NHL
– The Hockey News stirred the sports world today when they published an article saying that one of Oilers’ F Sam Gagner’s assists shouldn’t have counted, and that his franchise record-tying eight point night was actually just a seven point night. The controversial point comes on D Ryan Whitney’s goal, where Gagner enters the zone and loses the puck. Blackhawks’ D Niklas Hjalmarsson, then F Dave Bolland attempts to clear it, but Whitney keeps it in and scores.
According to the league rules, however, there cannot be a change, even if the argument is true. From the rule book:
Rule 33.2
“No requests for changes in any award of points shall be considered unless they are made at or before the conclusion of actual play in the game by the Team Captain, or immediately following the game by a Team representative”
In rare events the league will review a specific scoring play, only if requested by the team and only if done so within a 24 hour period.
After that, all scoring plays become irreversible.
Check out the video:
– According to reports, Blue Jackets’ F Rick Nash is unhappy with the direction of the franchise and is willing to be traded. Nash would reportedly entertain trade offers, but he doesn’t want to demand a trade. He has a no-movement clause, but indicated in January that he’d be willing to waive it. GM Scott Howson has refused to comment on the trade rumor. The Jackets currently sit dead last in the NHL. Any team that gets Nash will likely have to give up a serious package of prospects. Stay tuned.
– Retired F Jeremy Roenick will be inducted into the Coyotes’ Ring of Honor on Saturday. Roenick was acquired by the Coyotes in 1996 and went on to play 454 games in Phoenix, collecting 152 goals, 227 assists, 379 points and 596 penalty minutes. In each of his five of his six seasons with the Coyotes, Roenick scored 24 or more goals and also had three consecutive seasons of 72 or more points (1998-2001). He led the Coyotes in scoring three seasons (1998-99, 1999-2000 and 2000-2001) and was named an NHL All-Star with the Coyotes in 1999 and 2000. He also represented Team USA at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
– Updating a previous item, Red Wings’ G Jimmy Howard (finger) is expected to miss at least 2 weeks. His initial timetable was 4-6 weeks.
– Oilers’ head coach Tom Renney (head) and Sabres’ F Lindy Ruff (chest) were each injured during their respective practices this morning. Renney was inadvertently hit in the head with a puck by D Ladislav Smid, and had to leave to get stitches, and was also checked for a concussion. Associate coach Ralph Krueger said,
“He’ll be fine. We all watched the puck get deflected up and it’s a good reason why young coaches wear helmets [laugh].
“He’ll have some stitches on the side of the head. I’m sure he’ll be back here in good shape tonight.”
Meanwhile, Ruff suffered three broken ribs when he collided with D Jordan Leopold. Leopold was working in a 1-on-1 drill with F Ville Leino and lost his balance, sliding to the ice and barreling into Ruff from behind. Ruff went airbone and landed hard on the ice and began favoring his right leg and his right shoulder.
“I lost my breath. I was looking back and I kind of yelled, “Are you all right? Are you all right?’ Right away, no. That wasn’t a good thing. I know Lindy is a tough guy, played a lot of games in the NHL and played through a lot of injuries. Your body ends up hurting more and more the older you get but that was one of those unexpected ones. Those are dangerous,” said Leopold.
“To see him in that much pain, he probably has something going on there. Hopefully we get that sorted out and he’s all right. We need him behind the bench yelling and calling the lines. Lindy being a former player, he knew how to take the fall. He took it into his body instead of letting his head whip back or else it could have been really devastating,” said G Ryan Miller.
– According to reports, the Sharks are believed to be aggressively pursuing Canadiens’ F Travis Moen. Moen hasn’t played since January 21 due to an upper body injury. The impending UFA would fit as a bottom-six forward while also getting time on the PK.
– Blue Jackets’ F Kristian Huselius (groin) remains out indefinitely, but could miss the remainder of the season. Head coach Todd Richards said, ”He is idle right now. That’s doctor’s orders. He was given an injection and he was told to lay low. Not a lot has changed with him.” The impending UFA has been limited to just two games this season.
NBA
– Lakers’ G Kobe Bryant passed F Shaquille O’Neal to move to No. 5 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with the 28,598th point of his career on Monday. Kobe scored 28 points on 10-of-26 shooting (including four threes) with five rebounds, six assists, and two steals against the Sixers. Shaq congratulated his former teammate via Twitter.
– Nuggets’ F Danilo Gallinari (left ankle sprain) left Monday’s game during the third quarter, and according to the Nuggets TV crew, Gallo also has a “chip fracture” of the foot. George Hill, who suffered the same style of injury (but in the ankle), is in the midst of a 3-4 week timetable. Gallo has an CT scan scheduled for Tuesday.
– Lakers’ head coach Mike Brown was suspended 1 game and fined $25K for making contact with a game official and failure to leave the court in a timely manner following his ejection in Saturday’s game.
NFL
– Gisele Bundchen backed her husband, Patriots’ QB Tom Brady, following the team’s 21-17 loss to the Giants at Super Bowl XLVI.
