Oliver signs one-year, $3.655M contract  —  Lefty reliever Darren Oliver avoided salary arbitration with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, signing a one-year, $3.655 million contract with the club.  —  Oliver's agent, Mike McCann of the Franklin-Frye-McCann group, confirmed the signing.

Marlins discuss Andruw Jones  —  If Andruw Jones doesn't return to the Atlanta Braves, he might find a landing spot in South Florida.  —  According to a baseball source, the Marlins have conducted internal discussions about Jones, who the Dodgers released Thursday after restructuring …

Reds legends help ‘Ellen’ land Clooney  —  Movie star a life-long fan of Hall of Fame Cincinnati sluggers  —  Johnny Bench and Joe Morgan have done what the Chippendales, the Rockettes, Brad Pitt and even president-elect Barack Obama couldn't.  —  After more than two years of trying …

Varitek, Henry to meet  —  In what may be a final attempt to end a stalemate that has existed throughout this offseason, Red Sox captain Jason Varitek has a meeting planned with club owner John Henry tonight that could facilitate a resolution with the free-agent catcher.

Rays sign reliever Lance Cormier  —  The Rays signed righthanded reliever Lance Cormier to a one-year, $675,000 contract.  —  To make room on the 40-man roster, they designated for assignment righthander Dewon Day, whom they had just claimed off waivers.  —  Cormier, 28, was with the Orioles …

Twins focus on relievers Lyon, Gagne  —  Club pursuing relievers for setup role behind closer Nathan  —  MINNEAPOLIS — The Twins have spent all winter searching for relief help and now that search appears to be focused on two free-agent pitchers who could be options for the club's setup role — Brandon Lyon and Eric Gagne.

Springer not in Cardinals' 2009 plans  —  Veteran hurler says club decided to go with younger options  —  ST. LOUIS — Russ Springer has decided he wants to pitch another year — at least one more year.  The Cardinals have decided that it won't happen in St. Louis.

Cowboys assistant Garrett traveling to St. Louis  —  Jason Garrett is traveling to St. Louis this afternoon, according to a league source, and it could be a sign that the Cowboys' offensive coordinator is the Rams' pick as their new head coach.  —  The Rams said Thursday that they wanted to have a head-coaching decision by Saturday.

Why it's never been a game to me.  —  Baseball has never been a game to me, regardless of what anyone outside the profession may think.  It wasn't a game to me before I was a player, and certainly wasn't a game when I was a player.  It was always more than that to me and this story below nails it in so many ways.

Youkilis transcript  —  The Red Sox held a press conference at 2 p.m. this afternoon at Fenway Park to formally announce the signing of first baseman Kevin Youkilis to a four-year contract with a fifth-year option.  —  The ball club did not reveal the financial terms of the deal …

An Interview with ESPN's Scott Van Pelt  —  Everyone's familiar with ESPN Sportscenter anchor Scott Van Pelt, so let's do away with the formality of introducing him.  In our interview with him, the Maryland grad - who also covers golf for ESPN - talked about nightlife in Bristol …

Williams has harsh words for ex-teammate Dykstra  —  Reading, PA - Mitch Williams says he doesn't see much of his former Philadelphia Phillies teammates these days.  He's done some broadcast work with John Kruk and occasionally talks to Dave Hollins, but other than that he doesn't hear much from the “Macho Row” crew.

Sox sign Colon - bye, bye Freddy Garcia  —  The White Sox were looking to add a veteran pitcher to compete in the starting rotation at some point this offseason, and all signs pointed toward it being the pitcher nicknamed “Big Game.”  —  Rather than take a chance on the ailing shoulder of Freddy Garcia …