NHL
– F Jeremy Roenick, and brothers D Derian and Kevin Hatcher were selected Thursday for induction into the US Hockey Hall of Fame. The three former NHL All-Stars were chosen by USA Hockey, along with administrator Art Berglund and longtime University of Minnesota physician Dr. V. George Nagobads. They will be inducted on October 21 in Buffalo, New York. Roenick, who retired after the 2008-09 season, scored 1,216 points— including 513 goals—in 1,363 NHL games during a 20-year career with Chicago, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San Jose. The nine-time All-Star is the third-highest American-born goal scorer in the NHL and the only player in league history to lead his team in goals, assists, and penalty minutes in two seasons. In 154 playoff games, Roenick had 53 goals and 69 assists. He reached the Stanley Cup finals in 1992 with Chicago.
Derian Hatcher played 16 NHL seasons after being chosen with the eighth pick in the 1990 draft. He recorded 80 goals and 251 assists in 1,045 games with the Stars, Red Wings and Flyers, and was a member of the U.S. team that won the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.
His older brother, Kevin, spent 17 seasons in the NHL with the Capitals, Stars, Penguins, Rangers and Hurricanes.. The five-time All-Star finished with 677 points, including 227 goals. Kevin Hatcher scored 34 goals and 79 points during the 1992-93 season, becoming just the seventh NHL defenseman to net at least 30 goals. He represented the US at the 1984 world juniors, the 1987 and 1991 Canada Cup, the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, and the 1998 Nagano Olympics.
– The Stars have re-signed F Fabian Brunnstrom to a 1-year/$675K contract. Brunnstrom had just two goals and 11 points in 44 games last season.
– The Flyers have re-signed F Darroll Powe to a 1-year deal. The 25-year-old Powe had nine goals, six assists and 54 penalty minutes in 63 games for Philadelphia last season. He also had one assist and six penalty minutes in 23 playoff games as the Flyers advanced to the Stanley Cup finals, where they lost to Chicago in six games.
– The Canucks have re-signed F Jannik Hansen to a 1-year/$825K in arbitration. Hansen, 24, had nine goals and 15 points in 47 games last season while making $550K on a deal that included a minor-league clause for a much lower salary. He received a raise and a one-way contract after an arbitration hearing on Tuesday. The contract puts the Canucks more than $1M over the NHL’s $59.4M salary cap. Another arbitration hearing Monday for F Mason Raymond, who had 25 goals and 53 points last season, is expected to put the Canucks well over the cap. Teams have until the day before the season to get down to the limit.
– The Blackhawks have acquired F Jeff Taffe from the Panthers for F Marty Reasoner. The 29-year-old Jaffe had a goal and an assist in 21 games with the Panthers last season. Reasoner was slated to earn $1.2M in 2010-11.
– The Blue Jackets have re-signed D Grant Clitsome to a 1-year contract. The 25-year-old Clitsome made his NHL debut with the Blue Jackets last season, recording one goal and two assists in 11 games.
NBA
– The Lakers have signed F Matt Barnes to a 2-year/$3.6M deal and F Theo Ratliff. The deal will pay him $1.7M next season and give him a player option for $1.9M in 2011-12. The Cavs had given a 2-year/$7M deal with a team option for a third season, but Barnes wanted more guaranteed money to sign with a non-championship contender. Cleveland refused to improve its offer and ultimately was willing to let Barnes go to a lower bidder.
– According to the NY Post, the Knicks have no untouchables in a potential deal with Hornets’ G Chris Paul. CP3 will meet with Hornets’ execs, but has demanded a trade to either the Knicks, Magic, Mavericks or Blazers.
– NBA.com reports that the Clippers have asked about Sixers’ G Andre Iguodala. Iggy averaged 17.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists for the Sixers last year.
– The Detroit News reports that the Pistons and G Will Bynum are working on a contract extension, but talks remain slow. Bynum averaged 10 points, 4.5 assists and 26.4 minutes per game while making $825K and is looking to make somewhere in the ballpark of $4M.
– The Heat have re-signed G Carlos Arroyo. Arroyo appeared in 72 games and made 35 starts at point guard for Miami last season, then decided to return to the club after a brief stint as a free agent. He averaged 6.1 points and 3.1 assists, plus had a stellar 4.17 assist-to-turnover ratio.
– The Bulls have signed F Kurt Thomas to a 1-year deal.
