NHL

– The Capitals have signed F Alexander Semin to a one-year/$6M deal. Semin was scheduled to become an RFA this summer, but he’ll be a UFA when his new contract expires after the 2010-11 season. GM George McPhee said, “It’s what the player preferred. We discussed a number of options, but this is the way he wanted to go for now. Which is fine with us because it gives us flexibility going forward.” Semin has 14 goals and 32 points in 29 games this season.

This one-year deal probably means that the long-term offers Semin received from the club were well below his expectations. Semin has yet to play a full good season, as he’s been hit with injuries throughout his career. Signing a one-year works for both sides, as it allows the Caps to see what his worth is, and allows Semin to show what he can do.

While Semin and F Alex Ovechkin are very close, as are their families, you’d have to wonder what losing Semin to free agency would do to Ovie.

Also, since the “new” post-lockout NHL, there hasn’t been a UFA available on the market like Semin. Like the Caps, the Thrashers are going through this same issue with F Ilya Kovalchuk, as they continue to try and determine his worth to the team and on the free agent market? While Kovalchuk is the far superior player, if he can command $11M per season, Semin can easily get a $6M deal. Players like Semin him are just not available on the open market in the new NHL. Teams like the Blackhawks and Penguins lock up their core young stars for a very long time. The Capitals will give F Nicklas Backstrom a very good deal, as he feeds Ovie like none other. The Capitals may want to simply postpone the negotiation on Semin’s contract until next season to concentrate on Backstrom, as he’s clearly the more important player to the team. Stay tuned.

– Kings F Justin Williams (broken right leg) will be out indefinitely. This is a cruel blow to the Kings as F Ryan Smyth returned to the lineup on Saturday after a six-week absence with an upper body injury. The duo played on the top line with F Anze Kopitar for only two shifts before the injury. Coach Terry Murray said, “Very disappointing. It’s very disappointing for Willie. He’s gone through some injuries the last couple of years that he worked hard to get back to playing a good game. And he was really happy with the line and how everything was going at the start of the year. It’s very unfortunate.”

WWE

– Current plans call for WWE to begin promoting Bret Hart’s return to the company tomorrow night on Raw. They will presumably promote his guest hosting spot for January 4, 2010. Vince McMahon is scheduled to appear on the show to cut a big promo hyping Hart’s return to television.

– WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Some highlights:

Bret Hart Hosting RAW: “Seems as if the Bret Hart hosting Monday Night Raw on January 4 is apparently a lock according to the DirecTV programming guide . I got a cool email from “Hitman” during the holidays but we never discussed his projected or potential Raw appearance. Yes, I actually have friends in the wrestling biz that aren’t always incessant on talking about the beloved business. For the old timers, I try to avoid discussing the business at all costs because most of them only want to bitch about it and that type of conversation becomes too negative in a hurry for me. I understand their points of view but I choose not to invest much time into things that I can’t control. I’ll just let a selected few of the class valedictorians in the “wrestling internet world” handle those matters.”

Tommy Dreamer Leaving WWE: “I received a wonderful text message from Tommy Dreamer on Christmas Day that confirmed that he was leaving WWE. Tommy did not mention what he was going to be doing but I would assume that Dreamer will be doing more wrestling. Tommy has been a great solider for the business and is a credit to his profession. He thanked me for my efforts on is behalf but he’s the one who deserves the thanks”

Steve Austin’s Acting Career: Got a call from Steve Austin last week who took one day to gather himself in LA after finishing filming his latest action adventure movie in Vancouver and then began a California to South Texas drive in a RV. Steve is going to enjoy his ranch in January as much as possible and then get right back on the horse, so to speak, in February with more projects in the film genre. When Steve called me he was driving the RV somewhere in Arizona heading east. We could have produced one helluva reality show on that trip I guarantee.

Mayweather vs. Pacquiao Canceled: The promoters of the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight are playing all their leverage cards and mind games with the media saying the fight is definitely off. I would bet a case of BBQ Sauce that the fight happens simply because there is too much cash riding on the pugilistic masterpiece for all involved for the fight not to happen. It may not go off in March, which would be a good thing for WM26 but this fight will happen. Just wait and see.

– While plugging the annual Tribute to the Troops show during a radio appearance on The Opie & Anthony Show last week, Raw Superstar Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) admitted his fondness for marijuana.

During the radio show appearance, he relayed a story from his recent trip to Iraq where one of the soldiers noted that a lot of marijuana is grown in Afghanistan. He then expressed his disappointment in WWE not going to Afghanistan this year.

