VoV

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NBA

– The Knicks are on the verge of signing RFA F David Lee and G Nate Robinson to one-year deals. Robinson supposedly had some interest from Greek club Olympiakos and Lee was supposedly mentioned in a wide variety of sign-and-trade situations. But it’s believed that they’ll both sign one-year deals because the Knickerbockers don’t want to commit any money to next year, leaving it free to throw as much cash as possible at the massive free agent summer of 2010. The word is that the team wants to re-sign Lee next summer once the big names are taken care of, but Robinson is likely in his last year with New York.

MLB

– According to the NY Daily News, Mets OF Gary Sheffield, 41, plans on playing one more season, and has five teams as potential suitors for next season. Sheff would supposedly re-sign with the Mets if the team showed any interest, but that isn’t believed to be a real option. He’s also supposedly interested in the Marlins and Rays in Florida, but Texas (Rangers and Astros) are also rumoured to be interested. Stay tuned.

– According to the NY Post, RHP Jason Marquis is expected to talk with the Mets about a potential deal for next season. The Mets showed no interest in Marquis when he was put on the trading block by the Cubs last year, but that has most definitely changed after a fine 2009. In 30 starts this season, the right-hander is 15-11 with a 3.84 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP.

– According to ESPN.com, the MLBPA is considering filing a grievance to challenge the Cubs’ suspension of OF Milton Bradley. Bradley was sent home Saturday after a season full of battles with the media and fans in Chicago. The MLBPA will first confer with Bradley and his agents, Seth and Sam Levinson, and they’ll have to OK the move. The Cubs will likely shop Bradley this offseason.

– Former agent Dennis Gilbert is interested in purchasing the Rangers.

NFL

– WR Plaxico Burress was sentenced to two years in prison Tuesday morning and began serving his sentence immediately. Burress pled guilty to a weapons charge last month stemming from the self-shooting incident last November. He could be eligible to leave prison after 20 months with good behavior and says he wants to play football after he gets out. He’ll be 34 when the 2011 season kicks off.

NHL

– Islanders F Pascal Morency has been suspended for the remainder of the preseason and the first five regular season games. Morency left the Islanders’ bench during Thursday’s game with Calgary to start a fight with Dion Phaneuf after the Flames blueliner delivered a devastating hit to F Kyle Okposo. The league quickly suspended Morency indefinitely while the league reviewed the case and he’s already missed two preseason games as a result. He’ll be eligible to return for the Islanders’ game against the Sharks on October 17.

WWE

– The current plan is for Rey Mysterio is to return from his Wellness Suspension at the Trenton, NJ SmackDown! taping on October 6.

– Following this week’s RAW, here’s the latest card for WWE’s Hell in a Cell PPV on October 4:

Hell in a Cell Match for the WWE Title – John Cena vs. Randy Orton
Hell in a Cell Tag Team Match – DX vs. Legacy
Triple Threat for the WWE United States Title – Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz vs. Jack Swagger
WWE Intercontinental Title Match – John Morrison vs. Dolph Ziggler

UFC

– UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar (4-1) will face Shane Carwin (11-0) at UFC 106 on November 21 in Las Vegas. It was originally rumoured that Carwin would fight Cain Velasquez (6-0) at UFC 106 with the winner getting a shot at Lesnar next year. However, Valasquez will now fight an unnamed opponent and there’s talk of him getting a shot at the winner of Lesnar-Carwin. For those unaware, Carwin is almost a mirror image of Brock. Should be a dandy.

MLB

– The Cardinals have signed RHP John Smoltz. Smoltz, 42, is 2-5 with an 8.33 ERA in eight starts for the Red Sox this season. Great add for the playoff run. GM John Mozeliak said Smoltz would likely start Sunday at San Diego, and would probably get at least a few turns in the rotation.

– The Astros have placed SS Miguel Tejada on waivers, but pulled him off when another team made a claim. The Astros did the same thing with former C Ivan Rodriguez, and a similar fate is expected to happen with RHP Jose Valverde. For some reason, owner Drayton McLane and GM Ed Wade continue to state that they are still in it for this year and aren’t building for next year.

– The Mets have released RHP Livan Hernandez. The 34-year-old Hernandez was 7-8 with a 5.47 ERA,  and had allowed 18 earned runs in 14 1-3 innings. He allowed six runs in a 10-1 loss to San Francisco on Monday, and the Mets went 2-10 in his last 12 starts.

Speaking of the Mets, they have placed LHP Billy Wagner on waivers, and according to ESPN, he is apparently ready to waive his no-trade clause. Anybody who takes Wagner will have to shell our about $2.7M for the rest of this season, in addition to a $1M buyout for next year. Wagner will be in tough for a job, though, as he has an $8M option for next season. It’s unlikely anyone will claim him off waivers, so the Mets will probably try and work out a trade. Wagner is coming off Tommy John surgery and hasn’t pitched in the bigs since last September, so his trade value is rock bottom. Still, Wagner doesn’t want to finish his career this way and apparently would like to get up to the 420-save mark or thereabouts. He’s at 385 now.

Still with the Mets, they had placed OF Gary Sheffield on waivers last week, and pulled him later on. It’s now believed that Sheff won’t last the season with the team. If the Mets place him on waivers again, they lose the ability to pull him off or negotiate a trade. Sheffield, 41, says he wants to go somewhere with a strong lineup, but thus far, only the Marlins and Rangers have shown interest.

According to the NY Post, Sheffield asked for a contract extension from the Mets Thursday and was denied, and is now threatening to leave the team and might soon be released outright. Things had been running smoothly in New York until Sheff made a couple of curious comments on Tuesday night in reaction to trade rumors. “Based on what I know now, no, I do not think I will be here. But if I am sent to a team that I don’t want to play for, I would go home.” He was scratched from the lineup Thursday night.

– The Brewers have traded 3B Bill Hall to the Mariners for P Ruben Flores. Hall hit 35 home runs in 2006 and was rewarded with a four-year/$24M contract, but he was hitting only .201 with six homers and 24 RBIs in 76 games when the Brewers designated him for assignment last week.

– The Orioles have claimed RHP Chris Lambert off of waivers from the Tigers. The 26-year-old Lambert was 0-1 with a 14.85 ERA in two relief appearances with the Tigers this season. He was 6-7 with a 3.55 ERA in 21 starts with Triple-A Toledo.

– D’Backs RHP Jon Garland has cleared waivers. Arizona will likely have to part with some cash to make up for the $4M left between his contract and his 2010 buyout, but there’s a chance that a contender in need of pitching depth may decide to take their chances and deal for him. Stay tuned.

– The Reds have placed RHP Johnny Cueto (arm) on the 15-day DL. Cueto is 8-10 with a 4.61 ERA in 24 starts.

– The Dodgers have signed RHP Vicente Padilla.

– The Nationals have named Mike Rizzo as their next GM. Rizzo was acting in an interim role this season following the firing of Jim Bowden.

– The Rangers have placed RHP “Everyday” Eddie Guardado (knee) on the 15-day DL.

– The Mariners have transferred LHP Erik Bedard to the 60-day DL. His season is over.

– The Reds have placed OF Willy Taveras (quad) on the 15-day DL.

– The Dodgers have placed RHP Hiroki Kuroda (head) on the 15-day DL, retroactive to August 16.

– The Royals have released 3B Travis Metcalf.

– The White Sox have placed OF Dewayne Wise (shoulder) on the 15-day DL.

– The Mets have placed SS Alex Cora (thumbs) on the 60-day DL.

– The Astros have placed LHP Mike Hampton (torn rotator cuff) on the 15-day DL.

– The Rangers have placed 2B Esteban German (groin) on the 15-day DL.

NBA

– According to sources, F Amare Stoudemire is playing his last year with the Suns this season. Amare was reportedly very unhappy when Shaq was dealt to Cleveland, and was unhappy with being put on the trade block last February when he was supposedly in talks with the Warriors. He’s putting his odds of staying with the team after next summer at 50/50, though, as he can decline a $17.6M salary for 2010-11 next summer and become a free agent. Stay tuned.

– Bucks F Andrew Bogut still hasn’t participated in contact drills as he continues to recover from a lower back stress fracture that ended his season early last year. Bogut’s main goal is to be ready for training camp, but he’s been working on a limited schedule since July and the fact he hasn’t had contact drills yet is a concern.

– Nets F Yi Jianlian may be allowed to skip the rest of the Stankovic Cup in China and return to New Jersey earlier than expected in order to prepare for the start of the season. Yi has been playing very well for Team China, but the Chinese media is reporting that team officials are considering his request to return to the states early.

– According to the Arizona Republic, Cavaliers F Shaquille O’Neal’s new reality show, “Shaq Vs.” apparently was an idea that Shaq stole directly from Suns G Steve Nash when Shaq was originally traded there in February of 2008. Nash talked to a lawyer and now he’s listed as executive producer on the show.

– Knicks G Nate Robinson was arrested Tuesday after officers pulled him over in the Bronx at about 5:30 p.m. and discovered he had a suspended license. According to the NY Post, the 25-year-old RFA was apparently a complete jerk to the cop who pulled him over for driving with an unfastened seat belt. He turned up the volume pretty loud when the cop walked back from Robinson’s SUV to the police cruiser to check his license and then kept singing the words to the rap song when the officer returned to the window. As soon as he heard he was being arrested, Robinson apparently pulled out the I’m-A-Celebrity-card and tried to sway the officer to let him go. KryptoNate was taken to the 52nd Precinct and charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and issued a summons to return to court at a later date.

– The Magic have signed G Jason Williams. Williams, who sat out last year, will back up G Jameer Nelson and probably immediately move in front of G Anthony Johnson on the depth chart.

– G Desmond Mason will not return to the Thunder next season.

– The Grizzlies continue to look into G Jamaal Tinsley, G Flip Murray and G Tarence Kinsey.

WWE

– Unless things change at the last minute, Jeff Hardy’s last day with WWE will take place at either SummerSlam or the following SmackDown! taping. WWE is still trying to get him to stay, though. As a result, it pretty much goes without saying that he will be dropping the World Heavyweight Championship to CM Punk next week. Matt Hardy tweeted the following message to Jeff Hardy yesterday morning: “The time is near for the Hardy Empire to begin.. Starting with the Charismatic Enigma.. 8/25/09″ Hmm…

Also, WWE released the first-ever “WWE Kids Poster Book” special edition on Tuesday, which features individual posters of practically every male star on the roster. One glaring omission is that of Jeff Hardy, who is not featured on the poster. You can see the giant poster here.

