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As we wait for this hockey lunacy to get sorted out, here is my best attempt at a bias-free blog on where things stand.

We have killed a lot of trees and wasted a ton of bandwidth arguing about the ongoing vote into the possibility of decertifying the NHL Players’ Association. I get mixed messages about how serious the players are about going down this road. There are some who really want to do it.  But there are others who want no part of it unless the NHL cancels the season.

Should that apocalyptically stupid scenario actually occur, the last three months will seem like a kiddie party compared to what happens next. The players and owners will really go for the jugular. But as one source said Wednesday: “We need an external push.”

A legal threat could be just that, as it was in the NBA one year ago. Another, of course, is the true deadline for cancelling the season. As of yet, the NHL refuses to reveal that information, although it’s probably around Jan. 15 at the latest.

I don’t believe either constituency supports a lost season. The players want to play and the owners do, too. But the biggest problem is that they don’t trust each other and the path is littered with poison.

As infuriating as all of this is, it’s better they’re not meeting. The breakdowns of the past two weeks are proof that the NHL and NHLPA should not be anywhere near each other unless they’re both serious about making a deal. You can blame who you want, be my guest. But the truth is this: the desire to agree to a new collective bargaining agreement was not 100 per cent there on either side. Collapses only make things worse, so it sounds like the NHL is making a change in strategy.

I don’t know if the league underestimated NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr or just received horrible intel on him. But it did not recognize two very important things.

First, Fehr’s idealogical beliefs are very strong. You may consider his CBA history lessons boring or irrelevant. But he doesn’t. More importantly, he convinced the players how much it mattered and they rallied behind him.

There’ve been times during this process when NHL commissioner Gary Bettman’s supporters have taken issue with my position that he has disrespected the players. That’s fair comment and those people are correct to point out that the players, especially on Twitter, have disrespected him, too. But the fact is that some of the NHL’s negotiating moves helped Fehr gain a greater buy-in. There is no doubt in my mind the vast majority of the players want to play. But some of Bettman’s decisions accomplished the reverse, pushing the NHLPA in the opposite direction. It was counter-productive.

The second thing the NHL missed was Fehr’s history of waiting until the last second to make deals. Whatever mistakes the league made in this process, it wanted to be playing by now. We’ve talked about the Proskauer Rose playbook and how this is all scripted by “the law firm that’s ruining sports.” But I really believe this has gone further than Bettman wanted it to, which is why he looks so frustrated. Now Fehr is controlling the tempo and has convinced his constituency that the owners will make final concessions at the end. A lot of players don’t like how long this is taking yet they seem to believe that.

Hence, the NHL’s change in strategy. It’s going to wait.

When Ron Burkle (Pittsburgh), Mark Chipman (Winnipeg), Larry Tanenbaum (Toronto) and Jeff Vinik (Tampa Bay) joined the fray two weeks ago, the NHL was upset its decision to raise the make-whole amount to $300 million wasn’t received well by the players. Again, everyone can argue who is right and who is wrong. But those owners really thought that was going to be a significant move towards getting an agreement done. It didn’t happen and, angrily, that offer was pulled from the table. 

I have had no correspondence with Bettman or deputy commissioner Bill Daly for this blog. However, after several conversations with other NHL executives, my opinion is if those two had reason to believe that putting the make-whole provision back on the table and moving in the players’ direction on contracting issues would lead to an NHLPA vote on their latest proposal, they’d be at the bargaining table immediately to find a way to do it. But they don’t believe that’s a possibility. What they see is a repeat of New York City, where these things are offered and the players say, “Thank you … and we’ll see what else there is.”

Bettman and Daly won’t take that risk. You can argue whether or not they are right or wrong to hold that position. But I think that’s where we are. The NHL doesn’t believe the NHLPA is truly ready to make a deal. So barring a change, it’s going to sit tight.

30 THOUGHTS

1. After hearing Kyle Turris’ reported thoughts about Finland, I thought he was joking, not trying to be harmful, and that he forgot two things. First, people don’t like it when you make fun of their countries, even if not meant maliciously. Second, right now, when it comes to hockey, people don’t have much of a sense of humour about anything.

