Newsmakers

Signed The Portland Trail Blazers have signed second-round pick Armon Johnson. Portland selected the 6-foot-3 guard out of Nevada with the 34th overall pick in the June draft.

• The Montreal Canadiens have signed defenseman Alexandre Picard to a one-year contract. The 25-year-old Picard had four goals and 11 assists in 54 games with Ottawa and Carolina last season.

• The Anaheim Ducks have signed veteran defenseman Andy Sutton to a two-year contract, filling a major need on their depleted blue line. Sutton got $4.25 million in the deal . The 35-year-old Sutton played in 72 games and scored 13 points last season with the New York Islanders and Ottawa, which acquired him at the trade deadline.

• Don Garber has signed a four-year contract as Major League Soccer commissioner running through 2013. The deal was announced at the MLS board of governors meeting on July 28.

Garber is a former NFL executive who in 1999 replaced the MLS’s first commissioner, Doug Logan.

• Free-agent defenseman Shaone Morrisonn has signed a two-year contract with the Buffalo Sabres. Morrisonn is a seven-year NHL veteran who spent the past five-plus seasons with the Washington Capitals.

Waived The Buffalo Sabres have waived left wing Tim Kennedy four days after he was awarded a one-year $1 million contract in arbitration. Should Kennedy go unclaimed, the Sabres would have the choice to retain the player or buy him out at a third of his contract.

Named Vanderbilt has made Robbie Caldwell its football coach, officially dropping the ’interim’ part from his title. Vice chancellor David Williams announced the news at a Rotary Club meeting. Williams later said he had conferred with the Board of Trust and is working on a new contract for Caldwell. Caldwell had been interim coach since July 14 when Bobby Johnson announced his retirement from coaching.

Returning Former guard Tyus Edney is returning to the Bruins as director of men’s basketball operations. Edney is best known for his full-court dash with 4.8 seconds remaining to score the game-winning layup against Missouri in the second round of the 1995 NCAA tournament.

Died Former Detroit Lions cornerback James Hunter has died. The team says he died from an apparent heart attack at age 56. Hunter played for coach Eddie Robinson at Grambling State and was from Silsbee, Texas. Detroit drafted Hunter with the 10th pick overall in 1976. He had a career-high seven interceptions in his debut season and was NFL Rookie of the Year runner-up behind future Hall of Famer Mike Haynes.