– There is a lot of talk within WWE about having DX vs. Legacy in the main event position at SummerSlam, even though it would go against the tradition of ending with a title match. The feeling is that if CM Punk is going to beat Jeff Hardy for the World Title, which there’s a good chance of that, it’s better to end SummerSlam on a happy note. This would also indicate that John Cena isn’t planned to take the WWE Title from Randy Orton but that’s not confirmed.

– As of last week, there was a rumour that WWE was planning a major swerve at SummerSlam that would involve either Triple H or Shawn Michaels turning heel at SummerSlam. WWE is now advertising DX vs. Legacy in a steel cage match for the SmackDown and ECW tapings on September 1 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. This could be a sign that plan was changed or it could be a way to keep a possible heel turn a surprise.

– WWE.com has announced that ECW Champion Christian will defend the gold against #1 contender William Regal at Summerslam this Sunday.

– Former WWE superstar and Hollywood heavyweight Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson recently spoke to the UK’s The Sun. Some highlights:

His Troubled Teen Years: “I had a very checkered past. I got into trouble a lot and had multiple arrests. For a lot of years I struggled to stay on the right path. I had multiple arrests by the time that I was 17. The last time I was arrested, my parents came down to the police station to get me. My parents were struggling at that time, even to put food on the table. That was a lot of stress at that time and I was adding to it. When they came to the police station I remember their disappointment. For years the disappointment had never bothered me but for some reason this time the disappointment in their eyes moved me. And that was when I realized that I was causing a lot of pain for my parents and I did not want to continue to do that.”

His father’s reaction to ‘The Wrestler’: “He didn’t take it very well. We lived the life that you saw in the movie, The Wrestler. That essentially was my dad. The character that Mickey Rourke played so wonderfully was my dad. So when I graduated from college and had an opportunity to play pro football, naturally it was easy for my father to say he did not want me to wrestle. He had nothing to show from a wrestling career. We lived in a one-bedroom apartment and he did not want that life for me. But instinctively I thought I had something to offer that world of entertainment. It took a little of convincing him but eventually we worked together. But being a parent I now understand where my dad was coming from.”

Getting Into Acting: “Ten years ago I knew that I wanted to be a good actor as I wound down my wrestling career. There is a great amount of acting in wrestling and wrestling is a great form of entertainment. For me that training ground was really invaluable because I did not go to school for acting. I went to school for football and studied criminology. I knew it was going to take time and 10 years went by pretty quickly.”

– Former WWE star Ken “Mr. Kennedy” Anderson’s no-compete clause with WWE is set to expire within the next 2 weeks. He will therefore be able to work for any wrestling promotion that wants to hire him. He now goes under the name Mr. Anderson and TNA is said to have high interest in signing the former WWE star.

– As announced Friday afternoon on WWE.com, Nick “Eugene” Dinsmore was released from his WWE contract. According to several sources, the feeling is that he showed up at last week’s RAW taping looking terribly out of shape and Vince McMahon made the decision right then and there to cut him loose. He had just been hired back about a month ago. McMahon is pretty big on first impressions. For instance, his first impression of Takeshi Morishima following a tryout match a year ago this week killed any possible interest in signing him.

An issue of Power Slam noted the following: “August 19: Still on the warpath, Vince claims two more victims: he basically says Morishima looks like a giant, fat girl and that Laurinaitis was wasting his time by hyping such a s colourless and podgy wrestler. Vince also sagely notes that because fellow Japanese name Kenzo Suzuki tanked in WWE, obviously Morishima was likely to be a failure as well – solely on the basis of their shared ethnicity.”

Reportedly, the creative team wanted to get Eugene on television very quickly, so the fact that he was released after his first appearance adds further credence to the theory given.

– This week’s edition of WWE Monday Night RAW drew a 3.8 rating, which is down from last week‘s 3.9 rating. The first hour did a 3.58, while the second hour finished off with a 3.99.

NHL

– Blackhawks F Patrick Kane, 20, and his cousin James Kane, 21, pleaded not guilty during a brief arraignment before Buffalo judge Thomas Amodeo. The appearance came a day after the two were indicted by a grand jury. The Kanes are facing misdemeanor assault, theft and harassment charges that he and his cousin beat up a cab driver over a fare. The panel dismissed a more serious felony charge of second-degree robbery.

– The Sharks have removed captaincy from F Patrick Marleau. Yeesh, about time.

– The 2-month-old son of Capitals G Jose Theodore has died. The goalie’s sister-in-law made the announcement Thursday during her show on a Montreal-area radio station. Theodore also has a 3-year-old daughter, Romy. My condolences go out to the Theodore family.

– The Hurricanes have signed F Stephane Yelle to a one-year/$550K deal. The 35-year-old had seven goals and 11 assists with Boston, and has won the Stanley Cup twice with the Avalanche.

– The Sabres have signed F Jeff Cowan to a one-year deal. Cowan is an eight-year NHL veteran but spent last season playing for Peoria of the AHL. He previously played two years with Vancouver, where he combined for seven goals and four assists, and 203 penalty minutes in 88 games.

– The Ducks have re-sogned D Brett Festerling to a two-year contract. Festerling played 40 games with Anaheim as a rookie last season, recording five assists and 18 penalty minutes. He also played extensively for the Ducks’ top minor league affiliate in Iowa.

– Mark Messier was not offered the head coaching job with the Oilers last season when Craig MacTavish was fired.

– Stars owner Tom Hicks is not putting the team up for sale. Forbes says the team is worth about $405M, but one suspects somebody could get the team for less than that. Hicks’ HSG has until August of 2010 to satisfy his debts before any kind of movement by creditors could be made to take over the teams. He dug himself a hole, though, when his HSG defaulted on a $10M interest payment at the end of March on $525M in loans.

NFL

– WR Plaxico Burress pleaded guilty to felony weapons charges in a Manhattan court Thursday and received a two-year prison sentence. This could easily end the 32-year-old’s career. NY State still must approve Burress’ plea deal – if it doesn’t, Plax could stand trial for two counts of second-degree criminal weapons possession and one count of second-degree reckless endangerment, and face even more prison time. Plax has probably played his last NFL down.

– The NFP is reporting that Raiders assistant Randy Hanson will turn over medical records, and he’s expected to cooperate with Napa, California police. Police, as well as NFL Security, have been attempting to get Hanson to talk since the story of his fractured jaw emerged earlier this week. It’s believed that he will now cooperate because the Raiders will not allow him to return to his former position. The next step is likely an investigation and a possible felony charge against head coach Tom Cable. Cable has declined to comment.

– The Chiefs have signed WR Ashley Lelie.

TNA

– TNA World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle spoke with WTAO in Pittsburgh. Here’s what he said: “I don’t like confrontation, so I kind of back away from it. This is really hard for me. I spent nine hours in jail and it was the lowest point of my life,” Angle said as he started to break down crying pleading for his reputation. “I was sitting there in a county jail thinking about why I even started dating this girl. I don’t even know when I’m allowed back in my own home. I just hope that the hearing goes okay and I can move back into my home. I just want my life back.”

F1

– YouTube co-founder and CEO Chad Hurley has confirmed his involvement with the new Team US F1. US F1 will be joined on the 2010 starting grid by Manor Grand Prix and Campos Meta 1.

– F1 teams will go back to qualifying on low-fuel for the final session next season. According to FIA , the final 10 cars involved in the Q3 qualifying session will not have to declare their fuel levels due to the fact there will be a ban on refueling next year.

That should bring back the days of a real qualifying shootout in which the fastest car is actually the one on the pole. That was not always the case under the current system as teams were forced to declare their race day fuel levels before Q3, meaning different strategies forced teams to use different fuel levels.

Other changes to the rules will see eight cars knocked out in both Q1 and Q2 to take into account the expected increase to 26 cars next season on the starting grid. The current point system will also be maintained for at least one more season. There have been recommendations to go to an Olympic-styled medal system in which the driver with the most wins would be declared the world champion. Even though the FOTA-based teams have agreed not to use the KERS system next year, the FIA rules have increased the weight of the cars to 620kg to take into account the additional weight of the energy recovery system. Tire warmers, which were also expected to be banned along with refueling, will remain – at least for one more season.

MMA

– Kim Couture, the wife of UFC legend Randy “The Natural” Couture, has responded to Lisa Marie Varon’s (a.k.a. Victoria) comments about a potential MMA bout. “I think that with my name I have a target on me. That’s fine. I don’t imagine that’s going to go away any time soon I’ll fight whoever they put in front of me. If she can make my weight – she seems from the picture a lot taller, a lot bigger than me. But if she can make 135 pounds, if (Strikeforce CEO Scott) Coker wants to put it together then so be it.”

VoV

– Click here to read my thoughts on the Blue Jays/Alex Rios situation.

– The FAQ page and The Dirt Sheet have been updated.

MLB

– Nationals president Stan Kasten acknowledged Saturday there is a “very real possibility” the team will not reach an agreement with their No. 1 overall draft pick, RHP Stephen Strasburg, despite offering him a record-breaking contract. The Nats face a deadline of midnight on Monday night to sign Strasburg, a flamethrower from San Diego State, whose fastball has been clocked at 102 mph. Kasten said, “With 48 hours to go, I simply have no idea whether we’re going to be able to reach a deal.”

According to sources, the Nationals have offered Strasburg, just one week ago, a major league contract worth more than the record $10.5M RHP Mark Prior got from the Cubs after being the second pick in the 2001 amateur draft. If there’s no deal between Washington and Strasburg, he would go back into the 2010 draft, and the team would be awarded the No. 2 pick in 2010. Strasburg has been labeled a once-in-a-generation talent. He went 13-1 this season, leading Division I pitchers with a 1.32 ERA and 195 strikeouts. Last month, he won the Golden Spikes Award as the top amateur player in the United States, and was the only amateur on the U.S. Olympic baseball team that won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Games.

By the way, Strasburg is represented by – you guessed it, Scott Boras.

