VoV
– Sorry about the lack of updates as of late. Between the NHL playoffs, Jays and the inconsistent hours at work, it’s hard to devote time.
– Beth, our new VoV.com writer, will debut her WWE Extreme Rules PPV thoughts tomorrow. Get ready to laugh.
– New VoV feature that I was talking about should be up soon. Still smoothing out the rough edges, per se.
NHL
– After the signing of G Tim Thomas and F David Krejci, the Bruins have only about $6M of cap space to ink all their other free agents. That would include RFA’s F Phil Kessel, D Matt Hunwick and F Byron Bitz as well as UFA’s F PJ Axelsson, F Mark Recchi and F Stephane Yelle. G Tuuka Rask will likely make next year’s squad as a backup to Thomas and his $850K will also count against the cap. Unless there is some significant roster shuffling, it will be hard for Boston to meet Kessel’s demands. A trade is a possibility.
– Devils’ coach Brent Sutter is expected to make a final decision on his future in the NHL shortly.
Sutter is still under contract to coach the Devils next season and would not comment on the possibility of jumping ship to the serve as the bench boss for brother Darryl’s Calgary Flames. “I know I have to make a decision soon, out of respect to [general manager] Lou [Lamoriello] and the Devils,” Sutter said. “Teams want to know who their coach is going to be, if not by the draft, then by July 1 at the latest. I can’t sit around and take months to make a call on this. I’m leaning one way right now, but I want to make absolutely sure. Whichever decision I make will be the right one, I know, but I want to take the time I need.”
– The Maple Leafs signed three prospects this week including Quebec Remparts’ star F Mikhail Stefanovich. Stefanovich, 19, led the Remparts in scoring last season with 49 goals and 27 assists in 56 games. He was the Leafs’ 4th round pick in the 2008 draft and is shaping up to be a steal. He signed an entry-level contract with Toronto earlier in the week and has an outside chance of making the Buds’ roster this coming fall. Also signing contracts this week were D Carl Gunnarsson, 22, (6th choice in 2007) and D Juraj Mikus, 20 (4th choice in 2007). Neither blueliner is expected to crack the Toronto lineup in 2009-10.
– The Devils and UFA F John Madden have not had any contract discussions. The 36-year-old defensive centre wants to return to New Jersey but may have to wait until a coaching decision is made.
– Penguins’ F Ruslan Fedotenko looks like he may have won a contract with the Pens due in part to his strong play in the playoffs. Look for Fedotenko to re-sign with the Pens at the conclusion of the Cup finals.
– Patrick Lalime is recovering from two surgeries this off-season. He underwent surgery to fix a sports hernia as well as an arthroscopic procedure to repair his hip. The 35-year-old Lalime, who missed the final three weeks of the 2008-09 campaign due to the injuries, has one more year to run on a two years/$2M left.
MLB
– According to the Boston Globe, the Giants have had internal discussions about shipping LHP Jonathan Sanchez to the Indians for 3B Mark DeRosa.
– According to the Boston Globe, the Red Sox are interested in Brewers’ SS JJ Hardy. SS Jed Lowrie isn’t expected back until the All-Star break, and the team is deciding whether to deal or use a tandem of SS Julio and SS Nick Green. Brewers’ GM Doug Melvin plans on bringing up 22-year-old Alcides Escobar to fill the potential void.
– Cubs’ RHP Carlos Zambrano said Friday that he expects to retire in five years. The topic came up when a reporter mentioned Giants’ LHP Randy Johnson’s 300th win.
Zambrano said, “For 300? Me? No, I’ll be out of here in five years…No, believe me. After this contract I’m done. I’m serious. Because I don’t want to play anymore.”
Big Z is notorious for changing his mind and randomly spouting off. At age 28, he’s 100-63 with a 3.50 career ERA.
