of the same as with any of our draft picks," manager Don Mattingly said. "Talking with Ned yesterday, it didnt sound like he was talking about this guy showing up on our radar like next year or anything. They talk about him being able to play pretty much anywhere in the outfield and a guy that could fly -- but more as a minor league prospect at this point." Los Angeles also beat a provision in the new collective bargaining agreement that penalizes teams spending more than $2.9 million on international free agents starting Monday with an escalating tax that could make these signings prohibitively expensive. "Its a rare opportunity," Colletti said. "These types of players with that speed and power combination are very rarely available. All things considered, we had to be aggressive. The chance and the opportunity to do what we did were in a very short period of time. After that, all dynamics change." Puig has rarely played outside Cuba, but he excelled with Cienfuegos during the 2010-11 season, batting .330 with 17 homers, 47 RBIs and a .430 on-base percentage in just 327 at-bats while mostly playing centre field. The 6-foot-3 slugger sat out last season for disciplinary reasons possibly related to his attempts to defect -- or to his arrest on shoplifting charges while playing in a tournament in the Netherlands last summer. Although the Dodgers didnt disclose the details of his departure from Cuba, Puig has made numerous attempts to defect, and he recently established residency in Mexico. Thats where White saw him last weekend when Puig worked out for several major league teams, reportedly including the Cubs and White Sox. Although Puig hadnt swung a bat in five months and had gained a little weight during virtual house arrest in Cuba, White saw everything he needed to confirm the Dodgers scouting reports. White didnt flinch in saying Puig reminds him of Sammy Sosa. "Its going to take him a little while to work into playing shape," White said. "We went into this knowing (that). We didnt look at this guy as a guy whos going to impact this team this season. If it happens, great. He came in and said he and I need to do some jogging in Arizona and get in shape, but hes a beast. He looks like a linebacker. Hes probably around 230 right now, but ... put him out there next to Matt Kemp in a uniform, and youll say, Wow, whos that guy?" White also loved Puigs personality and enthusiasm about the game along with his five-tool skills, including speed and a strong throwing arm. Puig will get in shape at the Dodgers spring training complex in Glendale, Ariz., when he enters the country. The Dodgers assigned him to their Arizona rookie team and placed him on the temporary inactive list Friday. Yoenis Cespedes four-year, $36 million deal with the Oakland Athletics in February was the previous record for a Cuban defector. Outfielder Jorge Soler got a nine-year, $30 million deal from the Chicago Cubs earlier this month. After the Dodgers dramatically reduced their traditional pursuit of international talent under the budget-cutting ownership of Frank McCourt, theyre back in the game. Its a relief to White and his scouts who stayed updated on the top international talent even while knowing they couldnt pursue it. "Its a long time coming," White said. "The only thing surreal about the signing to me is finally we have an opportunity to do these kinds of things." Peterson Jersey . "Its been extremely frustrating for me. I dont think the negotiations should have been this difficult," Brees said on WWL radio in New Orleans. "Whats been a little frustrating on my end, or disappointing, is the lack of communication. Weve reached out on quite a few occasions and at times I know Ive been frustrated with the lack of response. Authentic Adrian Peterson Jersey . -- Golf Canada announced on Tuesday the addition of 12 new notable players to the field for the 2012 RBC Canadian Open. http://www.azulvirtual.org/new.html . Inter produced the least convincing performance of the night, losing 2-0 to Hajduk Split at San Siro in its second leg match of the third qualifying round. MIAMI -- For the Miami Heat, one nearly perfect quarter was more than enough to help stop a two-game slide. Dwyane Wade scored 26 points, LeBron James finished with 24 points and seven assists, and the Heat shot a season-best 58 per cent on the way to topping the New Orleans Hornets 106-90 on Saturday night. Chris Bosh scored 13, and Ray Allen and Shane Battier each added 11 for Miami, which took control by outscoring the Hornets 33-10 over the final 11 minutes of the second quarter. New Orleans started the game 10 for 12 from the floor, then shot 9 for 31 over the rest of the half. "Weve got to defend. Its that simple," James said. "When we defend, the games that much easier for us." Ryan Anderson scored 24 for New Orleans, which got 20 from Robin Lopez and 12 from Jason Smith. The Hornets turned the ball over 19 times, and Miami converted the miscues into 22 points. New Orleans outscored Miami by one point in the first quarter, and one point over the course of the second half. The Hornets only got to the foul line 13 times, compared with 24 for the Heat. "When theyre grabbing you like they grab you, without a foul, its hard to control the ball," Hornets coach Monty Williams said. "Our guys are getting fouled on jump shots and its hard to not get frustrated. Im out there fighting for our guys, but thats something thats really frustrating. Its hard to be able to go to the basket when somebody has both hands on you." James has scored at least 20 points in all 18 Miami games this season. He tied a Heat record by scoring 20 in 23 straight regular-season games (going back to last season) and 39 consecutive games overall, including playoffs. He made 10 of his first 11 shots on Saturday. The Heat have been plagued by defensive issues at times this season, especially lately, and they looked to have returned in the early going on Saturday. The Hornets ran out to a 25-18 lead by the time this game was 7 minutes old, playing almost flawlessly in the early going. It didnt last much longer. Not only did Miami soon clamp down on the defensive end, the Heat offence began really clicking as well. "Better activity tonight," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "You could see the motor was better. We didnt do everything right. We still had a handful of breakdowns. But the commmitment on the defensive end was better than the past two games.dddddddddddd" Take away Smiths 5-of-7 effort in the second quarter, and the rest of the Hornets shot 2 for 13 in those 12 minutes when the game turned. Miami outscored New Orleans 33-15 in the quarter -- James, Bosh and Wade outscored the Hornets by three -- and seven different Heat players had at least one assist in that period alone. New Orleans starters were 1 for 2 in the pivotal second quarter, both of those shots by Lopez. Anderson was limited to 31 seconds of time on the court in the second because of foul trouble, and the other three Hornets starters besides Lopez failed to get a shot off in more than 12 combined minutes. "The positive that we can take away is that in the second half I think we held them to 40 or 42 points," Lopez said. "Imagine if we had come out with that effort from the get-go. It could have been a different game for us." By halftime, Miamis lead was 64-47, and the Heat werent in much trouble again -- though they had to work in the final minutes to finish off the team with the worst record so far in the Western Conference. Anderson and Greivis Vasquez made consecutive 3-pointers to get the Hornets within nine late in the third quarter. And with 4:40 left, Lopezs three-point play helped New Orleans close to 95-87. That was the last gasp for New Orleans. Battier took a pass from James and made a 3-pointer from the right corner with just under 3 minutes left, giving the Heat a 101-87 lead, and Wade sealed it with a jumper on the next Miami possession, part of what became an 11-0 game-deciding run. "We just want to work on consistency now," Bosh said. "Our antennas are up about it." NOTES: Bosh missed three dunk attempts in the game, including two on one possession in the third quarter, and predictably was teased in the locker room about it postgame. ... Allen is now five points shy of tying Adrian Dantley (23,177) for 22nd on the NBAs career scoring list. ... Miami improved to 9-1 at home. ... Since a 3-2 start, New Orleans has dropped 12 of 14. ... The Hornets played without injured rookie Anthony Davis, the No. 1 pick in this years draft, for the 11th straight game. He was on the court for a pregame workout and Williams said he hopes to get Davis back in the lineup sometime in the next few days. ' ' '