NHL
– Below are the pick-by-pick results from the 2012 NHL All-Star Game Fantasy Draft:
TEAM CHARA
Zdeno Chara (C), D, Boston
Joffrey Lupul (A), RW, TorontoTEAM ALFREDSSON
Daniel Alfredsson* (C), RW, Ottawa
Henrik Lundqvist (A), G, NY RangersDraft Selections (order determined by puck flip):
ROUND 1
Team Chara: Pavel Datsyuk, C, Detroit
Team Alfredsson: Erik Karlsson*, D, OttawaROUND 2
Team Chara: Tim Thomas*, G, Boston
Team Alfredsson: Jason Spezza*, C, OttawaROUND 3
Team Chara: Evgeni Malkin, C, Pittsburgh
Team Alfredsson: Jonathan Quick, G, Los AngelesROUND 4
Team Chara: Marian Hossa, RW, Chicago
Team Alfredsson: Claude Giroux, C, PhiladelphiaROUND 5
Team Chara: Kimmo Timonen, D, Philadelphia
Team Alfredsson: Kris Letang^, D, PittsburghROUND 6
Team Chara: Corey Perry, RW, Anaheim
Team Alfredsson: Steven Stamkos, C, Tampa BayROUND 7
Team Chara:Carey Price, G, Montreal
Team Alfredsson: Brian Elliott, G, St. LouisROUND 8
Team Chara: Phil Kessel, RW, Toronto
Team Alfredsson: Shea Weber, D, NashvilleROUND 9
Team Chara: Ryan Suter, D, Nashville
Team Alfredsson: Daniel Sedin, LW, VancouverROUND 10
Team Chara: Jimmy Howard, G, Detroit
Team Alfredsson: Dan Girardi, D, NY RangersROUND 11
Team Chara: Brian Campbell, D, Florida
Team Alfredsson: Keith Yandle, D, PhoenixROUND 12
Team Chara: Patrick Kane, RW, Chicago
Team Alfredsson: Milan Michalek*, LW, OttawaROUND 13
Team Chara: Dion Phaneuf*, D, Toronto
Team Alfredsson: Henrik Sedin, C, VancouverROUND 14
Team Chara: Jarome Iginla, RW, Calgary
Team Alfredsson: James Neal^, LW, PittsburghROUND 15
Team Chara: Dennis Wideman, D, Washington
Team Alfredsson: Alexander Edler, D, VancouverROUND 16
Team Chara: Marian Gaborik, RW, NY Rangers
Team Alfredsson: John Tavares, C, NY IslandersROUND 17
Team Chara: Jordan Eberle^, RW, Edmonton
Team Alfredsson: Scott Hartnell^, LW, PhiladelphiaROUND 18
Team Chara: Tyler Seguin, C, Boston
Team Alfredsson: Jason Pominville, RW, BuffaloROUND 19
Team Chara: Jamie Benn, LW, Dallas
Team Alfredsson: Logan Couture, C, San JoseTeam Chara rookies
Luke Adam, C, Buffalo
Raphael Diaz^, D, Montreal
Colin Greening, LW, Ottawa
Cody Hodgson, C, Vancouver
Ryan Johansen, C, Columbus
Gabriel Landeskog, LW, ColoradoTeam Alfredsson rookies
Sean Couturier, C, Philadelphia
Justin Faulk, D, Carolina
Carl Hagelin^, LW, NY Rangers
Nick Johnson^, RW, Minnesota
Matt Read, RW, Philadelphia
Craig Smith, C, Nashville
Couture was handed a 2013 Honda Crosstour for being picked last, and both The Goals and Dreams Foundation and NHL Foundation will each donate $10K to a charity of Couture’s choice.
“I’ve never been picked last for something, whether it’s for class or a game outdoors or anything like that. Growing up, I was always one of the more athletic kids. To get picked last — it didn’t really happen at all.
“This is the first time. When I was younger, I would’ve taken it more personally. Right now, I just had a good time with it.”
– Capitals’ F Matt Hendricks (ear) had his right ear split wide open when he was hit in the head by teammate F Alex Ovechkin’s slapshot.
“It hit me and it was kind of surprising. It felt like somebody came up and hit me in the head with a baseball bat. It stunned me. I realized I was bleeding and pain was setting in. I knew it wasn’t good. I was pretty upset.”
– According to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, there’s a chance that Stars’ F Brenden Morrow might become available for trade prior to the NHL trade deadline next month. Dallas is three points back of eighth-place Minnesota in the West standings, and Morrow has a no-trade clause. Morrow is currently out with an upper-body injury, which is believed to be a neck issue, but he is projected to play next week after the All-Star break.