2. Next apology? Evander Kane, who tweeted this photo early Wednesday morning. Oof. It’s a good thing people aren’t prone to overreacting on Twitter.

3. Winnipeg Jets teammate Ron Hainsey had a lot of interesting things to say about Kane. He’s a big fan. Hainsey believes Kane is a phenomenal talent, joking that “I can’t lift 230 [pounds] once and he does it over-and-over again as a warmup.” The thing, though, is Kane is 21 and impulsive and needs people around him to make sure he thinks things through. Clearly, that didn’t happen here. 

4. I really hate filling this with lockout-related items, so sorry in advance. But there’s some stuff to go over. Let’s look at some of the sticking points. In the aforementioned NYC negotiations, the NHLPA dropped a demand that, starting in Year 2 of the new CBA, its amount of the financial pie was protected from dropping below the previous season’s. But it did ask for a cap on escrow. I just can’t see the owners going for that at all, even with the 2012-13 schedule on the line.

5. I think the $300-million make-whole is back on the table if the NHL gets a 10-year agreement with an out after eight (as requested by the players).

6. We’ve heard Fehr’s arguments that 10 years is too long because too many players entering the league will be subject to a CBA they didn’t vote on. To me, the bigger question is what’s better for the players — that philosophy or business partners confident that they can sign a decent-sized contract with the NHL and not have to worry about another work stoppage?

7. NHL owners are going to have to move on the five-year max contracts (seven for your own free agents). I know I mentioned it last week, but the effects of Vincent Lecavalier on the Tampa sale and Ilya Kovalchuk on the continuing New Jersey situation have these guys totally spooked. Yes, it’s their own fault and they know it. That’s why they’ve got to go six and eight.

8. The one I’m really having trouble pinning down is the amnesty buyout. It’s very difficult to get a read on what’s going to happen here because word is the commissioner is absolutely against anything that doesn’t count against the salary cap. But you look at the possibility of a $60-million ceiling next season, see where some teams are and say, “This isn’t possible without one.”

9. One possibility: when Ken Hitchcock was hired by St. Louis, he was still owed about $1.3 million by Columbus. The Blues can’t pay him $1 and have the Blue Jackets cough up $1,299,999. There is a formula the league uses where the new team must pay market value, where you look at the salaries of other coaches with his level of experience.

10. So what if you tried that? Well, Wade Redden has played 994 NHL games. If you add up the combined 2011-12 salaries of active players within 50 games of that, you get $3,657,533. (Range: Lecavalier to Petr Sykora.) Redden’s current contract pays him $5 million for this year and next with a cap hit of $6.5 million. The New York Rangers should get stuck with the higher number so, if another team wants him, it must take a cap hit of $2,842,467 (ie. 6.5 million minus 3,657,533).

11. I have to tell you, nothing I’ve suggested in my career was dismissed as quickly as that and I’ve had some really bad ideas. The first two execs I asked shot it down so badly that I didn’t even ask a third. It was interesting because the first GM said, “No one would sign Redden at that number.” What’s key here are the words “at that number” — we’ll get to that later.

12. In the middle of the night, I thought of something else. As it stands now, the buyout for Redden is 67 per cent of his salary over double the term remaining, so the Rangers pay out $6.7 million during the next four years (assuming no change in the next CBA). What if you affected his cap hit the same way? Give New York a choice: $6.5 million on your cap for two years or $4.355 million for four. Do the math and $4,355,000 minus $3,657,533 is $697,467. Now Redden gets another shot.

13. One final note on Redden. It looks like the Rangers have all but guaranteed he is getting the buyout (if there is one) and the sense is there is going to be a lot of interest in him. Don’t know what the final salary will be. But if he’s willing to be reasonable — and you have to believe he will be — he’s going to have options. Lots of execs think he will be good value at a lower number.

14. I ran the same numbers on Scott Gomez. He has played 902 NHL games. The average salary in 2011-12 for players who’ve dressed for between 852 and 952 games was $3,124,656 (Range: Brad Richards to Jamal Mayers).

15. The second thing I suggested was what if teams who buy out a player can only carry 22 on their roster instead of 23? The execs liked it even less … can’t imagine that would thrill the NHLPA, either.

