Marcus Pollard, Kenoy Kennedy join Detroit Lions\nALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Kenoy Kennedy made it as far as the gate at Detroit Metropolitan Airport Monday to board a flight to Miami to continue his free-agent tour, but then had second thoughts.\nHe returned to the Lions practice facility and signed a contract while the team was introducing another new player -- former Indianapolis Colts tight end Marcus Pollard.\nIn the first of their back-to-back press conferences Monday evening, the Lions brought out Pollard, who caught six of Peyton Manning's record 49 touchdown passes last season.\n"Until a couple weeks ago, we didn't even expect that Marcus would be available, so we feel very good about adding him to the roster," team president Matt Millen said. "He brings experience, an understanding of how to win, and some great hands."\nPollard, 33, spent his first 10 seasons with Indianapolis. Last season, as one of the last options in Manning's attack, he caught 29 passes for 309 yards and six touchdowns. He missed three games with leg injuries.\n"The Colts felt that they had other players who were ready to play tight end, so they let me go," he said. "That's made for a couple exciting weeks, but I'm glad I'm here, and I'm looking forward to help take this team to the next level."\nLike Kennedy, Pollard had interest from other teams. But his wife, Amani, made the decision easier. She went to high school in the Detroit suburb of Farmington.\n"As long as we've been married, I knew this was a place I might want to play," Pollard said. "I've spent a lot of time here with my wife and her family and I like the city and the people."\nNEW YORK -- The NHL Players' Association accepted an invitation from the league to return to the bargaining table later this week.\nNHL commissioner Gary Bettman contacted union executive director Bob Goodenow late last week to request the resumption of talks, and the players' association agreed to get together, NHL chief legal officer Bill Daly said in an e-mail to The Associated Press on Monday.\nA meeting was scheduled for this week, but the date, time and location was not announced.\nIt will be the first bargaining session since Feb. 19, when the sides met in a desperate attempt to save the season three days after Bettman canceled it. But even the presence of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux wasn't enough to get owners and players to reach an agreement.\nBettman and Goodenow will take part in this week's meeting, a source close to the negotiations told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, after both leaders sat out the last session. They left the bulk of those talks to Daly and union senior director Ted Saskin, who are also expected to be in attendance.\nLast week, the NHL board of governors met in New York on the same day more than 150 players got an update from union leadership in Toronto.\nBettman said the board discussed many ways to get next season started on time in October, and didn't rule out the use of replacement players. He said that wasn't a choice he wanted to make but added the league is committed to having a full season that isn't delayed.\n"We haven't decided exactly what options we would or would not pursue in the event we don't have a deal," Bettman said last week. "The option we're pursuing most fervently ... is to make a deal with the union.\n"I believe it's in everybody's interest to make a deal as soon as possible."
Cubs topple Rangers 9-4\nSURPRISE, Ariz. -- Greg Maddux's spring debut went a lot better than Alfonso Soriano's first appearance at second base.\nMaddux, entering his 20th major league season, allowed two unearned runs in two innings of the Cubs' 9-4 victory over the Texas Rangers Monday.\nSoriano, who missed the final two weeks of 2004 with a torn left hamstring, was limping in the locker room after playing six innings and going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in his second spring training game. He went hitless in three at-bats as the designated hitter in his first outing.\n"It felt tight after Saturday's game, and it still doesn't feel right," Soriano said before doing some extra running after the game. "My timing is off."\nRangers manager Buck Showalter said Soriano didn't tell him or trainer Jamie Reed that anything was wrong.\n"When you have an injury like that, you have to play your way through it," Showalter said. "I got him one more at-bat (Monday) and then took him out. There wasn't anything wrong. He's structurally OK. He needs to build his confidence by playing."\nThe 38-year-old Maddux gave up three hits, throwing 37 pitches -- 25 strikes.\n"It was fun to get out there," said Maddux, the only pitcher to win at least 15 games in 17 straight seasons. "You just do what you can do to get each hitter out. I just never want to throw the same bad pitch twice."\nThe Cubs erased the Rangers' 2-1 lead on a solo home run by Jason DuBois and a two-run shot by Jerry Hairston Jr. in the fourth inning. Angel Echevarria's two-run homer in the sixth made it 9-2.\nMichael Young went 2-for-3 for Texas.
