Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti said at his end-of-the-season press conference that the team is “assuming” 33-year-old safety Ed Reed will return to the team, according to BaltimoreRavens.com.

“Ed doesn’t give definitive answers,” Bisciotti said. “We’re assuming he’s going to be back. He’s under contract and I think he still has the desire to play.”

Reed is signed through the end of next season. The 10-year veteran has dealt with a slew of injuries the last few seasons, missing four games in 2009 and six games last season. This year, he played through neck, shoulder and ankle injuries but did not miss a game, according to BaltimoreRavens.com.

Reed finished the season with 52 tackles, one sack and three interceptions and was named to his eighth Pro Bowl.

“We didn’t get that same proclamation we got from Ray [Lewis],” Bisciotti said.

Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Bill Muir has told the team that he is retiring, according to ESPN.com.

“It has been an honor to be a part of this great league for so long,” Muir said in a statement issued by the Chiefs. “Over the years I’ve made a lot of great friends and worked with many talented players and coaches. This was a personal decision for me, the timing was right.”

Muir, 69, joined the Chiefs in 2009 as an offensive line coach and was promoted to offensive coordinator last season.

Muir started his NFL career in 1978 as a scout for Tampa Bay and has also coached in Detroit, New England, Indianapolis and New York.

“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Bill,” Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli said. “I have worked with him for a long time and have witnessed him develop a number of very good football players. His contributions are very much appreciated and he will be missed.”

Added head coach Romeo Crennel: “I’m excited for Bill as he moves into retirement. I’ve known him for a long time and he is one of the finest coaches I’ve ever been around, and an even better person. Bill is a very good friend and I have a great deal of respect for the way he worked. It was a privilege to work alongside him.”

The St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission (CVC) presented a $120 million plan detailing improvements to Edward Jones Dome in the hopes of preventing the team from moving, according to STLToday.com.

“I’ve seen it,” St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay said of the proposal.  “I’ve read it. I think it’s a very strong proposal that meets the requirements of the lease, which are to bring the components of the stadium that are listed in the lease up to top tier. We’re just waiting to hear back from the Rams.”

The proposal includes many aesthetic improvements to the stadium, including a brand new scoreboard over midfield, large glazed window panels and a new three-story structure that would have a rooftop beer garden, according to STLtoday.com.

There has been speculation that the Rams could move back to Los Angeles – speculation that was fueled by news that Rams owner Stan Kroenke put in a bid to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to STLToday.com.

The Rams have until March 1 to accept or reject the proposal and could go to arbitration if a deal isn’t struck by June 15 – if there is no agreement, the Rams are free to move after March 1, 2015, according to STLtoday.com.

“We hope they’re going to turn around in 30 days and say they love it,” CVC President Kathleen Ratcliffe said. “But we expect there to be changes.”

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has signed an endorsement deal with Gatorade, according to Darren Rovell of CNBC.

Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton signs an endorsement deal with @Gatorade. Is 3rd NFL player joining the Manning Bros.

—
darren rovell (@darrenrovell) February 01, 2012

Newton, the first overall pick of the 2011 NFL Draft, set a rookie record for passing yards this season with 4,051 yards. The 22-year-old quarterback finished the season with 21 passing touchdowns, 14 rushing touchdowns and an 84.5 QB rating. He was the first rookie in NFL history to pass and run for 10 touchdowns each.

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay said Wednesday that a decision on Manning’s future with the team will likely not be made until March, according to ESPN.com.

“People assume that the people know what they’re going to do and just aren’t telling us,” Irsay told NFL Network. “Often times, you don’t know, and take as much time to be thoughtful and make the decision at the last possible moment you can. It’s not true that any decision has been made. I wouldn’t say it’s a certainty that it will go one way or another.”

Irsay added that it is possible that the two sides could negotiate a deal to delay the $28 million option bonus that Manning is due March 8.

“Anything is possible if two parties get together and agree,” Irsay said, according to ESPN.

