— Red Wings’ F Pavel Dastyuk (foot) is technically a game-time decision for Game 3 tonight, but it appeared as though he was going to play as of last night. The MVP finalist participated in the morning skate on Thursday, then stayed on the ice afterward.
F Kris Draper (groin), a healthy scratch in Game 2, is expected to play in Game 3 as well. F Justin Abdelkader will be scratched as a result.
— If Leafs’ GM Brian Burke is unable to move up from the No. 7 selection in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, he will set his sights on D Brayden Schenn, the brother of Leafs’ D Luke Schenn.
— The Canucks plan to start contract talks with twin F Daniel and Henrik Sedin in the next week or two, assistant GM Laurence Gilman said Wednesday. The twins, who led the Canucks in scoring last season with an identical 82 points, stand to become UFA’s July 1. The twins made $3.575M apiece last season and are believed to be seeking raises to somewhere in the $6M range.
— The Philadelphia Daily News is reporting that the Flyers are close to signing G Ray Emery. Emery, 26, spent last season in Russia. The Flyers can’t sign Emery until the free-agent market opens on July 1, but it’s very possible that he could be signed the day of.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens with current No. 1 netminder Martin Biron. Biron has said since the end of the season that he wants a long-term contract; he wanted one when he was first traded to the Flyers from Buffalo in the spring 2007, when the Flyers were wrapping up the worst season in franchise history. At that time, he signed a two-year/$7M deal. Biron has been the starter ever since, helping the team reach the Eastern Conference finals in his first full year and then the first round of the playoffs this past season.
Talks with Biron continue, but it is believed he is asking for too much money and a long-term deal that the Flyers are not willing to extend to him.
— The Senators have denied that they are shopping F Jason Spezza. GM Bryan Murray said that despite the window in which Spezza’s no-trade clause is void (July 1, 2010), he will not be dealt. Spezza, 25, will make $8M next season.
— Speaking of the Sens, they have offered F Chris Neil a new contract. Neil is scheduled to become a UFA July 1. There has been no counter-proposal on Neil’s end as of yet.
— The Sens are shopping for a high-end forward either via trade or free agency.
— G Dwayne Roloson is waiting for a new contract from the Oil, but seeing as he turns 40, they are unlikely to bring him back. Roloson is finishing up a three-year contract with an annual salary-cap hit of $3.67M.
— According to SLAM! Sports, if there are no conflictions with his daughters’ hockey, former Senator Luke Richardson will return as an assistant coach.
— The Avalanched named Joe Sacco their new head coach. New general manager, Greg Sherman, made quick work of hiring a new coach after taking over managerial duties on Wednesday. Sacco, a former NHLer with the Capitals among others, spent the past two seasons as a head coach with the Lake Erie of the AHL. The club is expected to announce the hiring of former Avalanche, Sylvain Lefebvre, as Sacco’s assistant coach.
NBA
— Magic’ G Jameer Nelson has been ruled out for Game 1 of the NBA Finals. It sounds unlikely that he’ll play against the Lakers at all. Nelson is still trying to return from shoulder surgery, and while it sounds like he is very close to being able to play, the Magic are probably going to play it safe with him.
— Lakers’ coach Phil Jackson, regardless of whether the Lakers win the NBA Championships, will decide on his future this offseason. If he walks from the Lakers, retirement is likely the path he’ll take.
— Heat’ G Dwyane Wade is suing former business partner Richard von Houtman for $100M, claiming he made false statements about alleged drug use and called Wade a bully and coward. Wade’s lawsuit claims von Houtman is guilty of libel and slander, and that he sent an e-mail to Heat’ coach Pat Riley, claiming that Wade and other players smoked marijuana and used steroids. The lawsuit contends his claims were false and hurt Wade’s reputation.
— G Devin Brown has exercised his player option to remain with the Hornets. The 6-foot-5, 210-pound veteran averaged 5.2 points and 1.9 rebounds in 13.8 minutes for the Hornets last season after signing as a free agent in the summer of 2008.
MLB
— The Braves have released LHP Tom Glavine. Glavine, 43, is the winngest active pitcher in the bigs. The 305-game winner is coming back from shoulder and elbow surgery. Glavine threw six scoreless innings in a rehab start for Class-A Rome on Tuesday night and proclaimed himself ready to pitch in the majors again. GM Frank Wren said it had nothing to do with a $1M bonus Glavine would have received for being placed on the major league roster. Instead, the team felt it had a better chance to win with a younger pitcher in the rotation.
The Red Sox are believed to be at the top of the list for his services.
— Major League Baseball has suspended Yankees’ RHP A.J. Burnett six games for throwing over the head of Rangers’ OF Nelson Cruz on Tuesday night. Burnett has already filed an appeal and will be allowed to continue pitching until the appeal is heard. MLB decided to simply fine Rangers’ RHP Vicente Padilla, even though he hit Yankees’ 1B Mark Teixeira twice. Hmm…
— According to Red Sox’ RHP Brad Penny’s baseball calendar, he’s due to be traded next month. He got traded from the D’Backs to the Marlins in July of 1999, then five years later he went from the Marlins to the Dodgers at the trading deadline in 2004.
So, according to the five-year Penny plan, July of 2009 is his time to move on. Sure enough, like clockwork, because of the Red Sox’ depth in starting pitchers, Penny’s name tops the list of players the Sox will dangle, starting right now. Boston is looking for a shortstop and some outfield depth. Stay tuned.
— Rays’ 3B Evan Longoria (left hamstring) likely won’t go on the DL.
— The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports RHP Kyle Lohse (forearm) is headed to the DL. Lohse was forced from Wednesday’s game in the third inning with a recurrence of right forearm discomfort. It’s an issue he’s dealt with for weeks, and it may be time to hit the reset button.
— Yankees’ SS Derek Jeter has denied rumours of his engagement to Friday Night Lights’ star Minka Kelly.
— The Orioles are expected to release RHP Jamie Walker. Walker signed a three-year/$12M deal with the O’s.
NFL
— According to Newsday, the Falcons intend to release suspended QB Michael Vick sometime late in training camp. That’s when commissioner Roger Goodell is expected to decide whether Vick can play in the NFL this season or not. Atlanta hasn’t made the move yet because it’s still hoping to get a seventh-round pick via trade. Vick’s release date from home confinement is July 23. Training camp will conclude in late August.
