TNA

– Yesterday, reports surfaced that Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff were leaving TNA Wrestling.

A Twitter account that claimed to be Hulk Hogan (and was verified & linked to on Eric Bischoff’s Twitter page) announced that he and Eric Bischoff were parting ways with TNA Wrestling. The person claiming to be Hulk Hogan eventually admitted that he was a fake – but had ‘worked’ Eric Bischoff, Dixie Carter, Bubba The Love Sponge.

The fake Hogan wrote:

“I know you’ve heard the rumors brothers and they are true. Eric and I are leaving TNA on a mutual basis. I just got out of meetings now.” TNA has a new leadership coming in. Make sure you Hulkamaniacs still support them. TNA needs the power of Hulkamania to live on brothers.”

“Thank you Dixie and Bob Carter for the wonderful and positive experiences in TNA. Nothing but the best to you guys. Brothers, this isn’t the last of me though. You’ll be able to see me at “Hulk Hogan & Friends” events on tour soon.”

Eric Bischoff has posted on his Twitter page that the Hulk Hogan Twitter page saying that he and Bischoff were leaving TNA is a fake.He wrote:  “The Hogan twitter site that I posted is a fake one. Hulk IS getting a Twitter page up, but the most recent post is a fake. I will post the REAL page info as soon as we get it. Sorry for the confusion. The Hulk Hogan twitter posts are fake. Hulk IS in the process of setting up a page, but has not as yet. The rumors of us leaving TNA are bogus. ”

Oddly enough, Bischoff himself is the one who announced “Hulk Hogan joins Twitter” on his own Twitter page, with a link to the fake Hogan’s page.

Dixie Carter wrote: “Recent twitter of Hulk Hogan leaving TNA is bogus. To what extreme people will go.”

The guy who is running the fake Hulk Hogan Twitter is now claiming to be a disgruntled TNA employee upset with the Hogan-Bischoff regime, writing:

“I am not Hulk Hogan, but I am a TNA wrestler who got Eric, BTLS, Jarrett, and Dixie to think I was Hogan.. I rallied everyone in to get my true message out in anonymous fashion, b/c any other way on any media platform there would be consequences. ”

“@EBischoff GOT WORKED BROTHERS! He publishes information before even verifying its accuracy. How can someone like this even try to run TNA?!” and “That piece of s*** @BTLSRadio GOT WORKED TOO!”

On the basis of Eric Bischoff’s original announcement that Hulk Hogan’s Twitter account was “realhulkhogan” VoV temporarily published the story that Hogan & Bischoff were leaving TNA. We apologize for the confusion. This story, however, is far from over – stay tuned.

– According to the PWInsider, Hulk Hogan (back) is scheduled to undergo another back surgery today.

– Jeff Wilen of The Daytona Beach News-Journal interviewed Eric Bischoff in his latest JAWBreaker column. Among the topics discussed include the latest going-ons in TNA Wrestling, the big names working together, the tag-team division, Bound for Glory in Daytona Beach, Tommy Dreamer playing a bigger role in the organization, Linda McMahon running for a Senate seat, Paul Heyman and Rob Van Dam.

Bischoff claimed during the interview that he pitched the EV2 storyline back in February and suggested that Dixie Carter reach out to Paul Heyman.

“The whole EV2 story line was something I pitched in February of this year. It wasn’t a Tommy Dreamer idea. Tommy’s a great guy and has great experience. I called Paul and suggested to Dixie (Carter) and Vince Russo that we should reach out to Paul and see if he was interested in coming in. I don’t think it will happen with Paul. He is looking for something different. I don’t think Dreamer will be involved in creative. We have a solid team, with great chemistry. We’ve had great success the last couple weeks and months.”

When asked if he and Hulk Hogan plan on sticking around for a while, Bischoff replied, “We have a couple of years left on our contracts.

