MLB
– The Phillies have placed RHP Roy Halladay (strained right lat) on the 15-day DL, and will miss 6-8 weeks. Another enormous blow to the already injury-depleted Phills. Doc left Sunday’s start after two innings due to right shoulder soreness. He had gone six straight seasons with 200 innings or more.
– According to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com, the Rangers are considered the front-runner to sign free agent RHP Roy Oswalt. This confirms just about every report over the last few days, but Rosenthal and Morosi add that approval from ownership may be the only thing from making the signing official. It’s believed that Oswalt wants $5-7.5M in a potential contract. The Red Sox, Phillies, Dodgers and Orioles are among the other teams who have expressed interest in the 34-year-old.
– Prosecutors are not offering a plea deal to Tigers’ OF Delmon Young, who’s accused of making anti-Semitic remarks during a fight outside a New York hotel. Young was briefly in a Manhattan court Tuesday for an update on his misdemeanour hate-crime harassment case. A prosecutor says he isn’t making any plea offer, at least for now. Police say Young yelled anti-Jewish epithets at a group of tourists, got into a tussle and tackled one to the ground last month. The Tigers were in New York to play the Yankees. Defence lawyer Daniel Ollen has said Young reacted to something said to him. Young has said he regrets what happened. He’s free on $5,000 bond and due back in court August 2.
– Cardinals’ 3B David Freese (hand, wrist) told FOX Sports Midwest that he could be out until Friday. Freese suffered a mild hand sprain and bruising on his wrist Sunday while diving for balls along the third base line.
– Mets’ C Josh Thole (concussion) is on track to return from the DL Friday. He will serve as the DH with Triple-A Buffalo on Wednesday and catch on Thursday before being activated. The 25-year-old has been sidelined since suffering a concussion on May 7.
NHL
– The Blackhawks have signed D Johnny Oduya to a 3-year/$10.125M contract with a $3.375M cap hit. The 30-year-old was acquired by the Blackhawks from the Jets on February 27 at the NHL trade deadline. In 81 games played with the two clubs last season, Oduya had three goals and 15 assists. The Hawks also finalized a 1-year/$650K contract with F Jamal Mayers.
– Maple Leafs’ F Matt Frattin (knee) will require season-ending surgery, and will miss the remainder of the Marlies’ playoff run.
WWE
– Former WWE performer Jillian Faye Fletcher (aka Jillian Hall), 31, was arrested on April 23, 2012 in Orange County, Florida and charged with battery (domestic violence). The one-time WWE Divas Champion subsequently announced Thursday via Twitter that she has separated from her husband of two years, Mike Farole. She wrote,
“As most of u already assume what’s going on with me recently.. some Really horrible things’ve happened and Mike and i have separated. This news and negativity has been very hard on me, but time is healing. I’ll be me very soon.”
She then tweeted a photo of a tattoo featuring her husband’s name, which she dubbed “A tiny mistake.. Lol.” Check out Jillian Hall’s disturbing mugshot picture:
– Video game publisher THQ’s official website has launched a new sub-section for the upcoming WWE ’13 video game. The following is a look at the new features that will be in this year’s installment:
WWE Live: Bring the atmosphere, spectacle, and fervor of a raucous WWE Live event into your living room with awe-inspiring Spectacular Moments and a new audio system that delivers the most authentic and dynamic commentary, sound effects and crowd participation ever in a WWE game.
Relive The Attitude Era: It was a time when Stone Cold Steve Austin battled for supremacy against his maniacal boss, Mr. McMahon. An era where The Rock told opponents to “know your role, and shut your mouth”, where the Undertaker threw Mankind off the top of the Hell in a Cell, and D-Generation X broke all the rules. Now, for the first time, relive this groundbreaking era in an all-new single player campaign mode that will make you experience the Monday Night Wars like never before.
WWE Universe 3.0: The fan-favorite WWE Universe mode returns, giving you more control over WWE than ever before. Your choices determine your destiny as you dynamically shape your schedules, television shows, and rosters, and form alliances and make enemies on your way to the top.
Predator Technology 3.0: With new animations, transitions, and modified controls built on the Predator Technology™ game engine, WWE ’13 will deliver strategic, fluid, and fun WWE action that plays more smoothly than any prior WWE game.
Create & Share Your WWE: WWE ‘13’s industry-defining creation suite returns to give more ability than ever to create Superstars, arenas, entrances, finishing moves, storylines, and more! Go online and upload your creations to share them with the WWE Universe and download creations from others to add to your own experience.
As for the roster, THQ is touting the “biggest roster” ever in a WWE game. So far, confirmed players include: Steve Austin, The Undertaker, CM Punk, Sheamus, Mankind, Big Show, Mark Henry and Chris Jericho. The THQ website says the game will feature 77 playable characters – 38 Superstars, 7 Divas and 32 Attitude Era Legends.
– WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is back with another blog update, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR wrote about:
Redneck Island: “Talked to @steveaustinBSR last week. Steve spent approximately 30 days in Mexico taping ‘Redneck Island’ for CMT. He seemed pleased with the project which debuts in mid June on CMT. It’s tapped for a 10 week run. This could be the first of multiple projects with Steve and CMT in the future. Steve will be shooting some scenes for ‘Grownups 2? starring Adam Sandler and others in July.”