Manning missed all of this season with a neck injury, but said that he had no plans to retire.

“I really feel good. I continue to make progress every day,” Manning said, according to ESPN. “Everything that the doctors have told me has been on point, which is encouraging to me. I just had a great day today with rehab, just got back from the facility, and that’s what we continue to do. Just keep trying to get better. So far I have. That’s the plan from here on out.”

Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant was not impressed with Blake Griffin’s dunk over teammate Kendrick Perkins, according to ESPN.

“I wasn’t surprised because Blake is a poster child,” Durant said. “He dunks the ball a lot and makes spectacular plays. If it wasn’t against us, maybe I’d say it was a good play, but it was against us, so it was a bad play. I have nothing against Blake, don’t get me wrong. But it was against us, so I’ve got to stick up for my teammate.”

Perkins, the victim of Griffin’s highflying dunk, expressed his opinion saying to reporters, “It was a layup, I think. He threw the ball in and got fouled and made his free throw. … I really wasn’t impressed.”

Griffin had 22 points in the 112-100 victory Monday night over the Thunder in L.A.  The win snapped the Thunder’s four-game winning streak.

The Thunder hold the division lead in the Northwest with a 16-4 record while the Clippers are leading the Pacific Division at 12-6.  The two meet again on March 21 at Oklahoma City.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard, Ricky Rubio has been named Western Conference Rookie of the Month, according to the team’s official website.

This is the first honor of Rubio’s career and is the fourth Rookie of the Month honor in franchise history. Rubio currently ranks fifth among rookies in scoring with 11.4 points per game, first in assists with 8.9 per game, and first in steals with 2.24 per game.

In the 11 games that Rubio has started for the Wolves they have won seven and lost four. They are currently in fifth place in Northwest Division of the Western Conference, with a 10-11 record.

The Neveda State Athletic Commission has granted Floyd Mayweather Jr. a one-time license to fight Miguel Cotto on May 5 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, according to ESPN.

Mayweather, who faces an 87-day jail sentence for domestic violence charges, had his sentence date postponed from Jan.6 to June1 after his attorney, Richard Wright, successfully convinced Judge Melissa Saragosa that he needed to honor an existing deal with the MGM Grand to fight on May 5.

At this time, with the superfight between Mayweather and Pacquiao off the table, the Mayweather-Cotto match is considered the second best option for the sport and the financially struggling city of Las Vegas.

Cotto (37-2, 30 KOs) may not be promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank for the first time in his career with his contract expired if he is to fight Mayweather this May.  Mayweather and boxing fans will have to wait until at least the fall for the highly anticipated superfight against Pacquiao.

Washington Nationals left handed pitcher, John Lannan had his arbitration hearing today, according to a tweet from MLB.com’s Bill Ladson.

I have confirmed that #Nats LHP John Lannan had his arbitration hearing today.

—
William Ladson (@washingnats) February 01, 2012

Lannan’s hearing was the first of 2012 and we’re expected to know the decision by Thursday, according to the Associated Press.

Last season with the Nationals, Lannan had a 3.70 ERA and 106 strikeouts with 10 wins and 13 losses. Throughout his career he has a 4.00ERA, 393 strikeouts, and has posted a 38-51 record.

Former Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Matt Garza’s American League Championship ring was reported stolen on Tuesday from his home in Fresno County, California, according to Yahoo Sports.

The 14k white gold ring, encrusted with white and yellow diamond and engraved with Garza’s name, is valued at $30,000.

Similarly, former teammates Evan Longoria, David Price, and Reid Brignac also had their homes burglarized last year.

Garza received the ring after the Rays won the American League Championship Series in 2008.  Garza was named the M.V.P. in the series win against the Boston Red Sox.  The starting pitcher was traded from the Rays to the Chicago Cubs on Jan. 7, 2011 as part of an eight-player deal.

The NFL has fined New York Giants defensive lineman Osi  Umenyiora $20,000 for missing this morning’s media session, according to ProFootballTalk.