– The Thunder have re-signed GM Sam Presti to a multi-year extension. Presti finished second in the voting for the NBA’s executive of the year award last season after the Thunder had a league-best 27-win improvement. The team made the playoffs for the first time since the franchise relocated from Seattle.
MLB
– Jayson Stark of ESPN.com reports that the Cardinals have offered two current major league players to the Astros’ ace RHP Roy Oswalt. The Cards are trying to pull off this deal without including top pitching prospect Shelby Miller. Cardinals youngsters Jon Jay, Allen Craig and Fernando Salas may be involved.
– The Angels have acquired INF Alberto Callaspo from the Royals for RHP Sean O’Sullivan and LHP Will Smith. O’Sullivan has enjoyed success in the majors at an early age and Smith has risen quickly through the minor leagues, but this is a move that makes sense for the Angels. Third basemen have hit just .214 in Anaheim this season and Callaspo will bring immediate stability to the position. He was batting .275/.308/.410 with eight homers and 43 RBI in 349 at-bats for the Royals.
– The Boston Herald reports that the Braves, Yankees, Phillies, Red Sox and Dodgers have inquired about Marlins’ OF Cody Ross. Ross has hit .275 this year with eight home runs and 47 RBIs.
– Phillies’ OF Jayson Werth is ignoring all trade rumours involving him.
“What trade talk? I have other things going on, you know. My focus isn’t to go home, go on mindless blog sites, watch TV. I watch TV, but I haven’t heard. Whatever I’m watching isn’t talking about that, that’s for sure.”
Although GM Ruben Amaro Jr. has never mentioned Werth by name to the press, the second-year general manager said recently. “If players were playing better, I wouldn’t be considering trading them.” Werth hasn’t hit a home run in 24 games and didn’t have a hit with runners in scoring position since June 24 before collecting an RBI double in the 11th inning of the Phillies 2-1 win at St. Louis on Thursday. Despite the presence of top prospect Domonic Brown at Class AAA and at least three scouts from other teams in attendance to watch him play Thursday, Werth said he is not distracted.
“It’s not like you’re sitting there in the game thinking about other things. There’s too much going on. I’m focused on that pitch. How many pitches are thrown during a game? Quite a bit. There’s a lot to pay attention to.”
Werth is hitting .279 with 13 home runs and 50 RBIs in 92 games this season, but is hitting just .239 with no home runs and four RBIs in his last 24 games. Werth, who is in the final year of a 2-year/$10M contract, is batting .159 with runners in scoring position, lower than Phillies’ RHP Joe Blanton (.250) and LHP Cole Hamels (.222).
– Major League Baseball implemented random blood testing for human growth hormone in the minor leagues on Thursday, the first professional sports league in the United States to take the aggressive step against doping. The blood testing becomes part of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program, which commissioner Bud Selig introduced in 2001 to test for performance-enhancing drugs. Testing will be limited to players with minor-league contracts because they are not members of the players’ association, which means blood testing is not subject to collective bargaining.
NFL
– The Cowboys have signed the No. 24 overall pick, WR Dez Bryant, to a 5-year/$11.8M contract, including $8.3M guaranteed. Last year’s 24th pick, Peria Jerry, received $7.55M guaranteed. The former Oklahoma State star becomes the first of the 1st-round picks to sign, just in time for the Cowboys to begin training camp this weekend. Bryant made a strong first impression in OTAs, and his early signing will only help to ensure that he’ll be pushed into a big role as a rookie. Roy Williams is on notice this summer.
– The Broncos have signed OLB Elvis Dumervil to an extension. ESPN’s John Clayton reports that it’s a 5-year extension, bringing the total package to 6-years/$61.5M with $43.156M guaranteed. Locking up Dumervil is an important signing for the franchise. QB Jay Cutler and WR Brandon Marshall were rewarded for their petulance with lucrative new deals in other cities while Dumervil spoke softly and carried a big stick on the field. The 2009 NFL sack leader is the cornerstone of the Broncos’ defence.
– The Miami Herald confirms that Dolphins’ DE Phillip Merling (torn Achilles tendon_ will miss the 2010 season. Merling reportedly sustained the injury during a football workout, putting the finishing touches on a nightmare offseason. The last pick of the 2008 1st-round had taken the majority of the first-team reps at right defensive end in spring practices.
VoV
Marc Valeri – captaincharisma@hotmail.com
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