– The Orioles have acquired minor league 1B Rhyne Hughes from the Rays, a move that completes the deal that sent C Gregg Zaun to Tampa last week via a waiver claim.

TNA

– According to a criminal report filed in Pittsburgh today, Kurt Angle has been arrested and is currently in the Allegheny County Jail. There was an altercation at the home of Kurt Angle involving Angle and girlfriend Trenesha Biggers, aka TNA’s Rhaka Khan. Biggers went to police and filed a protection from abuse order against Angle, and police came and removed Angle from the home this morning.

At around 8 a.m., Biggers called police again, stating that Angle was stalking her. She had gone to a Starbucks to use the internet, and told police that Angle had her phone and had been circling the parking lot. She claimed Angle was deleting photos from the phone, which were described as “pictures of abuse”. Angle was questioned by police, under suspicion of DUI, and when they searched the vehicle, they found used syringes and two vials of HGH. Angle claimed that he had a prescription for the medication, and could provide that to police.

Angle is currently awaiting arraignment on the following charges: Driving while operating privileges suspended, prohibited acts, possession and harassment. It’s interesting to note that Angle and Biggers were spotted at the Comic Con convention in California a few weeks ago.

Angle is still currently in custody at Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh, PA and is awaiting arraignment on the multiple charges brought against him this morning. Despite the arrest, Angle is still expected to appear at tomorrow night’s TNA Hard Justice PPV. Multiple company sources say the advertised main event of Kurt Angle vs. Sting vs. Matt Morgan for the World title will go on as planned, but the company is still working on alternative plans just in case.

TNA talents are said to be surprised by the turn of events, especially because Kurt and  Biggers are currently living together in Angle’s home. There had been rumours among wrestlers that Kurt broke up with her, and actually once told her to leave the premises of his house, but since then they had been seen in public together. A big discussion among those in TNA is how ironic the situation is, just after the issues between Kurt Angle and Jeff Jarrett over Karen Angle were revealed on Bubba The Love Sponge’s radio show. A lot of people are waiting to see how this arrest may play into Jarrett’s position within TNA going forward.

– According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the word going around backstage is that Jeff Jarret will be back as a wrestler with no front office power. That said, no one seems to know for sure his future with TNA. Stay tuned.

– Former WWE Diva Kristal Marshall wrote on her Twitter account on Tuesday that she’s going to “make a debut soon.” Earlier, she also wrote: “Just got some super duper news today! Let’s just say it’s a page turner!” Marshall appears to have wrestling on her mind, as we reported earlier that Vince McMahon has been incredibly frustrated as of late with WWE’s inability to create new Superstars. Marshall apparently read the report as she wrote the following on her Twitter account: “Sorry Vince stars are born not created….”

MLB

– According to WFAN’s Twitter account, Mets 3B David Wright has been diagnosed with a concussion and will remain hospitalized overnight. Wright was plunked in the noggin by Giants RHP Matt Cain, who hurled a 94 mph heater. It’s mostly good news in the sense that Wright and the Mets have avoided another major injury, but concussions are tough to put an injury timeline on, as everyone deals with them differently – he could be out only a couple of days, or might be placed on the DL. It’s too early to tell where this is headed. Stay tuned.

– Braves OF Nate McLouth is expected to miss a few games with a hammy injury. He won’t be placed on the DL.

NFL

– The NY Daily News reports that WR Plaxico Burress will face at least an eight-game suspension from the NFL if any team signs him as a free agent. Should Plax find a team willing to give him a shot, commish Roger Goodell would step in and prevent him from playing early in the season. The suspension could be as long as the entire season. No one seems to be interested now, so he could sit out the ’09 campaign.

VoV

– No RAW Review tomorrow. Deal.

MLB

– According to Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse, D’Backs RHP Brandon Webb underwent a debridement of his right shoulder on Monday. Manager A.J. Hinch said, “They didn’t have to repair anything. It sounds like it was good news for us.” As Price reports, a debridement is “the removal of non-healthy tissues and foreign material from a wound or burn to prevent infection and permit healing.” It is unknown whether the surgery was on his labrum, his rotator cuff, or possibly both. He is slated to begin playing catch in approximately 3-4 months.

NHL

– Newsday is reporting that the Leafs and Rangers are talking of a deal that would send F Nikolai Zherdev to the Leafs for F Lee Stempniak and D Ian White. It looks like a good deal for the Buds, who are ridding themselves of a spare blueliner and an unnecessary $2.5M on Stempniak’s contract, all for a top-six forward. The best part of this deal is that Toronto would get their sought-after top-six forward while holding onto D Tomas Kaberle who now opens up more options – he can stay and anchor the powerplay, or still be moved for another top-six forward.

– According to a source, the Canadiens have not been approached by anyone regarding a deal for Senators F Dany Heatley. Stay tuned.

– The Rangers are looking for a first-line centre, and F Mats Sundin could be that answer. The Rangers could also once again get into the Heatley sweepstakes should Zherdev be moved in some way. If the Rangers can get another defenceman, D Michal Rozsival could be bought out or sent down.

– The Flyers are in talks with F Todd Bertuzzi. Can you imagine D Chris Pronger and Bertuzzi on the ice at the same time?

– F Vaclav Prospal and F Alex Tanguay remain the two biggest names available. The Coyotes, Penguins and Sens remain in the hunt for Tanguay, while Prospal is being contacted by the Kings and Capitals.

– The Coyotes auction for bidders hoping to keep the team in Glendale has been postponed to September 10th. The auction was originally scheduled for Wednesday, but the NHL asked the bankruptcy judge to delay it so that bidders could get more time. However, in yet another twist, the judge is considering combining the auction for bidders who want to keep the team in Glendale with the bidders who want to relocate the team. Originally those who wanted to keep the team in Glendale were going to get to present their offers first and relocation bids would only be considered if no other bids were deemed acceptable. Either way, the Phoenix Coyotes bankruptcy saga won’t be ending any time soon.

– The Hurricanes are looking to trade away D Anton Babchuk. Babchuk, an RFA, rejected the Hurricanes’ one-year/$1M offer. The Hurricanes have no intention of entering the 2009-10 season with him on their team and expect to receive prospects or draft picks in exchange for Babchuk. GM Jim Rutherford said, “The decision has been made on Anton — he’s going to be moved. We now have our top six defensemen.” Babchuk scored 16 goals and 35 points in 72 games last season.

TNA

– TNA Wrestling has started a radio advertising campaign in Los Angeles for this October’s Bound for Glory PPV. The company is hyping that Sting will wrestle his final match on the show.

– Following the firings of TNA creative member Dutch Mantel and agent Savio Vega on Friday, there are loud rumblings that other moves are in the works. At this point, almost everyone who is considered an ally of Jeff Jarrett is on edge. More specifically, B.G. James, Jim Cornette and referee Slick Johnson are all on the bubble, but no official moves have been made. Backstage sources also expect a broadcasting shakeup at some point as well.

The firings of Mantel and Vega, and the uncertainty of his other allies’ futures, have sources within TNA feeling that Jeff Jarrett is on his way out. If Jarrett does remain with the company, they feel he wont have as much power as before when he returns.

Taz and Pat Kenny have both been mentioned as possibilities to fill the agent role left open by Savio Vega’s release. Taz and Terry Taylor handled the duties at the most recent Impact tapings.

– The creative team currently consists of Vince Russo and Matt Conway. If you’ve ever wondered what kind of input Jeff Jarrett and Vince Russo have on the shows, this week and next week’s shows are the last two from the most recent set of tapings which were described as “unfiltered Russo.” Opinions on the shows vary within the company, but either way, it’s now clear what a Vince Russo-booked show without Jarrett is like.

Another twist in the story which people within the company are following, is the fact that the last two weeks of Russo-booked television without Jarrett both drew 1.3 ratings — slightly above the company’s average. The last time the company drew two 1.3 ratings in a row was during the build up to the Lockdown PPV.

NFL

– The NFL has upheld Bills RB Marshawn Lynch’s three-game suspension, despite Lynch’s May appeal. Beast Mode was suspended in April for violating the personal conduct policy. There were some indications since that he might get the ban reduced, but we won’t see the third-year tailback until Week 4.

– Ex-Giant WR Plaxico Burress has been indicted by a New York grand jury on charges of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. Plax will surrender to authorities, post bail, and set a court date for a possible trial. He will have to decide whether he is willing to go through a trial or work on a plea agreement now. The general consensus is that Burress will face a year in jail at a minimum, but the district attorney is looking for more. Burress’ former teammate, Antonio Pierce, was not indicted for his role in the 2008 incident.

NHL

– With UFA season just hours away, so much is still to be determined, with each move impacting the next. Let’s take a look at what could happen over the few days…

– I’m hearing that Sens F Dany Heatley will be traded before July 1 or not at all. He is owed a $4M bonus on July 1, and if Heatley is still a Senator by noon on July 1, it is extremely doubtful that he will be moved. Nonetheless, the Rangers continue to push to bring in the talented sniper, but to this point, they have not included a package involving Rangers D Marc Staal, which is believed to be the base price for Heatley.

– The Sharks are still looking at dealing the captain, F Patrick Marleau, but G Evgeni Nabokov is no longer on the block. Marleau looks like he could be dealt later in July.

– As I reported here, G Jonas “The Monster” Gustavsson was intrigued by the possiblity of starting in San Jose, but with Nabby no longer on the market, Gustavsson has all but turned down the Sharks. The two finalists for Gustavsson appear to be the Leafs and Stars. It looks like it’s going to be a toss up, as Gustavsson is limited to the amount of money he can sign for, so it will likely come down to which city he has the best chance to start in.

– Canucks GM Mike Gillis has flown east to Sweden to give the Sedin twins one final push into re-signing with the Canucks. Nothing new on the contract front, but if the Sedins do walk, keep an eye on the Leafs, Canadiens, Wild and Islanders.

– Bruins F Phil Kessel is still on the market, but according to a source, the Bruins could wait until the free agent frenzy is over in order to maximize the return for him. With that said, the Bruins are right up against the cap and would struggle to match any offersheet of above $3.5M, which is around the number it would cost to just qualify Kessel.

– As far as Leafs D Tomas Kaberle goes, he will likely move in the next 10 days, with the Bruins, Ducks and Flyers all having inquired about him over the last few days. The Flyers remain interested despite just recently landing D Chris Pronger, but in order for any deal to work, Toronto would have to be willing to take back some salary from Philly if they want to be able to land their specific target.

