VoV
– Ladies and Gentlemen, “The Hero List” is up and running! Simply put, it’s a list comprised of fictional characters, athletes, etc. that, in my books, kick ass ’till the cows come home. I’ll update this more often than I did for the Power Rankings, so nothing on the list is written in stone. Check it out by clicking here. Enjoy!
NHL
– Peter Zezel, a center who played 15 NHL seasons after breaking into the league with the Flyers as a teenager, has died. He was 44. Zezel struggled with the rare blood disease hemolytic anemia for the past 10 years. He died on Tuesday. Zezel suffered from the ailment off and on, but had rebounded after being in critical condition in 2001. Zezel was admitted to the hospital last week for scheduled surgery, but complications developed and his conditioned worsened.
His family released this statement: “Peter will forever be remembered as a great teammate and a wonderful individual who touched the lives of many both on and off the ice. In his typical character of generosity, Peter donated his organs through the Trillium Gift of Life Network.”
The gritty center was known on the ice for his strong two-way game. In 873 NHL games with the Flyers, Blues, Capitals, Leafs, Stars, Devils and Canucks, Zezel had 219 goals and 389 assists.
His matinee idol looks also earned him a small role in the 1986 hockey-based movie “Youngblood” that starred Rob Lowe and Patrick Swayze.
Zezel was born in Toronto and played junior hockey with the Toronto Marlies before the Flyers chose him with the 41st pick in the 1983 draft. He made his NHL debut in 1984 when he was 19.
My deepest condolences go out to the Zezel family.
– Jim Balsillie has a June 30 deadline for his deal with the Phoenix Coyotes. Balsillie has a $212.5M deal to buy the Coyotes out of bankruptcy and move the team to Hamilton, Ontario. He needs an answer by the June deadline or he will withdraw the offer. The sides will meet in court on Wednesday (9:00AM PDT) to report to the judge on the progression of the negotiations. Stay tuned.
– Although they remain open to offers, the Lightning will reportedly keep their #2 selection in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
– According to Russian newspaper Sport Express, Capitals’ F Sergei Fedorov will sign with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Kontinental Hockey League this week, ending his 18-year career in the NHL. The Sport Express report states that it is a two-year/$3.8M deal. The 39-year old Fedorov, who would be joining his two brothers, Fedor and Evgeny, in the KHL.
– Speaking of Fedorov, according to reports, teammate F Viktor Kozlov – one of the Caps’ four unrestricted free agents – has also signed with a team in the KHL, which recently completed its first year of operation. Meanwhile, two others reportedly have been in talks with KHL franchises. Kozlov is believed to have signed a two-year/$7.8M deal with Salavat O.
A year after F Jaromir Jagr left for greener pastures, it looks as if the NHL will lose another aging future Hall of Famer and legendary import to the KHL. The Capitals have two open spots at forward that they need to fill for next season.
– At this moment in time, Flames’ GM Daryll Sutter is the leading candidate to coach the Flames next season.
MLB
– The Giants are very interested in Marlins’ 2B Dan Uggla. Uggla is under contract until 2011.
The expectation is the Marlins will move Uggla at some point. He’s already earning $5.35 million. Team President David Samson has said payroll won’t significantly increase until the 2012, when the team is in the new building.
How soon the Marlins might consider an Uggla trade is speculative. Either 2B Emilio Bonifacio or 2B Chris Coghlan could make a seamless transition to second, but the Marlins’ ability to score runs doesn’t improve minus Uggla.
To get Uggla, the Giants almost certainly would have to give up one of their young starters, either LHP Jonathan Sanchez or perhaps more reluctantly RHP Matt Cain. During the Winter Meetings, a Sanchez-for -Jorge Cantu rumor made the rounds.
Sanchez won’t be arbitration eligible until after 2010. Cain in March 2007 signed a modest contract that calls for salaries of $2.65M this season, $4.25M in 2010 and a $6.25M option for 2011 that could vest at $6.7M.
The Giants have a couple of premium pitching prospects in Madison Bumgarner and Tim Alderson at Double-A, which probably makes moving Sanchez or even Cain more palatable.
The Giants have also inquired about Nationals’ 1B Nick Johnson and Indians’ 3B Mark DeRosa.
– The Angels have placed RHP Scot Shields on the DL with patella tendinitis in his right knee. Shields injured his knee Saturday, and the Angels determined they couldn’t wait any longer for him to heal, noticing how limited he was when Shields tried to pitch Tuesday night. He will be out for about a month.
– The Yankees have placed RHP Brian Bruney (elbow) on the 15-day DL.
NBA
– The Clippers reportedly want to move veteran G Baron Davis, one of those easier-said-than-done tasks considering he’s owed $54M over the next four years.
WWE
– WWE is currently testing the waters with live audiences for a John Cena-Miz PPV match sometime in the near future.
– Mr. Kennedy injured his wrist on RAW taking the RKO. This was Kennedy’s first in-ring appearance in months after recovering from another injury.
– WWE had people outside of the Staples Center last night just handing out free tickets to anyone walking by to get in RAW to fill the arena up. Likely more of the same tonight, as they had very limited time to promote the event and sell tickets in L.A. They are also running constant radio ads noting that you can get tickets for as low as $20.
TNA
– For those wondering, Taz will not be able to join TNA Wrestling until at least July when his 90-day no-compete clause with World Wrestling Entertainment expires.