MLB

– According to the NY Post, Mets’ RHP Francisco Rodriguez was arrested and charged with 3rd-degree assault on Wednesday at Citi Field for beating his father-in-law. The altercation took place inside Citi Field’s Family Lounge and spilled out into the hallway. K-Rod’s father-in-law apparently suffered “facial bruises and minor head injuries,” and had to be hospitalized. K-Rod could be in real trouble and may be in danger of missing games.

– 790 The Zone in Atlanta is reporting that Braves’ 3B Chipper Jones (knee) has a torn ACL and will miss the rest of the season. We’re still awaiting confirmation from the team, so take this with a grain of salt for now, but if true, not only would this be a tough blow for the Braves’ playoff chances, it would be a very difficult injury to come back from at age 38. Stay tuned.

– The Giants have acquired 2B Mike Fontenot from the Cubs for OF Evan Crawford. Fontenot has posted a mediocre .284/.332/.402 batting line in 169 at-bats for the Cubs this season.

– Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports that the Orioles have placed INF Ty Wigginton on waivers. Wigginton, 32, has posted a .261/.335/.458 batting line, 18 home runs and 60 RBI in 391 at-bats this season while playing almost everywhere for the O’s. He’ll probably get claimed, but we’ll see if a trade can be worked out. Every AL team will get a shot at him before the NL does.

– The Giants have placed SS Edgar Renteria (left biceps strain) on the 15-day DL. Renteria underwent an MRI on Wednesday that revealed the strain. He told reporters that he’s aiming to return in September to aid the Giants’ playoff push, but this is his third stint on the DL this year and it’s hard to guess whether he will accomplish that goal. The 35-year-old is batting .278/.342/.364 with two homers and 21 RBI in 209 at-bats this season.

– Phillies’ 2B Chase Utley (thumb) was given clearance to swing a bat on Wednesday. No rehab assignment has been planned at this point, and Utley’s still on track to return to the Phillies in early September. Utley was examined in New York Wednesday by hand specialist Dr. Andrew Weiland. Utley had an .849 OPS and 11 homers in 72 games before the injury.

NBA

– The Bobcats wanted to get involved in Wednesday’s massive trade, according to David Aldridge on NBA.com, using F Erick Dampier’s non-guaranteed contract to acquire a point guard. Aldridge writes that “Under one scenario, Dampier would have gone to Indiana … with T.J. Ford going to Toronto and the Raptors sending guard Jose Calderon to Charlotte.” This is somewhat irrelevant, since it didn’t happen, but clearly the Bobcats want a PG, the Pacers want to dump Ford, and the Raptors are ready to keep overhauling their roster.

– Blazers’ G Rudy Fernandez said in a recent interview that he is “50-50″ between playing in Europe or the NBA. “If I could decide my future and some NBA team could assure me some minutes and the team played a way that fits my game, then I’d like to continue playing in the States.” He even said that he was “pretty f***** up psychologically” because of the role the Blazers wanted him to play.

– After days of speculation surrounding the possibility that the much-maligned Isiah Thomas would be returning to an advisory capacity for the Knicks, it is being reported that he will not be allowed to do so by the NBA. “It has become apparent that my new agreement violates certain NBA bylaws,” said Thomas about the rules prohibiting NBA employees from having contact with college or high school players. He also expressed regret about how things turned out during his tenure in New York, though we’re guessing the fans regret things just a little bit more.

– Heat’ F Chris Bosh said Wednesday that he was “playing with people’s emotions” in the days and weeks before he made his decision to join the Heat. “If you think about how many times somebody asks you, ‘How are you,’ that’s how many times I was asked, ‘Where you going?” said Bosh. “So it’s like, well, in my case, I’m going to have fun with it. I’m going to play with people’s emotions. I’m going to be high and low.”

NHL

– Flyers’ D Chris Pronger (knee surgery) said he may not be 100% in time for training camp and might miss the start of the season. Pronger underwent minor knee surgery on July 27 after injuring it in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against Boston. “I do not have a time frame. The team knows that. I spoke to the doctor and trainer and it is really just about when my knee feels good and strong again. I don’t want to come back early and play a couple of games and then be out of the lineup and then play a few more and be out. I want to come back when the knee is as close to 100% as possible so I can play every single game from then on.”