MVP also said that while he enjoys smoking pot, he no longer does because the $2,500 fines started to stack up. MVP then told story about doing a tryout match for TNA and that a “washed-up wrestler” came up to him and told him he was sitting in his seat. He sensed the guy was looking to pick a fight, so he he got up and punched him in the face. When asked who it was, he said that his name rhymes with Maven. He was also asked about “ring rats” and said he got into the wrestling business ten years too late because there are no longer women waiting by the hotels after shows. MVP blames this on Vince McMahon putting on a PG show.

NFL

– The Rams have placed QB Marc Bulger (fractured shinbone) on the IR, ending his season. We’ve already known that Bulger’s season has been over for a couple weeks thanks to this injury. At age 32 and scheduled to make $8.5M next season, Bulger’s future with the team is in serious doubt, as he may be asked to take a pay cut, and if refuses, he could very likely be released. The Rams have likely already begun their search for a long-term replacement.

MLB

– The Mets have signed RHP Kelvim Escobar to a one-year/$1.25M deal. Escobar, an 18-game winner in 2007, missed nearly all of the past two seasons with the Angels because of shoulder trouble. The 33-year-old will likely work out of the bullpen.

– The Nationals have signed LHP Eddie Guardado to a minor league deal. Everyday Eddie was 1-2 with a 4.46 ERA in 48 relief appearance last season with the Rangers.

– The D’Backs have signed RHP Bob Howry to a one-year deal with an option for 2011. The contract is worth between $2-3M. Howry was guaranteed $2.75M last season under the terms of a one-year deal with the Giants. He had a 3.39 ERA for San Francisco, but he wasn’t one of the team’s trusted relievers after failing to impress early on. He totaled 10 holds and just three over the final three months.

NBA

– The decision to fire Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro has already been made, and the only thing keeping him employed is the fact that the Bulls have not found a replacement. The Bulls would like to have a coach that appeals to the potential free agents available this summer, but they may have to settle for assistants Bernie Bickerstaff or Pete Myers.

– Nuggets G Chauncey Billups (groin) is out for one week.

BOXING

– The highly anticipated Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather superfight that was scheduled for March 13, 2010 has been canceled after a dispute over drug testing.

Promoter Bob Arum told the Associated Press on Thursday, “It’s over. O-V-E-R.”

Arum had set a Thursday deadline for an agreement on drug testing, with the Mayweather camp insisting that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency conduct the tests. “They’re viewed by the Pacquiao side as being partisan,” Arum said, referring to the USADA. “He doesn’t want to use them. I don’t want to use them. They’re so inflexible they can’t be used.”

With a fight against Mayweather looking dead in the water at this point, Manny Pacquiao is now considering a fight against former IBF junior welterweight champion Paul Malignaggi. As for Mayweather, Bob Arum says the soonest we could see them fight would be later in the year. “As far as I’m concerned the fight is over,” Arum said. “Can it be revisited in the autumn? We’ll see.”

Neither fighter has ever been linked to performance enhancing drugs, but Mayweather’s camp demanded strict Olympic-style drug testing for the fight.  Under Nevada state regulations, a boxer’s urine is tested immediately before and after a fight. Mayweather’s camp wanted to randomly test Pacquiao’s blood in the weeks leading up to screen for substances not detectable in urine tests, such as human growth hormone. Pacquiao’s side has agreed to both urine and blood testing, but did not want blood testing immediately before the fight because Pacquiao believes giving blood so soon before a fight could weaken him.

The fight was expected to be the richest ever, with both fighters earning up to $30-40M based on PPV sales.

My money says that this fight goes down anyways, probably closer to April, as there’s far too much money at stake for this fight to simply be called off. Stay tuned.

– ESPN.com is reporting today that Manny Pacquiao is planning to file a defamation lawsuit against Floyd Mayweather, Sr. and Golden Boy Promotions as he stated today:

“I have instructed my promoter, Bob Arum, head of Top Rank Inc., to help me out in the filing of the case as soon as possible because I have had people coming over to me now asking if I really take performance-enhancing drugs and [if] I have cheated my way into becoming the No. 1 boxer in the world,” Pacquiao said.

“I maintain and assure everyone that I have not used any form or kind of steroids and that my way to the top is a result of hard work, hard work, hard work and a lot of blood spilled from my past battles in the ring, not outside of it. I have no idea what steroids look like, and my fear in God has kept me safe and victorious through all these years.”

Following news that the highly anticipated Mayweather vs Pacquiao fight would not be taking place this spring due to a disagreement over how drug tests would be administered leading up to the bout, fight fans were led to believe that Pacquiao was unwilling to submit to strict testing controls and thus the question lingered as to whether or not the seven-time champion was ‘clean’ or not. Coupled with insinuating remarks made by Mayweather Sr. earlier this year it seems that Manny Pacquiao has had enough of his name being dragged through the mud.

VoV

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