– LHP Tom Glavine may file a grievance against the Braves following his release Wednesday. Glavine said Friday he believes he was released for financial reasons and to clear a roster spot for Tommy Hanson. GM Frank Wren, team chairman Terry McGuirk and president John Schuerholz said Glavine was released because they did not believe the 43-year-old left-hander would make a successful return from surgery on his elbow and shoulder.
Speaking of Glavine, if he does return, it’s believed that he will stay in the NL. The Cardinals could be in the mix.
– The Braves have placed 1B Casey Kotchman (calf) on the 15-day DL.
WWE
– In an interview with B95 FM in central California, Jeff Hardy spoke on his current WWE contract status, saying;
“There’s nothing concrete. There’s rumours out there about me not re-signing, but we haven’t decided that yet. They’re real cool with giving me time. There’s a very good chance (I’ll still be on TV in six months), but we’ll see.”
He also spoke on 2008 being a tough year for him when he lost his house and dog while serving a wellness policy violation suspension.
Jeff said, “I was tested like crazy. Really hard time for me to get through those 60 days. Had to pee in a cup to prove myself to them (WWE) again.” He denied reports that he was doing an MTV series.
Hardy closed out the interview by saying he’s going to try to be creative to come up with new moves with Edge in the ladder match at the Extreme Rules PPV on Sunday.
– The Slammer wrestling column in the New York Daily News ran a story today on Ric Flair that quoted the Nature Boy as saying
“The decision (to leave Ring Of Honor) was mine alone. Nothing against ROH, but I decided you can’t serve two masters, and my loyalty lies with the WWE. I feel very comfortable being there.”
– Triple H is being featured in local television commercial advertisements for the upcoming June 19th WWE RAW-brand house show in Des Moines, Iowa. Commercials aired as recently as Friday night during WWE SmackDown! promoting HHH’s in-ring return in a match against Randy Orton for the WWE title. The 6/19 house show is less than two weeks away. With Extreme Rules airing tonight, if the ads are correct, “The Game” could return at any of the upcoming shows.
– Jeff Hardy was interviewed by the Big O and Dukes Show on 106.7FM in Washington D.C. this morning. On the subject of Ken Kennedy recently being released from WWE, Hardy said,
“It was really sad, you know? I think he’s a real talented guy. I don’t know if it was the right move, but we’ll see.”
He also mentioned that Ken was a guy that he had worked with and traveled with quite a bit and that he was extremely shocked to find out about his release.
Hardy said, “There’s been a lot of releases, a lot of friends that are getting released just out of nowhere. You gotta deal with it, move on and just know to yourself that its not the end of the world and th
at there’s other things out there.”
– Chris Masters is telling promoters that he has not cancelled all of his future bookings and will still work those shows, indicating that the recently re-signed WWE star won’t be returning to TV in the immediate future.
– Evan Bourne was recently interviewed by The Sun in the UK. Here are the highlights:
The new ECW vs. The original ECW: “You can’t make a direct comparison between the rosters, as we’re so different. But if you compare ECW now to the old ECW on TNN – we blow that show out of the water. Every week we blow it out of the water. I have tons of respect for Rob Van Dam, Sabu, Super Crazy and Tajiri – as they were the guys I idolised growing up. I loved ECW. So that’s why I’m so proud to part of the current ECW, to make sure the name has the same feel and fans feel the same way I did at that age.”
On differences between now and then: “The main difference is that the original ECW’s events weren’t as large as ours. They were wrestling in front of 4,000-5,000, whereas WWE’s arena shows attract 10,000. That makes a huge difference as you have to adapt to your crowd and give them the best show. Also ECW had no rules, you could use any language you want. I loved the promo Tazz cut on Steve Corino, where he cursed for 10 minute straight, but we can’t do that. We’re a PG product and I’m proud to be a part of that. I love doing it for the kids, but I never want to forget about that 18-24 male demographic that needs ECW to be like EXTREME Championship Wrestling was back in the day. Me and Tyson Kid can easily be the Super Crazy/Tajiri or RVD/Jerry Lynn of the new ECW. “
On the poor ratings: “You have to look at ratings as a long-term picture, but I did notice that the week I made my second debut was one of ECW’s highest rated shows. And I think we’re going to see a slow increase coming up. I measure more by live crowd reaction and how it looks on TV. I don’t make any money off ad sales, so ratings are nowhere near as important to me as having a good product.”
