NHL
– According to TSN, Islanders’ F John Tavares and Sabres’ D Tyler Myers are on verge of big, multi-year contract extensions with their respective teams. Both deals are expected to be in 6-year range, give or take a year, and worth an average of $5.5M, give or take a few hundred thousand. No deal is done yet, but they are nearing the end of negotiations. Both Tavares and Myers have 1-year left remaining on their entry-level deals.
In addition, the Bruins and F Brad Marchand are nearing an agreement. No deal is done, but the two sides continue to progress. Stay tuned.
– According to the Toronto Sun, the Leafs and RFA D Luke Schenn are nearing an agreement that “should be done by Friday.” It’s believed that Schenn will be there for the first day of camp when all players undergo physicals. Schenn’s agent, Don Meehan, and the Leafs have been negotiating on a new pact for several weeks.
– According to TSN, the likelihood of all outstanding RFAs (Leafs’ D Luke Schenn, Bruins’ F Brad Marchand, Islanders’ F Josh Bailey, Jets’ D Zach Bogosian) being signed by the weekend is fairly high. Everyone except the Kings and D Drew Doughty appear to be proceeding in contract talks.
– According to reports, the Stars are expected to file for bankruptcy as early as today. Sources say the purpose is to cleanse assets and ensure all outstanding liabilities are taken care of. The NHL has been “financially managing” the team in conjunction with the team’s lenders, for more than a year.
MLB
– Yankees’ RHP Mariano Rivera recorded his 600th career save Tuesday by pitching a scoreless ninth inning to preserve a 3-2 victory over the Mariners. Rivera is two saves away from passing RHP Trevor Hoffman (601) on the all-time saves leaderboard. Rivera struck out two and allowed a hit against the Mariners to reach the milestone. He has posted a 2.05 ERA and 0.94 WHIP while earning 41 saves in 57 innings for the Yankees this season.
WWE
– Following tonight’s SmackDown taping at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, WWE held a ceremony honoring Edge. Seven-time WWE Women’s Champion Trish Stratus kicked off “Edge Appreciation Night” by introducing “The Rated-R Superstar.” Photographs of Edge’s most memorable moments in WWE aired on the TitanTron, including a tribute video. Christian, however, interrupted the segment. The SmackDown Superstar said he and Edge have always been like brothers, and that a great way to show appreciation is to bring out the people closest to him. Edge’s mom appeared, as did his trainers Steve Hutchinson and Sweet Daddy Siki, former WWE Superstar Rhyno, WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart, and the SmackDown locker room. The segment included a five-second pose “for the benefit of those with flash photography.”
– The ratings are in for Monday’s episode of WWE RAW – and it might be time to hit the panic button. After last week’s Labor Day edition of RAW drew only a 3.0 rating, you can bet WWE and the USA Network were hoping this week’s show would rebound. Unfortunately – RAW was up against Week 1 of the NFL’s Monday Night Football franchise – and took quite a beating. Monday’s WWE RAW Supershow from Ontario, Canada did an alarming 2.71 cable rating with only 3.86 million viewers. This was the lowest rated non-holiday RAW in almost a year and the worst rating RAW has done up against Week 1 of Monday Night Football in the past 5 years. Not only is Monday’s 2.7 rating a bad sign heading into Sunday’s Night of Champions PPV, but it shows that WWE’s audience is not very engaged int the current product and RAW might have a rough time this fall up against Monday Night Football.