Umenyiora was reportedly at a Giants team meeting earlier this afternoon, which likely means his absence was not team related.

The 30-year-old registered nine sacks in nine games for the Giants this season. He also forced two fumbles and recorded 19 tackles.

Last year the All-Pro defenseman registered 11.5 sacks and 10 forced fumbles in 16 games for New York.

The Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs are still at ends over potential compensation for general manager Theo Epstein, according to the Boston Globe. While the discussion was handed over the commissioner’s office last month, no decision has been made.

“It’s just a disagreement. There was an expectation when Theo left that the Red Sox would receive significant compensation for allowing the Cubs to hire him and we haven’t been able to agree on what ‘significant compensation’ means,”Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington said of the situation.

When asked if there was a resolution in sight,  Cubs’ general manager Theo Epstein said, “Seems like it should be coming to an end sometime soon.”

Epstein became the general manager for the Red Sox in 2002, and is generally credited with having assembled the rosters of Boston’s World Series champion teams in 2004 and 2007.

The Red Sox failed to make the playoffs in 2011 despite what was perceived as massive roster improvement during the previous winter. After a late season collapse, Epstein, manager Terry Francona, and closer Jonathan Papelbon all left Boston.

The St.Louis Convention and Visitors Commission (CVC) have delivered their plans to upgrade the Edward Jones Dome to Rams owner Stan Kroenke, according to STL Today.

The Rams have until March 1 to accept or reject the CVC proposal, and until May 1 to make a counter-offer. If an agreement is not made by June 15, the two sides would go into arbitration.

If an agreement is not made between the CVC and the Rams, the team would be free to relocate after March 1, 2015.  A very possible relocation option would be to move the team to Los Angeles, the Rams’ former home.

Kroenke had put in a bid to buy baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers; therefore, many have speculated that the Rams could return to the much larger market of Los Angeles.

Jose Reyes, shortstop for the Miami Marlins, will cut off his famously long hair on MLB Network on Friday, according to a tweet form his agent Chris Leible.

It's official: Jose Reyes will cut off his trademark long hair Friday on the MLB Network. More details to follow... #marlins

—
Chris Leible (@ChrisLeible) February 01, 2012

Due to team policy, Reyes will be forced to cut his hair prior to the 2012 season. The All-Star shortstop had previously played his entire career with the New York Mets, who had no such policy, before signing a $106 million deal with the Marlins this winter.

The New York Yankees are famous for having a similar hair policy. Johnny Damon had to shed his famous locks and beard prior to joining them in 2006.

Twitter began rolling out enhanced profile pages for some professional sports teams today.

Twitter developed enhanced profile pages for select brands in early December , however starting today they plan to roll out such pages to some professional sports teams. Updated profile pages can be seen on the  Nationals’ Twitter page, as well as the Detroit Tigers’ page.

These pages allow teams to better display information as well as featured tweets directly on their Twitter page. Previously, brands, news organizations, and regular users all had identical Twitter pages.

The New York Mets will sell 10 minority shares of the team by the end of February, according to Newsday.

The minority stakes, priced at $20 million each, are designed to help the club raise $200 million to pay previously established loans as well as operating expenses moving forward.  Newsday reports that the initial revenue from those sales will go toward repaying a $40 million loan from Bank of America and a $20 million loan from Major League Baseball.

The team’s financial woes stem mostly from a lawsuit against owner Fred Wilpon from the trustee in the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme. The trustee has filed a motion asking the Wilpons to repay $83 million in “fictitious profits” that the trustee believes they made from the scheme according to Newsday. The trustee is also seeking another $303 million from the Wilpons for “willful blindness.”

Last spring the Mets had attempted to sell a $200 million stake in the team, but were unable to find an ownership group to purchase a single stake that large in the team.

Michigan State is awaiting the MRI results of All-American forward Draymond Green who left last night’s game with an injured left knee late in the second half against Illinois, according to Sporting News.

