Waivers

Baltimore's Miguel Tejada and Oakland's Mike Piazza were placed on waivers in the last week, ESPN.com reported last night. Tejada, a shortstop, was claimed by the Chicago White Sox, the Web site reported. The Orioles and White Sox could not work out a deal, so he is expected to remain in Baltimore, sources said. Piazza was not claimed on waivers, which means the Athletics can trade the catcher/designated hitter to any team. When a player is claimed on waivers after the July 31 trade deadline, his team has three options: work out a trade with the team that claimed him, allow him to leave without compensation, or withdraw him from waivers.

Sean Avery cleared waivers yesterday, and the next step for the Dallas Stars is to find a team for the controversial left wing to start playing again. Dallas placed Avery on waivers Saturday. As expected, no team claimed Avery, who signed a $15.5 million, 4-year contract last summer. Avery played only 23 games for Dallas before being suspended six games by the NHL on Dec. 2 for crude comments made about his ex-girlfriends dating other NHL players. A source told ESPN.com last night that Avery is expected to be assigned to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League.

The Phillies claimed veteran righthander William VanLandingham off waivers from the Giants yesterday. Clubhouse manager Frank Coppenbarger doesn't have to worry about fitting all the letters for the longest surname in the major leagues on the back of a Phillies uniform just yet, though. The 27-year-old VanLandingham has until Monday to decide whether to join the Phillies or opt for free agency. "I talked to the agent [Chris Arnold] and he said they haven't decided what they're going to do," general manager Lee Thomas said.

Ron Hextall's status with the Flyers remains muddled. Yesterday was 48 hours from the time the Flyers said they placed the veteran goalie on NHL waivers. Yet when the club called the league office at noon to see if Hextall had been claimed or had cleared waivers, they were informed that Hextall wouldn't clear until noon on Sunday, July 4. "I guess we were all under the wrong assumption on the timing," said assistant general manager Paul Holmgren. Under the league's collective bargaining agreement, the 48-hour waiver rule applies only between Sept.

The Upper Moreland Board of Commissioners has effectively denied a series of waivers requested by developer Dominic LaRosa in connection with his Colonial 12 project. At a meeting that lasted less than 10 minutes during Monday night's snowstorm, the board did not take any action on LaRosa's request, effectively denying the waivers, according to township manager Brian L. Mook. LaRosa has proposed constructing 23 single-family houses on his 13-acre property in an R-2 residential zone off Pioneer Road.

A year ago, goalie Michael Leighton was the waiver-wire wonder who helped rescue the Flyers' floundering season and push them into the Stanley Cup Finals. On Monday, he was placed on waivers. Such is life in the NHL when an injury throws your season out of whack - and gives others a chance to flourish. The Flyers are hoping Leighton, 29, who had back surgery on Oct. 11 and played in just one game this season, clears waivers and can be sent to the AHL Adirondack Phantoms on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON - Welfare is causing a ruckus in the presidential campaign. But the program is a shadow of its old self from the 1970s, when Ronald Reagan used the image of "welfare queens" to assail government poverty programs promoted by liberals. Nowadays government cash assistance to the poor is mainly conditioned on work. And the Obama administration waivers excoriated by Mitt Romney as gutting welfare reform are unlikely to reverse that basic policy, as even some architects of work requirements acknowledge.

The Flyers claimed center Craig Darby off waivers yesterday from the New York Islanders. Darby, 23, recorded two assists in 10 games with the Islanders in the 1995-96 season. He had 22 goals and 28 assists in 68 games with their AHL affiliate, the Worcester (Mass.) IceCats. The 6-2, 200-pound native of Oneida, N.Y., was acquired by New York from Montreal together with Kirk Muller and Mathieu Schneider in exchange for Pierre Turgeon and Vladimir Malakhov in April 1995. In 23 career NHL games, Darby has recorded four assists.

