NHL
– The Hockey Hall of Fame will be welcoming four more members in the player category this November, as the selection committee announced Tuesday that Joe Sakic, Mats Sundin, Adam Oates and Pavel Bure have been chosen for induction. Sakic won two Stanley Cups and finished his career with 625 goals and 1,016 assists in 1,378 NHL games. He started his NHL career in 1988 with the Quebec Nordiques, moving with the team to Colorado in 1995. Sakic’s trophy case includes the Canadian Major Junior Player of the Year Award (1988), Conn Smythe Trophy (1996), Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (2001), Lester B. Pearson Award (2001) and Hart Memorial Trophy (2001). Sakic, who played in a dozen NHL all-star games, won the world junior championships, world championships, World Cup and Olympics in addition to the Stanley Cup.
Sundin collected 564 goals and 785 assists from his 1,346 games in the NHL. Best known as captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Swede also played for Quebec and Vancouver.
Oates, who was named head coach of the Washington Capitals earlier on Tuesday, retired in 2004 after tallying 1,420 points in 1,337 games with Detroit, St. Louis, Boston, Washington, Philadelphia, Anaheim, and Edmonton. He played in five NHL All-Star Games during his 19-season career and was named to the NHL’s Second All-Star Team in 1991.
Bure played for 12 seasons in the NHL with the Vancouver Canucks, Florida Panthers and New York Rangers, averaging better than a point per game in his NHL career (779 points with 437 goals in 702 NHL games).
The 2012 class will enter the Hall on November 12.
– The Capitals have hired Adam Oates as the team’s new head coach. Oates, a former Capital, was an assistant coach with the Devils two years ago and helped guide the team to a Stanley Cup Final berth earlier this month. He was also an assistant coach with the Lightning for the 2009-10 season. Oates edged out former Chicago Blackhawks assistant Mike Haviland and Norfolk Admirals head coach Jon Cooper for the job. GM George McPhee said,
“We are very pleased to name Adam as the new head coach of the Washington Capitals. Adam was a highly intelligent player in the NHL for 19 seasons. He has been an assistant coach in our conference for the past three seasons and is prepared to lead our club as head coach.”
– The Canadiens have signed F Ryan White to a 1-year/$687,500 contract. White, 24, was tendered a qualifying offer on Monday by the Canadiens and he was set to become an RFA on July 1. He missed 53 games due to hernia surgery last season and tallied three assists and 61 penalty minutes in 20 games.
MLB
– Red Sox’ OF Jacoby Ellsbury (dislocated right shoulder) is scheduled to begin a minor league rehab assignment Friday in Single-A. Ellsbury will begin as DH, and is likely to require more than a full week of rehab games. The 28-year-old has been sidelined since mid-April.
– Orioles’ manager Buck Showalter said Tuesday afternoon that he doesn’t expect OF Nick Markakis (hand surgery) to return before the All-Star break. Markakis is on track to begin swinging a bat later this week, but still has a couple weeks of rehab to go before he’ll be cleared for live games. The 28-year-old had a broken hamate bone removed from his right hand in early June. He was hitting .256/.333/.452 in 50 games.
– Indians’ DH Travis Hafner (right knee) will begin a minor league rehab assignment Wednesday with Triple-A Columbus. He’ll likely play in four or five rehab games before rejoining the lineup. He’s been out since undergoing arthroscopic surgery in late May.
– The Rangers have placed RHP Colby Lewis (right forearm tendinitis) on the 15-day DL. Lewis has a strong 3.51 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 90/12 K/BB ratio in 100 innings this season.
– The White Sox have released OF Kosuke Fukudome. The 35-year-old was designated for assignment late last week and drew no interest on waivers.
WWE
– Honoring the 1,000th episode of Raw on July 23, Sycho Sid competed in his first match on the program in over fifteen years on Monday’s show. He easily defeated Heath Slater. Speaking to WWE.com, Sid explained how good of a feeling it was to return to Raw.