Speaking of Kaberle, I can now re-confirm that the deal with the Bruins involved Kessel, a first-round pick in 2010 for Kaberle and the No. 7 pick in the 2009 Draft (F Nazem Kadri). Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli learned early Friday evening, some 2.5 hours prior to the start of the draft, that Leafs GM Brian Burke never intended to include the No. 7 pick. The proposed deal ended there, with the Bruins unwilling to give up Kessel and their first-rounder next June for Kaberle alone.

– According to a source, the Flames and D Jay Bouwmeester began contract negotiations today, and the Flames are optimistic that they can get J-Bo to ink. Stay tuned.

NBA

– Rockets team physician Tom Clanton confirmed on Monday that F Yao Ming’s broken left foot “has the potential for him missing this next season and could be career threatening.” Yao is scheduled to meet with more specialists to determine the best course of action, hopeful to avoid yet another surgery. He hasn’t had any pain or swelling, but the results of a recent CT scan were “shocking” for both Yao and the Rockets. Surgery is a realistic option, and no matter the course of treatment, it sounds like Yao will miss at least a big chunk of 2009-2010.

NFL

– Yahoo! Sports reports that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is “leaning toward” indefinitely suspending free agent WR Plaxico Burress. Yahoo!‘s Jason Cole also says it looks like free agent QB Michael Vick’s indefinite suspension will be continued. A similar stance to the one Goodell took with Donte’ Stallworth is expected in both cases. Cole says there’s a “reasonable” chance that Vick won’t play at all in 2009, and that Plax’s suspension could be levied even before his legal issues play out. Burress wouldn’t be worth a flier pick in fantasy leagues if he receives an indefinite ban.

WWE

– WWE has been involved in a multi-year trademark dispute with Muscle Flex Inc. over their “In the Raw” trademarks, which WWE claimed infringed on their “WWE RAW” property. After a ruling from the CIPO (Canadian Intellectual Property Office) sided with Muscle Flex, the company is now considering further legal action (damages) against WWE. Stay tuned.

– WWE executive Andrew Whitaker recently spoke to IndianTelevision.com. Here are some highlights:

On competition, like TNA: All forms of entertainment are competition for WWE as we compete for the public’s attention and entertainment dollar. For any sports or entertainment company, whether you are Manchester United, U2 or WWE, the biggest concern is the enormous proliferation of content in the market. However, WWE is a significant force within entertainment and pop culture. Within our specific entertainment genre, we clearly are the industry leader. While TNA is pro-wrestling, WWE is entertainment.

On who WWE’s top three performers are, in terms of PPV buys and ticket sales: The great thing about WWE Superstars and Divas is that they each hold a different appeal for different fans. While one fan will follow Rey Mysterio or John Cena, another will be a Jeff Hardy supporter. WWE offers something for everyone and that diversity comes to life at live events just by observing the amount of different WWE Superstar signs that are being held and merchandise worn by the fans.

NHL

– The Leafs are expected to ship D Tomas Kaberle soon. One rumour has Kaberle, No. 7 overall and a 2010 2nd round pick going to the Lightning for No. 2 overall and F Ryan Malone, but the deal fell through. According to a source, there are five teams vying for Kaberle, with one confirmed to be the Capitals. Stay tuned.

– Lightning F Vincent Lecavalier talks have stalled regarding him being shipped to the Habs. Any potential deal is expected to be nearly dead.

– As reported here earlier, F Marian Hossa is likely done with Detroit. The Oilers and Canucks are early favourites.

– The Blues and Sharks continue to pursue Sens F Dany Heatley. The Kings have reportedly offered F Alexander Frolov and No. 4 overall for Heatley. Heatley’s no-trade clause gives him the power to veto a trade, and it’s also unlikely that he wants to go to LA in the first place. Boston really wants Heatley, but the Sens are going to try and ship him out of the East. Any deal involving the Bruins would 100% involve F Phil Kessel.

– The Leafs and Flyers have shown interest in Sharks F Ryan Clowe, with TSN.ca even confirming this. Clowe could be part of a Nabokov or Marleau package deal, as the Sharks look to be one of the busier teams come July 1.

– F Mike Cammalleri to the Leafs rumours are heating up again.

– The Leafs have contacted the Blue Jackets about F Rick Nash. A deal is unlikely, but not impossible.

– The Leafs, Avalanche and Thrashers have expressed interest in the Sedin twins.

– There have been a few offers for Flames D Dion Phaneuf, but he is very unlikely to be dealt.

– The Habs and Panthers have expressed interest in Sharks G Evgeni Nabokov.

– Since the Caps have lost F Sergei Fedorov to Russia, and rumours swirling that F Michael Nylander is likely to follow suit, rumours are that the Caps are working up an offer for Sharks F Patrick Marleau.

– Panthers F Nathan Horton is reportedly on the trade block, but the asking price is too high for anything to get done.

WWE

– Last Thursday, Edge was interviewed by Danny Salas of central California’s B95 radio station. Here are the highlights:

Turning Babyface: “There’s a little bit of a groundswell. I’m starting to feel it a little bit… I think a lot of it too is just tenure. When you’re around for a long time the people go, ‘God, he’s been around here a long time and been in some pretty hellacious matches. And when you start to get that on your resume it gets harder and harder for people to boo you. I think that’s what Shawn Michaels ran into and that’s what Undertaker ran into. When you get to a certain point – not that I’m in their league or anything – but once you get to a certain point after a lot of time and a lot of matches that have entertained people it becomes harder and harder for them to boo you. That’s kind of been my challenge for the last little while is to keep them booing me. I think (Chris) Jericho is going through the same thing right now.”

Working With Christian Again: “I don’t know. I’d like for it to and at some point I think it has to happen whether it’s against each other or whether it’s teaming. I still think it’s fresh in our audience’s minds that it would still mean something. We do have a lot more kids now that might not remember it, but I think enough guys like you and me are still in the crowd that can buzz the kids on it and explain what Edge and Christian is all about it.”

NFL

– According to ESPN, the Bears have “pretty much ruled out” WR Plaxico Burress. According to the report, the Jets are “almost in that same boat,” and the Bucs are expected to follow suit over the weekend. No team is expected to sign Plax before the beginning of training camp. Potentially interested teams are in a holding pattern until commissioner Roger Goodell hands down his ruling on a suspension.

VoV

– It’s my birthday. What!

– The Peep Show has been updated.

NHL

– With the first overall selection, the Islanders picked F John Tavares. The Lightning took D Victor Hedman at No. 2 and the Avalanche took F Matt Duchene at No. 3. The Leafs took F Nazim Kadri, Tavares’ teammate.

– The Flyers have acquired D Chris Pronger and F Matt Dingle from the Ducks for F Joffrey Lupul, D Luca Sbisa, first-round picks in 2009 and 2010 and a conditional third-round pick in 2010 or 2011. The 34-year-old Pronger, who had 11 goals and 37 assists in 82 games last season, is going into the final year of a contract that will pay him $6.25M next season. Lupul, 25, returns to Anaheim after scoring 25 goals and 25 assists in 79 games with the Flyers last season. He’ll make $4.25M next season in the first year of a four-year contract extension he signed last July.

– Ducks’ D Scott Niedermayer has confirmed that he will return to the Ducks next season. This prompted the Pronger trade to the Flyers. The defenseman, who turns 36 in August, informed GM Bob Murray of his decision Thursday evening. Murray called Niedermayer “irreplaceable” after the Ducks were eliminated by Detroit in the second round of this season’s playoffs. A Ducks spokesman said the team hopes to sign Niedermayer to a new contract soon. See Mats Sundin, *that’s* how you make a decision!

– The Rangers are very interested in Sens’ F Dany Heatley, but as of this writing, no one has yet to make a serious offer. Heatley is owed a $4M bonus on July 1, after which it’s likely that many teams will begin offering.

– There is a report out of Chicago that the Blackhawks have re-signed second-line F Dave Bolland to a five-year/$18M deal. Bolland had a breakout season in 2009 with 47 points in 81 games.

– Ducks’ GM Bob Murray is not likely to trade G Jean-Sebastien Giguere despite rumours to the contrary.
Murray told reporters that he was not actively shopping the goaltender and that he would not be part of a trade that might take place Saturday involving picks to get a big-bodied forward.

– Speaking of the Ducks, the return of D Scott Niedermayer to Anaheim has made it more likely that F Teemu Selanne will play one more season for the Ducks. GM Bob Murray wasted little time in contacting Selanne to discuss the speedy winger’s plans.

But, the acquistion of D Luca Sbisa in the Chris Pronger deal makes it more unlikely the Ducks will re-sign soon-to-be unrestricted free agent D Francois Beauchemin. The Ducks now have Scott Niedermayer, Ryan Whitney, Sbisa and most likely James Wisniewski to anchor their defense and will be strapped under the cap to come up with the money for Beauchemin. Look for Beauchemin to sign with another club after July 1.

– A group led by Chicago Bulls and Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf has offered to buy the Phoenix Coyotes for $148M and keep the team in Arizona. The offer, submitted in bankruptcy court documents on Friday afternoon, is $64.5M less than the bid by Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie, who wants to move the franchise to Southern Ontario. Reinsdorf’s offer calls for a new Jobing.com Arena lease with the city of Glendale and unspecified new agreements with other creditors, including the NHL, which has been funding the club.

– Kings’ D Brayden Schenn is eventually expected to be a leader on the Kings. GM Dean Lombardi had this to say about the Kings’ first round selection, “He needs to work on his skating, but his hockey sense is top-notch. He has the ability to make those small, smart, little plays and has no fear going into traffic. He’s a real competitor, and I think he’s got a chance to grow into some leadership.” Schenn will likely have a difficult time breaking camp with the Kings this upcoming season. He is, however, only a few years away from being a difference-maker.

– The Red Wings want a new deal to play at Joe Louis Arena. The team says it will not exercise an option to renew its lease at the arena, but wants to continue talks with the city on a new deal. Ilitch Holdings Inc. President and Chief Executive Christopher Ilitch said Friday that the current lease is 30 years old and not competitive to other arena leases in the NHL or professional sports. He says the team is looking for a new lease that is “fair and equitable for all parties.” The team had until next Tuesday to notify the city of its intentions before a 20-year option automatically kicked in. Ilitch said the team will continue evaluating all options for a new arena.

