WWE
– According to F4W, Shawn Michaels was named the number one Superstar in WWE’s forthcoming DVD set counting down the top 50 Superstars of all time, WWE: Top 50 Superstars of All Time. The DVD’s complete 1 to 50 ranking is as follows:
1. Shawn Michaels
2. The Undertaker
3. Steve Austin
4. Bret Hart
5. The Rock
6. Harley Race
7. Ricky Steamboat
8. Andre the Giant
9. Rey Mysterio
10. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper
11. Eddie Guerrero
12. Triple H
13. Gorgeous George
14. “Macho Man” Randy Savage
15. “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig
16. John Cena
17. Dusty Rhodes and Ric Flair (tied)
19. Edge
20. Jerry “The King” Lawler
21. Lou Thesz
22. Terry Funk
23. Hulk Hogan
24. Bruno Sammartino
25. Chris Jericho
26. Ted DiBiase
27. Fabulous Moolah
28. Classy Freddie Blassie
29. Randy Orton
30. Pat Patterson
31. The Iron Sheik
32. Jimmy Snuka
33. Mick Foley
34. Kurt Angle
35. Buddy Rogers
36. Gorilla Monsoon
37. Junkyard Dog
38. “Superstar” Billy Graham
39. Jake “The Snake” Roberts
40. Big Show
41. Jack Brisco
42. Sgt. Slaughter
43. Kane
44. Nick Bockwinkel
45. Jeff Hardy
46. Dory Funk Jr.
47. Bob Backlund
48. Rick Rude
49. Batista
50. Killer Kowalski
– Triple H recently conducted an interview with PWI on an Atlanta radio station. This is just a summary and is not quoted:
Will he miss WrestleMania 27?: No, he’s rehabbing his injured biceps and is close to coming back. He said he wrestled on short notice at the 10/30 Fan Appreciation Show in Hartford, CT because Rey Mysterio couldn’t.
Who is the Raw GM?: He said that he didn’t know. Jokingly, he said it couldn’t be him because he isn’t friends with Michael Cole and the GM is.
Where he works out when he’s not on the road: He said he removed the home theater room in his house and made it similar to a a commercial gym. Stephanie McMahon works out there, too.
Stephanie trying to vote for Linda but being rejected: Totally untrue. He was asked about a story stating that Stephanie showed up to vote for her mother on election day and was told she wasn’t registered and couldn’t. He said that they did initially go to the wrong polling place but that the story wasn’t true.
How he manages to not hurt people with his sledgehammer: He said that he is pretty good at it and said that the only time he ever used a prop was the time that he split someone open, so he uses a real one.
His new role as a senior adviser to Vince: He said that guys are starting to get comfortable with him in the role because they have known him for years and realize he understands them and can help convey their concerns.
The host suggested having Abdullah The Butcher into the WWE Hall of Fame and he said that he proposed it himself last week.
– Mae Young has been confirmed to appear at Monday’s “Old School” episode of Raw.
MLB
– SI.com’s Jon Heyman is “hearing” that the Phillies will make a big push to keep free agent OF Jayson Werth. On the contrary, ESPN’s Jayson Stark reported on Thursday that the Phillies had “no chance” at retaining Werth. The truth is probably somewhere inbetween the two reports, though it’s worth noting that Heyman is close with Scott Boras, Werth’s agent. There will be many suitors for the outfielder, and the Phillies have top prospect OF Domonic Brown ready to take over in right, so Werth’s days in Philly are probably done.
– LHP Andy Pettitte said he’s currently leaning towards retirement. Pettitte said he’s “going to wait and see what my heart wants me to do,” but that “right now” his heart is in Deer Park, Texas, where he lives during the offseason. He said that if he does return for 2011, it will be for the Yankees, and it will definitely be his final season. Pettitte is coming off an All-Star campaign that saw him post an 11-3 record to go along with a 3.28 ERA and 1.27 WHIP over 129 innings.