“Maybe two or three people could really know what this means to me. This is, and I’m not exaggerating, this is the greatest moment in my whole life right now. I’ll let you know what I’ve been through, how long it’s taken to get back to where I’m at now. This is like going from playing a sandlot game to being in Major League Baseball. I have never been more happy in my whole life.”
– Chris Jericho returned from suspension on Raw SuperShow with a different look. He acknowledged this on Twitter:
Ok so last night on Raw apparently I looked like: 1.Bon Jovi 2.Gordon Ramsey 3.Michael J Fox 4.Dave Coulier 5.Kevin Bacon 6.Cher
– Maria Kanellis was displeased with being groped by a spectator at Saturday’s Ring of Honor Best in the World 2012 event in New York City. Following the event, she tweeted,
“Thank you New York for coming to see Mike Bennett and myself. But the guy in the front row that grabbed my bum, I will have you thrown out next time. You are a pervert!!”
“I am not to be touched, ever, by a fan weather I am working or not. It’s gross. I am not a toy. You pay to watch, so watch. Don’t touch. The only person that can touch is Mike Bennett. From now on you will get thrown out. thank you…”
Kanellis was asked late last night whether she misses WWE. She responded,
“I’m the FIRST LADY in the greatest company in the world. No I don’t. I’m all grown up.”
Hours later, she was made today’s spotlighted Superstar on WWE.com. She then wrote,
“Thank you for the spotlight… WWE.com. A LADY deserves the spotlight…”
– John Bradshaw Layfield had a near death experience on Monday during the first part of his Seven Summits mountain climbing adventure. While attempting to climb (Russia’s Mount Elbrus), the former WWE superstar encountered a huge snow storm that pushed them off the mountain. JBL says he suffered frostbite and hypoxia (a condition where your body is deprived of adequate oxygen supply) and is “lucky to be alive.” Prior to his attempt to climb Mount Elbrus, he tweeted:
Bad weather but suppose to get worse so…. GameTime!! Gonna be very cold and wet, see u in about 16 hours after I reach top of Europe!
Got hypoxia and was fighting frostbite, still made it to 1,000 feet of summit then huge storm pushed us off mountain. Lucky to be alive.
@VidaliaDar @PantheraJ thanks for kind words, all is good frostbite is fine and hypoxia symptoms left when I got off mountain. Thanks:)
– WWE sent out the following press release on Tuesday detailing Charlie Sheen’s role as the special Social Media Ambassador for Monday Night RAW’s 1,000th episode celebration on July 23rd:
#SheenGetsRaw on July 23
STAMFORD, Conn.–(EON: Enhanced Online News)–WWE® (NYSE: WWE) today announced Charlie Sheen, star of the highly anticipated FX comedy series Anger Management, as the Social Media Ambassador for Monday Night Raw’s historic 1000th episode live on July 23 at 8/7C on USA Network.
Sheen will tweet during Raw, providing up-to-the-minute commentary on the night’s action to his 7.5 million Twitter followers. Sheen has more than 12 million fans combined on the social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. WWE fans and Sheen followers will be able to ask the actor questions during the broadcast via Twitter using the #SheenGetsRaw hashtag.
In Anger Management, Sheen stars as “Charlie,” a non-traditional therapist specializing in anger management. He has a successful private practice, holding sessions with his group of primary patients each week, as well as performing pro bono counseling for an inmate group at a state prison. Selma Blair, Shawnee Smith, Daniela Bobadilla, Michael Arden and Noureen DeWulf co-star.
The series premiere of FX’s comedy series Anger Management starts this Thursday, June 28 with the first two episodes airing at 9:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
Follow Charlie Sheen on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @CharlieSheen. Follow WWE on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @WWE.
– As a practical joke, Japanese wrestler Kota Ibushi tweeted a nude photo of Taka Michinoku from a locker room over the weekend. Michinoku competed for WWE from 1997 to 2001 and now wrestles for various Japanese promotions.