WWE

– Regarding Batita’s “major announcement” this Monday night on RAW, according to sources, the WWE has remained tight-lipped about the announcement. While the Animal is getting up there in age and has missed substantial ring time over the past several years due to various muscle-related injuries, the general feeling backstage is that Batista is not retiring.

There has been talk within WWE this week that a very likely scenario for Batista’s announcement will be that he is moving to SmackDown. With Jeff Hardy gone, Rey Mysterio’s future uncertain and Edge out of action until early 2010, there is a serious need for some star power on the brand. The Undertaker returned early to help fill this void, but he is said to be in rough physical shape (he will need hip surgery at some point) and cannot wrestle as much as WWE needs him to.

– In “The Untold History Of The WWE”, Vince McMahon is asked a question on the legacy of the late Chris Benoit. He had this to say:

“It’s not right to pretend he didn’t exist. It’s one thing to include him as part of a historical perspective, which I believe is OK, and it’s another thing to promote him, which is not OK. The situation is very similar to that of O.J. Simpson – despite his controversy, O.J. was still a part of the NFL scene. You can’t deny that he existed.”

NHL

– Judge Redfield T. Baum threw out the possibility Thursday that he might reject both bids and simply have no sale. Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie has offered to buy the team for some $242.5M, contingent on moving it to Hamilton, over the objection of the NHL. The NHL, led by commissioner Gary Bettman, has bid $140M with plans to resell the franchise outside of bankruptcy, either to an owner who would keep the team in Glendale or, failing that, moving elsewhere.

– It does not appear that F Mats Sundin will be playing in the NHL to start the 2009-10 season. Sundin has not given any indication as to whether he wants to resume his NHL career. He has not been working out, either, as he just returned from his honeymoon. Sundin’s agent, J.P Barry, told TSN that he has not had any discussions with the Canucks or any other NHL team concerning Sundin. No. 13 probably won’t play at all in the first half of the season, if he even chooses to play ever again. Retirement remains an option. Stay tuned.

– F Theo Fleury has officially been re-instated by the NHL. Fleury had been under indefinite suspension for violating the NHL’s substance abuse policy, but the Oxbow, Saskatchewan, native says he’s achieved sobriety and is hoping to get an invite to an NHL training camp. Fleury’s chances of making a return to the NHL are still questionable, however. He’s 41 years old and hasn’t played in the league since the end of the 2002-03 season.

– Hurricanes D Joni Pitkanen (knee) has undergone surgery to repair torn cartilage. He’s out two-to-four weeks. Pitkanen, who turns 26 on September 19, sustained the injury while training in his native Finland over the summer.

– Mike Danton, who pleaded guilty in a botched murder plot in 2004, was granted parole Friday morning. The former NHLer was sentenced to over seven years for his role in a murder-for-hire plot gone bad allegedly against his ex-agent David Frost. The parole board feels that Danton has served enough time in prison. The FAN 590 is reporting that Danton did not intend to kill Frost but was instead targeting his father.

MLB

– Rays 1B Carlos Pena (fingers) has undergone successful surgery. He’s out six-to-10 weeks.