Earlier this week, the Yankees signed former Rays closer Rafael Soriano to be the setup man in the Yankees bullpen for longtime closer Mariano Rivera. On Wednesday, general manager Brian Cashman said that he did not approve of the signing, because it made no sense to pay the amount of money typically given to a closer for a setup man, ESPN reports.

“I didn’t recommend [the deal],” Cashman said after the team introduced Soriano as their designated “eighth-inning man.” Cashman said that his feelings are not against the 31-year-old reliever, but the fact that he would have preferred a more patient approach when considering the $200 million payroll.

Team president Randy Levine said that the club is running a $5 billion business, and there is a “sacred obligation” to the organization’s fans. Levine did the majority of negotiations with Soriano’s agent, Scott Boras. The deal the two sides agreed on is for three years, worth $35 million that includes player opt-outs after each of the first two seasons.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi said that he considers Soriano his eighth-inning closer, and Rivera his ninth-inning closer.

Levine and Cashman both dismissed the idea of any potential rifts within the organization’s front office.

Former second overall draft selection Charles Rogers, who was picked by the Lions as the first wide receiver taken in the 2003 draft, is facing foreclosure on a second home after defaulting on his mortgage, the Detroit Free Press reports. The former wide receiver owes more than $421,000, according to a legal notice that was published on Tuesday.

A foreclosure sale is set for Feb. 22 in Oakland County Circuit Court. Rodgers defaulted on a mortgage for a unit in The Willits condo building in Birmingham, according to The Legal News.

Rogers bought the property for $610,000 in July of 2003. The former Michigan State receiver has faced foreclosure for the second time in months. Rogers stammered through the first few years of his career with injuries and has been out of football since the Lions released him just after training camp in 2006. He was also ordered to repay the Lions $6.1 million of a $9.1 million signing bonus due to his suspension in 2005 for substance abuse.

Former Buccaneers and Rams defensive lineman Chidi Ahanotu was ordered by circuit Judge Elizabeth Rice on Tuesday to surrender his 2002 Rams conference championship ring to help pay back more than $130,000 in legal fees owed by Ahanotu, the St. Petersburg Times reports. Ahanotu told the Times that the court system that will take his ring is a “farce.”

“This court wants a man to hand over his once-in-a-lifetime accomplishment to pay some damn attorney’s fees? I could see if it was going to pay something for my children or my ex-wife,” Ahanotu said.

If the former defensive lineman does not produce the ring, he runs the risk at being jailed for contempt of court. Ahanotu, who played with the Buccaneers from 1993-2000 and again in 2004, said that he will have to see Rice’s order to determine his next move. He added that he does not have the money to hire an attorney, and that the ring is probably only worth $500 for the gold.

The saga involving Vikings quarterback Brett Favre continues to grow thicker, as former Vikings massage therapist Stephanie Dusenberry said that Favre sent her text messages that were innuendo-laden, the New York Daily News reports. Dusenberry is no longer a member of the Vikings staff, but as a Minnesota massage therapist, she still treats Vikings players on occasion, and it was one of the players that gave Favre Dusenberry’s number. The story about Dusenberry broke on Deadspin.com, where many of the other stories about Favre first appeared.

Senior editor of Deadspin A.J. Daulerio wrote that Dusenberry got in touch with the site on Jan. 4, and said that she wanted to tell her story in response to the NFL’s light punishment on Favre after the Jenn Sterger case. Favre was fined $50,000 for failure to cooperate with the league.

In one text message that Favre sent to Dusenberry, he reportedly asked her to come by his house because his wife was away. The text message allegedly read: You don’t know what it’s like to not be touched by a woman in three weeks.

Dusenberry reported the text message to the Eden Prairie police in Minnesota, but police told her that there wasn’t much they could do since Favre hadn’t broken any laws.

ESPN’s Tom Jackson, before the Patriots and Jets met in the AFC divisional round playoff game on Sunday, said on NFL Countdown that he thought the Patriots would hand the Jets a beatdown, 30-10. In response to Jackson’s comments and pick, Jets linebacker Bart Scott called Jackson out in a postgame rant, saying that the “non-believers,” specifically Jackson, didn’t give the team a chance.

