BIRMINGHAM, England -- Former England midfielder Joe Cole signed a two-year deal with Aston Villa on Tuesday, giving him a chance to prolong his career with another Premier League club. The 32-year-old Cole joined the Birmingham club on a free transfer after being released by West Ham at the end of the season. "Im as excited now as I was as a 16-year-old lad going into my first season with West Ham," said Cole, who won three Premier League titles with Chelsea and earned 56 caps for England. Cole played a small part for the Hammers during his 18-month stint at the east London club. His last Premier League start was in a 3-3 draw against West Bromwich Albion in December. Prior to his return to West Ham, he had a successful loan spell at Lille after struggling to reignite his career with Liverpool in 2010. "Ive been lucky enough to have a really good career but theres still a lot more I want to achieve," Cole said. "This is a massive club and theres a massive opportunity for the club to push on. That was the main factor." Cole is the second major signing this summer for manager Paul Lambert, who is trying to bolster a squad that has been on the verge of relegation the past two seasons. Former Arsenal defender Philippe Senderos joined Villa last week. Cole expects to play in central midfield for Villa, where he hopes help strikers Christian Benteke and Andreas Weimann boost their production. "Having those fast players in attack and around me, I feel like I can supply them with the bullets and get them the ball in the final third," he said. Swell Levně . - The Denver Broncos kept rookie wide receiver Tavarres King from joining the Green Bay Packers by promoting him to their active roster Tuesday. Swell Lahev . The underachieving franchise finished 17th in the 19-team league with a 6-17-11 record this season. "Our soccer team is absolutely in complete disarray," said Leiweke, drawing laughs during an Empire Club luncheon speech about the future of MLSE teams and plans to improve them. http://www.swelllahevcz.com/ . Mauer drove in two runs before leaving with an injury, Eduardo Nunez homered and the Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 10-2 on Tuesday night.CALGARY - The Calgary Flames have made qualifying offers to six of their restricted free agents. Defencemen Chad Billins and Mark Cundari, centres Lance Bouma and Joe Colborne, right-winger Ben Hanowski and goaltender Joni Ortio were extended qualifying offers, according to a release on the Flames website. Centre Paul Byron, left-winger T.J. Galiardi, right-winger David Eddy, defenceman James Martin and goalie Olivier Roy were not given offers. Teams give qualifying offers in order to retain negotiating rights with the player. Bouma produced five goals and 10 assists in 78 games for the Flames. Colborne posted 10 goals and 18 assists in 80 games for Calgary. Billins led Calgarys American Hockey League team in scoring by a defenceman with 10 goals and 31 assists. Cundari, who was acquired in a deal that sent Jay&nbssp;Bouwmeester to St.dddddddddddd. Louis last year, had nine goals and 14 assists in 56 AHL games. The Flames acquired Hanowski last year in the deal that send captain Jarome Iginla to Pittsburgh. Hanowski compiled 13 goals and 18 assists in 55 AHL games. Ortios record was 4-4 for the Flames and 27-8-2 in the AHL. Also, the Flames put defenceman Shane OBrien on unconditional waivers in order to buy out his contract. OBrien split the past season between the Flames and their American Hockey League affiliate. He had three assists in 45 games and was minus-8 in 45 games for Calgary. OBriens NHL salary next season would be $2.2 million. The Flames acquired the 30-year-old from Port Hope, Ont., just over a year ago in a deal that sent forward Alex Tanguay and defenceman Cory Sarich to Colorado for OBrien and right-winger David Jones. ' ' '