he barely flinched. ... Up next: Oakland LHP Brad Mills (0-0)

GREEN BAY, Wis. White Sox Jerseys China . -- Lambeau Field faithful will be able to scream Kuuuuuuuuuhn! at the top of their lungs for at least another year. Veteran fullback and local folk hero John Kuhn re-signed with the Green Bay Packers on Thursday, general manager Ted Thompson said in a statement. The one-year deal is expected to be worth just over $1 million, including signing, roster and workout bonuses, agent Kevin Gold said. The 31-year-old Kuhn joined the Packers in 2007 when he was claimed off waivers from Pittsburgh. Hes played in 107 regular-season games with the Packers and hes become a fan favourite. Hes also one of quarterback Aaron Rodgers closest friends on the team. "Great player, great teammate," Rodgers said at the end of the 2013 season. "(Theres) nobody I trust more on the field than John. Hes an exceptional guy, I love playing with him, and Id be really sad if we werent able to walk out of that tunnel together." In 2013, Kuhn carried 10 times for 38 yards and a touchdown, and caught 13 passes for 81 yards in regular-season play. For his eight-year NFL career, Kuhn has only 165 carries for 506 yards and 12 TDs. What role Kuhn will play next season is unclear. Packers coach Mike McCarthy said last week he wants all his running backs to be able to play all three downs. In addition to Kuhn, the Packers have NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Eddie Lacy returning for his second season; James Starks coming back after signing a two-year, $3.166 million deal ($725,000 guaranteed signing bonus); and DuJuan Harris (knee) and Johnathan Franklin (neck) both expected to return to full health. They also brought back Michael Hill, who spent time on both the 53-man roster and the practice squad last year before signing with Tampa Bay late in the year. The Packers are loaded in the backfield. "Its important for all of them to be three-down players," McCarthy said. "For the way we want to play on offence, we want players to be three-down players, we want to keep our substitution limited. Thats an off-season goal of ours." At this point, no one pass protects for Rodgers like Kuhn, who helped save the Packers season by getting enough of a block on now-teammate Julius Peppers to allow Rodgers to side-step the Chicago defensive end and throw the winning touchdown pass to Randall Cobb in the regular-season finale. That road victory over the Bears sent the Packers into the playoffs. Asked what it takes to be an effective third-down back, McCarthy made it clear what still matters the most. "A-No. 1, it is pass protection. We protect the quarterback," McCarthy said. "Hes a franchise quarterback, hes the best football player on our team, and we have to protect him. Checkdowns will (also) be an emphasis for us. Because were very young with that group." But with a whole lot of returning experience in Kuhn. Fake White Sox Jerseys . -- Canadian Erik Bedard pitched into the fifth inning in his bid to win a spot in Tampa Bays rotation, helping the Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-3 on Saturday. Chicago White Sox Store .com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins will try to complete a sweep of the Washington Capitals when the clubs cap a quick home-and-home series Tuesday night in the Steel City. https://www.cheapwhitesox.com/ . According to the sportsbook BoDog, the Stampeders are 8/5 favourites to take home the Grey Cup at Mosaic Stadium in Regina on November 24. NEW YORK -- Scott Kazmir has been so good for the Oakland Athletics, manager Bob Melvin wasnt prepared to see his ace flop so badly. Kazmir was tagged for three homers and allowed a season-high seven runs in the As 10-1 loss to the New York Mets and Bartolo Colon on Tuesday night. "Its almost a shock when you see him give up some runs but he just got some balls up, missed locations with a few of them and they didnt miss them," Melvin said. "Usually hes so unpredictable in his pitches that if he does get a ball up sometimes he gets away with it but he didnt today." A first-round draft pick by New York in 2002 but sent to Tampa Bay in a very unpopular trade two years later, Kazmir struggled from the start in his first start ever in Queens. He entered with the ALs best ERA (2.08) and on a four-game winning streak, but was out after just three innings. His ERA rose to 2.66. Kazmir (9-3) gave up consecutive homers to Curtis Granderson and Chris Young in the second inning and a three-run shot to Travis dArnaud in the third. The left-hander went 22 starts without giving up more than one homer in a game since Aug. 18, with the Indians. Kazmir blamed his lack of command on his troubles, not his first outing against the Mets in New York -- he beat the Mets in September in Cleveland. "Ive never played in Shea Stadium. Id never played in Citi Field so its not really coming back for me," Kazmir said. "I think itd be a little bit different if I had actually played at the big league level with the Mets and had a little bit of history in that regard, but it was just going out here today to take care of business." The As second straight loss ended with reliever Jeff Francis striking out. Melvin had Derek Norris and Craig Gentry on the bench but Gentry was given a cortisone shot in a knee. Norris was out of the lineup after being hit by a backswing on Sunday. "I wasnt going to use him in that type of game," Melvin said of Norris. Colon (8-5) shut down the team that didnt wannt him back this year despite an 18-win season, pitching four-hit ball for eight innings against the AL West leaders. White Sox Jerseys 2020. Signed by the Mets 10 days after the As inked Kazmir in December, Colon won his sixth straight decision. He also singled for his second straight game, much to the delight of the 25,751 in attendance. "Just when you think youve got him figured out hes going to throw something that you have no idea hes going to throw and thats just a testament to how good he is," Stephen Vogt said of Colon. "Obviously Im frustrated that we didnt beat him but obviously it was great to see him." Colon only faced trouble in the first when Yoenis Cespedes followed Brandon Moss single with a double to the wall in centre field for the early lead. Colon gave up a hit to Cespedes in the fourth and another single in the fifth to Coco Crisp, but he otherwise cruised through the best run-producing lineup in the majors. "It feels really good in particular because its a team like the Oakland As, which for me right now is the No. 1 team," Colon said through a translator. Slumping Mets outfielder Chris Young also homered off failed closer Jim Johnson in the fifth for only the Mets fifth four-homer game at Citi Field since it opened in 2009, according to STATS. Granderson and David Wright had RBI groundouts, and Daniel Murphy added a run-scoring single for the Mets, who scored at least 10 runs in consecutive games for the first time since June 28-29, 2011, in Detroit. They beat Miami 11-5 on Sunday. The Mets have won a season high-tying three straight. NOTES: The As activated RF Josh Reddick before the game. He was 0 for 2 with a walk. ... Oakland placed 1B Kyle Blanks on the 15-day DL with a left calf strain. ... Wright tied a career high with an RBI in his seventh straight game. ... First base umpire Joe West was hit in the chest by a line drive but he barely flinched. ... Up next: Oakland LHP Brad Mills (0-0) vs. New York RHP Zack Wheeler (3-7). ' ' '