NBA
– Knicks’ F Amare Stoudemire (left knee) will get a second opinion on his knee and could be sidelined for the first 15-20 games (5 weeks) of the season due to a ruptured cyst. Amare was initially expected to miss just a few weeks, but could now be sidelined until mid-December. The rupture to his popliteal cyst is to the same knee that had microfracture surgery back in 2005.
– Check out former Rockets’ F Yao Ming struggling at his golf game:
– The Raptors have waived F Jamaal Magloire. Magloire, 34, appeared in 34 games for the Raptors last season. He averaged 1.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 11 minutes a game.
NHL
– Former Capitals’ head coach (and current Ducks’ coach) Bruce Boudreau told NHL.com that he was pulling for his former team to lose:
Was it gratifying to see the Capitals have some success in the playoffs last season, or was it frustrating as you watched what had become a shell of the up-tempo, run-and-gun team you helped build there? ”The gratifying part — and I don’t know if that’s the right word — is I was happy for certain individuals on that team that I know just hate to lose and they play so hard. So when they had a little bit of success, winning the first round in probably the first time they hadn’t been favored in a round for five years, I was happy for them.
“As far as anything else goes, I think human nature dictates that I didn’t want them to win. I think that’s just human nature. I was hoping for some players to have success and players I really like to do well and they did, but quite frankly nobody ever admits it — and maybe I just did — but I wasn’t exactly pulling for them because it would have validated me losing my job.”
– Devils’ F Krys Barch spoke out again about the lockout, as well as Bill Daly’s statement from Friday:
I call “Bullshit” on Bill Daly’s Statement today! Their was No fair 50/50 split. These guys need to be nominated for an Oscar!
What is the NHL’s agenda? To destroy the game of hockey. What a display of “Power”. #BRAVO
– Check out Paulina Gretzky’s ringmaster costume:
http://www.unsportsmanlike.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/paulina-gretzky-is-a-slutty-ringleader-for-halloween.jpg
– Quebec’s minor-hockey association has handed down a 10-year suspension to the midget-level coach who took a swing at a 16-year-old player last weekend. The incident occurred during a Quebec midget A game. A scuffle occurred in the dying moments of a heated contest between teams from Chicoutimi and Jonquiere. During that melee near the bench Andre Harvey, a coach with the Jonquiere Pumas, delivered a punch to an opposing player who was wearing a helmet. The volunteer coach has admitted to the incident, and apologized, but he says the landed punch was an accident. Hockey Quebec released this statement:
“A coach has to know that he plays a crucial role at all times and has great influence on the people around him.”
“He must play an educational role with respect to his players and show respect in his demeanour. This action went against the principles we look for when a coach gets involved in a sport, in any sport.”
– Check out US president Barack Obama talking about the lockout with Jay Leno:
WWE
– WWE.com first reported Saturday morning that SmackDown ring announcer Lilian Garcia was listed as being in stable condition at a Los Angeles, California hospital after being struck by a car on Friday afternoon. The website updated their report this afternoon to state that she is undergoing further testing and that her condition is currently “unknown.” WWE also removed the line of her being expected to make a full recovery. WWE says Garcia suffered “multiple contusions and lacerations on the left side of her body.” Her neck was stabilized as well. Garcia’s husband, Chris, spoke to WWE and said that everyone is “praying for her full recovery.” TMZ.com is also covering the story here, although offered no additional details.
– The final card for Hell in a Cell is out. The PPV takes place October 28 at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia:
WWE Champion CM Punk vs. Ryback
World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus vs. Big Show
Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz
WWE Tag Team Champions Team Hell No vs. Team Rhodes Scholars
Divas Champion Eve vs. Layla vs. Kaitlyn — Divas Championship Triple Threat Match
Randy Orton vs. Alberto Del Rio
– Jim Ross discussed tomorrow night’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event in a blog post on his official website, www.jrsbarbq.com. Highlights are as follows:
The pressure to perform well on pay-per-view: “Ryback will feel great pressure to deliver on Sunday and there’s nothing wrong with that. Any talent who tries to maintain that they’re “cooler than the other side of the pillow” on Game Day, IE a PPV, is fooling themselves and providing a disservice to everyone involved in the equation.