16. Anyway, if I was the commissioner, I’d be quietly polling my owners, asking how many of them would consider an amnesty buyout on their roster. I didn’t ask a ton of guys. But those I did talk to said the number might be lower than we think. Bettman can decide what’s an acceptable amount. However, for argument’s sake, if it’s 15, is it really worth cancelling the season for that?

17. Last thing on this topic. If I was a “have” financially, I’d be demanding it. What else are you getting in this CBA? The share is going down to 50/50 and anything you save there is going into revenue sharing. 

18. I get asked about the Olympics quite a bit. Nothing is nailed down and it might be done separately from this CBA, but it sounds like both sides want to make it work.

19. Fehr’s mentor, the late Marvin Miller, absolutely hated the idea of every player being made a free agent — a move threatened by the NHL’s anti-disclaimer legal brief. There’s a pretty famous story of former Oakland A’s owner Charlie Finley saying baseball should do just that and Miller being relieved because he knew the other owners would never listen. Miller understood the perfect setup was similar to last summer in the NHL, when you had a few A-level guys — Shea Weber, Zach Parise, Ryan Suter — drive up the price for everyone. 

20. Seth Jones: crossover appeal — a Page Six mention! (courtesy Nirva Milord from the NHL office) His father is one of the 10 nicest people on the planet.

21. Last week, it was discovered a Boston Bruins fan made a tattoo out of a Tyler Seguin autograph. This happened to Ryan Miller in Buffalo, only it was a female and, I believe, her thigh. Miller wins.

22. I’m not a big fan of players being kept from the world juniors by their NHL teams. If the player makes it clear he doesn’t want to go, like Jason Spezza after three appearances, that’s one thing. But I’m really torn on Mika Zibanejad. If he was from Swift Current, not Stockholm, we’d be demanding a federal investigation.

23. Zibanejad is struggling with AHL Binghamton. He has just seven points in 16 games and, while plus/minus is a flawed stat, he has one of the worst numbers on a team with few negative players. You have to assume the Senators want him to make an NHL impact as soon as possible, especially since they will try to continue momentum from their surprising 2011-12. I can see their rationale. 

24. A lot of people were very surprised that Frankie Corrado and Derrick Pouliot did not make Team Canada. There are always debates and those two were this year’s hotly discussed omissions.

25. Make it four straight wins for the Portland Pirates, Phoenix’s AHL edition. The Coyotes have some blue-liners coming, too. We know about Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who scored major points by deciding to stay in the AHL rather than going for a more lucrative contract overseas. But there are more.

26. David Rundblad’s overall game has improved this season — and at an important time in his career. He is a 17th overall pick (2009) who has already been traded twice and needs to establish himself. He’ll never be a monster along the boards. But there is a noted difference in his willingness to compete in that area. A guy who always competed defensively, Mike Stone, is on pace for the best offensive numbers of his career.

27. Then there’s Brandon Gormley, who fell to 13th in the 2010 draft amid expectations he would go higher. There were questions about his strength after a poor pre-draft combine. But a few teams saw his skill level and believed that, once he filled out, he’d be just fine. Gormley’s still not where he’s going to be size-wise but it’s coming. And he’s got a great head for the game.

28. A number of coaches, executives and scouts going back to junior really praise Gormley’s ability to get his shot through. In an era of blocking, that’s a big deal. Plus, he has a real confidence at the opposing blue-line. He is willing to stand outside the zone to make a play while keeping the puck inside the line. I understand why the Coyotes are so excited about him.

29. At the NHL board of governors meeting two weeks ago, a young man named Jim Charshafian waited outside Proskauer Rose, trying to make contacts and handing out his resume. Charshafian worked for the AHL San Antonio Rampage last season and was looking for something new. It’s hard to get your foot in the door and not easy to cold call like that. Good luck.

30. As we approach Christmas and the Holiday season, I wanted to send the best to anyone financially affected by the lockout. There are thousands of part-time, full-time or laid-off employees whose situations are tougher than they’d want because of this outrageous battle. This is a hard time of year to feel that way. Hopefully, you get your wish — an end, and soon. 

