NFL
– Packers’ WR Donald Driver and partner Peta Murgatroyd won the ”Dancing With the Stars” mirrorball trophy on Tuesday night. He and his fellow finalists, Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins and Cuban actor William Levy, each earned perfect scores for their last performances Tuesday. Jenkins came into the final contest with a perfect 60 points; Driver and Levy each had 59.
– An arbitrator upheld the NFL’s salary cap reductions on the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins for this season and next. Stephen Burbank ruled Tuesday in favour of the league and dismissed the grievances by both teams. The Redskins lost $36M over two years. The Cowboys lost $10M for overloading contracts during the uncapped 2010 season despite league warnings about such manoeuvring. The Cowboys and Redskins, who filed their grievances against the league and players’ association, said in a joint statement they would “abide by the arbitrator’s decision to dismiss.” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones compared the dynamics of the salary cap with using a credit card. ”The way you work around the salary cap is you kind of use the credit card to spend money that you won’t be spending in the future,” Jones said Tuesday at the owners meeting. “So it caused us to do more credit card spending in the future.”
NHL
– According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Wild have signed Finnish F Mikael Granlund to a 3-year/$2.7M contract with a $90K signing bonus each year as well as performance bonuses. The 19-year-old led the Finnish Elite League in scoring this past season with 51 points in 45 games. Over three seasons as a teenaged pro, Granlund scored 127 points in 127 games in the same league that Wild captain Mikko Koivu amassed 58 points over four seasons before he moved to the NHL. Granlund, who was selected ninth overall by the Wild in 2010, is also known for his memorable lacrosse-type goal in last year’s World Hockey Championship, a tournament that was won by Finland.
– In case you missed it, check out Rangers’ F Michael Rupp landing a cheapshot on Devils’ G Martin Brodeur. F Steve Bernier tries to come to the rescue but gets laid out. Enjoy:
– Wayne Gretzky’s daughter, Paulina, as well as a number of other female professional athletes have been chosen as Maxim’s Top 100 Hottest Girls. Check it out:
MLB
– Check out Braves’ RHP Livan Hernandez pelting a ball boy with sunflower seeds after he missed a foul ball:
– The Royals have placed 2B Chris Getz (ribs) on the 15-day DL. Getz has a bruised left ribcage and strained cartilage between his ribs, making it uncomfortable to breathe at times. He is batting .277 with no homers, eight RBIs and six stolen bases.
NBA
– Pacers’ G Lance Stephenson (head/neck) was evaluated for a concussion and possible collarbone injury after taking a cheap shot from Heat’ F Dexter Pittman in Game 5 on Tuesday. Stephenson later tweeted “Pittman got me good. My shoulder feels like its broke but I’m ok everyone lets go Pacers game 6.” X-rays taken on the collarbone returned negative.
– Pacers’ F Danny Granger (ankle) said it would “take his foot to fall off” for him to miss Thursday’s elimination Game 6 against the Heat. ”This is the playoffs. I’ll just take a bunch of pain medication.”
– The Knicks and coach Mike Woodson are completing a multiyear deal that could be announced this week, a person with knowledge of the situation said Tuesday. Woodson led the Knicks to an 18-6 record and a first-round playoff loss to Miami as interim coach after replacing Mike D’Antoni on March 14. The Knicks’ victory in Game 4 of the series ended an NBA-record, 13-game post-season losing streak that dated to 2001. Top players Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler all endorsed Woodson’s return and will get their wish, the person told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the contract is not finished yet. The New York Post reported Tuesday that the sides were committed to getting the deal done before the Memorial Day weekend. Woodson will become a full-time NBA head coach again for the first time since a six-year run in Atlanta ended in 2010. The Hawks improved their win total in each season, finishing 53-29 in 2009-10, but Woodson wasn’t retained after they were swept in the conference semifinals for the second straight year.
– Cavaliers’ Rookie of the Year G Kyrie Irving of Cleveland is the lone unanimous choice to the NBA’s All-Rookie team. Irving received 58 points Tuesday in voting done by the league’s 30 head coaches, who could not vote for their own player. Joining him on the first team were Minnesota’s Ricky Rubio (49 points); Denver’s Kenneth Faried (46); Golden State’s Klay Thompson (43); and New York’s Iman Shumpert, San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard and Detroit’s Brandon Knight, who all had 40 points. Irving, the No. 1 pick in the draft, became one of only six rookies to average at least 18.0 points, 5.0 assists and 1.0 steal while shooting at least 45% from the field, a list that includes Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson.
WWE
– At Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings from Wilkes-Barre, PA, a Triple Threat match was held to determine the next challenger to Sheamus’ World Heavyweight championship. Alberto Del Rio defeated Chris Jericho and Randy Orton to earn the title shot. With that match set, the following matches are confirmed for WWE No Way Out on Sunday, June 17th:
John Cena vs. Big Show
WWE Championship Match: CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan
(Unconfirmed)
Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: Christian (c) vs. Cody Rhodes
WTA
– Kim Clijsters says this year’s U.S. Open will be her last tournament before retiring. The former No. 1 had already announced that this would be her final season and said Tuesday that she means to quit after Flushing Meadows, where she is a three-time champion. Clijsters said at a news conference that “I will end my career at the U.S. Open.” The Belgian star said Flushing Meadows “is where I enjoyed my greatest triumphs and it is a very special place for me.” Clijsters is skipping the entire clay-court season as she recovers from a hip injury, but hopes to be fit for Wimbledon and the London Olympics. Clijsters initially retired in 2007, but returned to the sport in 2009, winning her second U.S. Open that year.