– According to rumours, the NHL salary cap is going to drop to a ceiling of $56.8M with the floor being $40.8M.

NBA

– The Knicks have offered G Nate Robinson and No. 8 pick F Jordan Hill to the T’Wolves for disgruntled No. 5 pick G Ricky Rubio. Rubio is reportedly unhappy about being drafted by the Wolves.

According to the NY Times, the Knicks are still interested in Wolves’ G Ricky Rubio. Interestingly, Wolves GM David Kahn wrote a letter to fans saying he’ll wait as long as it takes for Rubio to come and play in Minnesota, and that he plans on using Rubio and G Jonny Flynn extensively on the court together. Rubio is likely to force a trade, buy Kahn may have tied his own hands here. As far as I know, Kahn is still the only person in North America who thinks the young duo can really play together.

– The Mavericks are expected to have a very busy summer ahead of them. Since the Lakers and Spurs have all made moves to better themselves this offseason, the Mavs are expected to follow suit. It will almost definitely be a trade involving F Jerry Stackhouse and his $7M contract ($2M buyout) and F Erick Dampier’s expiring $11M contract.

– As reported here earlier, F Hedo Turkoglu has officially opted out of his contract. Turk was due $7.3M next season in the final year of his six-year/$36M deal with the Magic. Turkoglu averaged 16.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists last season. Turk is expected to sign with the Pistons.

NFL

– According to reports, Titans’ QB Vince Young is likely on his way out of Tennessee.

– The Jaguars have traded WR Dennis Northcutt to the Lions in exchange for S Gerald Alexander. The deal is contingent on both players passing physicals and will not be official until Monday.

– Commissioner Roger Goodell has notified WR Plaxico Burress that the league is beginning a review of incidents involving Burress that fall under the personal conduct policy. Goodell had been waiting for Plax’s legal process to play out, but the trial delay has spurred him into action. As much as Plax’s team of experts wants us to believe that he’s not eligible for suspension unless he’s found guilty, that’s not necessarily the case. Goodell is sure to take prior history into account here. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen predicted on his Twitter account that Plax would receive a four game suspension, with Goodell reserving the right to extend it pending the trial outcome.

– Former Cleveland Browns WR Joe Jurevicius is suing the team and the Cleveland Clinic, accusing doctors of negligence over a staph infection in his right knee that kept him off the field last year. It alleges that team physicians failed to warn Jurevicius that therapy equipment was not always cleaned at the team’s training facility. Jurevicius has said he contracted staph following arthroscopic surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in January 2008. Jurevicius was released by the Browns in March.

MLB

– Yankees’ 3B Alex Rodriguez has hit his 564th home run, moving past Reggie Jackson into 11th place on the career list.

– Astros’ 1B Lance Berkman has reached his 1,000 RBI plateau, putting him with Astros legends Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell as the only ‘Stros to do so.

– The Cardinals are once again pursuing A’s OF Matt Holliday. The return price is expected to include OF Ryan Ludwick and one of the following; RHP Jason Motte, RHP Chris Perez, and RHP Kyle McClellan; and a prospect. Holliday will make about $13.5M (roughly $7.6M left) this season before becoming a UFA. Ludwick has about $2M remaining on his contract this year. He’s under team control through 2011 as an arbitration-eligible player.

– According to Fanhouse.com, the Nationals and Pirates are discussing a deal. The deal would see Pirates’ OF Nyjer Morgan swapped for Nats’ OF Lastings Milledge, but that talks stalled when Pittsburgh asked for RHP Craig Stammen as well.

– The Cubs have confirmed interest in Indians’ 3B and ex-Cub Mark DeRosa. DeRosa expects to be traded by the July 31 non-waiver deadline, and the Cubs could find themselves in position to re-acquire him depending on the asking price and ownership’s willingness to take on about $2M in salary.

– The Dodgers are eyeing Mariners’ LHP Jarrod Washburn.

– According to the NY Post, Yankees’ OF Xavier Nady will require Tommy John surgery to repair his right elbow and is done for the season. Nady is also questionable for most of 2010. He’s a free agent after this season, so it’s probably safe to assume his time with the Yankees is up.

– The Jays have placed C Rod Barajas (groin) on the 15-day DL.

– The Jays have placed RHP Shaun Marcum (shoulder) on the 60-day DL.

WWE

– “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair is currently working for WWE without a contract, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The company has opted not to sign Flair because they want complete control over their talent and as of this week, Ric Flair is sending out press releases stating he’s not exclusive to WWE and is still seeking bookings.

– Tennessee’s WBBJ-TV is reporting that former WWE tag champion, Brian “Grandmaster Sexay” Christopher, has been arrested for public intoxication. Brian Christopher Lawler, son of Jerry “The King” Lawler, was arrested just before 3:00 am Friday at a convenience store. The store clerk told officers Lawler fell over a cooler outside the store before coming inside. According to the police report, “Mr. Lawler was very unsteady on his feet, had slurred speech and once placed in custody became very belligerent. The officer said cursed and threatened him as he arrested him. At one point, the officer stated Lawler threatened to rip off his head.” Lawler is currently in the Madison County Jail and will appear in Jackson City Court on Monday. This is his second arrest this year – he was picked up for disorderly conduct back in February.

TNA

– Former TNA wrestler/referee Shane Sewell has apparently joined WWE. He reffed a match between Alex Riley and Bo Rotundo at last night’s FCW TV taping in Tampa. FCW usually doesn’t use talent on their television shows unless they are under contract to WWE. Following his release from TNA last month, Sewell returned to the World Wrestling Council promotion in Puerto Rico.

WWE

– It seemed a near certainty that Ric Flair was going to appear on RAW this past Monday. Between the Charlotte, North Carolina location, his early exit from the Ring of Honor event on Saturday, numerous internet spoiler reports, and the promised announcement of a new GM on RAW, all the pieces were in place for a big Flair return to television.

It didn’t happen, and according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it was never supposed to happen.

As noted recently, WWE officials are once again focused on stopping news and storyline leaks to the Internet–Flair was apparently backstage primarily to serve as a red herring to trick the people who leak storylines to the ‘net. WWE anticipated the Flair story breaking in the media, which would throw reporters off the track on the Donald Trump storyline.

It did ultimately work, as the Donald Trump “purchase” storyline was not spoiled before its airing.

There is still a lot of speculation that Ric Flair will be the next general manager of RAW, but as of Tuesday evening there was still nothing confirmed about who will play the role.

– On Monday’s Three-for-All RAW special, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon announced that he sold the company’s flagship brand, RAW, to billionaire Donald Trump. Both WWE and USA issued a joint press release on Tuesday detailing the purchase and Trump’s future involvement on Monday Night RAW.

After creating some confusion among WWE investors (there was a sharp drop in WWE’s stock price on Tuesday), the USA Network issued the following statement today, clarifying the situation:

USA Network Statement Re: WWE Monday Night RAW

NEW YORK, June 18 /PRNewswire/ — “USA Network and WWE issued a press release on June 16 that referred to Monday Night RAW’s storyline of a ‘sale’ of WWE’s RAW to Donald Trump. We intended the release to be promotional for that ongoing story arc on the series. There is no such actual ‘sale’. We apologize for any confusion.”

Characters Welcome.

– According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, a number of wrestlers were upset over the nature of Vickie Guerrero’s sendoff from WWE last week on Monday Night RAW. Either enough people in the company were, or some sponsors were, because when they replayed the segment on this week’s show, they cut out everything that could possibly be offensive out of the segment.

Many believe there is no way Eddie Guerrero would have allowed his wife to be verbally abused in the manner she was, storyline or not. The idea that he would have gone along with almost anything that would have provided for his family really only came about after he passed away. When his close friend Art Barr passed away in 1994, he told AAA officials he would do nothing that would exploit his death.

Following her sendoff, many people went up to Guerrero to say good-bye and complement her on how well she did in the role. She’s largely leaving because she has two daughters who are teenagers at home and didn’t think, as a single mother, she should be away two or three days per week.

– Jim Ross has posted an update on the health of WWE Hall of Famer Gerald Brisco to his blog over at JRsBarBQ.com. After stating yesterday that Gerald did not have a stroke, Ross says that Briscoe’s latest round of medical tests revealed he actually suffered THREE strokes over the past few days.

From JR’s blog:

Gerald Brisco: Jerry was preparing to meet Pat Patterson at the Tampa Airport to fly up to Charlotte for the three hour Raw broadcast when he took ill.

Bottom line is this. After getting many of his medical tests back today, it was determined that Jerry did indeed have a stroke and not just one. Jerry had a total of three strokes over the past several days. The doctors now think that one stroke occurred Saturday and the other Sunday morning. They are not sure when Jerry suffered the first stroke. This is all new info confirmed on Wednesday afternoon. It was originally believed that Jerry had not suffered from a stroke but further tests proved otherwise.

While doing a battery of tests, doctors also discovered a small hole in Brisco’s heart and a heart valve issue that will now be repaired next week, likely on Thursday. This procedure will be done via his groin as to make it less evasive and the doctors are highly confident that this issue will be addressed completely with the medical procedure.

The doctors are waiting until next week to do the surgery to allow new medication to begin taking affect that addresses the clogged artery in Jerry’s neck.

Misawa’s Death: Shocking to hear how Misawa actually died in the ring which was eerily similar to the injury sustained by the late Christopher Reeve. Japanese medicine is unique to say the least and obviously utilizing Japanese medical treatment and Misawa delaying having his injured neck surgically repaired proved to apparently be his down fall. Damn shame. It is amazing that Japanese medicine is apparently far behind Japanese Technology.

Donald Trump: “One would assume that Donald Trump will eventually name a Raw General Manager and I’m guessing it will be someone that Mr. McMahon isn’t too fond of which covers ample territory. Will that announcement be made this Monday in Green Bay. I think we can rule out Bret Favre.

I’d like to wish Gerald Brisco a full, speedy recovery.

