Waivers

I'm in two leagues, and waivers are handled differently in each. The person with the worst record getting first crack at available free agents - the traditional method - is used in one league. This seems fair, but at some point it becomes frustrating if you have a good team and you can't enhance your roster because the person in last place keeps picking up the best available player. In my other league, for the first time we're using a budget for waivers. Each team began the season with $100 and every Tuesday you can place a blind bid on available players - provided you have money remaining.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - After years of bad publicity over cronyism and clout, the Illinois Legislature has voted to end a longstanding program that allowed each lawmaker to hand out taxpayer-funded college tuition waivers to students. The 79-to-32 vote Monday was the second overwhelming tally in the state House in two months. The latest approval was necessary to endorse changes made in the state Senate, which broke a historic logjam over the issue earlier this month by reversing course and voting to abolish the perk.

Fresh from dumping their manager after one of the most devastating defeats in the history of Boston sports, the Red Sox last night were trying to part with their most richly paid superstar, Manny Ramirez, in a daring gambit aimed at reshaping the team and ending the franchise's 85-year championship famine. The other 29 teams in the major leagues have until 1 p.m. today to claim Ramirez -- and the approximately $95 million balance of his contract over the next five years -- after the Sox stunned the baseball world by placing one of the game's top sluggers on irrevocable waivers.

By Peter Abraham, Globe Staff The Orioles say they have claimed catcher Luis Exposito, who was designated for assignment by the Red Sox on Saturday. Exposito, 25, is a career .268/.324/.420 hitter in seven minor league seasons. He was a 31st round selection in the 2005 draft. No word as yet on the fate of RHP Michael Bowden, who also was designated.

By Peter Abraham, Globe Staff The Orioles say they have claimed catcher Luis Exposito, who was designated for assignment by the Red Sox on Saturday. Exposito, 25, is a career .268/.324/.420 hitter in seven minor league seasons. He was a 31st round selection in the 2005 draft. No word as yet on the fate of RHP Michael Bowden, who also was designated.

Kyle Orton has a new home in the AFC West. Orton was claimed off waivers yesterday by the Kansas City Chiefs, who were in the market for a veteran quarterback after losing Matt Cassel to a season-ending injury to his throwing hand. Orton was released by the Broncos Tuesday, six weeks after being benched following a 1-4 start. The former Bears starter, who passed for 3,000 yards each of his first two seasons in Denver, became expendable when the Broncos opted to go with Tim Tebow as starter.

None of the news was unexpected, but the confirmation by the Atlantic Coast Conference yesterday that it approved medical waivers for five Boston College players came as a recruiting bonus for Eagles coach Frank Spaziani . The players - senior running back Montel Harris , senior defensive tackle Kaleb Ramsey , senior wide receiver Ifeanyi Momah , sophomore cornerback C.J. Jones , and freshman defensive end Connor Wujciak...

NEW YORK - State and local education officials have been begging the federal government for relief from student testing mandates in the federal No Child Left Behind law, but school starts soon and Congress still has not answered the call. Education Secretary Arne Duncan says he will announce a new waiver system today to give schools a break. The plan to offer waivers to all 50 states, as long as they meet other school reform requirements, comes at the request of President Obama, Duncan said.

Sean Avery is back in the American Hockey League. The New York Rangers assigned the veteran winger to the Connecticut Whale after he cleared waivers Saturday. Avery started the season in the AHL before his recall by the Rangers on Nov. 1. He had three goals and 21 penalty minutes in 15 games. He hadn't played in nine straight games before being placed on waivers. Avery is in the final year of a $15.5 million, four-year contract.

The New England Patriots have claimed guard Mark Wetterer off waivers from the Cincinnati Bengals and released safety Ross Ventrone. Wetterer had joined the Bengals as a rookie free agent from Louisville on July 26. They waived him Monday. Ventrone was on the Patriots practice squad from Oct. 19 until the end of last season. They originally signed him as a rookie free agent from Villanova on April 29, 2010 then waived him on Sept. 4.