NFL

– ESPN’s Chris Mortensen predicts that free agent RB Brian Westbrook will sign with a team by Monday. He names the Rams, Redskins, and Broncos as the likeliest suitors, but leaves open the possibility of a surprise team. The three teams have shown interest in the 30-year-old all along, but he’s been holding out for a better offer from a contender.

– ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that DE Shawne Merriman plans to report to Chargers camp this weekend. He’ll sign his $3.269M tender, confirming his intent to immediately resume practicing. Merriman is coming off a bad season in which he had just four sacks, and went sack-less in 14-of-16 games. After a two-week training camp holdout and an offseason-long absence, it’ll be interesting to see if he gets thrown in the starting rotation.

– Browns’ ILB D’Qwell Jackson (strained right pectoral) will miss 4-to-8 weeks. He’s also getting a second opinion. Eight weeks would sideline Jackson until about October 10, the Browns’ Week 5 game against Atlanta.

WWE

– Regarding Ricky Steamboat’s health, he is expected to make a full physical recovery but will never wrestle again. The WWE Hall of Famer has been able to work out on an elliptical machine, but is prohibited from lifting anything heavier than five pounds.

– Former WWE Women’s Champion Mickie James weighed in on a number of topics in an interview with The Baltimore Sun including her recent departure from World Wrestling Entertainment, the Piggy James storyline, her music career, and more.

James says she hasn’t watched wrestling on television since being released in April, noting it’s much too difficult.

“I didn’t watch wrestling. I still haven’t seen a wrestling show and it’s been three months. The only show I’ve watched was right after I was released and they were chanting, ‘We want Mickie, we want Mickie.’ And I started bawling. It just really broke me, so I didn’t know what I wanted to do. So, I started doing some dates. It’s definitely a different feel. Once you’ve wrestled in front of 90,000 people, where do you go from there?”

Regarding her release, she feels the company wanted to go in a different direction with the women’s division. She also says she didn’t understand their decision at the time, but now recognizes the writing on the wall.

“I just think it was the different direction of the Divas. No one can give 100 percent all the time and they can surely try. Looking back, if I take myself from the picture, there was writing on the wall and if I wasn’t so indulged in the business, I would have seen it. I never would have shut that chapter on my own. I never would have cut that string on my own, so maybe they had to shut that door on me for to fully focus on my music, so maybe it was a blessing in disguise.”

On the topic of the Piggy James storyline, she noted being more upset with its conclusion than the angle itself. She also remains unsure whether company officials were poking fun at her weight.

“I don’t know where it came from. Were they ribbing me or just poking fun? I sat back and prayed about it. There’s still not one female that can go out there and get a reaction I can. And maybe they were trying to pull the fanbase away from me, but I got the championship, then they took it away. After six months of embarrassment and ridicule, that’s the payoff? I had to swallow my pride.”

– Among the topics discussed in Chris Jericho’s upcoming autobiography, Undisputed: How to Become the World Champion in 1,372 Steps, is that of Chris Benoit. He offers insight into the man he previously considered a friend.

Regarding Benoit’s peculiar sense of humor, the rough draft states: “Not a giggle, not a chuckle, not a tee-hee…never went ‘Ha.’ But when somebody threw up or fell down the stairs, he would laugh out loud for hours on end.”

On being his friend, Jericho said while they were close, it wasn’t easy.

The rough draft states: “I considered Chris to be one of my closest companions, but it wasn’t always easy to be his friend. You had to take the good with the bad when it came to his friendship.”

Upon learning of the Benoit family death, Jericho notes: “My gut feeling was Chris had killed them.”

The book also features discussion of his arrival to WWE, the highs and lows, his relationship with Vince McMahon, the creation of Fozzy, and more. The book is set for release on February 16, 2011.

