Off the wire

— FOOTBALL Rams not hiring Ryan

The St. Louis Rams have decided not to hire former Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan as defensive coordinator and stepped in a new direction by hiring Frank Bush as linebackers coach. Bush replaces Blake Williams, son of Gregg Williams, who was briefly defensive coordinator with the Rams last winter before being suspended indefinitely for his role in the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal. Bush was with the Tennessee Titans the past two seasons and prior to that was defensive coordinator for four seasons with the Houston Texans. He has also been a player, scout, position coach and assistant head coach. Rams Coach Jeff Fisher said he decided Ryan’s scheme wouldn’t be a good fit.

Jim Anderson has retired after spending the past 29 years as Cincinnati’s running backs coach, the longest tenure of any Bengals coach. Anderson joined the team in 1984 after coaching at various colleges. He worked under five Bengals head coaches - Sam Wyche, Dave Shula, Bruce Coslet, Dick LeBeau and Marvin Lewis. His streak of 29 years with one team was the longest in the NFL for any position coach. It’s also a Bengals record for a coach, surpassing the 28 seasons that Kim Wood spent as conditioning coach before Lewis took over.

Stanford Coach David Shaw promoted run-game coordinator Mike Bloomgren to offensive coordinator Tuesday, choosing continuity above all else given the Cardinal’s recent run of success. Bloomgren also will continue to coach the offensive line as he has the past two seasons. Bloomgren replaces Pep Hamilton, who left earlier this month to be reunited with Andrew Luck as the Indianapolis Colts’ offensive coordinator.

Seattle Seahawks starting right tackle Breno Giacomini has undergone arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow and is expected to take four to six weeks to recover. The team announced Giacomini underwent the surgery Tuesday morning at the Seattle Surgery Center. Giacomini played through the problem in his elbow during thefinal weeks, appearing on Seattle’s injury report with an elbow injury late in the season. He started all 16 regular-season games and both of Seattle’s playoff games. It was the first time in his career Giacomini had started more than eight games in a season.

The Chicago Bears hired former Purdue defensive coordinator Tim Tibesar as their linebackers coach Tuesday. He replaces Bob Babich, who was let go after the season and is now Jacksonville’s defensive coordinator. Tibesar served asPurdue’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach last season after working for three years under new Bears Coach Marc Trestman with the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes. Tibesar was linebackers coach for two years before becoming defensive coordinator in 2011.

BASEBALL Murphy, Mets agree

Second baseman Daniel Murphy and the New York Mets haveagreed to a one-year contract worth $2,925,000, avoiding salary arbitration. The 27-year-old Murphy hit .291 with 6 home runs and 65 RBI last year, when he made $512,196. He had asked for $3.4 million in arbitration and had been offered $2.55 million.

Pitcher Jhoulys Chacin and the Colorado Rockies avoided arbitration by finalizing a $6.5 million, twoyear contract Tuesday. The 25-yearold right-hander is coming off an injury-plagued season in which he went 3-5 with a 4.43 ERA. He missed more than three months with shoulder inflammation. Chacin gets $1.65 million this year and $4.85 million in 2014. He had asked for $2.6 million in arbitration and had been offered $1.7 million by the Rockies.

Reliever Chad Durbin and the Phillies have finalized a $1 million, one-year contract. Durbin gets an $850,000 salary this year under Tuesday’s agreement, and the Phillies have a $1.5 million option for 2014 with a $250,000 buyout. The 34-year-old right-hander was 4-1 with a 3.10 ERA and 1 save in a career-high 76 games for Atlanta last season. He returns to Philadelphia, where he was 5-4 with a career-best 2.87 ERA for the 2008 World Series champions.

GYMNASTICS Sacramone retires

Gymnast Alicia Sacramone is retiring after setting a U.S. record with 10 medals at the world championships. The 25-year-old Winchester, Mass., native had called it quits after the 2008 Olympics, where she was captain of the U.S. team that won the silver medal.But she returned in 2010 and won three more medals at the world championships, including gold on vault. It was her second world title, following her floor exercise gold in 2005. Sacramone’s 10th medal broke a tie with Shannon Miller and Nastia Liukin for most by a U.S. gymnast, and it came without her on the floor. Sacramone ruptured her Achilles tendon during training at the 2011 worlds, where the Americans went on to win the team title. Sacramone made a comeback last summer, but failed to make the team for the London Olympics.

Sports, Pages 20 on 01/30/2013

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