WILMINGTON - Brian Rolston figures he is up to speed, which isn't to say he's the same lightning-legged winger who broke into the NHL with New Jersey nearly 20 years ago and saw his name etched on the Stanley Cup with the Devils in '95. But he's here, at age 39 and with ample gray marbled through his emerging postseason beard, and thus far his second tour of Bruins hockey has been a near-perfect fit. "I had to get in game shape, obviously, and...

The Cleveland Indians have acquired reliever Jairo Asencio from the Atlanta Braves for cash. Asencio was on the Braves' restricted list all of 2010 after it was discovered he had come to the U.S. as Luis Valdez and claimed to be three years younger. The Indians are already dealing with a similar case as the pitcher formerly known as Fausto Carmona was actually Roberto Hernandez and three years older. Hernandez remains in the Dominican Republic attempting to obtain a work visa.

The Boston Bruins aren't overly optimistic Marty Turco will be around for the stretch drive. One day after signing the veteran goaltender to a free-agent contract, general manager Peter Chiarelli pegged the odds of Turco clearing waivers and joining the Bruins at just "50-50. " "The fact a goalie like that is available after the trade deadline, we're fortunate to a certain degree," Chiarelli said Tuesday before the Bruins played the Maple Leafs. "But there are other teams that need some goaltending help also.

The Boston Bruins have signed goalie Marty Turco to a one-year deal. The former Dallas and Chicago netminder needs to clear waivers before he can join the defending Stanley Cup champions. The Bruins need a backup for Tim Thomas because Tuukka Rask was injured on Saturday. The Bruins said on Monday that Rask has a lower abdomen/groin strain and will be out four to six weeks. If Turco clears waivers, he will join the Bruins on Wednesday. Turco won't be eligible for the playoffs because he was signed after last week's NHL trade deadline.

A House committee has passed a pair of Republican-backed bills that would update the No Child Left Behind education law by shifting a significant amount of control over schools out of the federal government's hands. The measures would have states develop their own systems to identify low-performing schools and turn them around. No Democrats on the House Education and the Workforce Committee supported the plan, and it's unlikely to pass the full Congress without bipartisan support.

WASHINGTON - Last year, the Obama administration strongly objected to a congressional mandate that foreigners suspected of being Al Qaeda operatives be held in military custody rather than go through the civilian criminal justice system. Yesterday, President Obama sought to have the last word, issuing waivers that would exempt sweeping categories of future prisoners from the requirement. The rule imposed by Congress applies to a narrow category of terrorism suspects: non-US citizens who are deemed to be part of Al Qaeda or its allies, and who are suspected of participating in...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - After years of bad publicity over cronyism and clout, the Illinois Legislature has voted to end a longstanding program that allowed each lawmaker to hand out taxpayer-funded college tuition waivers to students. The 79-to-32 vote Monday was the second overwhelming tally in the state House in two months. The latest approval was necessary to endorse changes made in the state Senate, which broke a historic logjam over the issue earlier this month by reversing course and voting to abolish the perk.

The Winnipeg Jets claimed forward Antti Miettinen off waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday. Tampa Bay signed the 31-year-old free agent to a two-year, $3-million deal Monday, but had to wait for Miettinen to clear waivers. Miettinen began the season in Russia's KHL with the Kazan Ak-Bars, registering two goals and six assists in 20 games. He played with Minnesota during the 2010-11 season when he had 16 goals and 35 points in 73 games. Miettinen has appeared in 472 career NHL games with the Dallas Stars and Wild, recording 89 goals and 212 points.

The federal government is giving Connecticut and other states some breathing room as they prepare applications for waivers from parts of the No Child Left Behind education law. States were expected to submit their applications on or before Tuesday, but the U.S. Department of Education recently extended the deadline to Feb. 28. Connecticut is among about two dozen states seeking relief from some provisions of the 2002 law, which sets strict...

THE NCAA'S plan to ban teams from postseason play next season if their graduation rates are well under 50 percent aims to place accountability for student performance in the right place - with the coaches and administrators who too often allow practice to interfere with homework or look the other way when a star player is flunking out. It's a student-friendly provision, seeking to ensure that the 99 percent of college athletes who don't go on to...