VoV

Marc Valeri – captaincharisma@hotmail.com
VoV – www.voiceofvaleri.com
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NBA

– From Alan Hahn’s twitter account, he covers the Knicks for Newsday

“Multiple sources are telling Newsday that LeBron James has decided to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. The new Big Three is here.”

We have speculated that the three have had a pact to play together for some time, and this report is from a fairly reliable source in Hahn and Newsday. Later, ESPN’s Chris Broussard said the same thing via Twitter. There’s still a chance LeBron could change his mind at the last minute, but as of now, it looks like he’s going to Miami to play with Wade and Bosh. And don’t be surprised if this is enough to bring Pat Riley back to the bench next season.

In addition, the latest rumour swirling in Miami is that LeBron put down a deposit on a $49M estate here in Coral Gables and was seen around town yesterday.

Wow. If this is true (don’t take it as fact until he says it on ESPN), expect an Instant Classic ripping into this whole situation.

– AOL Fanhouse is reporting that F Shaquille O’Neal’s “first choice” is to win a championship with the Spurs. The Spurs are said to be interested in him as well.

– AOL Fanhouse reports that the Heat are trying to bring back G Jason Williams. J-Will won an NBA title with the Heat in 2006.

NHL

– Contradicting an earlier report, the Kings are not interested in signing UFA F Ilya Kovalchuk according to team governor Tim Leiweke. The problem the Kings have is that they will need to sign talented players like D Drew Doughty etc. to long-term deals soon, and they won’t have the cap space to do so if they give Kovalchuk the $8M+ annually that he’ll command on a long-term contract. The two sides were done with each other this past Sunday and then Kovalchuk’s agent “re-engaged” the team in conversations, the paper reports. The agent, Jay Grossman, sent a proposal to the team Wednesday that didn’t leave enough salary-cap space in the team’s budget to keep the younger players it has been grooming to be building blocks for the organization, according to the Times. “We really would love to add Kovi to our team, but not at the cost of our good young players. Dean (GM Lombardi) is trying here, but we know what we need in cap space going forward to keep our nucleus together. We can’t let one guy throw us into panic in a year or two. It is not about cash. It is about cap.” It looks like the Devils for Kovalchuk if he stays in the NHL, if not, the KHL. Stay tuned.

– The Wild have re-signed F Robbie Earl to a 1-year/2-way contract. Earl was looking for a one-way deal, but couldn’t find one with any NHL team so he re-signed with the Wild. He will get $550K when he is in the NHL and $105K as a minor leaguer.

NHL

– According to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan, discussions are “heating up” between the Rangers and Mariners involving M’s ace LHP Cliff Lee. Add another team to the growing list. The Reds have reportedly exchanged names with the Mariners, the Twins may or may not have made an offer, and the Mets and Yankees are at least kicking the tires on Lee. Texas definitely has the prospects to make a deal work and the money exchanged should be a non-issue, even with the murky situation surrounding the Rangers’ exchange of ownership. Lee, who has fanned 89 batters and walked only six, is owed just about $4M.

– According to Newsday, the Mets “like the idea” of bringing Cubs’ LHP Ted Lilly back to the team. If they can afford it, the team would pick up the $6M left on his deal so that it wouldn’t have give up too much in the prospects department in order to get the 34-year-old with the 3-7 record and 3.76 ERA. Other Cubs being mentioned on the trade block include SS Ryan Theriot, 2B Mike Fontenot, INF Jeff Baker, 1B Derrek Lee, OF Kosuke Fukudome and OF Xavier Nady.

NFL

– LB Antonio Pierce has officially announced his retirement from the NFL and will be joining ESPN as an NFL analyst. The writing was on the wall for Pierce, who would have needed surgery on his neck in order to continue his playing career. The former undrafted free agent finishes his career with 687 tackles, nine sacks and seven interceptions. Pierce “will appear on NFL Live, SportsCenter, ESPNEWS, and 1050 ESPN New York, and he will provide weekly analysis on ESPNNewYork.com, ESPN’s home for New York sports news and information.” He said in a statement that “After nine years of having the privilege of playing in the National Football League, today I’ve decided to end my playing days…I am extremely excited about contributing my knowledge and experience in this new endeavor to the championship team at ESPN.”