— According to sources, along with the Jets and Bucs, the Bears are believed to be the third team that has expressed serious interest in free agent WR Plaxico Burress. The interest may be from management, or from players. It’s known that QB Jay Cutler reached out to Burress after coming from Denver. Teams are likely at least waiting to see what happens at Plax’s June 15 court date.
— The agent for RB Brian Westbrook confirmed to <
em>ESPN that his client will have surgery to clean out bone spurs in his injured right ankle. The agent gave no timetable for Westbrook’s return, but a source told ESPN that he could be sidelined “well into training camp.” Even though it’s to the same ankle Westbrook struggled with last year the agent claims, “it’s just some bone spurs…it has nothing to do with the high ankle sprain.” Westbrook is on his age-30 season and is coming off two leg surgeries and a knee scope in February.
— Browns’ WR Donte’ Stallworth was formally charged with DUI manslaughter in a Florida courtroom Thursday morning. Yahoo! reported in May that the prosecution might only pursue a simple DUI charge because of the difficulty of proving manslaughter, but the state will start out aiming high. If convicted of DUI manslaughter, Stallworth would face a mandatory four-year prison sentence. He pleaded not guilty Thursday.
WWE
— According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, while absent from television, Triple H has been lending a hand behind-the-scenes at the weekly WWE RAW TV.
According to one source, The Game is noticably less passionate about the product than when he’s personally involved.
A number of those in WWE have commented that RAW has featured more comedy lately because both Triple H and Shawn Michaels are not around to lobby against goofy skits in production meetings.
For those that forgot or missed it, I reported a few months ago about HHH and HBK being praised internally for using their influence to speak out against the corny comedy skits Vince McMahon and his flunkies enjoy.
— Members in the WWE creative team are under the impression that Jeff Hardy’s last show until he takes a break will be at this month’s Great American Bash PPV, but they are also brainstorming ideas involving him for SummerSlam, in case that is no longer the case.
Company officials are under the impression that Hardy will leave at some point, but also feel he hasn’t completely figured out when that would be.
The Bash date was given to those on the creative staff because if he were to leave immediately following the event, which is being considered a worst case scenario, they’ll have subsequent plans ready. Although, if he stays through SummerSlam, or longer, they’ll have some plans mapped out as well.
— WWE Champion Randy Orton lost his temper during an appearance on the Televisa sports show in Mexico City this past weekend.
The program’s host was conducting an interview with Orton in English, with Spanish subtitles, and all was going well until he brought up the WWE Champion’s past history of injuries and called him fragile. While the host was simply joking, Orton took great offense to his remark.
He threw off the host’s glasses, stared him down and said in a bullying tone:
“Listen, you wanna talk sh*t to me on your own show here and make you look cool here. You wanna look cool? Say it to my face. Why you turning red? I’m serious. I’m serious. I’m serious… no look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me! (raises voice) LOOK AT ME! Now say it again! Say it again! I dare you to say it again! CALL ME FRAGILE! I will headbutt your teeth through your skull! Do you hear me?”
The host took a few steps back and said,
“That’s not polite.”
Orton responded,
“Say something funny again, boy. Say something funny.”
He then said “I’m done” and stormed off the set.
Wow.
— According to the PWInsider, speculation over Ric Flair’s future within WWE, the Nature Boy is still being pushed hard by his representatives for corporate speaking and spokesperson jobs.
The Gillespie Agency did a huge mailing to casting and commercial agencies last week, promoting Flair as a 16-time WWE World champion and one of the greatest talkers of all time to help promote brands commercially.
The mailer noted that Flair has worked with Coca-Cola and Wal-Mart among others in the past.
Several people in the New York City area who work in the entertainment industry received the mailer today and yesterday, so Flair’s representatives are currently actively pursuing non-wrestling gigs for him.
— There is some internal frustration within WWE regarding the poor SmackDown! ratings as of late, especially because the company’s Friday night show is generally regarded as a higher-quality show than RAW as far as the wrestling is concerned.
One of the two factors being blamed for SmackDown’s low viewership is the fact that RAW is suffering right now. WWE’s research leads them to believe that a large portion of their audience only watches wrestling on Mondays now, and judges the entire company’s product based off that one show despite SmackDown being a complete 180 degrees different from RAW. Vince has been strict about wanting his three main shows (RAW, ECW and SD) to all have different feels to them, with RAW being the sports-entertainment variety show and SmackDown being the wrestling show.
The second factor being blamed for the poor ratings is the fact that SmackDown airs on MyNetworkTV. The network is in pretty rough shape right now, and starting next year the only new show on the entire channel will be SmackDown! and everything else will be repeats of other shows from other networks.
— Brooke Hogan was the featured guest on today’s Howard Stern Show on SIRIUS-XM satelitte radio and a lot of sex talk was had, as expected.
Brooke wouldn’t reveal the exact age, but did say she lost her virginity when she was of legal age, and that her first time was with the rocker-kid “Jerry” on the show. She also revealed that she got breast implants sometime last year.
In addition to the sex talk, Brooke discussed her father Hulk Hogan and his current social life. Brooke said his father’s new girlfriend looks a lot like her and acts a lot like her. She also addressed the Hulk-drug rumours, claiming he never smoked pot in front of her despite what it said in Linda Hogan’s press release recently.
The interview with Brooke Hogan on the Howard Stern Show can be heard on SIRIUS-XM as the show replays all day long. The interview will also be on Howard TV, an On Demand cable service much like WWE Classics On Demand, late tomorrow night.
UFC
— In the current issue of Maxim Magazine on newsstands now, UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar takes a strong stand against the typical lifestyle of a WWE wrestler. Here’s what he said;
You get so brainwashed. You’re on the road 300 days a year, and that’s why guys get so messed up…this life just becomes a part of them. It’s not real, but some guys who are still in the business think it is. You look at Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler – he just couldn’t let it go. You live a double life. I was tired of trying to be who I was in the ring and then coming home for two days to be normal. They didn’t allow you to . Hee. The guys who get out are the smart ones, really and truly.”
