VoV

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MLB

– Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com heard from a source that the rumoured deal between Red Sox 3B Mike Lowell and Rangers C Max Ramirez trade “could still blow up.” The Rangers have concerns about Lowell’s hip and thumb issues, and rightly so. He exhibited real durability issues this past season and hasn’t played over 120 games since 2007. Lowell will be manning a less demanding position in Texas (first base), but that doesn’t mean he can stay healthy for the entire season. Stay tuned.

– Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News has heard that the Giants have real interest in acquiring Marlins 2B Dan Uggla. Uggla, 29, hit .243/.354/.459 this past season with 31 homers and 90 RBI. As Baggarly notes, his right-handed pull power would fit in well at AT&T Park, and is something the Giants have been without for far too long. The Marlins are hoping to trade Uggla at some point this winter.

– The Astros have signed RHP Brandon Lyon to a three-year/$15M deal. Shocking that Lyon gets three years, when they just told RHP LaTroy Hawkins he couldn’t have a two-year deal.

– SI.com’s Jon Heyman reports Braves RHP Rafael Soriano has been traded to the Rays. The deal is pending a physical, which probably won’t go down until Thursday or morning or afternoon. It’s not yet clear who the Braves are getting in return, though RHP Jesse Chavez’s name has been thrown around. Soriano should contend for the ninth-inning job in Tampa Bay. He had a 2.97 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP and a 102/27 K/BB ratio in 75 2/3 innings this past year. Most teams have dropped out of the running for Soriano because, according to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Braves are asking for a “solid return” and want the acquiring team to pick up all of Soriano’s 2010 salary. Because of his decision to accept Atlanta’s offer of arbitration, that could mean up to $8M.

WWE

– ESPN.com has published an extensive report on brain damage to pro athletes, especially pro wrestlers, with the big news that former WWE wrestler Andrew “Test” Martin had brain damage similar to Chris Benoit’s at the time of his death in March.

Studies conducted on Martin’s brain revealed that he suffered damage “stemming from repeated blows to the head.” Dr. Bennet Omalu, co-director of the Brain Injury Research Institute, told ESPN that they discovered “excessive amounts of tau proteins similar to those he found in Benoit.” Both Benoit and Martin are said to have had brains similar to “those of Alzheimer’s patients more than twice their age.”

Omalu explains, “After repeated blows to the head, at some point the brain loses the ability to heal itself. he tau impairs normal brain function and kills brain cells. The delicate balance of the neurotransmitters, which control moods and drives and maintains safety, can be destroyed. With Andrew Martin as the second case, the WWE and the sport in general have to ask themselves, ‘Is this a trend?’ The science tells us that jumping off 10-foot ladders and slamming people with tables and chairs is simply bad for the brain.”

WWE was contacted by ESPN and said the following regarding Dr. Omalu’s findings:

While this is a new emerging science, the WWE is unaware of the veracity of any of these tests, be it for Chris Benoit or Andrew Martin. Dr. Omalu claims that Mr. Benoit had a brain that resembled an 85-year-old with Alzheimer’s, which would lead one to ponder how Mr. Benoit would have found his way to an airport, let alone been able to remember all the moves and information that is required to perform in the ring. WWE has been asking to see the research and tests results in the case of Mr. Benoit for years and has not been supplied with them.

– Much has been said regarding WWE’s policy on talent returning to the company with ’strikes’ from previous Wellness Policy infractions. To clarify things once and for all, the policy officially states: “Any WWE talent who leaves the WWE for any reason with a first or second violation on his/her record will maintain those strikes if he/she returns to the WWE.”

Furthermore, any talent with two ’strikes’ — a category which includes Chris Masters, William Regal and Jeff Hardy — would be immediately fired and banned for at least one year upon a third offense.

The Policy specifically states: “A WWE Talent who is terminated by the WWE for a third violation will be prohibited from returning to the WWE for at least one year.”

– The December 7 edition of WWE Raw with Mark Cuban as the special guest host drew a 3.2 cable rating. This is down from last week’s 3.6 and not a great sign headed into Sunday’s  WWE’s Tables, Ladders and Chairs PPV. The show did hours of 3.18 and 3.28. By comparison, Monday Night Football on ESPN this week did a 9.7 rating.

– Alicia Fox (dislocated shoulder) is out for a few weeks.