“I’ve done my share of PPV broadcasts over the years and I assure you that I will be nervous/anxious to do my very best work Sunday in a new role for me on PPV and likely within a challenging, three man broadcast team that I assume will be comprised by @MichaelCole and @JCLayfield along with yours truly. Damn right I’ll be nervous but I take great pride in my work and getting the opportunity to return to the PPV announce team is big for me.”
What to expect at Hell in a Cell: “I see a ‘hungry,’ no pun intended, Ryback, whose WWE career has not been without challenges, fully realize the opportunity that has presented itself and will have the best bout that any of us have ever seen from the powerhouse. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. If any broadcaster goes into a show feeling negative about the event that they’re going to broadcast then the broadcast suffers and the fans get cheated. I’m not going to cheat any fans.
“I see Punk pulling out all the stops to make this likely, show closing main event memorable and to add even more respect from his peers and to take another step closer to legitimately being regarded as ‘The Best in the World.’”
Calling Hell in a Cell in Atlanta: “For those that have followed my career, you know that this Sunday’s event is going to be special for me. I’m being provided the opportunity to return to broadcast a WWE PPV in a city that I loved living in and where a nice portion of my professional legacy was established back in the WCW days.”
– WWE video game publisher THQ is already working on next year’s WWE ’14 game. Motion capture work for the game begins soon.
– WWE Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston recently spoke with the Creative Loafing Atlanta website to promote Sunday’s Hell In a Cell pay-per-view. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
How His Past Experience With The Miz Will Help Him In His Title Defense At HIAC: Yeah, the Miz and I have feuded for the Intercontinental Championship before and for the United States Championship. I feel like this time it’s a little bit different. This isn’t about finesse or anything like that. It’s about both of us being able to show different sides of our characters that we haven’t really had the opportunity to show in the past. So I think this one’s a little bit more special and we have our noses to the grindstone. We’re both pretty excited about being able to showcase these different sides of ourselves.
How Important Is It For Him To Retain The IC Title? Yeah, I’m pretty sure we were gaining momentum around the same time. We’re both trying to do everything we can to kick, claw and scratch our way into that main event track to the top. I think you’re seeing a lot of that. As a WWE superstar, it can be frustrating sometimes because we’re the best athletes in the world and we all want to be the best. Anything less than that is unsatisfying. He and I both have an opportunity to step our games up, which is kind of what we’ve been doing over the past couple of weeks. A lot of people have been talking about this rivalry we’ve had and we’ve really only had about two weeks to build it. I think we’ve both done a good job of that and I see it as an opportunity to step up and be noticed in a different way. I’m sure he’s feeling the same way. So when you have two guys who are that hungry for the same thing in the ring against each other, both wanting to steel the show every night, it makes for a great match.
What’s Next For Him After This Sunday: I don’t try to look too far into the future because things change so much and you have no idea what’s going to happen, who’s going to get hurt, what’s going to get shuffled around. But Hell in a Cell is going to be an amazing pay-per-view. The Miz and I will definitely have an amazing match, but I have no idea what the future holds. All I can do is the best I can do in this moment.
– Beth Phoenix, whose WWE run is reporting drawing near, tweeted Tuesday that she will be on hand for Monday’s Raw in Charlotte, North Carolina.
– On this episode of “Foreign Exchange,” Santino Marella sends his correspondents on a quest to discover the Halloween secrets of Superstars and Divas. It is also revealed what The Milan Miracle’s costume will be.
– In this SmackDown edition of “Backstage Fallout,” Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston explains why he won’t lose his title to The Miz this Sunday, while Kaitlyn shares her “extraordinary” gameplan to winning the Triple Threat Match at Hell in a Cell.