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30 Thoughts: NHL opts to play waiting game is a post from What's going on around the world?

These aren’t your same old Dallas Mavericks.

Being under .500 25 games into an NBA season is not something seen in Dallas since George W. Bush was the governor of Texas — or Mark Cuban’s first season as Mavericks owner.

Of course it doesn’t come as a complete shock.

Dirk Nowitzki has yet to play this season after arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and O.J. Mayo, while spectacular at times this year, has yet to become a closer. However, to dismiss Dallas as an aging team on the downswing would be doing it something of a disservice.

The team’s most recent road trip — lowlighted by last Friday’s 95-74 beatdown by the Toronto Raptors — demonstrated how a decent team in the NBA can be totally undone by turnovers. The Mavericks gave the ball away 65 times in three road losses to Boston, Toronto and Minnesota. That’s a staggering 22 turnovers per game (they committed the fewest on the road swing against the Raptors, but set the tone early by giving it away five times in the first quarter). It’s been their Achilles’ heel all season and, as of Tuesday, Dallas ranks 26th in the league in turnovers.

The main culprit? Mayo, who is averaging three giveaways a game.

When the Mavericks signed Mayo away from the Grizzlies in the off-season, it was a given that the addition would be an upgrade from the departed Jason Terry and that Mayo could be on the verge of a true breakout season. While he’s stepped up offensively in the absence of Nowitzki and the flashes of brilliance have been bright — a 40-point outing against the Rockets earlier this month among them — Mayo’s still a step or two away from being the man. 

Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle concedes that Mayo is receiving a lot of attention from opponents and seeing frequent double teams.

“He’s starting to understand, as time goes on, the points of discipline,” Carlisle said.

Carlisle also alluded to the importance of the Mavericks’ significant veteran contingent in that development — players like Derek Fisher, Vince Carter, Elton Brand and Shawn Marion.

‘Let it come to you’

Marion pointed out before the Toronto loss that the main thing Mayo needs to hone is his patience.

“When you force it, it’s that much harder,” Marion said. “Just let it come to you.”
 
Until then, Carlisle will be left to drill Mayo and fellow new addition Darren Collison, a point guard who ranks 46th in the NBA in assist/turnover ratio on limiting giveaways.

“You can’t throw the ball through the nose of a defender and have it come out his [rear end] to a teammate,” Carlisle told ESPN Dallas.

‘Nothing but great for us’

Carlisle had high praise last Friday for Carter, who, a month shy of his 36th birthday, has clearly embraced his role-player status with the Mavericks, perhaps more comfortably than any other situation in his career.

“Vince has been nothing but great for us for two years,” Carlisle said. “His attitude is phenomenally good all the time.”

While Carter promptly went out and laid an egg, shooting 1-of-8 amid the usual cascade of boos in what had to be his worst-ever return performance to Toronto as an opponent, he remains a key player for Dallas.

“The challenge is to not play him too many minutes,” Carlisle said. “It’s hard to win in this league without experienced players.”

‘Casey is a great coach’

Carlisle, easily a Top 3 coach in the league — was also quick to defend his former assistant Dwane Casey, now head coach in Toronto. Prior to the game, before a reporter could finish a question about Casey, Carlisle interjected: “Dwane Casey is a great coach … he’ll get [the Raptors] through it.”
 
It’s safe to say that Carlisle wasn’t hoping a step to that would come with a 21-point Raptors victory, but he offered more in defeat.

“After tonight, I think it’s very, very clear that whatever problems the Raptors franchise have are completely unrelated to coaching,” he said. “Dwane Casey is doing a great job with a roster that’s beat up.

“I just have so much respect for him.”

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Posted December 17th, 2012 by Marissa & filed under Junk Drawer, SFW, The Daily Dose (Entertainment News).

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CBC Sports is about to reveal its Top 10 most influential people in Canadian sport on Sports Weekend this Saturday. The way I see it, there aren’t enough athletes on the list.

CBC Sports is about to reveal its Top 10 most influential people in Canadian sport on Sports Weekend this Saturday. The way I see it, there aren’t enough athletes on the list.