– When CM Punk cashed in his Money in the Bank contract at Extreme Rules and took Jeff Hardy’s newly-won World Heavyweight Championship, many fans saw that as the start of a heel turn for the straight-edge superstar. According to the sources, WWE is keeping their options open regarding whether Punk is a babyface or a heel. WWE announcers have kept their comments about Punk ambiguous and are still gauging live fan reactions before deciding whether to do a full heel turn. The crowd response during his match with Jeff Hardy at The Bash will be a big factor in the decision. Michael Hayes has thus far been writing the majority of the storyline for Punk.

– The WWE creative team is said to be in rough shape right now after having to deal with events such as the Denver debacle, Batista and Umaga being written out of storylines, Extreme Rules, the three-hour RAW that was booked up until the last minute and then the two-hour RAW coming up this week that’s booked like a PPV, not to mention The Bash pay-per-view that’s in less than two weeks.

– The Milford Daily News has an interview up with WWE Hall of Famer Rowdy Roddy Piper. Piper talks about a number of topics, including how he broke into wrestling, his love for the city of Boston, his movie career and more. Here’s what the Hot Rod said about being diagnosed with cancer three years ago:

“I was in Glasgow and my hips wouldn’t work, and no one could figure out what was going on. I went home and checked into the hospital that was closest to my ranch. The doctors took it seriously, and had some x-rays done. Later on one doctor told me it was one of those freak things. He said, ‘You have a bone chip that is cutting the nerves to your legs.’ They go to look inside and, holy cow, they find a huge mass tumor on the inside of my spine. So they did an operation they didn’t expect, and while they were doing it, the doctor found a lymph gland that was a little swollen and he took a biopsy. A few days later, I hadn’t heard anything, and two doctors and a nurse came in and said ‘How’re you feeling, and by the way, you’ve got cancer.’”

He was diagnosed with low-grade 2A lymphoma, then went through 20 radiations and chemo treatments over four weeks. Piper adds:

“I beat it three years ago. In two more years, if it doesn’t come back, I’m out of the woods. I’m strong right now. I’m in shape. In the morning I’m juicing two apples, two carrots, two celery, two beets, two ginger. I’m drinking that every morning to try to keep the cancer away. I’ve got a lot on my shoulders, but I’ve got the most beautiful family in the world.”

– As reported here earlier, SoBe Entertainment filed a multi-milllion dollar lawsuit against WE, Paul “Big Show” Wight and his wife Bess in Miami-Dade County Court on Monday.

SoBe claims it advanced Wight $M to buy a house, plus $84K/month, on Wight’s promise that the company could manage him as he trained to become a pro boxer. SoBe says that Wight refused to perform, and failed to disclose he owed the IRS $450K, and now the IRS has filed a lien on the house.

SoBe are demanding $2M from the Wights and $15M from WWE for interference for re-signing Wight after he dismissed SoBe.

– The ratings are in for this week’s special “Three-for-All” RAW. According to data compiled by Neilson Media Research, the 3-hour June 15th edition of WWE RAW drew a 3.7 cable rating.

If you remove the first “bonus” hour, RAW’s typical timeslot (the final 2 hours) did a very strong 3.93 rating.

Here’s a more detailed breakdown:

Hour 1: 3.30 rating (4,561,000 viewers)
Hour 2: 3.75 rating (5,720,000 viewers)
Hour 3: 4.10 rating (6,091,000 viewers)

Comparing the final 2 hours of this week’s show against last week’s 2 hour show, viewership was up almost 9% this week.

– Matt Hardy has updated his Twitter page with a message about his injury status: “I’m officially declaring myself healed and ready to get back to serious business on TV and in the gym.”

– There is a report going around that WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Briscoe suffered a stroke this week. According to PWTorch.com, that report is inaccurate and Briscoe will undergo a routine medical procedure today to correct an artery blockage.

– Candice Michelle announced on her Twitter account that she has been medically cleared to return to the ring. Michelle has been out of action since February, battling an ankle injury.

MLB

– While he did impress the Cubs, RHP Pedro Martinez will not be offered a contract by them. The Cubbies’ payroll is against them, making it difficult for them to offer anything substantial anytime soon.

– Dodgers’ OF Manny Ramirez will begin a minor league stint next week. Manny will be back in action for the first time since his 50-game suspension for violating baseball’s drug policy on May 7.

– The Jays have placed RHP Roy Halladay (groin), LHP Scott Downs (toe) and RHP Casey Janssen (shoulder) on the 15-day DL. Yikes. Downs’ injury doesn’t sound like the type that will go away quickly, so he probably won’t be back in 15 days. As for Doc, he seems confident he’ll return the day he’s eligible, June 28. He left his start last Friday in the fourth inning because of a groin injury and it hadn’t improved enough Wednesday in a bullpen session. The 32-year-old is 10-1 this season with a 2.53 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 88/12 K/BB ratio. The Jays have recalled LHP Brad Mills and RHP Jeremy Accardo. RHP Jason Frasor is likely to get closing duties.

– The Nationals continue to look for suitors for 1B Nick Johnson. OF Adam Dunn is not unattainable, but the return price would be very high.

– The D’Backs are shopping LHP Doug Davis and 3B Chad Tracy. Davis is in the final year of a three-year/$22M deal, but said he would rather not be traded and would prefer to remain in Arizona. He is open to an extension, perhaps even a one-year deal if the Diamondbacks were to approach him before the end of the season.

– A’s OF Matt Holliday will hit the market if the A’s don’t play very well for the next few weeks. The A’s will want the equivalent of a first rounder and a sandwich pick and, because few elite bats are available, at least one exec thinks they’ll get a good return. The A’s are worried he’ll accept arbitration if they offer it, but Stark hears that Scott Boras would likely direct Holliday towards a better hitter’s park, even if it was for less money.

– The Orioles are likely to deal either RHP Danys Baez or LHP George Sherrill.

– The Indians will not be trading LHP Cliff Lee or C Victor Martinez. 3B Mark DeRosa remains very available. The Cardinals are interested.

– The Red Sox are looking for a short-term fix at shortstop in exchange for RHP Brad Penny. The Phillies and Rangers are interested.

– The Rays are shopping for a reliever.

– The A’s have signed RHP Shawn Chacon.

– The Padres will place RHP Chris Young (shoulder) on the 15-day DL. Young has been bothered by the shoulder for his last four starts.

– The Phillies have placed OF Raul Ibanez (groin) on the 15-day DL. Ibanez has apparently been bothered by his groin on and off since April. Of course, you wouldn’t know it by the way he’s hitting. He’ll undergo an MRI Thursday afternoon that should give us all a better picture of the injury’s severity. Ibanez, 37, is batting .312/.371/.656 this season with 22 home runs and 59 RBI in 250 at-bats.

– Astros’ C Ivan Rodriguez has surpassed MLB great Carlton Fisk’s record of most games played at catcher with 2,227. I-Rod began his career at age 19 in 1991 and also played 12 seasons with the Rangers. A bad night for Pudge to make two errors behind the dish – it was the first time he had done it since August 26, 2004 and only the sixth time overall.

NHL

– Leafs’ GM Brian Burke has denied a rumour that would see the Leafs trade veteran D Tomas Kaberle to the Wild for D Marek Zidlicky and G Josh Harding. Burke has a window to trade both Kaberle and D Pavel Kubina this summer as the Leafs did not make the playoffs.

– The Oilers are very interested in Sens’ F Dany Heatley. The Sens are believed to want F Andrew Cogliano in a package deal, but the Oilers want to hold onto him. There may be draft picks in play, too, but they would likely be for 2010 because no team is going to trade for Heatley prior to July 1, considering that’s when he is due for a $4M signing bonus from Ottawa. Any potential deal would likely involve D Tom Gilbert and F Patrick O’Sullivan. Stay tuned.

– The Bruins have signed GM Peter Chiarelli to a four-year extension through the 2013-2014 season. Chiarelli signed four-year extension on top of the one season remaining on his original four-year deal. Chiarelli inherited a Bruins team that had the NHL’s fifth worst record and needed only three seasons to build a club that finished second best.

– The Penguins have signed offensive-minded D Alex Goligoski to a three-year/$5.5M contract.

Goligoski split time last season between the team’s AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre and the NHL, where he had six goals and 14 assists in 45 regular season games. He didn’t appear in the Stanley Cup finals for Pittsburgh.

Goligoski is expected to remain with the NHL team next season.

The Penguins still have three defensemen who will become UFA if they are not signed by July 1: Rob Scuderi, Hal Gill and Philippe Boucher.

– Bruins’ D Andrew Ference has undergone successful surgery to repair an abdominal hernia and a groin tear. Ference will be out four-to-six weeks.

– Wild’ G Niklas Backstrom has recovered well from hip surgery in April. Backstrom is in Las Vegas for the NHL awards on Thursday as he is a finalist for the Vezina Trophy along with Bruins’ G Tim Thomas and Blue Jackets’ G Steve Mason. The Wild goaltender will go to Vail, Colorado on Monday to see his hip surgeon and hopes to be able to step up his off-season training with the approval of his doctor.

– Red Wings’ D Nicklas Lidstrom has some serious competition as he attempts to garner his fourth consecutive Norris Trophy on Thursday. The NHL Awards will be handed out tonight and Lidstrom is a finalist against Bruins’ D Zdeno Chara and Capitals’ D Mike Green for the best defenseman award. Lidstrom has won the trophy six times and is attempting to tie Doug Harvey for second overall titles with seven, one behind Bobby Orr’s eight Norris wins. The 39-year-old Lidstrom, has won his six trophies in seven attempts this decade.

NBA

– According to sources, a potential trade involving T’Wolves’ F Al Jefferson and the No. 6 pick for Suns’ Amare Stoudemire is no longer on the table. The Suns made the offer to Minnesota, but the deal was rejected. Minny has reportedly called Jefferson to tell him the trade would not happen, but it does look like the Suns are dead set on moving Amare this summer. Stay tuned.

– Lakers’ G Kobe Bryant has confirmed that he will re-sign with the Lakers this offseason. “Where am I going to go? This is my home…It’s been a blast being here from ’96 to now,” he said to the crowd. “Here we are, back on top. This feels unbelievable. We have a young team, a team that has a lot of chemistry. We want to do this thing again and again. We’ll be back next year, ready to go. We’re going to keep on rolling.” Bryant, 30, can become a UFA next month by terminating his Lakers contract with two more years and $47.8M on it. The 13-year veteran could then re-sign with the Lakers for five years and about $135M.

