Newsmakers

Died Former St. Louis Blues general manager Ron Caron died Monday. He was 82. Nicknamed the “Old Professor,” Caron was a longtime assistant National Hockey League GM for the Canadiens and helped build the Montreal teams that won Stanley Cups in 1971 and ’73 and four straight titles from ’76-’79. Caron was hired as GM in St. Louis in 1983 and spent more than a decade in the position. He died Monday night in Montreal, the Blues confirmed Tuesday.

Removed Duke says sophomore guard Chloe Wells will miss the rest of the season and will not enroll in school for the spring semester because of a violation of an undisclosed university policy. She averaged 10.4 points, starting all 10 games.

Signed The Chicago Cubs agreed to a one-year contract with left-handed pitcher Paul Maholm, adding depth to their starting rotation. The 29-year-old Maholm was limited by a left shoulder strain last season with Pittsburgh and made 26 starts, going 6-14 despite a 3.66 ERA. He was 53-73 over seven seasons with the Pirates.

• The Seattle Mariners signed right-handed reliever Aaron Heilman to a minor league contract with an invite to the Mariners’ major league spring training camp. It will be his second stint with the Mariners, although Heilman’s first season in Seattle never got started as he was traded to the Chicago Cubs before the 2009 season began. Heilman is a nine-year veteran. He spent last year with Arizona, going 4-1 with a 6.88 ERA in 32 games.

Hired Former Seattle Sounders goalkeeper Kasey Keller is moving from the field to the broadcast booth. The Seattle Sounders announced that Keller will become the analyst on all radio and television broadcasts for the 2012 season. Keller will join new play-by-play announcer Ross Fletcher, who was hired to replace Arlo White. White has become the lead play-by-play announcer for NBC Sports coverage of the MLS.

• IndyCar rookie of the year James Hinchcliffe has been hired to drive for Andretti Autosport in 2012. Hinchcliffe will take over the team’s Go Daddy entry, which was left vacant when Danica Patrick jumped to NASCAR.

Withdrawn Tenth-seeded Andrea Petkovic of Germany withdrew from the Australian Open with a stress fracture in her lower back.