WWE

– Multi-time WWE Women’s Champion Trish Stratus will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at Saturday’s Blue Jays/Red Sox game. The game takes place at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

TNA

– According to the Wrestling Observer, former WCW star “Taskmaster” Kevin Sullivan met recently with TNA President Dixie Carter about joining the company’s creative team. During that meeting, Sullivan presented an angle that involves a year-long main event storyline that would require them signing a top star who the company would likely have difficulty getting. In addition, TNA did, in fact, quietly part ways with writer Ed Ferrara a few weeks ago. Ferrara left a teaching position and was brought into the company several months ago around the time that Jim Cornette not-so-quietly parted ways with them, in large part due to that hiring. Of course, Ferrara also served as Vince Russo’s right-hand man for the WWF during the Attitude Era.

– One third of the Knockout Tag Team Champions, Velvet Sky, recently signed a three-year contract with TNA Wrestling. She also received a pay raise, bumping her salary from $300 per show to $600 per show. As a result, she is among the company’s top female earners.

VoV

Marc Valeri – captaincharisma@hotmail.com
VoV – www.voiceofvaleri.com
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Join the VoV Facebook Group

NBA

– F Chris Bosh and G Dwyane Wade are planning to visit with two teams that have plenty of salary-cap space, the Knicks and Nets (Wade will also visit the Bulls and Mavs), and may make the visits together, Yahoo! Sports’ Marc J. Spears reports. Agent Henry Thomas, who reps both of the players, told Spears that it could happen that way. “Their friendship is good,” Thomas said. “As a result of going through this experience, their relationship will be a lot stronger.” Thomas also noted that plenty of information will be shared between the two about what teams are offering what to who since they are both represented by the same company. Thomas also said that while no “free-agent summit” with the pair and F LeBron James happened this past weekend, the trio do talk to one another as well as a few other soon-to-be free agents often about possible scenarios.

Meanwhile, Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo is saying that he doesn’t want to lose Bosh for nothing and is happy to set up a sign-and-trade scenario so his team can get some compensation. If Bosh decides to go to join Wade with the Heat, the Raptors will likely ask for young F Michael Beasley, G Mario Chalmers and F Joel Anthony, Spears notes.

– ESPN reports that G Paul Pierce has opted out of the final year of his contract and will test the free agent market. Pierce’s agent, Jeff Schwartz, told ESPN.com in a text message late Tuesday the NBA All-Star forward will forfeit next season’s $21.5M salary for a chance to sign a new four-year deal worth more than $90M. Pierce surely wants to sign a long-term contract before he gets injured or loses money because of the new CBA. The move makes him eligible to sign a new deal with the C’s for 4-years/$96M, or he can accept $3M less from other teams. As if this year’s FA pool weren’t deep enough.

– A person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Tuesday that F Dirk Nowitzki has notified the Mavericks that he is opting out of the final year and $21.5M on his existing contract. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team wasn’t planning to announce Nowitzki’s decision.

– Rockets’ F Yao Ming has picked up his player option for next season ($17.69M) and will return to the team. He’s in the final year of a 5-year contract. Yao sat out last season following reconstructive foot surgery and said he wanted to see how the injury healed before making his decision.

– F Amare Stoudemire and his agent met for several hours with Suns’ owner Robert Sarver on Tuesday night and gathered momentum on a possible contract extension, team sources told Yahoo! Sports. Sarver and Suns coach Alvin Gentry met with Stoudemire and his agent Happy Walters in Los Angeles, and made a case for the All-Star forward to stay with the Suns. Sources say the two sides are expected to resume talks on Wednesday, and Stoudemire is holding off opting out of the final $17.6M season of his deal to make him a free agent. Free agency begins at midnight ET, and sources say it’s still possible Stoudemire will opt out of his contract and continue negotiations with the Suns while also meeting with other teams.