“I have no idea how he is,” Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said  of Green’s injury after the game. “Not even sure what it is. I’m not sure he is or the doctors are.”

At the four minute mark in the second half, Green attempted to dodge a screen and fell to the floor.  After hopping back to the bench with some assistance, Green realized the severity of the injury as he could not put any weight on his left knee.  Without their star forward, the Spartans were defeated by Illinois, 42-41.

The No. 10 ranked Spartans hold a 17-5 record and are 6-3 in the Big Ten.  Before his injury, Green averaged 14.9 points, 10 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game.

The number one high school football recruit, Dorial Green-Beckham signed with The University of Missouri, according to USA Today.

Green-Beckham, a 6-6 220-pound wide receiver form Hillcrest, Missouri chose the Tigers over Arkansas, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Texas. He is expected to play immediately for the Tigers.

“Dorial Green-Beckham, just on pure athleticism alone, is too good to keep off the field,” said ESPNU’s recruiting analyst Tom Luginbill “He’s also at a position who can make the easiest transition. The only question is whether he can get off press coverage. Some guys learn it and some guys don’t.”

During Green-Beckham’s career at Hillcrest he set a national record with 6,447 receiving yards, and broke his state season record with 2,233 yards on 119 catches and 24 touchdowns. He also set state records in single-game receiving yards, 354 and career touchdown catches, 72.

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Mike Brown acknowledged the team had inquired about free-agent guard Gilbert Arenas, but indicated that the talks weren’t serious, according to the Orange County Register.

“It’s just conversation,” Brown said Tuesday. “We’ve had conversations about a lot of players. There are a ton of players that we’ve had conversations with.”

Arenas, 30, last played with the Orlando Magic before he was waived under the new collective bargaining agreement’s amnesty clause. The clause allowed teams to cut high-expense players without having to take a salary cap hit. To this point, there has not been much interest in the three-time All-Star.

Through the 2006-07 season, Arenas was considered one of the top players in the game before several consecutive knee surgeries, and a major suspension, forced him to miss 189 games over a three-year period.

In his first full season since he averaged 28.4 points per game for the Washington Wizards in 2006-07, Arenas tallied 10.8 points and 3.9 assists per contest in 70 games between the Wizards and Magic.

The New York Knicks are still in the hunt to acquire former Nets and Nuggets power forward Kenyon Martin, according to SNY New York.

Andy Miller, Martin’s agent, notified SNY via a text  message that Martin will make his decision “by week’s end.”

Martin cannot join an NBA team until Feb. 16, when his former Chinese team finishes their season.  The former top overall pick signed with the Chinese team during the NBA lockout. Apart from the Knicks, Martin could land in Miami, Los Angeles (Clippers), San Antonio, or Atlanta.

Playing 48 games last season with the Nuggets, Martin averaged 8.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.

Indiana Pacers guard George Hill will be out indefinitely with a chip fracture in his left ankle, according to the Indy Star.

Hill had two points and three assists before hurting himself when landing awkwardly in the third quarter of a 106-99 victory over the New Jersey Nets. Hill’s off-the-bench role will reportedly be filled by Lance Stephenson and A.J. Price.

“He will be missed,” head coach Frank Vogel told the Star. “But I believe guys will fill in for him.”

Through 19 games this season he has averaged 9.3 points and 1.6 assists per game in 24.41 minutes per contest. Last year he averaged 11.6 points and 2.5 assists per game for the San Antonio Spurs.

Indiana Pacers head coach Frank Vogel defended his team’s reaction to their victory against the Chicago Bulls earlier this month on  ESPN Radio’s “Scott Van Pelt Show.”

“I think there is a little dispute about how much we really celebrated,” Vogel said Monday. “We were excited. We’re excited every time we get a win. In particular any road win and against a team that we struggled to close out some games against last year…”

Vogel’s comments came several days after Bulls star Derrick Rose expressed his dissatisfaction in the way the Pacers celebrated their victory. “”I’ll never forget how they celebrated just from winning this game, I can’t wait to play them again,” Rose told the media following the game.

