Newsmakers

Hired The Baltimore Ravens have hired former New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo as a senior defensive assistant. Spagnuolo was fired in January following one season in New Orleans in which the Saints’ defense allowed a single-season NFL record 7,042 yards. However, his record as a defensive coach before 2012, when the Saints were floundering in the wake of their bounty scandal, was far better. Spagnuolo spent three seasons as the St. Louis Rams’ head coach from 2009-11.

• The Minnesota Timberwolves have named Flip Saunders as the team’s new president of basketball operations. Saunders is also getting a small piece of the ownership pie as part of the deal he signed to replace David Kahn.

Sidelined The Portland Timbers announced that veteran defender Mikael Silvestre is out for six to nine months because of a left knee injury. The Timbers signed defender Pa Modou Kah for the rest of the season.

Signed Montana men’s basketball coach Wayne Tinkle has announced the signing of 6-foot-7 power forward John “Chris” Kemp of Baltimore. Kemp is transferring to Montana from West Texas College in Snyder, Texas, and will have two years of eligibility remaining. He averaged 7.2 points and 6.6 minutes per game as a sophomore. Montana returns three starters from a 25-7 team that won the Big Sky Conference regular-season title with a 19-1 record.

Exempt Hall of Famer Juli Inkster won’t have to go through qualifying to get back to the U.S. Women’s Open. Inkster was given a special exemption into this year’s U.S. Women’s Open, which will be played June 27-30 at Seabonack Golf Club in New York. Inkster, who is in the World Golf Hall of Fame, turns 53 that week. She is a two-time winner of the U.S. Women’s Open.

Dies The ATP said chairman Brad Drewett has died at 54. The governing body of men’s tennis said in a statement he died of a “motor neurone” disease at his home in Sydney. The Australian had served as ATP executive chairman and president since January 2012.