– The Panthers have traded F Tim Kennedy to the Sharks for D Sean Sullivan. Kennedy has split time with the Panthers and their AHL affiliate in San Antonio this campaign. He had two points in 27 NHL appearances with Florida and nine points in 18 games with the Rampage. Sullivan, 27, has played in 32 games with the Worcester Sharks (AHL) this season scoring five goals with 19 assists. The Boston, MA, native has appeared in 183 games with San Antonio (2006-07 & 2007-10) registering 89 points (21-68-89) and 69 PIM.
– G Marty Turco has signed a contract with EC Red Bull Salzburg for the remainder of the season. Turco has an NHL out clause in the deal that expires on February 27 (Trade Deadline day).
NBA
– There is speculation is Heat’ F LeBron James will strongly consider his opt out clause at the end of the 2013-2014 season. James still thoroughly enjoys playing alongside fellow stars G Dwyane Wade and G Chris Bosh, but reports indicate he doesn’t care for the heavy-handed and disciplined style of team president Pat Riley. If Riley remains in his current role, James may exercise his opt-out clause at the end of the 2013-14 season. Stay tuned.
– According to the Hornets, G Eric Gordon (knee contusion) is expected to miss 6 weeks, and will be re-evaluated again in 3 weeks. Gordon was evaluated by team physicians and said he was told that with three weeks’ rest his knee “would be 100% sound” just a few days ago.
– The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported Thursday that Bucks’ F Andrew Bogut (fractured left ankle) could miss the rest of the year, while the Bucks are calling him out indefinitely. Stay tuned.
– Celtics’ G Rajon Rondo (wrist) said that he has not been able to shoot or dribble with consistency and could miss “several more days.” Rondo attempted to practice on Wednesday, and called his wrist “45%,” while head coach Doc Rivers bluntly said “he can’t play.” There is currently no timetable for his return.
MLB
– Yankees’ 3B Alex Rodriguez has put him $8M condo up for sale. The condo is found in the Rushmore building–one of the most desirable buildings in all of New York City. He bought the condo for $5.5M last spring.
Also, for all of you haters out there, take note of A-Rod’s love affair with (Warhol’s) Marilyn Monroe. Let the jokes begin.
– The Indians have placed RHP Fausto Carmona on the restricted list. The move clears a spot on the team’s 40-man roster. Carmona (Roberto Hernandez Heredia) was arrested in his native Dominican Republic last week for faking his identity. The 31-year-old was released on $13K bond last Friday, but must complete the legal process before returning to the United States. The AP reported earlier this week that manager Manny Acta said Heredia would miss spring training, though they have since amended their report. Either way, he’ll likely have trouble obtaining a work visa in time. The Indians will not be responsible for Heredia’s $7M salary as long as he remains on the restricted list.
– Kevin Kernan of the New York Post reports that the Yankees are interested in free agent OF Raul Ibanez. The 39-year-old batted .245/.289/.419 with 20 home runs and 84 RBI in 144 games last season for the Phillies. Ibanez would fit in at DH, with the occasional outfield start.
– A’s managing partner Lew Wolff said Thursday that he’s open to the idea of signing OF Manny Ramirez. ”I really don’t see any non-baseball reason for not having him. I wouldn’t want to not have a player because he made a mistake and paid the price for it, but that’s really up to (general manager) Billy (Beane).” Ramirez is planning to hold a workout for MLB teams soon. He needs to serve a 50-game PED suspension, however, before he will be allowed to play in a regular season game.
– Angels’ 1B Kendrys Morales (ankle) is drawing rave reviews for his early workouts at the Angels’ spring training complex. OF Peter Bourjos said, ”I’ve been hitting with him every day and he looks strong. Monday was the first time he took live BP (with a coach throwing) and he was popping them out from both sides. It’s very impressive.” The 28-year-old tallied 34 homers and 108 RBI in 2010.
– The Reds have signed RHP Jose Arredondo to a 2-year contract, avoiding arbitration. The 27-year-old posted a 3.23 ERA and 48/31 K/BB ratio in 53 innings last season for the Reds.
– Tigers manager Jim Leyland confirmed Thursday that 1B Miguel Cabrera will indeed make the move over to third base to accomodate 1B Prince Fielder at first base. ”Miguel Cabrera is going to play third base. Let’s make that perfectly clear today.” Cabrera hasn’t played third base since the start of the 2008 season.