At the top, you’ll find the NHL commissioner. But there’s a union organizer right behind him and a professional baseball executive, too. The head of the Canadian Olympic Committee is front and centre as are the men in the boardrooms of the CFL. Meantime, only three bonafide athletes made the cut, according to our editorial board.

That’s because power and influence in sport have, for too long, been defined by what happens on the sidelines.
 
It’s evident that money talks and those who have the power to spend it on salaries or dole it out to various national athletes and teams carry the big stick. This has become a widely accepted notion, that sport is nothing if not business.

That’s why you tend to find administrators, media moguls and major corporate sponsors on these kinds of lists. Those who pull the strings behind the scenes have a major influence on what the fans eventually see and how sport is presented.

According to this formula, those who patronize sport have little to no power. Do the power brokers pulling the strings during the NHL lockout fiasco really care about the consumer? It’s obvious that they don’t. They assume that rabid hockey fans will rush back to arenas when play resumes.

In Canada, they may be right. South of the border, in some of the swing states of hockey, well, they just might be looking at an entirely different animal.

So where does all of this leave the stars of sport themselves, the athletes? Ultimately, who has the power to create an iconic sporting moment like Lou Marsh Award winner Christine Sinclair did when she almost singlehandedly put soccer on the map in this country at the London Olympics? The answer is precious few Canadians.

Listen to how the man in charge of the Canadian Soccer Association described Sinclair’s affect on sport. 

“That award is a tribute to Christine and her teammates and all they’ve done in both our national and international sporting communities in 2012,” said Peter Montopoli, the CSA’s general secretary.

In Halifax, there is further proof of Sinclair’s influence. Soccer clinics sold out immediately once parents became aware Sinclair would be there to teach their kids.

“The enthusiasm of parents trying to get the kids into the camp, I don’t know how to describe it to you,” George Athanasiou of Soccer Nova Scotia told the National Post. “Plenty of people were begging for us to put them into the camp.”

Now that’s real influence in sport — the power to motivate young people and make them want to play. 

Further to that, who’s been a bigger game changer in hockey than Sidney Crosby? Who sells as many sweaters with his/her name on the back?  When Crosby plays, fans get excited and come to watch.

And who’s a better role model than the indomitable speed skater/cyclist Clara Hughes? Very few people can inspire Canadians of all ages and from all walks of life as she can. The same can be said of Milos Raonic, who has sparked a Canadian tennis revival because of his dramatic rise in the world rankings. 

Georges St. Pierre has turned a nation on to UFC and become a champion to millions with his victorious return from injury and to the top of a vicious and uncompromising sport.

Once quarterback Ricky Ray arrived in Toronto, the lamentable Argonauts thought of and then won the 100th Grey Cup in their hometown and captured the imagination of the country’s largest and most diverse city.

The point is this: athletes have the ultimate influence by virtue of their performances.

Only the athletes have the power to compete and to win or lose. They send the message. They deliver on the promise. They are the reason the fans watch. Real power in sport only exists because of what transpires on the field of play.

What’s On CBC Sports Weekend

CBC Sports Weekend is on the air at 3 p.m. ET this Saturday.

Cross Country World Cup action comes to Canmore, Alta., with the Canadian men led by trailblazers Alex Harvey and Devon Kershaw. Olympic gold medalist Chandra Crawford, a Canmore native, is the last Canadian to win on the course in 2008 and is back competing on home snow for the first time in three seasons.

In Europe, the Canadian Cowboys saddle up for a World Cup downhill at Val Gardena, Italy. They’re led by reigning world champion Erik Guay, who has looked sharp in training. But they’ll have to deal with Norwegian ace Aksel Lund Svindal, who won Friday’s super-G by a wide margin.

Plus, our Big Picture panel featuring Jenn Heil, Perdita Felicien and Jonathon Gatehouse of Maclean’s magazine tackles the subject of power and influence in sport as CBC Sports reveals it’s Top 10 most influential people in Canadian sport.

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Citing major league sources, the website reported Sunday that the deal is contingent on the Blue Jays and the knuckleballer coming to an agreement on a contract extension. The two sides reportedly have a 72-hour negotiation window that expires at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

Does Dickey make the Jays the World Series favourites?

