Phillies reward manager Pete Mackanin with new contract  —  CLEARWATER, Fla. — In a sign of faith for the manager who will preside over a rebuilding team, the Phillies have redone Pete Mackanin's contract before his first full season even started.  —  Mackanin was rewarded with some job security.

In N.F.L., Deeply Flawed Concussion Research and Ties to Big Tobacco  —  The National Football League was on the clock.  —  With several of its marquee players retiring early after a cascade of frightening concussions, the league formed a committee in 1994 that would ultimately issue …

Diamondbacks: 'Repair Chase Field or we'll leave'  —  The Arizona Diamondbacks notified Maricopa County that the team wants to “take such actions as it deems necessary in order to move and play Diamondbacks baseball games in a location other than Chase Field,” citing the county's failure …

Astros Release Neal Cotts  —  The Astros have released lefty Neal Cotts, the club announced.  Cotts was in camp on a minor league deal that contained an opt-out for March 26 if he wasn't on Houston's MLB roster.  —  The release is something of an unfortunate birthday present for Cotts …

League Made Deal with Rams to Draft Sam  —  It's been almost two years since the St. Louis Rams selected defensive end Michael Sam in the seventh round of the 2014 draft.  At the time, the Rams were hailed for being progressive and drafting the first openly gay player in the National Football League.

Miggy, Aroldis among the players ranked too high in BBTN 100  —  Over the weekend, I discussed eight players that I felt should have made our Baseball Tonight top 100 players, otherwise known as the BBTN 100.  Now I'm going to look at the flip side, those players ranked too high on our list …

Alex Rodriguez says he'll retire after 2017 season  —  Alex Rodriguez plans on retiring at the end of the 2017 season after playing out his contract with the New York Yankees, the designated hitter told ESPN on Wednesday.  —  “I won't play after next year,” Rodriguez told ESPN on Wednesday.

Royals' newcomers marvel at great team chemistry  —  Several have noted how players genuinely care for one anotherand root for their success  —  They believe that is a key to the team's success, and manager Ned Yost agrees  —  SURPRISE, ARIZ.  —  Left-hander David Huff was talking recently …

RGIII joins Browns as Broncos wait out Kaepernick … FORT LAUDERDALE - By itself, the Robert Griffin III contract agreement with the Cleveland Browns had no impact on the quarterback situation in Denver.  —  RGIII became the Browns' new backup quarterback after it became evident the Broncos …

Nationals Place Tyler Moore On Waivers  —  The Nationals placed first baseman/outfielder Tyler Moore on waivers yesterday, James Wagner of the Washington Post reports on Twitter.  It's not immediately clear if the club is seeking release or outright waivers, but Moore would not be able …

Diamondbacks' middle infield competition is going even better than they'd hoped  —  The competition for the Diamondbacks' middle-infield positions is going even better than the team anticipated.  —  Jean Segura entered Thursday batting .525 with a 1.312 OPS.  Nick Ahmed wasn't far behind, batting .422 with a 1.146 OPS.