– Nuggets’ F  Carmelo Anthony has one more year left on his contract with the Denver Nuggets before he can opt out of it and become an unrestricted free agent. The Nuggets are feeling like he may do just that and the team “is prepared to trade Melo rather than let him walk” next summer, according to a source for the Denver Post. Anthony will make $17M this season and the Nuggets have been trying to get him to sign on for a $65M extension that would have him in Denver through 2015, the Post reports. If Anthony says no to that offer, which is on the table right now, the Post reports that the team could consider talking trade. Anthony averaged 28.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game last season.

– The Nets have traded F Yi Jianlian to the Wizards in exchange for G Quinton Ross. It’s a straight salary cap dump for the Nets, who probably have no interest in playing  Ross. The Nets now have exactly $30M under the cap, enough to sign a max player for $16.5M and another player for $13.5M. A change of scenery should work well for Jianlian, who averaged a career-high 12.0 points and 7.2 rebounds a year ago. He has a chance to start if F Mike Miller walks in free agency and F Josh Howard (ACL surgery) doesn’t return to Washington.

– Celtics’ F Kendrick Perkins (torn ACL) said Tuesday night that surgery  could sideline him at least 5-to-6 months. Terrible news for Boston, as it means Perkins won’t be active until well into the season — at least December or January. He has been strengthening his knee for the past few weeks, hoping to shorten the recovery time after next week’s surgery. With F Rasheed Wallace retiring and Perk injured, the Celtics are suddenly desperately thin up front.

– Former Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro dined with Clippers owner Donald Sterling and front-office executives on Tuesday night to discuss the team’s coaching vacancy, sources with knowledge of the meeting told Yahoo! Sports. Mavericks assistant Dwane Casey, who interviewed with the Clippers on Monday, and Del Negro appear to be the top two candidates for the job. Sources said a decision could be made soon.

– The Cavaliers have completed interviewing head coach candidates Brian Shaw and Byron Scott, but they have not finalized their decision or offered any contracts. It seems likely that Shaw will become Cleveland’s next coach once the details of the contract are worked out, especially since Byron Scott’s agent basically offered a concession speech. The Cavs want a coach in place when free agency begins on Thursday, so we won’t have to wait long.

– Former Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry will meet with Portland Trail Blazers officials to discuss the franchise’s GM vacancy on Wednesday, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. Since Yahoo! Sports reported on June 5 that the Blazers had hired a search firm to identify and feel out potential candidates, Ferry has steadily stayed near the top of Portland’s wish list. The Blazers reached out to several GM candidates, but Ferry and the organization have strong shared interest, sources said. There is mutual interest and no other names are surfacing to rival Ferry, so the writing is on the wall. It seems Portland would like to have a new GM installed soon with free agency beginning on Thursday.

NHL

– Penguins’ GM Ray Shero said there’s “nothing’s really new” when it comes to Pittsburgh’s negotiations with D Sergei Gonchar. It is believed that Shero won’t give Gonchar more than two years, but the veteran blueliner is asking for a three-year contract. Gonchar is scheduled to become a UFA on Thursday, so he might test the free agent waters before deciding if he wants to return to Pittsburgh.

– The Stars have officially announced that F Mike Modano will not be offered a new contract. If the 20-year face of the franchise wants to return to the NHL, it will have to be with a new team. “I’m leaning toward playing. It certainly depends where and what teams are interested…I’m disappointed and upset about it. I always wanted to believe there was a chance of something happening here.” Now the NHL’s highest-scoring U.S.-born player must decide whether to put on something other than a Stars sweater for the first time. Modano captained the only Stars’ Cup-winning team 11 years ago. Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk said,

“This decision doesn’t come easy, but it’s something I’ve been talking to Mike about for quite some timeIt’s a difficult deicison for fans and our entire organization. I fell it’s necessary for us to move foward under these trying times. We have young players that I believe have to be put in a postion where they can be successful and unfortunately (for the situation with Modano) the depth of our team is at the center positon.”