A spokesperson for the Blue Jays declined to comment on the report.

Dickey, a 38-year-old right-hander, is signed for $5 million US next season but is seeking an extension thought to be worth $25 million over two years.

The New York Post reports that the Mets would also send catcher Josh Thole and a non-elite prospect to the Jays in exchange for catchers Travis D’Arnaud and John Buck, right-hander Noah Syndergaard and another non-elite prospect.

The 23-year-old D’Arnaud is viewed as the Jays’ No. 1 prospect, while the 20-year-old Syndergaard is ranked No. 3.

Dickey, who went 20-6 with a 2.73 earned-run average for the Mets in 2012, is coming off a season in which he led the NL in strikeouts (230), ERA, innings (233 2-3), complete games (five) and shutouts (three).

Despite battling an abdominal injury, Dickey became the Mets’ first 20-game winner since Frank Viola in 1990 and the first major leaguer in 24 years to throw consecutive one-hitters.

He was cut by the Mets in spring training in 2011 but worked his way to New York and earned a spot in the rotation by the end of the season.

Dickey languished in the minors for 14 years, bouncing from one team to another before finally perfecting the perplexing knuckleball that’s made him a star.

He joined Dwight Gooden (1985) and three-time winner Tom Seaver as the only Mets to win the Cy Young Award.

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Blue Jays, Mets have deal in place for R.A. Dickey: report is a post from What's going on around the world?

CALGARY — The team photo had just been snapped, and there was Canadian head coach Steve Spott helping the arena crew push chairs to the Zamboni entrance.

If you’re wondering what kind of man will lead this group of Canadian juniors into the frying pan in 12 days at the world under-20 hockey championship in Ufa, Russia, that gesture said it all.

The 44-year-old Spott is humble. He’s attentive. He’s organized. He’s a communicator. He’s a teacher. He cares. You just know behind those piercing blue eyes is an NHL coach in waiting.

To understand where Spott came from, we take you back to his North York neighbourhood. His best friend at an early age was, and still is, Adam Graves.

Graves won Stanley Cups with the 1989-90 Edmonton Oilers and 1993-94 New York Rangers, and is considered one of the most respectful human beings to play the game in the last 25 years. 

Spott was Graves’s best man at his wedding. Graves reciprocated when Spott married his wife Lisa.

“He’s my friend, but really we’re brothers,” Spott said. “We’ve spent so much time together.”

They always have been there for one another. When Spott failed Grade 9 math, his father made him work at his auto body shop in the East End of Toronto that summer. Graves went along to help his friend through the difficult days.

They pulled weeds around the property. They painted the roof. They cleaned up the mess inside the garage at the end of the busy day.

“That was the worst summer,” Spott recalled. “We never wanted to do that again. I guess it became pretty clear from that summer we wanted to do something else with our lives.”

So they immersed themselves in hockey. Graves went away to play junior with the Windsor Spitfires. Spott wound up at Colgate University. After four years at the Hamilton, N.Y., school, he split his first professional season in 1990-91 with the Richmond Renegades of the ECHL and then a 25-game Newmarket Saints of the AHL.

Short pro career

Saints head coach Frank Anzalone previously had coached at Lake Superior State and Spott made an impression when Colgate and Lake Superior State clashed in a game. It didn’t hurt that the assistant coach was Bill Purcell, a family friend of the Spott’s.

But Spott’s pro career didn’t last much longer. He spent a year in Holland playing, but then returned to Canada and before his 30^th birthday he found himself as the head coach at Seneca College. Under Spott’s guidance, and some players were older than Spott, Seneca won the 1994-95 provincial championship.

He would then move on to coach the Markham Waxers. In the meantime, Graves had introduced Spott to Peter DeBoer. Graves and DeBoer were teammates in Windsor. Spott and DeBoer had worked a few summertime hockey schools together.

DeBoer was impressed with his new acquaintance.

DeBoer had just begun his head coaching career with the old Detroit Junior Red Wings of the OHL, who became the Plymouth Whalers, and he hired Spott as a scout.