— Red Wings’ F Pavel Dastyuk (foot) is technically a game-time decision for Game 3 tonight, but it appeared as though he was going to play as of last night. The MVP finalist participated in the morning skate on Thursday, then stayed on the ice afterward.
F Kris Draper (groin), a healthy scratch in Game 2, is expected to play in Game 3 as well. F Justin Abdelkader will be scratched as a result.
— If Leafs’ GM Brian Burke is unable to move up from the No. 7 selection in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, he will set his sights on D Brayden Schenn, the brother of Leafs’ D Luke Schenn.
— The Canucks plan to start contract talks with twin F Daniel and Henrik Sedin in the next week or two, assistant GM Laurence Gilman said Wednesday. The twins, who led the Canucks in scoring last season with an identical 82 points, stand to become UFA’s July 1. The twins made $3.575M apiece last season and are believed to be seeking raises to somewhere in the $6M range.
— The Philadelphia Daily News is reporting that the Flyers are close to signing G Ray Emery. Emery, 26, spent last season in Russia. The Flyers can’t sign Emery until the free-agent market opens on July 1, but it’s very possible that he could be signed the day of.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens with current No. 1 netminder Martin Biron. Biron has said since the end of the season that he wants a long-term contract; he wanted one when he was first traded to the Flyers from Buffalo in the spring 2007, when the Flyers were wrapping up the worst season in franchise history. At that time, he signed a two-year/$7M deal. Biron has been the starter ever since, helping the team reach the Eastern Conference finals in his first full year and then the first round of the playoffs this past season.
Talks with Biron continue, but it is believed he is asking for too much money and a long-term deal that the Flyers are not willing to extend to him.
— The Senators have denied that they are shopping F Jason Spezza. GM Bryan Murray said that despite the window in which Spezza’s no-trade clause is void (July 1, 2010), he will not be dealt. Spezza, 25, will make $8M next season.
— Speaking of the Sens, they have offered F Chris Neil a new contract. Neil is scheduled to become a UFA July 1. There has been no counter-proposal on Neil’s end as of yet.
— The Sens are shopping for a high-end forward either via trade or free agency.
— G Dwayne Roloson is waiting for a new contract from the Oil, but seeing as he turns 40, they are unlikely to bring him back. Roloson is finishing up a three-year contract with an annual salary-cap hit of $3.67M.
— According to SLAM! Sports, if there are no conflictions with his daughters’ hockey, former Senator Luke Richardson will return as an assistant coach.
— The Avalanched named Joe Sacco their new head coach. New general manager, Greg Sherman, made quick work of hiring a new coach after taking over managerial duties on Wednesday. Sacco, a former NHLer with the Capitals among others, spent the past two seasons as a head coach with the Lake Erie of the AHL. The club is expected to announce the hiring of former Avalanche, Sylvain Lefebvre, as Sacco’s assistant coach.
NBA
— Magic’ G Jameer Nelson has been ruled out for Game 1 of the NBA Finals. It sounds unlikely that he’ll play against the Lakers at all. Nelson is still trying to return from shoulder surgery, and while it sounds like he is very close to being able to play, the Magic are probably going to play it safe with him.
— Lakers’ coach Phil Jackson, regardless of whether the Lakers win the NBA Championships, will decide on his future this offseason. If he walks from the Lakers, retirement is likely the path he’ll take.
— Heat’ G Dwyane Wade is suing former business partner Richard von Houtman for $100M, claiming he made false statements about alleged drug use and called Wade a bully and coward. Wade’s lawsuit claims von Houtman is guilty of libel and slander, and that he sent an e-mail to Heat’ coach Pat Riley, claiming that Wade and other players smoked marijuana and used steroids. The lawsuit contends his claims were false and hurt Wade’s reputation.
— G Devin Brown has exercised his player option to remain with the Hornets. The 6-foot-5, 210-pound veteran averaged 5.2 points and 1.9 rebounds in 13.8 minutes for the Hornets last season after signing as a free agent in the summer of 2008.
MLB
— The Braves have released LHP Tom Glavine. Glavine, 43, is the winngest active pitcher in the bigs. The 305-game winner is coming back from shoulder and elbow surgery. Glavine threw six scoreless innings in a rehab start for Class-A Rome on Tuesday night and proclaimed himself ready to pitch in the majors again. GM Frank Wren said it had nothing to do with a $1M bonus Glavine would have received for being placed on the major league roster. Instead, the team felt it had a better chance to win with a younger pitcher in the rotation.
The Red Sox are believed to be at the top of the list for his services.
— Major League Baseball has suspended Yankees’ RHP A.J. Burnett six games for throwing over the head of Rangers’ OF Nelson Cruz on Tuesday night. Burnett has already filed an appeal and will be allowed to continue pitching until the appeal is heard. MLB decided to simply fine Rangers’ RHP Vicente Padilla, even though he hit Yankees’ 1B Mark Teixeira twice. Hmm…
— According to Red Sox’ RHP Brad Penny’s baseball calendar, he’s due to be traded next month. He got traded from the D’Backs to the Marlins in July of 1999, then five years later he went from the Marlins to the Dodgers at the trading deadline in 2004.
So, according to the five-year Penny plan, July of 2009 is his time to move on. Sure enough, like clockwork, because of the Red Sox’ depth in starting pitchers, Penny’s name tops the list of players the Sox will dangle, starting right now. Boston is looking for a shortstop and some outfield depth. Stay tuned.
— Rays’ 3B Evan Longoria (left hamstring) likely won’t go on the DL.
— The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports RHP Kyle Lohse (forearm) is headed to the DL. Lohse was forced from Wednesday’s game in the third inning with a recurrence of right forearm discomfort. It’s an issue he’s dealt with for weeks, and it may be time to hit the reset button.
— Yankees’ SS Derek Jeter has denied rumours of his engagement to Friday Night Lights’ star Minka Kelly.
— The Orioles are expected to release RHP Jamie Walker. Walker signed a three-year/$12M deal with the O’s.
NFL
— According to Newsday, the Falcons intend to release suspended QB Michael Vick sometime late in training camp. That’s when commissioner Roger Goodell is expected to decide whether Vick can play in the NFL this season or not. Atlanta hasn’t made the move yet because it’s still hoping to get a seventh-round pick via trade. Vick’s release date from home confinement is July 23. Training camp will conclude in late August.