Jackson then appeared on ESPN’s Mike & Mike in the Morning and announced that he certainly thought the Jets might win the game. He added that the pick was a premeditated move in a psychological game to cement the Jets “in the bunker mentality of ‘us against the world.’ ”

Now, Jackson is coming under fire for injecting himself into the story and claiming to have made the prediction just to fire up the Jets. So, he again re-stated his position.

“I was shocked and stunned by Bart’s comments, that they were directed at me. … So in an effort to make an excuse for the comments, I made comments I shouldn’t have,” Jackson said.

Former NBA star Allen Iverson plans on returning to the United States to have a growth removed from his right leg. Iverson currently plays for Besiktas, a Turkish team. An MRI originally showed a shadow between the two bones in Iverson’s lower leg, but the guard continued to play. Business manager and longtime friend of Iverson Gary Moore said the growth could be anything from a lesion or a cyst to a tumor, ESPN reports.

Iverson signed a two-year, $4 million dollar contract with the Turkish squad after no NBA team gave the veteran a look. He plans on returning his team overseas in time for the playoffs.

ESPN reports that Iverson was en route back to the United States and unavailable for comment, but that the Besiktas guard hopes to find out more about the injury, including the severity by having surgery within the next few days. Moore said that two things have to happen: The lesion must come out, and it then must be tested to find out whether it is malignant or benign.

Taking a pending Carmelo Anthony trade into account, Knicks president Donnie Walsh told the New York Post on Thursday that the team wouldn’t be willing to give up too much in a trade for the Nuggets forward. Right now, the biggest names on the Knicks’ radar for the upcoming summer are free agent centers Marc Gasol and DeAndre Jordan. The Post emphasized the team’s need for a legitimate center, and both Gasol and Jordan are 7-footers who have already proven themselves this season before the All-Star break.

The Knicks have been involved in trade talks with the Timberwolves regarding Minnesota’s first-round draft pick. But New York reportedly would have to part with Anthony Randolph, along with two or three other prospects like Danilo Gallinari, Landry fields or Wilson Chandler. Walsh expressed to the Post that he isn’t sure he wants to part with any of those players because of the team’s need for a center.

As it stand right now, Amar’e Stoudemire is the starting center, but would be moved back to his natural power forward position if the team acquires a proven center.

The Vikings are expected to focus their priority offseason signings on linebacker Chad Greenway and wide receiver Sidney Rice, depending on if the NFL labor issue falls into place. But the Vikings also are reportedly expected to give running back Adrian Peterson a $50 million extension over five years as part of a remodeled contract, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Secondary signings are expected to be Ryan Longwell and Brian Robison, after Peterson’s contract is reconstructed.

Peterson rushed for 12 touchdowns in 2010 on 1,298 yards. Half of the money Peterson is expected to receive will be guaranteed money from the Vikings. Peterson will be entering his fifth season in 2011.

After Tashard Choice‘s disappointing season for the Cowboys in Dallas in 2010, The Dallas Morning News suggested that the running back could be moved out before the start of the 2011 season, since his trade value is higher than ever. In a question-and-answer segment, SportsDayDFW.com’s Gerry Fraley wrote that Choice’s value on the market is high, and that Cowboys fans shouldn’t expect him to return to the team next season.

With Marion Barber and Felix Jones ahead of Choice on the depth chart, the No. 3 back probably will seek a different role. Injuries to Barber and Jones this season gave Dallas a good look at Choice’s ability, and Fraley wrote that he believes the third-string back deserves more touches. When the offensive-minded Jason Garrett took the helm at the end of the 2010 season, Choice was rarely used until forced in by injuries.

Former manager of the Yankees and Dodgers Joe Torre confirmed on Wednesday that he has been in talks with baseball commissioner Bud Selig about getting a job with Major League Baseball, ESPN.com reports. Torre said on Wednesday that he has not received an official offer yet, and he believes that Selig is still considering other candidates.

Torre has been attending quarterly owners meetings in Arizona as part of Selig’s competition committee. The next owners meeting is scheduled for Thursday, when Torre said he hopes to discuss the potential position with the commissioner, “if he has time.”

“The commissioner and I have been talking. I’m just trying to figure out what feels right, I guess,” Torre said.

News reports in the past few days have indicated that the position for which Torre is applying is that of executive vice president for baseball operations, formerly held by new Mets general manager Sandy Alderson.