– Mariners’ manager Eric Wedge said Wednesday that there’s a “good possibility” that 38-year-old OF Ichiro Suzuki is moved away from the leadoff spot. Ichiro has hit first in 1,722 of the 1,749 games he has played in his career. He registered a poor .310 OBP in 721 plate appearances last season. “Obviously I’ve got to work off of Ichiro a little bit, but ultimately I’m going to do what I think is best to give us a chance to score runs because it’s just too important for us to make a huge step for us this year offensively.”
– ESPN’s Buster Olney reports that the Red Sox have made a 1-year/$5M offer to RHP Roy Oswalt. The Red Sox also have an offer out to RHP Edwin Jackson, though the specifics aren’t known. Oswalt would reportedly prefer to pitch for either the Cardinals or the Rangers. Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Wednesday night that St. Louis made an offer to Oswalt earlier this winter “approaching $5M,” but believes that the Rangers will ultimately step up with a contract in the $7-8M range.
– The Indians have signed RHP Dan Wheeler to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. Wheeler posted a decent 4.38 ERA and 39/8 K/BB ratio across 49 1/3 innings last season with the Red Sox.
– Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports that the Dodgers made a “major push” for 1B Prince Fielder prior to him signing with the Tigers. The Dodgers’ offer was for 7-years/$160M and included an opt-out after four seasons. He would have made around $26M annually over the first four years of the deal and something in the low $20M range for the final three years. Both parties even met at an “undisclosed neutral location” a few weeks ago.
– Jim Salisbury of CSN Philly reports that the Phillies are in “serious discussions” with free agent OF Juan Pierre. The deal is for a minor league contract. The 34-year-old batted .279/.329/.327 with two homers, 50 RBI and a .657 OPS over 711 plate appearances in 2011, and went a career-worst 27-for-44 in stolen base attempts.
– The Red Sox have officially signed OF Cody Ross to a 1-year/$3M contract. The deal includes bonuses based on plate appearances. Ross will platoon with OF Ryan Sweeney in right field. The 31-year-old batted just .240/.325/.405 with 14 home runs and a .730 OPS last season with San Francisco, but is a strong bat against lefty pitching.
NFL
– A Giants fan recently got a cartoon tattoo of Eli noogying Peyton Manning…on his hairy ass. Check it out:
– Last week rapper, 50 Cent won a $500K bet when the Giants advanced to the Super Bowl. He has now upped the ante, saying that if the Giants lose the Super Bowl, he will post a nude picture of himself on Twitter.
– 2-time NFL MVP Joe Montana is selling his estate for $35M.
– Based on conversations with QB Matt Flynn “in the last few days,” Packers’ QB Aaron Rodgers believes the Dolphins and Seahawks are the “two top dogs” in the race for the free agent quarterback. ”I think it’s a strong possibility that [the Dolphins] would make a run at him. Joe [Philbin] is in that system, which I’m sure is going to be very similar to this system, and Matt having a great grasp of that and playing well in his recent opportunities.” Seahawks’ GM John Schneider, formerly with the Packers, is “pulling some strings” to bring Flynn to Seattle, according to Rodgers.
– Seahawks’ WR Sidney Rice (shoulders) underwent offseason surgery on both shoulders, according to Tom Pelissero of ESPN 1500 Twin Cities. One of procedures repaired a torn labrum, while the other was undisclosed. Rice’s season ended a month early after sustaining his third concussion in 12 months. He’s now undergone the two shoulder surgeries on top of a major hip procedure less than two years ago.
– Colts owner Jim Irsay criticized QB Peyton Manning Thursday, calling the future Hall of Famer a “politician” for his comments to the Indianapolis Star earlier this week. ”Don’t put the Horseshoe in a bad light.” Irsay added that Manning should have kept his issues with the team’s front office “in the house.” The relationship between the two continues to fall apart.
– Steelers’ NT Casey Hampton (torn left ACL) will undergo surgery on Friday. Hampton initially hoped to heal the ACL with “rest and rehab,” but doctors apparently informed him a reconstruction was required. It’s the third ACL surgery of Hampton’s 11-year career. Hampton will likely miss games for next season, which means he’s a candidate to be released. The 34-year-old’s cap number is $8.1M.
– Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones reiterated at the Senior Bowl that RB DeMarco Murray will remain the team’s primary early-down back in 2012. ”He’s just harder to bring down than Felix (Jones). Felix has the quickness, the vision and can get outside. But Murray did bring that dimension of power, and there’s probably not five pounds’ worth of difference between the two. But he finishes. He’s just so powerful into the finish.” Murray is currently recovering from a fractured right ankle.