Nieuwendyk said that because the Stars are currently for sale, that Modano will not be offered a different job within the organization.

– The Canadiens have acquired G Dan Ellis, F Dustin Boyd and future considerations from the Predators for F Sergei Kostitsyn. Kostitsyn, who had seven goals and 11 assists in 47 regular-season games last season, refused to accept a demotion to Hamilton of the AHL at the start of the season, requested a trade, and eventually joined the Bulldogs. He later walked out on them. Kostitsyn was recalled in November but never really found his stride, eventually being told by coach Jacques Martin to sit out a practice during the playoffs. He played in only five games during Montreal’s run to the Eastern Conference finals, and just one after the first round. Ellis gives the Habs a solid backup behind G Carey Price, while Boyd adds some depth up front.

Ellis is scheduled to become a UFA on Thursday, so the Canadiens must act quickly to re-sign him. Ellis had a 2.69 GAA and .909 SV% in 31 games last season and he’s just two years removed from his fantastic rookie season. If Price struggles early on next season, Ellis is more than capable of stealing the number one gig from him. Both Boyd and Kostitsyn are RFAs.

– The Sens have bought out the final year of F Jonathan Cheechoo’s contract, one day after waiving him. Cheechoo was set to earn $3.5M next season. After he cleared waivers, the Senators were allowed to buy him out. Cheechoo scored 56 goals in 2005-06, but just 17 goals in his last two seasons.

– Leafs’ D Mike Van Ryn (knee) will not play in the 2010-11 season.

– Former NHL All-Star Adam Oates is filling the final assistant spot on John MacLean’s coaching staff with the Devils. Oates was hired on Tuesday and is joining fellow assistant Larry Robinson and goaltending coach Chris Terreri under MacLean, who was named head coach by the Devils on June 17. The 47-year-old Oates was an assistant coach with the Lightning last season.

WWE

– Monday’s Raw featuring Rob Zombie scored a 3.28 rating, down from last week’s 3.52. It did hours of 3.28 and 3.27. This week’s 3.28 ends a 5-week trend of increasing ratings. Since May 24, the RAW rating had increased week after week.

– According to the PWInsider, CM Punk (arm) had undergone surgery last week and is expected out 4-to-8 weeks. It’s been known that he’s been working hurt for at least a few weeks. Punk will appear on Friday’s SmackDown with a sling on his arm. No word on whether he’ll be off television during his recovery time.

– The Undertaker and longtime girlfriend Michelle McCool were married on Saturday at a private ceremony in Houston, Texas. The two have been romantically linked since 2007. The weekend wedding marks the third time around the block for the Undertaker and the second for McCool. Among the wrestling personalities who attended were Torrie Wilson, Lisa Marie Varon and Sharmell Sullivan-Huffman (wife of Booker T), who is pregnant with twins.

– WWE lawyer Jerry McDevitt tells Courant.com that the lawsuit filed by the late Owen Hart’s widow, Martha, against WWE, Vince and Linda McMahon is without merit. Martha Hart is suing the WWE for continuing to profit off the likeness of her late husband, especially as it pertains to the new Hart Family DVD set. Martha Harat issued a statement this week saying the WWE filed a lawsuit against her because she “had the nerve” to pursue a wrongful death claim following her husband’s death.

McDevitt now says Martha’s statement is false. this afternoon. According to him, WWE didn’t sue her because she brought the wrongful death claim. However, it did petition a court in Connecticut to hear the claim, instead of the Missouri court where Hart had filed her lawsuit, which was settled before going to trial. McDevitt calls Hart’s statement “pejorative nonsense” and said her current lawsuit is nothing more than “a personal attack” on the McMahon family. He denies the insinuation that WWE is trying to deny Hart and her children compensation from the Hart Family DVD and says WWE handled the aftermath of Owen Hart’s death in a “humanitarian” way.

