NHL
– The NHL and NHLPA wrapped up their labor talks Tuesday as the NHLPA presented its “alternate view” proposal for the new collective bargaining agreement. The union says its proposal to the league includes a smaller percentage of revenues for players and an expanded revenue sharing program to help struggling teams. Union leader Donald Fehr says players could give up as much as $465M in revenue under the proposal if the league continues to grow at an average rate. If the league grows at the rate it has over the past two seasons, he says the amount could reach $800M. The NHLPA also proposed expanded revenue sharing to help financially struggling clubs, which could reach more that $250M per year. Fehr also said the union’s proposal does not call for the removal of the hard salary cap the league won in the last round of negotiations
“We do believe that the proposal the players made today, once implemented, can produce a stable industry … that can gives us a chance to move beyond the recurring labour strife that has plagued the NHL the last two decades.”
“In essence, when you boil it all down, what were suggesting is that the players partner with the financially stronger owners to stabilize the industry and assist the less financially strong ownership groups.”
Commissioner Gary Bettman says the NHL needs time to evaluate the proposal and that the two sides would reconvene Wednesday morning. “It’s clear to me that they didn’t put it together in an hour or two, and as a result we’re going to need to take a little bit of time to evaluate it.” TSN’s Aaron Ward reports that his “first impression” was that the NHLPA’s proposal was not seen as a “counter attack” to the NHL’s July 13 offer, and secondly, it contained economic elements that were “interesting” to the NHL. The current CBA expires September 15, and the NHL has said there will be a lockout if a new agreement isn’t in place by then. Stay tuned.
MLB
– Cubs’ manager Dale Sveum said Tuesday WGN Radio that he would be “surprised” if RHP Matt Garza (stress reaction in right elbow) pitched again this season. ”To be honest with you, I’d be surprised if he pitches again this season…We all want him back but when the rehab is done and right now we have 48 or 49 games left and he works his butt off but’s going to be tough. Is it possible sometime this year? Sure, but I would be surprised if he pitches again this season.” Garza is currently shut down indefinitely, but remains hopeful he can pitch again this season. The Cubs were rumoured to be moving him at this year’s trade deadline, but any plans to do so will now need to wait until the start of next season.
– According to Andy McCullough of the Newark Star-Ledger, the Mets discussed a short-term contract extension earlier this season with RHP R.A. Dickey. The deal would have run through at least 2014, according to McCullough’s source, but talks didn’t progress very far. Dickey has a solid 2.72 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in 24 outings this year, with 166 strikeouts over 162 1/3 innings. The 37-year-old has a $5M club option for the 2013 season.
– The Mets have acquired C Kelly Shoppach from the Red Sox for a PTBNL. Shoppach will back up C Josh Thole. Shoppach, 32, is currently scheduled to become a free agent this winter.
– According to Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Blue Jays have acquired C Yorvit Torrealba from the Rangers. Torrealba was placed on release waivers by Texas last week after posting a .236/.302/.342 batting line in 49 games. Toronto will only have to pay him a prorated major league minimum salary.
– According to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca, the Blue Jays have signed C Jeff Mathis to a 2-year/$3M extension with a $1.5M option for 2015. Mathis is a career .196 hitter and is batting just .215/.252/.415 with six home runs, 17 RBI and a .667 OPS this year. He’ll continue to serve as the backup for either J.P. Arencibia or Travis D’Arnaud. He was previously due to hit free agency this offseason.
– Check out Athletics’ 3B Brandon Inge dislocating his shoulder, then popping it back in on the spot:
– Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports that the Royals have requested release waivers on 3B Yuniesky Betancourt. He was designated for assignment by the Royals earlier this month after batting just .228/.256/.400 with seven home runs, 36 RBI and a .656 OPS over 228 plate appearances this season. He should sign on elsewhere on a minor league deal.
– Athletics’ LHP Dallas Braden (shoulder) will undergo a second surgery. Braden hasn’t pitched at all this season following surgery to repair a torn capsule muscle last May. Manager Bob Melvin described the second procedure as “exploratory,” so the extent of the damage is unclear. Needless to say, he won’t pitch this season.
– Padres’ C Yasmani Grandal (oblique strain) will begin a minor league rehab assignment Wednesday with High-A Lake Elsinore. Grandal was given clearance after taking batting practice from both sides of the plate Monday without issue. He’s scheduled to DH on Wednesday and catch on Thursday. He’s been out late July.
NFL
– The Seahawks are expected to begin shopping QB Tarvaris Jackson this weekend, according to CBS Sports’ Jason LaCanfora. Jackson, due $4M this season, is unlikely to be traded and should be released. He’s even less likely to compete for a starting job wherever he may end up.
– Broncos’ RG Chris Kuper (broken forearm) is expected to be sidelined 6 weeks after suffering a broken ulna in his forearm during Tuesday’s practice. Kuper was trying to return to form after suffering a dislocated left ankle as well as a broken tibia and fibula in last year’s season finale.
– Check out Jets’ coach Rex Ryan wearing a rather inappropriate shirt around a girl half his age:
WWE
– The ratings are in for Monday’s 3-hour WWE RAW and it’s not good news for WWE. Monday’s RAW drew a 2.84 rating for the 3-hours and a 2.93 for the final two hours, RAW’s old timeslot. 2.84 is the lowest rating RAW has done since expanding to 3-hours on a weekly basis last month. The show averaged 4,134,000 viewers, also a new low for the 3-hour era. The first hour dipped below 4 million viewers (for the first time since RAW 1,000), with 3,795,000 viewers. Hour two had 4,252,000 viewers while hour three did 4,354,000. Overall, not a good sign of momentum headed into Sunday’s WWE SummerSlam PPV.