A few years later, DeBoer was in the market for a trusty No. 2 man. He wanted Spott. The problem was he couldn’t offer Spott much money, nowhere near the teacher’s salary he was earning at Mary Ward Catholic Secondary in Scarborough, Ont.

“Thank God, this coaching thing has worked out for him,” DeBoer said. “He left a good job and was making next to nothing working for me.”

“It’s too embarrassing to tell you how much I was making [as DeBoer's assistant],” Spott said, laughing. “Let’s just say my wife was working full time and she was making twice what I was making.”

‘He died too young’

So why did Spott take a chance? His father, Martin, always told him to do something he enjoyed. The father told the son not to be afraid to take a risk. Well, Spott enjoyed teaching, but he loved coaching.

Unfortunately, Martin passed away 5½ years ago and won’t be able to experience what could be his son’s biggest triumph to date. But Spott will take his father’s spirit along for the ride. 

“He died too young,” Spott said. “He was a terrific father, a terrific man.”

DeBoer and Spott had some triumphs together. They went to back-to-back OHL finals with the Whalers — with Spott’s nephew Stephen Weiss in the lineup. The two coaches won the OHL championship and Memorial Cup title in their second year together with the 2002-03 Kitchener Rangers. They made it to the Memorial Cup final again five years later.

When DeBoer left for the NHL that summer to coach Weiss and the Florida Panthers, Spott finally became a head coach in the OHL.

“He could have been a head coach in the OHL five years before he did,” DeBoer said. “I knew I had the luxury of having another head coach working alongside me.”

“Let’s make no mistake about it, I’m standing here as the Canadian junior team head coach because of Peter DeBoer,” Spott said.

DeBoer plans to stay out of his protégé’s way when the world juniors begin. He said there are too many good people on Spott’s coaching staff and with Hockey Canada for him to muddy the waters. But DeBoer did give Spott one piece of advice last weekend, when the two chatted before Spott boarded a plane to Calgary for the junior team’s selection camp.

“I told him I’ve been to Ufa and [I said] to watch what he eats over there,” said DeBoer, who led the New Jersey Devils to the Stanley Cup final last spring.

Spott has had success in his five years at the helm of the Rangers with a pair of Western Conference final appearances. He’s also coached Ontario at the under-17 level, Canada to gold at the under-18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament and was an assistant when the Canadian junior team lost in the 2010 gold-medal final in Saskatoon.

“I’m no different than any boy in this country,” Spott said. “I woke up early to watch this tournament with my family. Adam Graves played in it. My nephew [Weiss] played in this tournament. So for me to have the opportunity to be a part of it, it’s always something that I wanted to do.

“It started at the under-17 level, then the under-18 and now this. This is something for me that anytime you have an opportunity to represent your country in anything, it’s overwhelming in a lot of ways because you feel such a sense of pride.

“I’ve been fortunate to have coached in two Memorial Cups. There is obviously a lot of pressure that goes with that. I’ve told people this tournament is a thousand times [more pressure].

“The biggest question I get is ‘Why do you do this? Why do you put yourself out there?’ I don’t have an answer, other than to say any coach at our level would dream to aspire to be a part of this. I’m just feel honoured and fortunate.”

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Posted Sunday December 16, 2012 8:55 AM GMT

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FX now airs six fights, not the usual four, prior to the Dec. 8′s main-card broadcast on FOX.

The bouts include bantamweights Mike Easton (13-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) vs. Raphael Assuncao (18-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) and featherweights Dennis Siver (20-8 MMA, 9-5 UFC) vs. Nam Phan (18-10 MMA, 2-3 UFC).

UFC on FOX 5 takes place Dec. 8 at Seattle’s KeyArena and features a main event between lightweight champion Benson Henderson and top contender Nate Diaz.

Although FUEL TV carried past UFC on FOX prelims, they now head to the bigger FX. Other bouts part of next week’s three-hour broadcast, which follows additional prelims on Facebook, include heavyweights Brendan Schaub (8-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) vs. Lavar Johnson (17-6 MMA, 2-1 UFC), “The Ultimate Fighter 15″ lightweight winner Michael Chiesa (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) vs. Marcus LeVesseur (22-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC), “TUF 13″ runner-up Ramsey Nijem (6-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) vs. fellow lightweight Joe Proctor (8-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC), and lightweights Yves Edwards (41-18-1 MMA, 9-6 UFC) vs. Jeremy Stephens (20-8 MMA, 7-6 UFC).