– Jim Ross has a new blog up at JRsBarBQ.com, here are the highlights:
On Mickie James and her new career?: Mickie James, arguably the WWE’s most talented in ring diva, is contemplating trying her hand at country music as Mickie has apparently written several songs and is preparing to do a demo as I understand it. This doesn’t mean Mickie is leaving wrestling whatsoever. I wish her luck if she decides to travel the country music road as it won’t be easy but neither was her getting in WWE.
On Ric Flair and ROH: It looks like Ric Flair is completely finished with ROH, or at least that’s my take on it, and that Flair will eventually wrestle again for promoters abroad but not wrestle for WWE. Flair seems destined for a reoccurring role on WWE TV but I don’t know the details of such or the time line. After being punted by Randy Orton Monday night in Birmingham, one would not expect to see Naitch back on WWE TV for quite some time. Right?
On Smackdown kicking Raw’s ass: It looks as if SD will be in a position to kick Raw’s ass again this Sunday at “Extreme Rules.” In my biased opinion, no match on the card is more eagerly anticipated than the Ladder Match for the World Title with Edge defending against Jeff Hardy. To think that I inked both these men to WWE contracts over a decade ago is a testament to how time flies. I assure you that both men will take ridiculous risks Sunday and I will be shocked if the use of the ladders as weapons doesn’t bust someone open.
NBA
– Contrary to rumours, the Celtics are not shopping G Ray Allen.
– Lakers’ F Lamar Odom said on Friday that he intends to re-sign with the Lakers this summer.
Odom said, “It would probably take an offer I couldn’t refuse for me to play somewhere else. It would take something incredible, which I don’t think is going to happen.”
Odom has embraced his sixth-man role and is three victories away from a championship, so there’s little reason to think his position will change over the summer.
– Hornets coach Byron Scott said Friday that F Tyson Chandler’s injured ankle was worse than originally thought. His rehabilitation from ankle surgery could take around four months. This new timetable puts Chandler’s status for training camp in doubt. Scott at least offered some reason for optimism, saying that “[Chandler] really feels this is going to give him the agility and the movement that he had a few years ago, so he can get back to playing like his old self.”
NFL
– Colts’ RB Joseph Addai revealed on Friday that he recently underwent arthroscopic knee surgery, which caused him to sit out the start of Colts minicamp. Addai refused to say which knee was scoped. Coming of his worst season as a pro, Addai is going through routine rehab work and the Colts are saying all looks good.
– Bengals’ WR Chad Ocho Cinco said on NFL Network Friday that last year’s shoulder and ankle injuries were the result of not doing any workouts at all in the 2008 offseason. “I didn’t lift one weight, I didn’t run one route, I didn’t excercise,” said Ocho. He’s now going out of his way to remake his image after a disastrous 2008, insisting that he’s in top physical condition and fully on board with owner Mike Brown and coach Marvin Lewis. This comes less than two months after Ocho was reportedly crying because he couldn’t get traded out of Cincy.
– Eagles’ RB Brian Westbrook underwent successful surgery to remove bone fragments and scare tissue Friday. The Eagles expect him to be 100% for the regular season.
– Colts’ K Adam Vinatieri recently underwent surgery to relieve discomfort in his right hip. The same doctor who operated on the Yankees’ 3B Alex Rodriguez performed the procedure, and does not believe it will affect Vinatieri’s availability for the season.
– RB Brandon Marshall’s trial for two misdemeanour charges has been pushed back to August. This is the trial from his March 2008 arrest involving his former girlfriend. Marshall’s attorney asked for the postponement into late summer. If he’s found guilty, Marshall faces another suspension from the NFL.