– According to multiple sources, free agent G Ben Gordon is expected to be a primary target of the Pistons, who have roughly $23M of salary-cap space. Former Tribune NBA reporter Sam Smith took matters to another level Wednesday, writing on Bulls.com that he has “heard that Gordon’s agent allegedly has been saying he has an $11M promise from the Pistons.” Even if true, nobody would confirm this development because it would represent a violation of league rules. But free agents verbally agree to terms on the first day of free agency all the time, which suggests either parameters for deals privately get discussed prematurely or the official offers are so large as to blow the player away.

– The Pistons are rumoured to be shopping G Rip Hamilton.

– Celtics’ GM Danny Ainge has shot down rumours that the team is looking to deal G Rajon Rondo.

TNA

–According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there has been a lot of talk within TNA about Sting and his retirement. Retirement talks have come about every year since he returned to wrestling. Bound for Glory is the targeted area where they may do his retirement.

Sting is 50 now and over the last several years, he says it will be his last year. The internal belief is that he will Dixie Carter will talk Sting in to signing another year contract before his current contract expires.

Sting has been given a tremendous amount of leeway in terms of his schedule. He doesn’t work house shows and doesn’t work foreign tours. Also, the new TNA schedule, recording four shows in a three day period gives him more time to spend with his family. He is also given time off once a year to do an angle. It is believed that Sting is making around $500/year and is guaranteed a spot at the top of the roster.

In all likelihood, Sting will likely sign another year deal and contemplate retirement in 2010. Although, things may change over the course of the next several months.

– It’s believed that Trina Michaels has signed a deal with TNA Wrestling.

UFC

– UFC Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar returns to the Octagon next month on PPV at UFC 100 on July 11th. Lesnar will defend his gold against the man who defeated him in his first UFC fight, interim champion Frank Mir.

Lesnar spoke to the UK Sun this week and gave some insight into his thoughts about UFC’s heavyweight division as well as his surprising motivation for fighting.

Lesnar said, “I watch the other heavyweights and I don’t feel threatened by any of them. It doesn’t mean jack sh*t to me. I just want to win fights and make as much money as I can.”

Despite his success thus far in the UFC, he’s doing what he can to make sure his priorities are in check. “It’s all part of the plan and it’s a dream come true. I’m not getting caught up in la-la land. I’m keeping everything in perspective and keeping it real. But even though I’ve got the belt, I can still become a better fighter. It poses a whole other threat now, with people gunning for you and not just me trying to climb the ladder.”

Lesnar once again emphasized that as much as he enjoys the thrill of competition, at the end of the day, it’s still just a way to earn a paycheck. “I’ve had plenty of jobs to put food on the table. I grew up on a farm in South Dakota so I’m no stranger to hard work. But you have to make money. If there wasn’t a prize or a guy couldn’t make a living out of this I highly doubt that anybody would fight. Put it this way, guys play golf for recreation. You don’t fight and get bloody noses and black eyes for fun. I’m a grown man and I have to make a living out of this.”

NFL

– The NFL has suspended Browns’ WR Donte’ Stallworth indefinitely without pay for violating the league’s personal conduct and substance abuse policies. In Commissioner Roger Goodell’s letter to Stallworth, he wrote, “Your conduct reflected in your guilty plea resulted in the tragic loss of life and was inexcusable.” Goodell will eventually schedule a meeting with Stallworth and his representatives, and determine the length of his suspension at that time. It would surprise us if Stallworth played this season.

– WR Plaxico Burress has expressed interest in joining the Buccaneers this season. The wideout apparently reached out to former teammate Derrick Ward as well as WR Antonio Bryant. With the latest revelations that his case has been adjourned until September, it’s becoming increasingly possible that Burress will play this season. The Bucs could use a wideout, but NFL will still likely suspend Plax to start the year.

– According to UFL Access, former Bills QB JP Losman is scheduled to sign with Las Vegas of the United Football League. Losman, a first-round pick in 2004, will have a hard time shedding his “bust” label in the UFL.

MLB

– Red Sox’ RHP John Smoltz told WEEI.com that he wants to continue pitching beyond this year. Smoltz said, “The reason I had surgery was not to just come back for one year. Having surgery certainly quality of life was part of it, but I could have waited to have that. To have surgery at this point, when I did, and not try to milk anymore of the rest of that season, the reason I did that was to pitch well beyond. I figured if I was going to have surgery and I can pitch one year, what prevents me from pitching two years. Something will have to really go wrong to say, ‘OK I did everything I could and it wasn’t working.”

NHL

– Flyers’ D Derian Hatcher has retired from the NHL after 17 seasons. The veteran defender will serve as the Flyers’ player development coach. GM Paul Holmgren said, “We are pleased to add Derian to our coaching staff in this very important capacity. Derian will spend valuable time with the young players throughout our organization, working on their on-ice game as well as helping these young players deal with the issues playing and/or preparing to play professional hockey.” Hatcher appeared in 1,045 games over his career, amassing 331 points and 1,581 penalty minutes.

NFL

– NFL insider Adam Schefter reported on 850 KOA in Denver that Broncos’ RB Brandon Marshall asked team owner Pat Bowlen for a trade during their meeting Friday. Per Schefter, Bowlen asked Marshall to take some time to reconsider his stance. Marshall is not expected to back down, however, which means the Broncos are right back where they were with QB Jay Cutler. Though it’s possible that a new contract could assuage Marshall, it’s more likely that the receiver will continue to push for a trade.

– The Jets are reportedly monitoring WR Plaxico Burress’ legal issues and have not ruled out signing him.
The Jets haven’t tried hard to mask their interest in Plax, and they have a strong need opposite Jerricho Cotchery. Playing in New York would also make it easier to deal with his ongoing legal woes. Though Plax hopes to sign by training camp, he’s still at risk of NFL suspension.

UFC

– Changing Times Vitamins, Inc. announced the signing of MMA fighter Bobby Lashley, to represent its growing line of sports nutritional products.

Lashley will actively represent the company’s RecoveryX product and will be a distributor for the company’s RecoveryX and Popeye Water brands. The agreement also calls for the company to develop a line of sports supplements with the Bobby Lashley name on it which would be distributed through health food stores and health clubs.

Lashley, who has been using RecoveryX, stated:

“Since I’ve started drinking RecoveryX , I’ve had much more energy during my workouts, training sessions and sparring sessions. As a professional athlete, your body gets worn out quickly. RecoveryX has helped to take away the soreness and muscle aches that traditionally accompanies this type of physical activity. Because of the quick recovery time, I am able to train harder, go faster and work out longer than I ever have before. I am excited to be working with RecoveryX and I believe that all athletes should use this product to achieve peak performance.”

TNA

– Former TNA, WCW, and ECW manager Jim Mitchell spoke to Mike Mooneyham of the Charlotte Post and Courier and says he wasn’t treated professionally last month when he visited WWE developmental to tryout as a WWE manager.

Mitchell says he wasn’t told by FCW head trainer Steve Keirn beforehand that he needed to pay a $1K “tryout fee”. He was also told when he arrived that managerial try-outs were done in January and he missed the date. Mitchell says he emailed Keirn in February, but Keirn told him to come to Tampa for a managerial try-out anyways.

Mitchell said, “I was politely shown the door. I walked out of there after all of two minutes, shaking my head and asking myself, ‘Did that really just happen?’”

Mitchell doesn’t understand why Keirn told him to come to the try-out when WWE said in the past they didn’t want to use his services. “WWE has told me in the past they didn’t have a spot for me, so I don’t understand why Steve Keirn didn’t just say so when I first contacted him instead of wasting my time. I don’t expect that everybody on earth should know who I am. The other people who work with him there – Dusty Rhodes, Norman Smiley, Tom Prichard, Billy Kidman – they all know me. Had I gotten past the lobby I would have said ‘hello’ to them.”

Mitchell hasn’t worked for WWE before other than an appearance at the ECW One Night Stand PPV in 2005. Mitchell says that experience was completely different from dealing with WWE’s developmental staff.

“When I did the One Night Stand pay-per-view for WWE in Manhattan back in 2005, I couldn’t have asked for more courteous and professional treatment. WWE may not be manager-friendly creatively, but personally and professionally they treated me with total respect.”

Mitchell still thinks he could be a valuable asset to WWE and could help get their talent over, despite the fact that WWE has shifted away from male managers in recent years.

VoV

– Hero List updated.

– G Kobe Bryant and the Lakers beat the Magic in Orlando to win Game 5 of the Finals by a score of 99-86 for a 4-1 series victory to win the 2008-09 NBA Championship. This marks the fourth trophy for Kobe, who was named Finals MVP, and gives him his first without the help of Shaquille O’Neal. He finished with 30 points, six rebounds, five assists and four blocks as the Lakers easily beat the Magic for the trophy. Lakers coach Phil Jackson celebrates his NBA-best 10th Championship, passing Red Auerbach’s benchmark of nine rings. Meanwhile, Stan Van Gundy’s style and use of previously injured guard Jameer Nelson in the loss will likely be dissected for years to come.

NHL

– Leafs’ GM Brian Burke will be busy on Draft Day to say the least. A return for F Mats Sundin hasn’t been ruled out, but Burke will only look into it once his offseason to-do list is complete. The Leafs have many players on their offseason radar including the Sedins, D Mike Komisarek, and F Mike Cammaleri. It’s rumoured that D Tomas Kaberle is the most likely Leaf to be on the move. The Leafs and Lightning continue to talk in regards to their No. 2 draft selection, but if talks fall through, the Leafs could move up to fifth by dealing with the Kings, a team very interested in dealing their pick for some veteran defensive help.

– According to reports, there is mutual interest between Sens’ F Dany Heatley and the Sharks.The Sharks and Sens have already held talks regarding the sniper. Heatley and F Joe Thornton would be a dynamic duo, but can the Sharks get Heatley without dealing big Joe? Talk is the deal could be a big one, with San Jose looking to dump F Jonathan Cheechoo and F Ryan Clowe this summer. Don’t be surprised if the Sens first round pick gets thrown into this to make this deal a big one.