— According to sources, along with the Jets and Bucs, the Bears are believed to be the third team that has expressed serious interest in free agent WR Plaxico Burress. The interest may be from management, or from players. It’s known that QB Jay Cutler reached out to Burress after coming from Denver. Teams are likely at least waiting to see what happens at Plax’s June 15 court date.
— The agent for RB Brian Westbrook confirmed to <
em>ESPN that his client will have surgery to clean out bone spurs in his injured right ankle. The agent gave no timetable for Westbrook’s return, but a source told ESPN that he could be sidelined “well into training camp.” Even though it’s to the same ankle Westbrook struggled with last year the agent claims, “it’s just some bone spurs…it has nothing to do with the high ankle sprain.” Westbrook is on his age-30 season and is coming off two leg surgeries and a knee scope in February.
— Browns’ WR Donte’ Stallworth was formally charged with DUI manslaughter in a Florida courtroom Thursday morning. Yahoo! reported in May that the prosecution might only pursue a simple DUI charge because of the difficulty of proving manslaughter, but the state will start out aiming high. If convicted of DUI manslaughter, Stallworth would face a mandatory four-year prison sentence. He pleaded not guilty Thursday.
WWE
— According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, while absent from television, Triple H has been lending a hand behind-the-scenes at the weekly WWE RAW TV.
According to one source, The Game is noticably less passionate about the product than when he’s personally involved.
A number of those in WWE have commented that RAW has featured more comedy lately because both Triple H and Shawn Michaels are not around to lobby against goofy skits in production meetings.
For those that forgot or missed it, I reported a few months ago about HHH and HBK being praised internally for using their influence to speak out against the corny comedy skits Vince McMahon and his flunkies enjoy.
— Members in the WWE creative team are under the impression that Jeff Hardy’s last show until he takes a break will be at this month’s Great American Bash PPV, but they are also brainstorming ideas involving him for SummerSlam, in case that is no longer the case.
Company officials are under the impression that Hardy will leave at some point, but also feel he hasn’t completely figured out when that would be.
The Bash date was given to those on the creative staff because if he were to leave immediately following the event, which is being considered a worst case scenario, they’ll have subsequent plans ready. Although, if he stays through SummerSlam, or longer, they’ll have some plans mapped out as well.
— WWE Champion Randy Orton lost his temper during an appearance on the Televisa sports show in Mexico City this past weekend.
The program’s host was conducting an interview with Orton in English, with Spanish subtitles, and all was going well until he brought up the WWE Champion’s past history of injuries and called him fragile. While the host was simply joking, Orton took great offense to his remark.
He threw off the host’s glasses, stared him down and said in a bullying tone:
“Listen, you wanna talk sh*t to me on your own show here and make you look cool here. You wanna look cool? Say it to my face. Why you turning red? I’m serious. I’m serious. I’m serious… no look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me! (raises voice) LOOK AT ME! Now say it again! Say it again! I dare you to say it again! CALL ME FRAGILE! I will headbutt your teeth through your skull! Do you hear me?”
The host took a few steps back and said,
“That’s not polite.”
Orton responded,
“Say something funny again, boy. Say something funny.”
He then said “I’m done” and stormed off the set.
Wow.
— According to the PWInsider, speculation over Ric Flair’s future within WWE, the Nature Boy is still being pushed hard by his representatives for corporate speaking and spokesperson jobs.
The Gillespie Agency did a huge mailing to casting and commercial agencies last week, promoting Flair as a 16-time WWE World champion and one of the greatest talkers of all time to help promote brands commercially.
The mailer noted that Flair has worked with Coca-Cola and Wal-Mart among others in the past.
Several people in the New York City area who work in the entertainment industry received the mailer today and yesterday, so Flair’s representatives are currently actively pursuing non-wrestling gigs for him.
— There is some internal frustration within WWE regarding the poor SmackDown! ratings as of late, especially because the company’s Friday night show is generally regarded as a higher-quality show than RAW as far as the wrestling is concerned.
One of the two factors being blamed for SmackDown’s low viewership is the fact that RAW is suffering right now. WWE’s research leads them to believe that a large portion of their audience only watches wrestling on Mondays now, and judges the entire company’s product based off that one show despite SmackDown being a complete 180 degrees different from RAW. Vince has been strict about wanting his three main shows (RAW, ECW and SD) to all have different feels to them, with RAW being the sports-entertainment variety show and SmackDown being the wrestling show.
The second factor being blamed for the poor ratings is the fact that SmackDown airs on MyNetworkTV. The network is in pretty rough shape right now, and starting next year the only new show on the entire channel will be SmackDown! and everything else will be repeats of other shows from other networks.
— Brooke Hogan was the featured guest on today’s Howard Stern Show on SIRIUS-XM satelitte radio and a lot of sex talk was had, as expected.
Brooke wouldn’t reveal the exact age, but did say she lost her virginity when she was of legal age, and that her first time was with the rocker-kid “Jerry” on the show. She also revealed that she got breast implants sometime last year.
In addition to the sex talk, Brooke discussed her father Hulk Hogan and his current social life. Brooke said his father’s new girlfriend looks a lot like her and acts a lot like her. She also addressed the Hulk-drug rumours, claiming he never smoked pot in front of her despite what it said in Linda Hogan’s press release recently.
The interview with Brooke Hogan on the Howard Stern Show can be heard on SIRIUS-XM as the show replays all day long. The interview will also be on Howard TV, an On Demand cable service much like WWE Classics On Demand, late tomorrow night.
UFC
— In the current issue of Maxim Magazine on newsstands now, UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar takes a strong stand against the typical lifestyle of a WWE wrestler. Here’s what he said;
You get so brainwashed. You’re on the road 300 days a year, and that’s why guys get so messed up…this life just becomes a part of them. It’s not real, but some guys who are still in the business think it is. You look at Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler – he just couldn’t let it go. You live a double life. I was tired of trying to be who I was in the ring and then coming home for two days to be normal. They didn’t allow you to . Hee. The guys who get out are the smart ones, really and truly.”