In addition, the Trendrr.tv social media score for Monday’s 3-Hour WWE RAW was 369,933, down 8% from last week (401,202). RAW ranked #5 on cable TV, trailing “Love & Hip Hop Atlanta” (VH1), “Teen Wolf” (MTV) and Shark Week programming (Discovery).
– During an interview with Steven Muehlhausen of the Fight Club Chicago radio show, WWE star John Cena was asked about The Rock challenging the WWE Champion at the Royal Rumble, and the possibility of wrestling The Rock one more time.
“I think about Wrestlemania every single day, whether it’s for the WWE Championship or not. I would like another shot to face The Rock.”
– According to the Wrestling Observer, Alberto Del Rio being pulled from SummerSlam is part of a storyline and has nothing to do with Del Rio (or Sheamus) being punished. The situation will likely be resolved at tonight’s WWE SmackDown tapings.
– According to the Wrestling Observer, there is still some buzz in WWE that Charlie Sheen will have some involvement at Sunday’s WWE SummerSlam from Los Angeles. There were several references to “Anger Management” (the name of Charlie Sheen’s new show on FX).
– Last Friday Raw GM AJ Lee did an interview with Chad Dukes of 106.7 The Fan CBS Radio DC and ChadDukesWrestling.com. Here are some highlights of what AJ said about:
Transitioning From A Wrestler To An Authority Figure: “I never thought I would open or close Raw and let alone do it multiple times. So it’s very surreal and I appreciate that spot and if that means not getting in the ring, I have a whole career for that. Hopefully, I won’t have a one year career, you know. So if we can do this now, there’s always time to get back in the ring, there will always be a moment, where the time is right. I can put myself in the ring now. I can give myself a title match if I wanted to. So there’s time for that and I love wrestling, and I love being in the ring. But if it doesn’t work right now it doesn’t work right now. It’s in my dream to do kinda all of it.”
Backstage Atmosphere At RAW 1,000: “The atmosphere backstage, it felt like a WrestleMania. It was so important, and everyone, these people who I’ve been watching my entire life are backstage, and maybe two years ago, three years ago, I would meet them and they wouldn’t know who I was, and they’d be nice and polite and I’d go, “Oh my god I love you.” So it was really interesting to be kind of a colleague on the same show and to me that was the most mindblowing part. To talk to Paul Heyman, Shawn Michaels, and to have these people who are still watching the show and now they know who I am and we’re on the same show together. And to have Mr. McMahon as a part of my wedding, that’s something I never thought i would , that’s a sentence I never thought I’d say. There was one point where I was walking past in my wedding dress in the same hallway as Trish and Lita. If you would have told 12-year old AJ that, like I would have, my brain would have exploded.”
What Kissing Kane Did For Her Character: “That’s kind of like the moment where it all just skyrocketed, ’cause stuff got weird that That’s the stuff like I’m most comfortable with now, I like the weird. I like the moments where, there’s been a lot of moments, there’s actually a poll on dot com, what was my craziest moment. And looking at it you know, I’ve done a lot of out there stuff in the past couple months.”
– The series premiere of NBC’s “Stars Earn Stripes” reality show featuring WWE Diva Eve Torres drew 5.15 million viewers for the two-hour premiere.
– Check out the latest edition of WWE Backstage Fallout:
TNA
– Matt Morgan posted a cryptic tweet on Tuesday, possibly teasing his departure from TNA and re-signing with WWE:
– TNA star Kurt Angle recently spoke to the Kirksville Daily Express to promote Saturday night’s TNA live event from the Bridge View Center in Ottumwa, Iowa. During the interview, Angle revealed that his new contract with TNA only requires him to work part-time so he can continue acting. Here are some highlights of what Angle said about:
Wrestling In Front Of Smaller Crowds: “In a lot of ways it’s better, they are more passionate and I get to meet a lot of them… It’s more fan friendly, we take pictures in the ring and have more meet and greets. There’s a better opportunity for fans to get five to 10 autographs from each of the wrestlers.”
TNA vs. WWE & His New Part-Time Schedule: “At the beginning there wasn’t much of a difference… I came down here with hopes of building the program, which TNA has done an amazing job of doing, but having a lighter schedule, and that didn’t occur for four or five years. It kind of blossomed after I got here and we went from doing 25 house shows to 125 and one hour on TV to two hours. With the timing of me coming in and what was going on, they needed me to be full-time. My new contract is part-time.”
– According to the PWInsider, the woman portraying Claire Lynch—purportedly pregnant with AJ Styles’ child—on Impact Wrestling is Julia Reilly, an Orlando-based actress and model. After her identity was exposed last week by Live Audio Wrestling and across wrestling message boards, Reilly made a concerted effort to erase her Internet presence. Her official website, JuliaReilly.net, had featured her lengthy resume of television commercial appearances, as well as photos and videos, but all content was removed following the outing. She also has a YouTube channel featuring her demo videos, such as herself selling RoboMops on the Home Shopping Network, hosting various cooking shows and appearing in a Subway commercial, but all have been made private. Her page on LinkedIn was also deleted. Reilly’s description of herself on her official website had stated, “Julia’s true talent lies in her warm approachable personality and her ability to deliver technical jargon in a conversational manner.
“In a live enviroment, Julia is excellent at gathering a crowd and able to connect with customers to successfully deliver your company’s message.
“On camera, Julia is friendly, personable and believable.”