Dolph Ziggler Returning To Singles Action: “Seems like Dolph Ziggler is about to embark on his own or so it appears from watching RAW. Whether Ziggler reminds one of Billy Gunn, Curt ‘Mr Perfect’ Hennig or anyone else from the days of yesteryear, the former college wrestler is main event bound in my view. @HEELZiggler can be a big time player and I would only encourage him to take the ball away from someone and run with it until someone forces him to change course.”
WWE 13: “I’ve put many hours into this project and it’s going to have multiple storylines that come with some bona fide attitude … Amazing that some people actually think that Laurinaitis is/was going to be on the cover of WWE13 from THQ. CM Punk got the deserved nod.”
John Cena Not Appearing On RAW: “John Cena not being on Raw live was a sound move. Cena is far and away WWE’s top star right now and giving one’s bell cow a respite from additional TV exposure is a good thing. Cena is a valued commodity in WWE and not over exposing him is good for the Cena TV persona and also provides other stars the opportunity to ‘maximize their minutes’ and be more impactful.”
NBA
– Beat writer Jerry Zgoda “guesses” that Wolves’ G Ricky Rubio (torn ACL/LCL) won’t be ready to play until late November or December. Rubio underwent surgery on March 21, but if his recovery is anything like Bulls’ G Derrick Rose’s 8-12 month timetable, Rubio will likely miss at least the first three weeks of the season. The 2012-13 season begins on October 30.
Speaking of Rubio, check him out watching the Spurs/Thunder game from a luggage carousel at an airport:
BOXING
– Boxer Paul Williams has been paralyzed from the waist down following a motorcycle crash Sunday in Marietta, northwest of Atlanta. His manager, George Peterson, said the 30-year-old boxer severed his spinal cord after falling on his back and head when he was thrown from his motorcycle. Marietta police said in a statement Tuesday morning Williams was driving at a high rate of speed which was too fast for conditions. Police say he could not negotiate a curve, and the bike slammed into the embankment. Williams, a fighter known as “The Punisher,” is from Aiken, S.C. He was in the Atlanta area to attend his brother’s wedding. Williams had recently agreed to fight rising star Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on September 17 in a pay per view broadcast from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Peterson said,
“They’re saying he won’t walk again or box again. Paul is in denial right now. It’s been that way with him. You tell him he can’t or won’t do something, and he wants to prove you different. So whatever the doctors say, he’s not listening. But they say that (walking and boxing) is not going to happen.”
“He’s telling jokes and saying if he doesn’t box again, he’ll do stand-up comedy. He’s in good spirits but he is also in denial. But he’s coherent. I had an excellent conversation with him. When I walked in the door (on Sunday) about 5:30 in the afternoon, he said he’d be ready to go back to camp on Monday. I guess I’m in denial, too, because I have seen him overcome so much adversity before and come back. We’ll pray about the situation.”
ESPN described the crash, saying:
“Williams, who was wearing his helmet, rode out of his lane to avoid a car that was moving into his lane, but that another car was coming toward him in the other direction. Peterson said Williams swerved to avoid the oncoming car, wound up riding up a steep embankment and lost control of the motorcycle before flying several feet in the air and landing on his back on the road. Peterson said one of the drivers of the other cars called 911.”
ATP
– According to USA Today, Mardy Fish (heart) recently underwent a cardiac catheter ablation to deal with misfiring electrical pulses in his heart. Fish is currently recovering at his home in Los Angeles. He hasn’t played since late March after being diagnosed with fatigue. Fish, who at No. 10 is the highest-ranked American on the ATP Tour, told USA Today that at times he would wake up with his heart racing as if he’d been running sprints.”It felt like my heart was going to jump out of my chest.” The problem began in February, according to Fish. He added that he can resume light training soon and hopes to play at the grass-court tune-up for Wimbledon that begins June 11.
PGA
– British Open champion Darren Clarke (groin) has withdrawn from next month’s U.S. Open in San Francisco. The 43-year-old told United States Golf Association officials on Monday that the problem that had bothered him for several weeks is still troubling him. Clarke hasn’t made a cut this year. “I’ve not been able to get through the ball properly and I don’t want to take any chances.” Clarke says he wants to make sure he is 100% fit for the defence of his British Open title at Royal Lytham on July 19-22 and “has been advised not to play for a month.”
EURO
– Italy’s friendly against Luxembourg has been cancelled after another earthquake shook northern Italy on Tuesday. A magnitude 5.8 earthquake hit in the morning, killing at least 11 people in the same region still struggling to recover from another deadly tremor on May 20. The quake was just 36 miles (58 kilometres) east of Parma, where Italy was scheduled to play Luxembourg in a Euro 2012 warm-up match. The team hotel was evacuated briefly in the morning. Vincenzo Bernazzoli, president of the Parma province, said,
“Faced with what happened, to the tremors that keep coming, we’re not playing the Italy game. In our region thousands of citizens have been devastated in a few hours. With the victims, with the continuing shocks, it didn’t seem right to us to continue with the game. Football has to stop.”
SERIE A
– Italian Premier Mario Monti has suggested that football in the country should be suspended for two to three years after another match-fixing scandal. Dawn raids on Monday resulted in 14 arrests, including Lazio captain Stefano Mauri, to bring the total number of suspects arrested to about 50 since last year. Many more have been placed under investigation. Monti said Tuesday he thinks it would be a good idea if Italian football was stopped for “two to three years” although he adds that “it is not a proposal by the government but a question I am asking.” Italy defender Domenico Criscito was left out of the Euro 2012 squad after he was placed under investigation. Juventus coach Antonio Conte was also officially notified that he is under investigation for alleged wrongdoing while in charge of Siena in 2010-2011.