NEW YORK - In the grand scheme of things, a backup catcher is not crucial to a team's success. The Phillies possessed two backup catchers during the season's first month, and one had to go Sunday when Carlos Ruiz returned from his suspension. Humberto Quintero's locker was cleared early in the morning. The Phillies chose Erik Kratz as their backup and designated Quintero for assignment. They hope to retain Quintero in the organization, but that requires his passing through waivers unclaimed.

A New Jersey appellate court upheld a rule Thursday that environmental groups have criticized as the worst to come out of the state Department of Environmental Protection. The rule, passed a year ago, allows the department to waive environmental regulations in cases where they are conflicting or unduly burdensome, if there is a public emergency, or if not complying would achieve a net environmental benefit. Critics said the rule would open the door for abuse and favoritism. The 28 groups that appealed it have vowed to continue their opposition.

Scratch David Herndon from the list of relievers who will be competing for a job in the Phillies' bullpen next season in spring training. Herndon was removed from that competition after being claimed off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday. The 27-year-old righthander pitched in only five games in 2012 before being shut down at the end of April because of an elbow injury. His season was officially ended by ligament transplant surgery on his elbow in June. He probably will not be able to pitch until at the least the middle of next season.

The Minnesota Twins have placed all-star catcher Joe Mauer on trade waivers, according to a report by Fox Sports. The report said the waivers on Mauer expired Wednesday. Twins general manager Terry Ryan declined to comment. Mauer has a no-trade clause in his contract, so he'd have to approve any deal. Plus, he's due $23 million annually through the 2018 season. That's a huge chunk of change for any team to take on, particularly for a player with a history of injuries who'll turn 30 next April.

  TOM SMITH   , the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate, is not going to the Republican National Convention this week. After the day Smith had Monday, Mitt Romney and company are probably relieved to hear it. Smith, speaking after an event in Harrisburg, may have become the latest member of the Todd Akin political pariah club. Akin, a Missouri congressman running for the Senate, embarrassed the GOP last week by suggesting women's bodies prevent them from getting pregnant during a "legitimate rape.

WASHINGTON - Welfare is causing a ruckus in the presidential campaign. But the program is a shadow of its old self from the 1970s, when Ronald Reagan used the image of "welfare queens" to assail government poverty programs promoted by liberals. Nowadays government cash assistance to the poor is mainly conditioned on work. And the Obama administration waivers excoriated by Mitt Romney as gutting welfare reform are unlikely to reverse that basic policy, as even some architects of work requirements acknowledge.

It has been quite a week for Phillies lefthander Cliff Lee. He was not dealt at Tuesday's non-waiver trade deadline but was placed on waivers, claimed by the Los Angeles Dodgers, and finally pulled back by the Phillies. So, Lee, who has an estimated $95 million left on his contract, is with the Phillies. He says he is happy to stay but is also miffed that this situation received so much attention. "I think it was way overblown because they put a lot of players on waivers through the year," Lee said after receiving a no-decision while working eight innings in Sundays' 5-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citizens Bank Park.

Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. was emphatic: Cliff Lee is going nowhere. On a day the Phillies traded righthander Joe Blanton to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a player to be named or cash (believed to be a player), reports surfaced that Lee was claimed off waivers. When asked about the reports, Amaro said he was not at liberty to comment. Then he added, "It is irrelevant because he is not going anywhere. " Jon Heyman of CBSsports.com reported that Lee was claimed off waivers, and Jon Morisi of Fox Sports tweeted that the Dodgers were the team that made the claim.

WASHINGTON — Two nights ago, Ryan Howard spent much of his time perched near the steps of the dugout, talking through his recent hitting woes with Charlie Manuel. He would finish that game with three strikeouts in three at-bats, giving him 14 in his last 22 at-bats. So when the first baseman arrived at Nationals Park on Thursday, Manuel called him into his office and told him to take a personal day. With tough lefty Ross Detwiler on the mound, the Phillies would go with Ty Wigginton at first base, giving Howard an opportunity to clear his head.