Newsmakers
Signs Running back Ahman Green couldn’t hang up his helmet, not after the way things ended in Houston. Now Green is back with Green Bay, volunteering Wednesday to take a reduced role to sign with the Packers. Green has been out of football since the Texans cut him in February.
•The Chicago Cubs signed Rudy Jaramillo as their hitting coach, hoping he can resurrect an offense that struggled this season. Jaramillo, who spent 15 years as the hitting coach of the Texas Rangers, replaced Von Joshua. Joshua was removed after the season and offered a job in Triple-A. Jaramillo turned down a one-year deal from the Rangers last week.
•The Tampa Bay Rays signed Derek Shelton to be the team’s hitting coach. The 39-year-old spent the last five seasons in the same position with the Cleveland Indians. The move fills a spot on manager Joe Maddon’s staff that opened when Steve Henderson was fired.
Admits ESPN baseball analyst Steve Phillips acknowledged having an affair with an assistant at the cable network and has taken a leave of absence during the playoffs. Police say 22-year-old ESPN production assistant Brooke Hundley began calling Phillips’ wife, Marni, on Aug. 5 after he broke off the affair and sent her a letter graphically describing their relationship and Phillips’ birthmarks. She allegedly told Phillips’ wife that “We both can’t have him,” according to a Wilton, Conn., police report.
Fined New York Jets safety James Ihedigbo and linebacker Marques Murrell were each fined $5,000 by the NFL for their roles in a scuffle with Buffalo’s Derek Fine. Jets spokesman Bruce Speight confirmed the fine and said coach Rex Ryan plans to make both players inactive for New York’s game at Oakland on Sunday.
Injured Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar will be out four to six weeks with a broken left wrist, his third significant injury in slightly more than a year. Gonchar will not need surgery.
Retiring University of Michigan athletic director Bill Martin, 69, who helped launch a pair of multimillion-dollar renovations to campus facilities and brought in new coaches for the football and men’s basketball programs, will retire Sept. 4, 2010.