“You (have) to catch the ball when you’re supposed to catch the ball. My husband cannot fucking throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time. I can’t believe they dropped the ball so many times.”
Bundchen, 31, and Brady, 34, married in 2009 and have a 2-year-old son, Benjamin. The NFL star also has a 4-year-old son, Jack, with ex-girlfriend Bridget Moynahan.
<iframe width=’398′ height=’305′ src=’http://www.theinsider.com/media/flash/coincident/popOutPlayer.html?media=http://www.theinsider.com/gossip/49452_Gisele_Bashes_Tom_s_Teammates/embed.ctv’ border=’0′ style=’border:0px none;’></iframe>
– The Patriots have named Josh McDaniels as OC. McDaniels was New England’s OC in 2006, 2007, and 2008. In 2008, he guided a Tom Brady-less team to fifth in the NFL in total offense. McDaniels’ 2007 offense finished first in overall offense and first in passing. The Pats are expected to shop for a No. 1 wideout this offseason.
– The Steelers have hired Todd Haley as OC. As a coordinator in 2007 and 2008 with Arizona, he oversaw back-to-back top-12 offences, topping out at No. 4 in the league in his final season.
– FOX 31 Denver reports that Broncos’ RB Knowshon Moreno was arrested on drunken driving charges on February 1. Moreno was driving a Bentley convertible 70MPH in a 45MPH construction zone last Wednesday. After pulling him over, police smelled alcohol on Moreno , and he “did poorly” in sobriety tests. The Bentley’s license plate was personalized and read “SAUCED.” The 2009 12th overall pick is currently recovering from a torn right ACL suffered in November, lost his starting job to RB Willis McGahee in 2011, and has missed 12 games due to injury over the past two seasons. He’s slowly cementing the ‘bust’ label.
– During Sunday’s Super Bowl, singer M.I.A. gave the middle finger to the camera. Check it out:
– For anyone that missed it, check out this great M&M’s commercial from Super Bowl XLVI:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=P6C2G5I1Z1g
MLB
– Tigers’ GM Dave Dombrowski told reporters Monday that it’s “correct to say” the Tigers are interested in Cuban OF Yoenis Cespedes The Cubs, Marlins, White Sox and Orioles are also heavily interested. Cespedes is in the Dominican, waiting to be allowed entry into the United Statues from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The 26-year-old batted .333/.424/.667 with 33 home runs and 99 RBI in 90 games last year in Cuba and seems likely to score a major league contract worth more than $30M.
– According to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com, the Reds remain in talks with free agent RHP Roy Oswalt. Rosenthal was told over the weekend that the Reds had kicked the tires and weren’t actively involved in talks. The 34-year-old is seeking a 1-year/$8-10M contract. Cincy would need to move payroll around in order to add him, and could do a more creative deal like they did with RHP Ryan Madson. According to Rosenthal, RHP Homer Bailey is the most likely trade candidate. The Red Sox also remain interested in Oswalt.
– Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reports that the Yankees are in “serious discussions” with free agent OF Raul Ibanez. Buster Olney of ESPN.com wrote Monday afternoon that the Yankees could sign OFs Ibanez, Johnny Damon or Hideki Matsui within the week. According to Rosenthal, Ibanez is willing to take less to play for the Yankees than he could make elsewhere. The 39-year-old batted .245/.289/.419 with 20 home runs and 84 RBI in 144 games last season for the Phillies.
– The Cardinals have signed INF Alex Cora to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the 36-year-old will “serve as both competition and mentor for the club’s group of less-experienced infielders.”
– The Nationals have signed INF Mark Teahen to a minor league contract. Teahen was released from the Blue Jays last month after batting just .200/.273/.300 with four homers and 14 RBI across 177 plate appearances in 2011.
– The Braves unveiled a new alternate home uniform Monday that is based on the attire worn by Hank Aaron when the team moved from Milwaukee in 1966. The new uniforms will be worn during weekend games at Turner Field. The alternate red jersey that had been worn on Sundays since 2005 will now be used for Friday night games in Atlanta. The regular home whites will be reserved for games Monday through Thursday.
– The Mariners have signed RHP Shawn Camp to a 1-year/$750K contract and LHP Hong-Chih Kuo to a 1-year/$500K contract. Kuo was an all-star in 2010 with the Dodgers but struggled last season with a back problem early in the season and missed a month with anxiety disorder. During his standout 2010 season, Kuo as 3-2 with 12 saves in 13 chances and a 1.20 ERA. Camp led Toronto with 67 appearances last year and was 6-3 with a 4.21 ERA. The right-hander has appeared in 432 games all in relief, with Kansas City, Tampa Bay and Toronto.
– Mariners minor league C Christian Carmichael has been suspended 50 games for a positive drug test. Reynolds was penalized Monday under baseball’s minor league program for testing positive for Methylhexaneamine. He hit .182 last year in 11 at-bats for the Mariners of the Arizona Rookie League and is on the roster of class-A Clinton.