– The Canucks are still working hard to sign the Sedins, but nothing is close there as of yet. I’m hearing that if the Canucks lose the Sedins, they will use that money to lure F Marian Gaborik and one of either D Jay Bouwmeester or D Scott Niedermayer to Vancouver. At this point, J-Bo is choosing between the Canucks and Oilers.

– According to a reliable source, F Saku Koivu is likely to sign with the Wild to play with his brother, Mikko. I’ve also been told that F Alexei Kovalev and D Mike Komisarek are likely to re-sign with the Habs.

– The rumoured deal between the Ducks and Kings involving D Chris Pronger for D Jack Johnson and the No. 5 overall pick deal isn’t going to happen, as Johnson’s contract demands are just too high. The Ducks are rumoured to be heavily shopping G JS Giguere, and the Leafs, Oilers and Kings could be interested.

– We’re hoping for a decision by judge Baum today about the future of the Phoenix Coyetes. While I have no inside information on the matter, I believe Jim Balsillie will pay whatever it takes to complete his dream. He’s got corporate sponsors on board, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he offers some of the shares in the team for a little help at the start. Stay tuned.

– Devils’ F John Madden will not re-sign with the Devils and will test the free agent market on July 1.

– Penguins’ F Bill Guerin will not retire this offseason.

– G Ty Conklin is not expected to be back with Detroit next campaign. The 33-year-old netminder is scheduled to become an UFA on July 1 and it is unclear if the Wings want to retain his services. Goaltender of the future, Jimmy Howard, has toiled in the minors the greater part of four years and looks set to test his medal as an NHL backstop. GM Ken Holland also promised that Howard would make the team for the 2009-10 season.

– Speaking of the Wings, D Brian Rafalski played the majority of the playoffs with a herniated disc. Rafalski missed some action in the post-season, but turned in another solid effort for the Red Wings. Raffy recorded 12 points in 18 playoff contests. He should be ready for next year.

– Penguins’ F Sidney Crosby presented his side of the story, regarding the post-series handshake after Game 7 on Friday. Crosby was criticized by Red Wings’ F Kris Draper for not getting into the lineup faster and shaking hands with Wings’ captain Nicklas Lidstrom. Crosby said,“My intentions were to shake hands. That we didn’t wasn’t me trying to avoid it. That’s the last thing I’d want to do. By no means was I trying to avoid shaking the other team’s hands. I think it’s important to do that.”

Crosby, now the youngest captain in NHL history at only 22, said he joined the line after about “3 or 4 minutes” of celebrating and there were “7-to-10″ Red Wings left, with “5 or 6″ that were exiting the ice surface. Crosby also added that “[he] didn’t feel like waiting around, either” after losing the Stanley Cup, so he questioned how long Lidstrom actually stood around waiting.

It doesn’t matter to be honest, shaking hands afterwards is a must. Yeah, he’s young, but he’s also “mature”, so it shouldn’t have been an issue.

– Penguins’ D Sergei Gonchar revealed that he has been played the final two rounds on a torn MCL.

– The Hurricanes have signed head coach Paul Maurice to a three-year contract extension. GM Jim Rutherford said, “When Paul came in, he did a really good job of bringing the coaching staff together. They had good chemistry, and the delegation of certain areas where everybody felt they had an important role in the staff worked well.” Ron Francis will serve as the team’s associate head coach and director of player personnel. Tom Barrasso will work as the Carolina’s assistant coach and will continue to help out the goaltenders. Tom Rowe and Kevin McCarthy were retained as the club’s other assistant coaches.

– F Ian Laperriere will likely not be a member of the Avalanche next season, as he is poised to test the open market as a free agent. The Avalanche did not handle the Lapperriere situation very well. They had several offers at the trade deadline to deal him to contending teams for at least a draft pick, but chose to keep him. Then they offered him a one-year deal worth less than the $1.15M he made this past season. Lapperriere is a heart-and-soul player and a good locker-room presence that should attract attention from other clubs. He posted 19 points and 163 penalty minutes in 74 games with Colorado last campaign.

– Wild’ F Andrew Brunette has been working hard in his efforts to recover from off-season knee surgery.
He has been put through the wringer with Minnesota’s strength and conditioning coach Kirk Olson since the procedure. Brunette suffered a completely torn ACL on January 17 and still played the remainder of the regular season. He underwent reconstructive surgery about seven weeks ago and will need four-to-six months of recovery time. Brunette registered 22 goals (second on the team) and 50 points (second on the team) in 80 games despite the injury.

– F Vernon Fiddler would like to remain a member of the Predators. He is a potential UFA this summer, and could end up on the market if the Predators choose to go a different direction. Fiddler has spent the past seven years with the organization and wants to stay put. Nashville has made him a contract offer, but nothing much has come of it.

WWE

– Japan’s Mainichi Daily News is reporting that wrestling legend Mitsuharu Misawa died on Saturday night after suffering spinal damage during a match in Hiroshima, Japan. He was 46.

Misawa was fighting in a tag team match at Hiroshima Green Arena in front of around 2,300 spectators. During the match, opponent Akitoshi Saito used a back suplex on him, causing him to strike his head and leaving him unable to move. His heart stopped shortly after.

A doctor in the audience reportedly used an automated external defibrillator (AED) to try and start his heart again, but to no avail. He was rushed to hospital where he was declared dead at 10:10 p.m. It later turned out that the cause of his death was damage to his cervical spinal cord.

– Chris Masters was indeed hired back by World Wrestling Entertainment this past week.

“The Masterpiece” had a meeting with Vince McMahon at the Los Angeles tapings a few weeks ago and was recommended by Randy Orton to be brought back. Many in WWE are curious as to how he will look like when he returns as it was noted that it will send a message.

WWE released Masters from his contract on November 8, 2007 six days after he had been suspended for 60 days for having violated the company’s drug testing policy on a second occasion. The suspension was for 60 days because he had been previously suspended on August 30, 2007 when the Signature Pharmacy scandal broke out. Shortly after his return to the ring, he was suspended for failing a drug test.

Contrary to his Wikipedia bio, Masters was not suspended when he quietly taken off the road in May 2006. Masters entered a drug rehabilitation due to an issue with prescription painkillers, but it did not count as a strike against because there was no drug test failure associated with him being sent to rehab.

He returned to WWE four months later with much less muscle mass, leading Jerry “The King” Lawler to refer to him as “leaner and meaner” Chris Masters.

Here’s a picture of Masters during his first stint with WWE:

And this is a recent picture of him. Did someone poke him with a pin?

– One source within WWE feels that the company does respectfully consider TNA as competition, although doesn‘t really entertain the idea that they will ever be a serious threat. One member of upper management says that even if TNA did increase in popularity, Vince would never take them as serious as he did WCW during the 90′s unless they did something to deliberately hurt his business.

– Rey Mysterio competed at last night’s SmackDown/ECW live event in Binghamton, New York, working a Triple Threat Match against World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk and Jeff Hardy. Punk came out on top to retain his title. This proves, once and for all, that Mysterio has not handed in his 2-weeks notice.

– WWE has hired the producer from the hit TV series, Prison Break.

MLB

– According to the Boston Globe, major league sources indicated the Sox have fielded multiple calls and some offers for RHP Brad Penny, who today became eligible to be traded. Because Penny was signed as a free agent, he could not be traded until June 15. At this point, there have been no significant offers.

– Speaking of the Red Sox, they and the have had trade talks regarding SS Jack Wilson, but no move in that direction seems imminent or even likely based on how talks have gone to this point. Wilson has an $8.4M club option for 2010 on his contract, but management has indicated it is highly unlikely to exercise it. That being the case, Wilson could become a free agent this offseason. The team and player also have broached the idea of a multiyear extension at a lower rate, though that was early in the spring and has not been followed up.”

– Athletics’ 3B Eric Chavez will undergo a second microdiscectomy on his back, this time on a different spot. The A’s confirmed that he’d miss the rest of the season. Chavez told The San Francisco Chronicle last month that another surgery would end his career, but that no longer appears to be the case. Chavez underwent his original microdiscectomy back on October 9.

– Rockies’ RHP Taylor Buchholz will undergo Tommy John surgery for the damaged ligament in his right elbow. Buchholz tried to rehab after initially being diagnosed with a sprained ligament on March 5, and the extra damage incurred will likely cost him half of 2010. Buchholz said, “I was hoping this could be avoided. That’s why we waited this long. Looking back, I guess you could say I could have had this done three months ago. But we were hopeful.’’

– Angels’ RHP Scot Shields (knee) is out for the remainder of the season.

– The Rays have placed RHP Jason Isringhausen (shoulder) on the 60-day DL.

– The Royals have placed OF Coco Crisp (rotator cuff) on the 15-day DL.

– The Brewers have transferred 2B Rickie Weeks to the 60-day DL.

– The Rangers have placed RHP Frank Francisco (shoulder tendinitis) on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to June 4. Francisco could return as soon as Friday, but the Rangers won’t rush him back again.

– The Twins will likely send OF Denard Span (ear) to the 15-day DL.

NBA

– The agent for Magic’ F Hedo Turkoglu told the Sentinel on Monday that Turk will opt out of his contract and become a free agent in two weeks. Turkoglu is scheduled to make $7.3M next season in the final year of a 6-year/$36M deal. F Marcin Gortat is also testing the free-agent waters.

NFL

– WR Plaxico Burress’ gun case was adjourned to September 23rd. Plax was late to the court date. With a possible trial not seeming likely until 2010, Burress’ support team is hoping he’s allowed to play football this year. It’s uncertain if the NFL will suspend Burress before the case is heard, so the chance of Burress playing this season is inching up, if a team is willing to take the gamble.

– The Broncos are not yet considering the possibility of dealing RB Brandon Marshall. Marshall held out of Denver’s recent minicamp and faces fines if the Broncos want to levy them. Marshall’s holdout could extend into training camp, which may cause Denver to reconsider, although we doubt it. Marshall is also coming off of hip surgery.

TNA

– It was reported in The Sun and Wrestling Observer last week that former TNA wrestler Nicole Raczynski (aka Roxxi/Roxxi Laveaux/Nikki Roxx) had recently sent her resume to WWE and the AAA promotion out of Mexico.

Raczynski denied the report in a statement on her Twitter account: “Morning! Just found out a bunch of places reported I sent my resume to Triple A and WWE. I so don’t remember doing or saying this. Lol.”