– The A’s claimed 3B Edwin Encarnacion off waivers from the Blue Jays. Toronto got nothing for Encarnacion, but he was a non-tender candidate after a poor 2010 season. The 27-year-old is a poor defender (18 errors in 95 games last season) and could earn close to $6M via salary arbitration this offseason. He hit .244/.305/.482 last season in Toronto, but that should drop in a pitcher’s park. The chain reaction of this move is that 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff, another non-tender candidate, is likely done in Oakland. In other Jays’ news, LHP Brian Tallet and OF DeWayne Wise have refused assignment and are now free agents.
– According to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi, the Tigers have contacted the Marlins to express their interest in 2B Dan Uggla. Rosenthal and Morosi say the Tigers are “looking everywhere for a power bat,” though they prefer a left-handed hitter. Uggla recently rejected a 4-year/$48M offer from Fish, and the team has broken off negotiations for the time being. They’ll will likely make a decision soon to either sweeten their offer to Uggla or place him on the trade block.
– Red Sox’ GM Theo Epstein said Friday that the team wants both C Victor Martinez and 3B Adrian Beltre back next season. Epstein said that any reports to the contrary were inaccurate. “Our first choice for our third baseman in 2011 and beyond would be to bring back Adrian Beltre. Victor would certainly be our first choice to be our 2011 catcher and beyond. He did an outstanding job for us in the year and a half he was here. … I know it’s been portrayed in the media a little bit as if we haven’t been pursuing him. … We absolutely want this guy back. He’s known that. He’s know that for a while.” Boston is going to have heavy competition for both veterans.
– The Red Sox have acquired LHP Andrew Miller from the Marlins in exchange for LHP Dustin Richardson. Miller, a former 1st-round pick, has a good arm but has no accurary (career 5.3 BB/9 rate), including a 7.2 rate in 32 2/3 innings last year for the Marlins. It’s unclear if the Red Sox will keep him as a starter or move him to the bullpen. Miller could potentially be a shutdown reliever if he can start throwing with some control.
– The Giants and Dodgers have interest in 2B/SS Tsuyoshi Nishioka, according to FanHouse.com’s Tom Krasovic. A baseball source told Krasovic that he expects the posting fee to the Chiba Lotte Marines for Nishioka could exceed $4M. The 26-year-old Nishioka reportedly would prefer to play for the Dodgers, but that’s out of his control at the time being. Nishioka led the Pacific League with a .346 batting average this past season.
UFC
– UFC President Dana White recently spoke to the UK’s Fighters Only Magazine about what’s up next for former UFC Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.
Despite online reports that Brock Lesnar wanted to fight Roy “Big Country” Nelson next, White says that’s not true, Lesnar will not get a rematch at Cain Velasquez and that a rubber match against Frank Mir is most likely.
“[Brock] never asked for Roy Nelson, that’s not true. The last thing I did hear was that he wants to fight Frank Mir again. That fight kind of makes sense so… We will probably see Lesnar fight Mir next, I think that the rubber match makes sense.”
A third fight to settle the score makes sense, but Frank Mir sad in a recent interview that he wants to win one fight before fighting Lesnar again. White also said that Velasquez’s first title defence will “probably” be Junior Dos Santos, but that fight has not yet been signed.
NBA
– Blazers’ F Brandon Roy (left knee) has received his second opinion, and the news is good – it’s being recommended that he keep playing limited minutes and rest in between games, which means surgery has been ruled out, at least for now. He’s already had the knee drained twice and could continue to have problems with it all season, as he may need to undergo surgery down the road in order to fully fix the problem – while surgery is not going to happen now, it doesn’t mean he won’t need it later this year or in the offseason. Stay tuned.
– Warriors’ F David Lee (left elbow infection) has returned to the Bay Area for surgery to clean out an infection from the inside of his left elbow and is expected to miss two weeks. After elbowing Knicks’ F Wilson Chandler in the mouth, Lee put three layers of tape over the gash and continued playing, but woke up the next morning in severe pain. He went to the ER with his infected elbow swollen and discoloured. He saw bone through the wound when it happened, so it’s crazy to wonder why he didn’t go to the doctor that night.