WWE
– Former WCW World Heavyweight Champion Ron Simmons is slated to be inducted into this year’s WWE Hall of Fame class in Miami, Florida. It has not been disclosed when the official announcement will be made. Among his many accomplishments, Simmons held the WWE World Tag Team Championship three times with Bradshaw, the WCW World Tag Team Championship with Butch Reed as Doom and the WCW United States Tag Team Championship with Big Josh. However, his greatest achievement occurred on August 2, 1992, when Simmons became the first officially recognized African-American singles World Champion, defeating Big Van Vader for the WCW World Championship. Other elite Superstars scheduled for induction on March 31, 2012 are Edge, The Four Horsemen (Arn Anderson, Ric Flair, Barry Windham, Tully Blanchard and JJ Dillon), Mil Mascaras and Mike Tyson.
– Colt Cabana, who hosts the Art of Wrestling podcast, took a potshot at WWE over the company’s newly launched Are You Serious? YouTube series. In the series, Road Dogg and Josh Mathews “are forced to watch some of the most appalling, unpleasant and dreadful clips found in the WWE video library.”
“Can’t wait to see Josh Mathews and Road Dogg host WWE’s newest show ‘The Art of Sports Entertainment Podcast.”
– Friday’s SmackDown drew a 2.19 cable rating with 3,194,000 viewers, on par with what the show has been doing in recent weeks.
– Eve Torres (nose) was rushed to the backstage area immediately after she tagged out of the ring during the Eight Divas Tag Team Match on tonight’s Raw SuperShow. Torres was hit hard by a Beth Phoenix clothesline. She was severely bleeding from her nose and it is said that she suffered a broken nose.
– Former WWE Diva Maryse spoke with Wrestling 101 recently about her time with WWE. Here are some highlights of what Maryse said about:
Signing with WWE: “I could only speak 10 words of English at the time, however, WWE management told me that I had such an exceptional presentation in French, haha! They loved it…”
State of the Divas division: “There is a lot of potential right now in the Womens Division, but a lack of investment from the management! They deserve better.”
Her Persona: “I developed a heel persona and everything about Maryse was presentation, facials, gestures. I believe that Maryse’s persona was the best female persona in years within the WWE.”
– WWE Champion CM Punk performed a classy gesture over the weekend at a live WWE event from Wichita, Kansas. Prior to his match with Dolph Ziggler, Punk tried throwing his t-shirt at a kid in the front row, but a man grabbed the shirt away from the kid and walked back to his seat with it. Punk was visibly pissed off by the man taking the shirt meant for a child, so Punk left the ring, walked across the arena to the merchandise tables and grabbed a new shirt to deliver personally to the young fan.
– Former WWE performer Dave Bautista (aka Batista) is listed as a cast member in the third installment of the Riddick film series. The movie also stars Vin Diesel, Karl Urban, Jordi Mollà, Matt Nable and Katee Sackhoff. The film was delayed at one point due to financial issues but Universal Studios announced that principal photography has begun.
– The official website of Florida Championship Wrestling has added Summer Rae to their Divas roster page. Summer Raw is Danielle Moinet, a 28-year-old model and former American football player who played with the Chicago Bliss of the Lingerie Football League. Since debuting in the developmental promotion late last year, she has been trying to assume Maxine’s position as General Manager of FCW.
– It was reported Friday that the official website of WWE developmental promotion Florida Championship Wrestling had removed Calvin Raines, Leroy Parks, Marcus Owens and Peter Orlov from their roster page. Owens, whose real name is Jay Nobles, confirmed on Facebook that he was released by WWE on Friday. He vows to show that WWE made a mistake in letting him go.
“I will now travel the world and show them that they totally dropped the ball!
“I just wanna say to everyone following me that this journey is not over. Sometimes you have to take a step back and analyze what is really important in order to be happy. Happiness is not determined by how much money you make but, what you truly enjoy!”
NCAAF
– Misdemeanour charges of marijuana possession against Alabama CB Dre Kirkpatrick were dismissed in a Florida court on Monday. Arrested on January 17 in Manatee County, Kirkpatrick was allegedly found to have 7.9 grams (0.28 ounces) of pot in his possession. The arrest occurred just five days after Kirkpatrick, a third-year junior, declared for the draft. He claimed he did not know the marijuana was in friend Chris Rogers’ car, and Rogers accepted the blame. Kirkpatrick is a projected top-25 pick in this year’s draft.
TNA
– “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero was informed on Twitter of an article labeling him as the most underused wrestler in TNA Wrestling. He responded,
“Thanks again, but SERIOUSLY, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Pope is underused…… Or does it??”
Dinero’s status with the organization is currently in limbo as he has not appeared on television since the culmination of his several month feud with Devon at Genesis. He was asked when he will be returning to television.
“I’m sure Pope will return at some point this year….. Talk about a “Turning Point.”