— Red Wings’ F Pavel Dastyuk (foot) is technically a game-time decision for Game 3 tonight, but it appeared as though he was going to play as of last night. The MVP finalist participated in the morning skate on Thursday, then stayed on the ice afterward.
F Kris Draper (groin), a healthy scratch in Game 2, is expected to play in Game 3 as well. F Justin Abdelkader will be scratched as a result.
— If Leafs’ GM Brian Burke is unable to move up from the No. 7 selection in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, he will set his sights on D Brayden Schenn, the brother of Leafs’ D Luke Schenn.
— The Canucks plan to start contract talks with twin F Daniel and Henrik Sedin in the next week or two, assistant GM Laurence Gilman said Wednesday. The twins, who led the Canucks in scoring last season with an identical 82 points, stand to become UFA’s July 1. The twins made $3.575M apiece last season and are believed to be seeking raises to somewhere in the $6M range.
— The Philadelphia Daily News is reporting that the Flyers are close to signing G Ray Emery. Emery, 26, spent last season in Russia. The Flyers can’t sign Emery until the free-agent market opens on July 1, but it’s very possible that he could be signed the day of.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens with current No. 1 netminder Martin Biron. Biron has said since the end of the season that he wants a long-term contract; he wanted one when he was first traded to the Flyers from Buffalo in the spring 2007, when the Flyers were wrapping up the worst season in franchise history. At that time, he signed a two-year/$7M deal. Biron has been the starter ever since, helping the team reach the Eastern Conference finals in his first full year and then the first round of the playoffs this past season.
Talks with Biron continue, but it is believed he is asking for too much money and a long-term deal that the Flyers are not willing to extend to him.
— The Senators have denied that they are shopping F Jason Spezza. GM Bryan Murray said that despite the window in which Spezza’s no-trade clause is void (July 1, 2010), he will not be dealt. Spezza, 25, will make $8M next season.
— Speaking of the Sens, they have offered F Chris Neil a new contract. Neil is scheduled to become a UFA July 1. There has been no counter-proposal on Neil’s end as of yet.
— The Sens are shopping for a high-end forward either via trade or free agency.
— G Dwayne Roloson is waiting for a new contract from the Oil, but seeing as he turns 40, they are unlikely to bring him back. Roloson is finishing up a three-year contract with an annual salary-cap hit of $3.67M.
— According to SLAM! Sports, if there are no conflictions with his daughters’ hockey, former Senator Luke Richardson will return as an assistant coach.
— The Avalanched named Joe Sacco their new head coach. New general manager, Greg Sherman, made quick work of hiring a new coach after taking over managerial duties on Wednesday. Sacco, a former NHLer with the Capitals among others, spent the past two seasons as a head coach with the Lake Erie of the AHL. The club is expected to announce the hiring of former Avalanche, Sylvain Lefebvre, as Sacco’s assistant coach.
NBA
— Magic’ G Jameer Nelson has been ruled out for Game 1 of the NBA Finals. It sounds unlikely that he’ll play against the Lakers at all. Nelson is still trying to return from shoulder surgery, and while it sounds like he is very close to being able to play, the Magic are probably going to play it safe with him.
— Lakers’ coach Phil Jackson, regardless of whether the Lakers win the NBA Championships, will decide on his future this offseason. If he walks from the Lakers, retirement is likely the path he’ll take.
— Heat’ G Dwyane Wade is suing former business partner Richard von Houtman for $100M, claiming he made false statements about alleged drug use and called Wade a bully and coward. Wade’s lawsuit claims von Houtman is guilty of libel and slander, and that he sent an e-mail to Heat’ coach Pat Riley, claiming that Wade and other players smoked marijuana and used steroids. The lawsuit contends his claims were false and hurt Wade’s reputation.
— G Devin Brown has exercised his player option to remain with the Hornets. The 6-foot-5, 210-pound veteran averaged 5.2 points and 1.9 rebounds in 13.8 minutes for the Hornets last season after signing as a free agent in the summer of 2008.
MLB
— The Braves have released LHP Tom Glavine. Glavine, 43, is the winngest active pitcher in the bigs. The 305-game winner is coming back from shoulder and elbow surgery. Glavine threw six scoreless innings in a rehab start for Class-A Rome on Tuesday night and proclaimed himself ready to pitch in the majors again. GM Frank Wren said it had nothing to do with a $1M bonus Glavine would have received for being placed on the major league roster. Instead, the team felt it had a better chance to win with a younger pitcher in the rotation.
The Red Sox are believed to be at the top of the list for his services.
— Major League Baseball has suspended Yankees’ RHP A.J. Burnett six games for throwing over the head of Rangers’ OF Nelson Cruz on Tuesday night. Burnett has already filed an appeal and will be allowed to continue pitching until the appeal is heard. MLB decided to simply fine Rangers’ RHP Vicente Padilla, even though he hit Yankees’ 1B Mark Teixeira twice. Hmm…
— According to Red Sox’ RHP Brad Penny’s baseball calendar, he’s due to be traded next month. He got traded from the D’Backs to the Marlins in July of 1999, then five years later he went from the Marlins to the Dodgers at the trading deadline in 2004.
So, according to the five-year Penny plan, July of 2009 is his time to move on. Sure enough, like clockwork, because of the Red Sox’ depth in starting pitchers, Penny’s name tops the list of players the Sox will dangle, starting right now. Boston is looking for a shortstop and some outfield depth. Stay tuned.
— Rays’ 3B Evan Longoria (left hamstring) likely won’t go on the DL.
— The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports RHP Kyle Lohse (forearm) is headed to the DL. Lohse was forced from Wednesday’s game in the third inning with a recurrence of right forearm discomfort. It’s an issue he’s dealt with for weeks, and it may be time to hit the reset button.
— Yankees’ SS Derek Jeter has denied rumours of his engagement to Friday Night Lights’ star Minka Kelly.
— The Orioles are expected to release RHP Jamie Walker. Walker signed a three-year/$12M deal with the O’s.
NFL
— According to Newsday, the Falcons intend to release suspended QB Michael Vick sometime late in training camp. That’s when commissioner Roger Goodell is expected to decide whether Vick can play in the NFL this season or not. Atlanta hasn’t made the move yet because it’s still hoping to get a seventh-round pick via trade. Vick’s release date from home confinement is July 23. Training camp will conclude in late August.
