MLB
– According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the White Sox and Dodgers “may be closing in on” a trade involving OF Manny Ramirez. The White Sox badly want a solid bat and could use the 38-year-old Ramirez as their DH on most nights. The slugger was placed on waivers Wednesday.
– Yankees’ GM Brian Cashman told Wallace Matthews of ESPN.com that the teams is not looking for outside help to bolster their starting rotation. This includes the Dodgers’ RHP Hiroki Kuroda, who has been rumoured to be on his way to the waiver wire. “What we got is what we’re going with,” is what Cashman said. He also claimed not to know if Kuroda was even on waivers and said that the Yankees would be “hard-pressed to find a pitcher on the waiver wire who can pitch better for us than Dustin Moseley has.” Kuroda is probably an upgrade, and if he is on waivers, this may just be a little gamesmanship. Stay tuned.
– The White Sox placed LHP Matt Thornton (sore forearm) on 15-day DL retroactive to August 18. Thornton may not actually miss much time since he’s already been out a week, and an MRI showed no structural damage. On the other hand, the team needed healthy arms in their bullpen because of the AL Central race.
NHL
– The NHL reportedly refused to accept New Jersey’s framework for a new deal for F Ilya Kovalchuk. A new contract was not formally submitted, but this does delay the negotiations again. This could also open the door for Kovalchuk to head to Russia and play in the KHL, with their season set to open on September 8. Stay tuned.
– The Kings have signed D Willie Mitchell to a 2-year/$7M deal worth $3.5M annually. Mitchell’s 2009-10 season was derailed by a concussion, limiting him to 48 games where he posted four goals and 12 points.
– The Lightning have re-signed F Steve Downie to a 2-year/$3.7M deal. Last season, Downie set career highs with 22 goals and added 24 assists for 46 points and 208 minutes in penalties.
– The Canucks have signed F Raffi Torres to a 1-year/$1M deal. Torres spent the 2009-10 season with the Blue Jackets and Sabres, registering 19 goals and 17 assists in 74 games. He adds grit and size to the Vancouver forward group, which was something the team wanted to do this off-season to better prepare themselves for the playoffs. Torres is slated to play on the third line, but he may move up to play with the Sedin twins with Burrows expected to start the year on the sidelines due to shoulder surgery.
In addition, F Alex Burrows (shoulder) is projected to start the 2010-11 season on the IR. The gritty winger underwent the procedure in June to repair a torn labrum and he may not be available to return until November or possibly December.
WWE
– In an update on Chris Jericho’s contract status with WWE, his current deal, which was signed in 2007, expires in a few weeks and he has yet to sign a new one. While both sides are negotiating a new deal, it is not guarantee that he will remain with the company. Stay tuned.
– Monday’s episode of Raw drew a 3.23 cable cable rating and averaged 4,800,000 viewers. This show did hours of 3.12 and 3.34.
NFL
– The Vikings have acquired WR Greg Camarillo from the Dolphins in exchange for CB Benny Sapp. Camarillo had fallen to 4th on the depth chart in Miami, and there was even speculation that he’d be left off the final roster.
VoV
Marc Valeri – captaincharisma@hotmail.com
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