– According to the Wrestling Observer, to follow up on our earlier report regarding the work visa issues with Wade Barrett and Drew McIntyre -  we’re told at this point that WWE does not know when McIntyre will be back. Barrett might be able to return as soon as next week, but nobody knows for sure. According to a source, WWE creative was told at Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings to presume assume neither man would be back until SummerSlam in August. Up until now Wade Barrett had been the centerpiece of the new Nexus group on RAW. It is possible Barrett or McIntyre could both be back soon, but that was the initial word as of today. It should be noted that current WWE Champion Sheamus was signed by WWE around the same time as Barrett and McIntyre. The belief as of right now is that he is okay in regards to his work visa, but given the fact how things were handled with Barrett and McIntyre he could possibly be next. This is definitely causing major issues for WWE creative.

– Goldust wrote a post Tuesday evening on Twitter saying he has retired. “i am retired. byeeeeeeeee.” Though it should be noted that in a previous tweet, he said he was very tired coming off the road and heading to the beach, so it’s likely he was joking. The multi-time Intercontinental Champion has been largely relegated to Superstars since being drafted to Raw in April, having only competed once on WWE’s flagship program. He once again appeared on Superstars at Monday’s taping in Philadelphia, teaming up with Yoshi Tatsu to take on Zack Ryder and Primo.

MLB

– FOXSports reports that the Braves have inquired about Nationals’ OF Josh Willingham, Brewers’ OF Corey Hart and Jays’ OF Jose Bautista. Willingham has hit 14 homers and scored 42 runs, Hart has 18 homers and 60 RBIs and Bautista has 20 homers and 50 RBIs. All three become free agents at season’s end.

– The Phillies have placed 2B Chase Utley (sprained right thumb) and 3B Placido Polanco (sore elbow) on the 15-day DL.

– The Red Sox had inquired about Cubs’ 2B Mike Fontenot. He’s hitting .286 in 133 at-bats with a homer and 16 RBIs and may still be on the trading block – the Angels and Phillies are expected to show interest. The 30-year-old backup infielder is making $1M this season and won’t be a free agent till 2013.

– Marlins’ interim manager Edwin Rodriguez will remain the manager for the remainder of the season. This story has certainly taken a wild turn over the past few days. If anything, it suggests that the organization was not in complete agreement that Bobby Valentine should be the next manager of the team. It doesn’t mean he won’t be considered during the offseason, though.

– Reds’ 2B Brandon Phillips will not face any legal consequences stemming from a reckless driving charge, the Reds’ official site reports. He was clocked going 72 mph in a 35 mph zone on Friday. He pleaded guilty to the charge, and he will only have to pay court expenses and take a three-hour course.

NFL

– The Redskins, Seahawks and Bears have debated “making a run” at WR Vincent Jackson, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Schefter cautions that a trade is still a long shot. Anyone that tries to acquire the talented Jackson will have to meet his contract demands and give up plenty of value (a 1st-round pick or two 2nd-rounders?) to the Chargers.

– According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Bengals’ RB Cedric Benson claims he did reach out to the NFL office and Bengals to inform them of events in an Austin (TX) bar that led up to Tuesday’s assault charge. A league source familiar with the situation told Schefter that Benson’s case is “very minor.” Benson reportedly had no idea he’d be charged with the Class A misdemeanor, so he might not have taken the situation seriously. Via attorney David Cornwell, Benson has publicly contended that he was the victim, not the person(s) he allegedly assaulted. Schefter noted that Benson has a history of off-field problems, but didn’t predict what will come of this.

– The Steelers hosted free agent OT Flozell Adams on Tuesday, putting him through a workout and giving him a physical. Pittsburgh is in dire need of offensive tackle help after losing Willie Colon for the season and promising rookie Chris Scott indefinitely due to foot surgery. Adams is 35 and in clear decline, but fits the Steelers’ mold as a power-blocking lineman. He’s also still a plenty effective run blocker.

VoV

Marc Valeri – captaincharisma@hotmail.com
VoV – www.voiceofvaleri.com
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