— According to sources, along with the Jets and Bucs, the Bears are believed to be the third team that has expressed serious interest in free agent WR Plaxico Burress. The interest may be from management, or from players. It’s known that QB Jay Cutler reached out to Burress after coming from Denver. Teams are likely at least waiting to see what happens at Plax’s June 15 court date.
— The agent for RB Brian Westbrook confirmed to <
em>ESPN that his client will have surgery to clean out bone spurs in his injured right ankle. The agent gave no timetable for Westbrook’s return, but a source told ESPN that he could be sidelined “well into training camp.” Even though it’s to the same ankle Westbrook struggled with last year the agent claims, “it’s just some bone spurs…it has nothing to do with the high ankle sprain.” Westbrook is on his age-30 season and is coming off two leg surgeries and a knee scope in February.
— Browns’ WR Donte’ Stallworth was formally charged with DUI manslaughter in a Florida courtroom Thursday morning. Yahoo! reported in May that the prosecution might only pursue a simple DUI charge because of the difficulty of proving manslaughter, but the state will start out aiming high. If convicted of DUI manslaughter, Stallworth would face a mandatory four-year prison sentence. He pleaded not guilty Thursday.
WWE
— According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, while absent from television, Triple H has been lending a hand behind-the-scenes at the weekly WWE RAW TV.
According to one source, The Game is noticably less passionate about the product than when he’s personally involved.
A number of those in WWE have commented that RAW has featured more comedy lately because both Triple H and Shawn Michaels are not around to lobby against goofy skits in production meetings.
For those that forgot or missed it, I reported a few months ago about HHH and HBK being praised internally for using their influence to speak out against the corny comedy skits Vince McMahon and his flunkies enjoy.
— Members in the WWE creative team are under the impression that Jeff Hardy’s last show until he takes a break will be at this month’s Great American Bash PPV, but they are also brainstorming ideas involving him for SummerSlam, in case that is no longer the case.
Company officials are under the impression that Hardy will leave at some point, but also feel he hasn’t completely figured out when that would be.
The Bash date was given to those on the creative staff because if he were to leave immediately following the event, which is being considered a worst case scenario, they’ll have subsequent plans ready. Although, if he stays through SummerSlam, or longer, they’ll have some plans mapped out as well.
— WWE Champion Randy Orton lost his temper during an appearance on the Televisa sports show in Mexico City this past weekend.
The program’s host was conducting an interview with Orton in English, with Spanish subtitles, and all was going well until he brought up the WWE Champion’s past history of injuries and called him fragile. While the host was simply joking, Orton took great offense to his remark.
He threw off the host’s glasses, stared him down and said in a bullying tone:
“Listen, you wanna talk sh*t to me on your own show here and make you look cool here. You wanna look cool? Say it to my face. Why you turning red? I’m serious. I’m serious. I’m serious… no look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me! (raises voice) LOOK AT ME! Now say it again! Say it again! I dare you to say it again! CALL ME FRAGILE! I will headbutt your teeth through your skull! Do you hear me?”
The host took a few steps back and said,
“That’s not polite.”
Orton responded,
“Say something funny again, boy. Say something funny.”
He then said “I’m done” and stormed off the set.
Wow.
— According to the PWInsider, speculation over Ric Flair’s future within WWE, the Nature Boy is still being pushed hard by his representatives for corporate speaking and spokesperson jobs.
The Gillespie Agency did a huge mailing to casting and commercial agencies last week, promoting Flair as a 16-time WWE World champion and one of the greatest talkers of all time to help promote brands commercially.
The mailer noted that Flair has worked with Coca-Cola and Wal-Mart among others in the past.
Several people in the New York City area who work in the entertainment industry received the mailer today and yesterday, so Flair’s representatives are currently actively pursuing non-wrestling gigs for him.
— There is some internal frustration within WWE regarding the poor SmackDown! ratings as of late, especially because the company’s Friday night show is generally regarded as a higher-quality show than RAW as far as the wrestling is concerned.
One of the two factors being blamed for SmackDown’s low viewership is the fact that RAW is suffering right now. WWE’s research leads them to believe that a large portion of their audience only watches wrestling on Mondays now, and judges the entire company’s product based off that one show despite SmackDown being a complete 180 degrees different from RAW. Vince has been strict about wanting his three main shows (RAW, ECW and SD) to all have different feels to them, with RAW being the sports-entertainment variety show and SmackDown being the wrestling show.
The second factor being blamed for the poor ratings is the fact that SmackDown airs on MyNetworkTV. The network is in pretty rough shape right now, and starting next year the only new show on the entire channel will be SmackDown! and everything else will be repeats of other shows from other networks.
— Brooke Hogan was the featured guest on today’s Howard Stern Show on SIRIUS-XM satelitte radio and a lot of sex talk was had, as expected.
Brooke wouldn’t reveal the exact age, but did say she lost her virginity when she was of legal age, and that her first time was with the rocker-kid “Jerry” on the show. She also revealed that she got breast implants sometime last year.
In addition to the sex talk, Brooke discussed her father Hulk Hogan and his current social life. Brooke said his father’s new girlfriend looks a lot like her and acts a lot like her. She also addressed the Hulk-drug rumours, claiming he never smoked pot in front of her despite what it said in Linda Hogan’s press release recently.
The interview with Brooke Hogan on the Howard Stern Show can be heard on SIRIUS-XM as the show replays all day long. The interview will also be on Howard TV, an On Demand cable service much like WWE Classics On Demand, late tomorrow night.
UFC
— In the current issue of Maxim Magazine on newsstands now, UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar takes a strong stand against the typical lifestyle of a WWE wrestler. Here’s what he said;
You get so brainwashed. You’re on the road 300 days a year, and that’s why guys get so messed up…this life just becomes a part of them. It’s not real, but some guys who are still in the business think it is. You look at Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler – he just couldn’t let it go. You live a double life. I was tired of trying to be who I was in the ring and then coming home for two days to be normal. They didn’t allow you to . Hee. The guys who get out are the smart ones, really and truly.”
