MLB
– The Rangers have acquired RHP Ryan Dempster from the Cubs for 3B Christian Villanueva and RHP Kyle Hendricks. It’s a very solid move by Texas. Dempster has a 2.25 ERA that is unlikely to remain that low, but will add a consistent, reliable arm to the rotation. He will be a free agent at year’s end.
– The Reds have acquired RHP Jonathan Broxton from the Royals for LHP Donnie Joseph and RHP J.C. Sulbaran. Cincy’s once depleted bullpen now appears to be automatic. Broxton posted a 2.27 ERA in 35 2/3 innings this season. He will be a free agent at season’s end.
– Rangers’ RHP Neftali Feliz (right shoulder) will have Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery on Wednesday in Arlington, Texas. Feliz was scratched from a rehab start Sunday at Triple-A Round Rock after feeling renewed discomfort in his elbow, and was diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament on Monday. He’ll be out through most of the 2013 regular season.
– White Sox’ LHP John Danks (left shoulder) will undergo surgery on Monday, and has been ruled out for the remainder of the 2012 season. The surgery may also delay Danks’ 2013 spring training. He has a 5.70 ERA and 1.49 WHIP this season with 30 strikeouts in 53 2/3 innings.
– The Pirates have acquired 1B Gaby Sanchez from the Marlins. Sanchez is hitting .202/.250/.306 with two homers and a .556 OPS in 196 plate appearances in the majors this season.
– The Blue Jays have traded OF Travis Snider to the Pirates for RHP Brad Lincoln, and have sent OF Eric Thames to the Mariners for RHP Steve Delabar.
– The D’Baacks have traded LHP Craig Breslow to the Red Sox for OF Scott Podsednik and RHP Matt Albers. Breslow has a 2.70 ERA and 42/13 K/BB ratio over 43 1/3 innings this year and will act as a lefty specialist.
– The Braves have placed RHP Tommy Hanson (lower back strain) on the 15-day DL. Hanson lasted just five innings on Monday night because of the back discomfort. He has a 4.29 ERA in 126 innings this season.
– The Orioles have placed DH Jim Thome (herniated disk) on the 15-day DL. Thome is batting .261/.354/.391 with two home runs and six RBI in 79 plate appearances since joining the Orioles.
WWE
– Tensai made a racial remark in his first Tout video post. Noting he was traveling with his personal chauffeur Sakamoto to Indianapolis—the site of tonight’s SmackDown taping—following Raw, he remarks it’s “very, very dangerous” to drive with a Japanese person. He then slaps Sakamoto as he’s driving and orders him “to open his eyes.”
WWE has issued an apology for a video Tensai posted late Monday night on the video sharing network Tout that could be perceived as racially insensitive toward Asian people.
“While in character, Lord Tensai (Matt Bloom) clearly took his storyline too far and he will be reprimanded for his inappropriate comments.”
The video has since been deleted. Another racially charged remark toward Sakamoto was made on Raw as commentator Jerry “The King” Lawler quipped following the Tensai vs. Tyson Kidd match, “When Tensai beats up Sakamoto, he changes his name to Sum Ting Wong.” Check out Tensai’s tout:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmRsle4O11I&feature=player_detailpage
– Viewership for the July 30 episode of Raw dropped significantly from last week’s 1,000th episode as the program averaged a 3.08 cable rating compared to 3.84. The overall rating was down 20 percent from the milestone show and is the lowest mark since June 4. Raw averaged 4,490,000 viewers over the course of three hours and 4,710,000 from 9:00 p.m. to past 11:00 p.m. Overall viewership was down 22 percent from last week’s 6,019,000 figure and is the smallest audience since June 4. Raw drew a 2.79 rating with 4,060,000 viewers in hour one, a 3.21 cable rating with 4,720,000 viewers in hour two, and a 3.25 rating with 4,700,000 viewers in the final hour.
– At tonight’s live SmackDown event in Indianapolis, Mr. McMahon confirmed that the new SmackDown General Manager will be Booker T. The six-time World Champion has been a staple voice on the show since finding his place at the SmackDown announce table in February 2011. This exciting development comes just 24 hours after Raw’s GM, AJ Lee, took the reins of Monday night.
– WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross, has posted his latest blog online. Herea are some Highlights
On the three-hour format at Raw: “The three hour Raws are going to be daunting animals with which to deal. An impossible mountain to climb? Absolutely not even thought some ‘experts’ already have those thoughts. I’m not in that group and feel that the three hour Monday Night Raw broadcasts provide the potential to get more talents exposure, to rebuild the tag team scene, to provide Divas with more match time and to slow down the storytelling process so that we fans have the time to process the information that we hear and see. So, unlike some, I’d prefer to give the new format a chance to succeed rather than behead it after two weeks which seems knee jerk and senseless. Any thing ‘new’ generally needs tweaking and this particular situation isn’t any different. That’s not an indictment but merely a statement of fact. ”
On CM Punk’s RAW promo: “Some fans demanding @CMPunk to have another pipebomb promo will likely get one down the road but Cincy wasn’t the time nor the place. I thought Punk had a great night on air and his verbal jousting with @Jerry Lawler entertained me. Regarding the WWE Title, Punk told many truths which might not sit well with some. I am an old school believer that nothing in WWE is more important than the WWE Title. Some personal issues are on the same level often times but nothing should be MORE important than the WWE’s premier championship. That’s my two cents on that matter. I do think that the potential to build a major issue between @CMPunk and @TheRock is obvious plus a match between the two would be interesting to say the least for many, many reasons. ”
On Daniel Bryan: “Does Daniel Bryan ever have a bad night? Bad match? Bad promo? He certainly hasn’t that I can recall. WWE is lucky to have Bryan on their roster and the two entities have formed an amazing fit when, in the early part of Bryan’s WWE tenure, I’m sure that some thought the relationship wouldn’t last. Now Daniel Bryan is one of WWE’s most valuable assets. He’s a dream for management to have on their roster. No one that I can recall in recent years has improved their verbal skills and overall on air persona as Daniel Bryan. Plus, never disregard just how legit, physically tough Daniel Bryan is. Bryan’s match with Sheamus on Raw was outstanding and rugged. Loved it. ”
On Monday night’s RAW: “It would be easy to say that the Cincy Raw Monday night was on fire but that cliche has already ‘burned out’ over the past 24 hours or so. The ‘Tron supports catching fire caused an inconvenience but no one was injured and the broadcast started on time. When people ask me if I miss broadcasting Raw I always answer yes and being live, live is one of the reasons why. It certainly isn’t the travel and TSA Security that I miss interacting with on a regular basis but I do miss the excitement and unpredictability of broadcasting LIVE TV. I’m not saying that I enjoy a good fire occasionally but the overall unpredictability of Monday Night Raw has always been a rush to me.”
On SummerSlam: “While there are no plans for me to broadcast at Summerslam, I am excited to be attending the PPV in LA plus doing some THQ work at WWE AXXESS. Actually, I have several THQ, talent development, etc projects on which to focus over the several days that I’m in Los Angeles.”
On the NXT Tapings: “The past two taping sessions of NXT in Orlando have been stellar from a production and organization standpoint. I’m also of the opinion that the in ring action continues to improve. Even though NXT doesn’t air currently in the USA, I do expect that to change some day, fans outside America have tweeted me a great deal of positive feedback on the show @JRsBBQ. Byron Saxton and William Regal do the bulk of the broadcasting while I drop by and help with the main events. I look forward to every trip to Orlando, except leaving their security line, deficient airport, and can easily see the improvement in many talents who are starting to ‘get it’ and are receiving outstanding hands on coaching from some of the best in the business including the staff at FCW in Tampa.”
NHL
– The Sabres have re-signed F Patrick Kaleta to a 3-year/$8.25M contract. The 2004 draft pick as spent his entire career with the team. Kaleta, 26, has just 50 points in 267 career NHL games.
– NHL players and their union began examining the league’s proposed expansion of revenue sharing as labour talks continued Tuesday. NHLPA executive director Don Fehr says he can’t make a counterproposal on the league’s full package until his group receives and examines the requested team financial reports. The first batch — 76,000 pages — arrived late Monday night. The meetings will continue Wednesday at the league offices in New York. More talks are scheduled next week when Fehr returns from a meeting with NHL players in Russia. Fehr says players are “not enamoured” with proposed limitations on contract lengths and a clause that would force them to wait longer before becoming unrestricted free agents. Commissioner Gary Bettman says “ample time” remains to make a deal before the current CBA expires Sept. 15.
NFL
– According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Steelers’ QB Ben Roethlisberger will have “full rein” to run the no-huddle offence. Head coach Todd Haley said Tuesday the no-huddle will be “a big part of our offense.” It’s believed the Steelers’ offence will be similar to the one Haley ran with the Cardinals and QB Kurt Warner, which should see a lot of quick-release passes to keep Big Ben “upright, in rhythm and on target all while getting rid of the ball as quickly as possible.” The report suggests that Haley will run just “enough to keep a defense guessing.”
– SI.com’s Peter King insists that 49ers’ WR Randy Moss “absolutely has something left.” ”If he stays healthy, five weeks from now I think you’re going to see Randy Moss as a contributing player on a playoff offense.” King and beat writer Matt Maiocco write that Moss has routinely getting the better of Carlos Rogers, who was a Pro Bowler last season.
– Vikings’ TE John Carlson (sprained MCL) is expected to miss a few weeks after sustaining an injury in Tuesday’s practice. He’ll undergo an MRI.
– Colts T Ben Ijalana and LB A.J. Edds (torn ACLs) will both miss the 2012-13 season. Ijalana had just finished rehabbing from two hip surgeries, as well as last October’s ACL surgery to the same knee. The No. 49 pick in the 2011 draft, Ijalana was seen as a swing-tackle prospect before the back-to-back ACL tears, however, his career is now in jeopardy. Edds played 12 games on special teams.