The Pacers’ win in Chicago on Jan.26 ended the Bulls’ 12-game home winning streak.

The Bulls, who ousted the Pacers last year in the first round of the playoffs, currently have a record of 18-5, placing them first in the Central Division.  The Pacers hold the second spot with a 14-6 record.  The next meeting between the two teams will be in Chicago on March 5.

Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson would reportedly like to have top-prospect Bryce Harper start the year with the team in right field, according to CBS Sports.

Harper, ranked by the No. 2 prospect by MLB.com for 2012, has yet to play above Double-A. That however, doesn’t stop Johnson, as well as some other baseball experts, from believing that the 19-year-old could be an everyday player  in the Major Leagues as soon as this April.

In 2011 in 109 games between Single and Double-A, Harper hit .297/.392/.501 with 17 home runs and 58 RBI in his first year as a professional. The left-handed-slugger struggled, however, after making the jump to Double-A. In 37 games for the Harrisburg Senators, Harper hit .256/.329/.395 with three home runs and 12 RBI.

Harper is perhaps best known for graduating high school a year early so he could play college baseball sooner. At the age of 17, he was named the 2010 Golden Spikes Award winner for being the best player in college baseball during his first and only year with the College of Southern Nevada. He finished that season hitting .443/.526/.987 with 31 home runs and 98 RBI.

Later that year he was drafted No. 1 overall by the Nationals.

The Texas Rangers and outfielder Nelson Cruz are working to make a deal before their scheduled arbitration date of Feb. 17, according to an ESPN report.

“We’re exchanging figures, negotiating for a year but leaving the door open for a multiyear deal,” Cruz told ESPN. “I’m not afraid of the process. If we need to go to arbitration, I’ll do it. But in an ideal world, it’s better to avoid it altogether.”

Cruz, 31, is asking for $7.5 million in 2012, and the Rangers are offering $5.5 million. Cruz hit .263 with 29 home runs and 87 RBIs a season ago.

“I’d like to be a Ranger for life,” said Cruz, according to the report. “I like the city, the team and the fans. Arlington is my second home.”

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said Tuesday on the radio that he was “disappointed” with the effort exhibited in this year’s Pro Bowl.

“I’ll be honest with you, I was a little disappointed,” Rodgers said Tuesday during a radio interview with ESPN Milwaukee. ”I felt like some of the guys on the NFC side embarrassed themselves. There should be some pride involved in a game like that, and I was just surprised by some of the efforts by some of the guys.”

Perhaps is that lack of effort that led to a 59-41 final score, and even a smattering of boos from the crowd in Hawii.

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Daniel Gibson has been released from a Boston hospital after being treated for a neck infection, according to the Associated Press.

Gibson is suffering from a soft tissue infection that is being treated with antibiotics.

“He’s feeling a lot better,” Scott said, according to the AP. “I do know the Cleveland Clinic (doctors) are going to do more tests to make sure everything is okay. But other than that, we’re just glad he’s okay.”

On the year, Gibson is averaging 7.1 points and 2.7 rebounds per game for the Cavs, who are 8-11 in the early-going.

Atlanta Braves mainstay Chipper Jones is preparing for his 19th season in the major, and he hinted Tuesday that it may not be his last.

“As long as I stay healthy and I’m having fun, I’m going to keep going,” he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I sit here with three weeks to go before spring training and I’m not ready to say this is it.”

Jones, 40, is entering his final year of his contract, with a club option in 2013. He still feels that he can contribute at the plate, especially after an offensive resurgence last season which saw him stroke 33 doubles with an .814 on-base percentage.

“I still feel that I can go out and play a solid third base, which I did last year,” Jones told the paper. “And I still feel like I can be productive in the middle of the lineup. If it’s the 3-hole or the 5-hole or the 6-hole — it doesn’t bother me where I hit.”