– The Miami Herald reports former Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman and Bengals DBs coach Kevin Coyle will be hired as the Dolphins OC and DC, respectively, “barring any unexpected last-minute issues.” Neither coach has a contract yet, but the interest is mutual between head coach Joe Philbin and both assistants. Sherman first brought Philbin to the Packers back in 2003, and Coyle has been a mutual friend for years. Coyle is expected to switch to a 4-3 defense.
WWE
– RAW superstar Dolph Ziggler spoke with the Evansville Courier & Press this week to hype this weekend’s live event. Here are highlights of what Ziggler said about:
His Rise to the Top Of WWE: “It’s been a slow, gradual build that they’ve started to realize I’m one of their go-to guys. I’m going to continue to build on that and be their absolute go-to guy. I want this championship, and I want to hang on to it for a very long time.”
Becoming WWE Champion This Sunday: “I think I’m in the best shape of my life, I think I look like a million bucks, I think if anyone were to represent this company as WWE champion, I don’t think I can think of a better person who has been carved and cut out of stone to actually fit this bill.”
“I feel I’m the best wrestler right now in the WWE. I’m planning on beating CM Punk this Sunday, taking the WWE championship. And you know what? I’m going to make him give me his shirt that says ‘Best in the World’ afterwards, too.”
– After UFC announced last week that its next pay-per-view event will be their first show to broadcast in 3D in movie theaters across the country, WWE is looking to do the same. WWE is currently looking at SummerSlam to be their first PPV event offered in 3D in movie theaters.
– The latest on a possible Cody Rhodes vs. Goldust match is that WWE is considering it for Elimination Chamber in February.
– Warrior is back with another “Injection of Inspiration.” In this video, the former WWE champion talks politics–specifically, entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare, which he is vehemently against. Warrior argues that those programs were originally set up as ‘savings accounts,’ however, because the system is broken, young Americans who are paying for these programs will not see a dime back by the time they fall apart. Check it out:
– November’s Survivor Series show will now take place in Phoenix, Arizona and Bragging Rights in December will take place from Memphis, Tennessee. Based on these changes, here’s the updated WWE pay-per-view line-up for this year:
Royal Rumble – January 29th – St. Louis
Elimination Chamber – February 19th – Milwaukee
WrestleMania 28 – April 1st – Miami
Extreme Rules – April 29th – Chicago
Over The Limit – May 20th – Raleigh
Fatal 4 Way – June 17th – Toronto
TLC – July 15th – Las Vegas
SummerSlam – August 19th – Los Angeles
Night of Champions – September 23rd – Dallas
Hell in a Cell – October 28th – Philadelphia
Survivor Series – November 18th – Phoenix
Bragging Rights – December 16th – Memphis
As previously reported, WWE plans to move most of their PPV events to the WWE Network, once it launches.In the event that the Network launches in November as planned, Bragging Rights could be the first show to broadcast for free on the Network.
UFC
– UFC fighter Chael Sonnen, who has a big fight this Saturday night against Michael Bisping at UFC On FOX 2, claims that Vince McMahon ‘had his reasons’ for not allowing CM Punk to accompany him to the octagon for his fight. The event takes place the night before the Royal Rumble from Punk’s home town of Chicago. Punk was originally going to be in Sonnen’s corner for the fight, but WWE CEO Vince McMahon vetoed Punk from appearing and told him that appearing at the UFC show was prohibited. Sonnen told MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani that he will meet up with Punk after the fight for dinner. Sonnen said he is disappointed about the situation, but said he understands Vince’s decision. Sonnen also shot down rumors that he will use CM Punk’s theme song “Cult of Personality” when he walks to the octagon.
TNA
– Contrary ti earlier reports, Ric Flair was not backstage at a TNA Impact taping when he saw the video announcing the Four Horsement would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.Triple H actually called Flair that day to tell him about the news. Flair was at a bar with some of the TNA crew watching a football game when John Laurinaitis texted him to tell him when the video announcement would be airing. Flair was said to be so emotionally impacted by the video that he was brought to tears. Flair was telling people how happy he was for the other Horsemen and vowed to be in attendance, knowing TNA management might not initially approve
– TNA star Jeff Hardy has been really impressing people lately with how he’s conducted himself behind the scenes. Hardy is said to be completely clear-headed since returning.