— Red Wings’ F Pavel Dastyuk (foot) is technically a game-time decision for Game 3 tonight, but it appeared as though he was going to play as of last night. The MVP finalist participated in the morning skate on Thursday, then stayed on the ice afterward.
F Kris Draper (groin), a healthy scratch in Game 2, is expected to play in Game 3 as well. F Justin Abdelkader will be scratched as a result.
— If Leafs’ GM Brian Burke is unable to move up from the No. 7 selection in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, he will set his sights on D Brayden Schenn, the brother of Leafs’ D Luke Schenn.
— The Canucks plan to start contract talks with twin F Daniel and Henrik Sedin in the next week or two, assistant GM Laurence Gilman said Wednesday. The twins, who led the Canucks in scoring last season with an identical 82 points, stand to become UFA’s July 1. The twins made $3.575M apiece last season and are believed to be seeking raises to somewhere in the $6M range.
— The Philadelphia Daily News is reporting that the Flyers are close to signing G Ray Emery. Emery, 26, spent last season in Russia. The Flyers can’t sign Emery until the free-agent market opens on July 1, but it’s very possible that he could be signed the day of.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens with current No. 1 netminder Martin Biron. Biron has said since the end of the season that he wants a long-term contract; he wanted one when he was first traded to the Flyers from Buffalo in the spring 2007, when the Flyers were wrapping up the worst season in franchise history. At that time, he signed a two-year/$7M deal. Biron has been the starter ever since, helping the team reach the Eastern Conference finals in his first full year and then the first round of the playoffs this past season.
Talks with Biron continue, but it is believed he is asking for too much money and a long-term deal that the Flyers are not willing to extend to him.
— The Senators have denied that they are shopping F Jason Spezza. GM Bryan Murray said that despite the window in which Spezza’s no-trade clause is void (July 1, 2010), he will not be dealt. Spezza, 25, will make $8M next season.
— Speaking of the Sens, they have offered F Chris Neil a new contract. Neil is scheduled to become a UFA July 1. There has been no counter-proposal on Neil’s end as of yet.
— The Sens are shopping for a high-end forward either via trade or free agency.
— G Dwayne Roloson is waiting for a new contract from the Oil, but seeing as he turns 40, they are unlikely to bring him back. Roloson is finishing up a three-year contract with an annual salary-cap hit of $3.67M.
— According to SLAM! Sports, if there are no conflictions with his daughters’ hockey, former Senator Luke Richardson will return as an assistant coach.
— The Avalanched named Joe Sacco their new head coach. New general manager, Greg Sherman, made quick work of hiring a new coach after taking over managerial duties on Wednesday. Sacco, a former NHLer with the Capitals among others, spent the past two seasons as a head coach with the Lake Erie of the AHL. The club is expected to announce the hiring of former Avalanche, Sylvain Lefebvre, as Sacco’s assistant coach.
NBA
— Magic’ G Jameer Nelson has been ruled out for Game 1 of the NBA Finals. It sounds unlikely that he’ll play against the Lakers at all. Nelson is still trying to return from shoulder surgery, and while it sounds like he is very close to being able to play, the Magic are probably going to play it safe with him.
— Lakers’ coach Phil Jackson, regardless of whether the Lakers win the NBA Championships, will decide on his future this offseason. If he walks from the Lakers, retirement is likely the path he’ll take.
— Heat’ G Dwyane Wade is suing former business partner Richard von Houtman for $100M, claiming he made false statements about alleged drug use and called Wade a bully and coward. Wade’s lawsuit claims von Houtman is guilty of libel and slander, and that he sent an e-mail to Heat’ coach Pat Riley, claiming that Wade and other players smoked marijuana and used steroids. The lawsuit contends his claims were false and hurt Wade’s reputation.
— G Devin Brown has exercised his player option to remain with the Hornets. The 6-foot-5, 210-pound veteran averaged 5.2 points and 1.9 rebounds in 13.8 minutes for the Hornets last season after signing as a free agent in the summer of 2008.
MLB
— The Braves have released LHP Tom Glavine. Glavine, 43, is the winngest active pitcher in the bigs. The 305-game winner is coming back from shoulder and elbow surgery. Glavine threw six scoreless innings in a rehab start for Class-A Rome on Tuesday night and proclaimed himself ready to pitch in the majors again. GM Frank Wren said it had nothing to do with a $1M bonus Glavine would have received for being placed on the major league roster. Instead, the team felt it had a better chance to win with a younger pitcher in the rotation.
The Red Sox are believed to be at the top of the list for his services.
— Major League Baseball has suspended Yankees’ RHP A.J. Burnett six games for throwing over the head of Rangers’ OF Nelson Cruz on Tuesday night. Burnett has already filed an appeal and will be allowed to continue pitching until the appeal is heard. MLB decided to simply fine Rangers’ RHP Vicente Padilla, even though he hit Yankees’ 1B Mark Teixeira twice. Hmm…
— According to Red Sox’ RHP Brad Penny’s baseball calendar, he’s due to be traded next month. He got traded from the D’Backs to the Marlins in July of 1999, then five years later he went from the Marlins to the Dodgers at the trading deadline in 2004.
So, according to the five-year Penny plan, July of 2009 is his time to move on. Sure enough, like clockwork, because of the Red Sox’ depth in starting pitchers, Penny’s name tops the list of players the Sox will dangle, starting right now. Boston is looking for a shortstop and some outfield depth. Stay tuned.
— Rays’ 3B Evan Longoria (left hamstring) likely won’t go on the DL.
— The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports RHP Kyle Lohse (forearm) is headed to the DL. Lohse was forced from Wednesday’s game in the third inning with a recurrence of right forearm discomfort. It’s an issue he’s dealt with for weeks, and it may be time to hit the reset button.
— Yankees’ SS Derek Jeter has denied rumours of his engagement to Friday Night Lights’ star Minka Kelly.
— The Orioles are expected to release RHP Jamie Walker. Walker signed a three-year/$12M deal with the O’s.
NFL
— According to Newsday, the Falcons intend to release suspended QB Michael Vick sometime late in training camp. That’s when commissioner Roger Goodell is expected to decide whether Vick can play in the NFL this season or not. Atlanta hasn’t made the move yet because it’s still hoping to get a seventh-round pick via trade. Vick’s release date from home confinement is July 23. Training camp will conclude in late August.
— According to sources, along with the Jets and Bucs, the Bears are believed to be the third team that has expressed serious interest in free agent WR Plaxico Burress. The interest may be from management, or from players. It’s known that QB Jay Cutler reached out to Burress after coming from Denver. Teams are likely at least waiting to see what happens at Plax’s June 15 court date.
— The agent for RB Brian Westbrook confirmed to <
em>ESPN that his client will have surgery to clean out bone spurs in his injured right ankle. The agent gave no timetable for Westbrook’s return, but a source told ESPN that he could be sidelined “well into training camp.” Even though it’s to the same ankle Westbrook struggled with last year the agent claims, “it’s just some bone spurs…it has nothing to do with the high ankle sprain.” Westbrook is on his age-30 season and is coming off two leg surgeries and a knee scope in February.
— Browns’ WR Donte’ Stallworth was formally charged with DUI manslaughter in a Florida courtroom Thursday morning. Yahoo! reported in May that the prosecution might only pursue a simple DUI charge because of the difficulty of proving manslaughter, but the state will start out aiming high. If convicted of DUI manslaughter, Stallworth would face a mandatory four-year prison sentence. He pleaded not guilty Thursday.
WWE
— According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, while absent from television, Triple H has been lending a hand behind-the-scenes at the weekly WWE RAW TV.
According to one source, The Game is noticably less passionate about the product than when he’s personally involved.
A number of those in WWE have commented that RAW has featured more comedy lately because both Triple H and Shawn Michaels are not around to lobby against goofy skits in production meetings.
For those that forgot or missed it, I reported a few months ago about HHH and HBK being praised internally for using their influence to speak out against the corny comedy skits Vince McMahon and his flunkies enjoy.
— Members in the WWE creative team are under the impression that Jeff Hardy’s last show until he takes a break will be at this month’s Great American Bash PPV, but they are also brainstorming ideas involving him for SummerSlam, in case that is no longer the case.
Company officials are under the impression that Hardy will leave at some point, but also feel he hasn’t completely figured out when that would be.
The Bash date was given to those on the creative staff because if he were to leave immediately following the event, which is being considered a worst case scenario, they’ll have subsequent plans ready. Although, if he stays through SummerSlam, or longer, they’ll have some plans mapped out as well.
— WWE Champion Randy Orton lost his temper during an appearance on the Televisa sports show in Mexico City this past weekend.
The program’s host was conducting an interview with Orton in English, with Spanish subtitles, and all was going well until he brought up the WWE Champion’s past history of injuries and called him fragile. While the host was simply joking, Orton took great offense to his remark.
He threw off the host’s glasses, stared him down and said in a bullying tone:
“Listen, you wanna talk sh*t to me on your own show here and make you look cool here. You wanna look cool? Say it to my face. Why you turning red? I’m serious. I’m serious. I’m serious… no look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me! (raises voice) LOOK AT ME! Now say it again! Say it again! I dare you to say it again! CALL ME FRAGILE! I will headbutt your teeth through your skull! Do you hear me?”
The host took a few steps back and said,
“That’s not polite.”
Orton responded,
“Say something funny again, boy. Say something funny.”
He then said “I’m done” and stormed off the set.
Wow.
— According to the PWInsider, speculation over Ric Flair’s future within WWE, the Nature Boy is still being pushed hard by his representatives for corporate speaking and spokesperson jobs.
The Gillespie Agency did a huge mailing to casting and commercial agencies last week, promoting Flair as a 16-time WWE World champion and one of the greatest talkers of all time to help promote brands commercially.
The mailer noted that Flair has worked with Coca-Cola and Wal-Mart among others in the past.
Several people in the New York City area who work in the entertainment industry received the mailer today and yesterday, so Flair’s representatives are currently actively pursuing non-wrestling gigs for him.
— There is some internal frustration within WWE regarding the poor SmackDown! ratings as of late, especially because the company’s Friday night show is generally regarded as a higher-quality show than RAW as far as the wrestling is concerned.
One of the two factors being blamed for SmackDown’s low viewership is the fact that RAW is suffering right now. WWE’s research leads them to believe that a large portion of their audience only watches wrestling on Mondays now, and judges the entire company’s product based off that one show despite SmackDown being a complete 180 degrees different from RAW. Vince has been strict about wanting his three main shows (RAW, ECW and SD) to all have different feels to them, with RAW being the sports-entertainment variety show and SmackDown being the wrestling show.
The second factor being blamed for the poor ratings is the fact that SmackDown airs on MyNetworkTV. The network is in pretty rough shape right now, and starting next year the only new show on the entire channel will be SmackDown! and everything else will be repeats of other shows from other networks.
— Brooke Hogan was the featured guest on today’s Howard Stern Show on SIRIUS-XM satelitte radio and a lot of sex talk was had, as expected.
Brooke wouldn’t reveal the exact age, but did say she lost her virginity when she was of legal age, and that her first time was with the rocker-kid “Jerry” on the show. She also revealed that she got breast implants sometime last year.
In addition to the sex talk, Brooke discussed her father Hulk Hogan and his current social life. Brooke said his father’s new girlfriend looks a lot like her and acts a lot like her. She also addressed the Hulk-drug rumours, claiming he never smoked pot in front of her despite what it said in Linda Hogan’s press release recently.
The interview with Brooke Hogan on the Howard Stern Show can be heard on SIRIUS-XM as the show replays all day long. The interview will also be on Howard TV, an On Demand cable service much like WWE Classics On Demand, late tomorrow night.
UFC
— In the current issue of Maxim Magazine on newsstands now, UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar takes a strong stand against the typical lifestyle of a WWE wrestler. Here’s what he said;
You get so brainwashed. You’re on the road 300 days a year, and that’s why guys get so messed up…this life just becomes a part of them. It’s not real, but some guys who are still in the business think it is. You look at Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler – he just couldn’t let it go. You live a double life. I was tired of trying to be who I was in the ring and then coming home for two days to be normal. They didn’t allow you to . Hee. The guys who get out are the smart ones, really and truly.”