The full UFC on FOX 5 card includes:

MAIN CARD (FOX, 8 p.m. ET)

• Champ Benson Henderson vs. Nate Diaz (for lightweight title)
• Alexander Gustafsson vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
• Rory MacDonald vs. B.J. Penn
• Matt Brown vs. Mike Swick

PRELIMINARY CARD (FX, 5 p.m. ET)

• Lavar Johnson vs. Brendan Schaub
• Mike Chiesa vs. Marcus LeVesseur
• Raphael Assuncao vs. Mike Easton
• Nam Phan vs. Dennis Siver
• Ramsey Nijem vs. Joe Proctor
• Yves Edwards vs. Jeremy Stephens

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook, 3:30 p.m. ET)

• Daron Cruickshank vs. Henry Martinez
• John Albert vs. Scott Jorgensen
• Tim Means vs. Abel Trujillo

For more on UFC on FOX 5, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Mike Easton)

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Wait, what?

It’s remarkable this even is a conversation. The Cleveland Browns took Richardson with the No. 3 overall pick in the draft. They traded up for him! His backup is … Montario Hardesty. Yet it’s not that crazy a suggestion when you look at the numbers.

Richardson is averaging 24 carries per game during the past month, without a 100-yard game. He hasn’t averaged more than 3.6 yards per carry in any of those games and was held to just 42 yards last week. For perspective, New York Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw has the same number of yards as Richardson this season in 51 fewer attempts.

The lack of big plays has been a problem. Richardson is seventh in the NFL in attempts yet has just two plays for more than 20 yards. (Forty runners have more; quarterbacks Jay Cutler and Christian Ponder have as many explosive runs.)

It’s hard to believe. The Browns have a good offensive line, and Hardesty is averaging more than a full yard more per carry (4.7 to 3.5) than Richardson. We suspect Richardson never fully recovered from knee surgery just before the season. He also has injured ribs.

Browns offensive coordinator Brad Childress said the team is “not there” when it comes to benching Richardson, but it could reduce his snaps.

“Are we going to give him a series every now and then, or every third series or something to that nature?” Childress said. “Yeah, we talk about that.”

We’ve seen enough from Richardson to believe he’ll be a very good pick in the long run. But this has been a frustrating rookie season for him, and these are questions no one expected to have asked.

Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.

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Wait, what?

It’s remarkable this even is a conversation. The Cleveland Browns took Richardson with the No. 3 overall pick in the draft. They traded up for him! His backup is … Montario Hardesty. Yet it’s not that crazy a suggestion when you look at the numbers.

Richardson is averaging 24 carries per game during the past month, without a 100-yard game. He hasn’t averaged more than 3.6 yards per carry in any of those games and was held to just 42 yards last week. For perspective, New York Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw has the same number of yards as Richardson this season in 51 fewer attempts.

The lack of big plays has been a problem. Richardson is seventh in the NFL in attempts yet has just two plays for more than 20 yards. (Forty runners have more; quarterbacks Jay Cutler and Christian Ponder have as many explosive runs.)

It’s hard to believe. The Browns have a good offensive line, and Hardesty is averaging more than a full yard more per carry (4.7 to 3.5) than Richardson. We suspect Richardson never fully recovered from knee surgery just before the season. He also has injured ribs.

Browns offensive coordinator Brad Childress said the team is “not there” when it comes to benching Richardson, but it could reduce his snaps.

“Are we going to give him a series every now and then, or every third series or something to that nature?” Childress said. “Yeah, we talk about that.”

We’ve seen enough from Richardson to believe he’ll be a very good pick in the long run. But this has been a frustrating rookie season for him, and these are questions no one expected to have asked.

Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.

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When officials announced the Jan. 12 event in early November, Rockhold (10-1 MMA, 9-0 SF) said he informed officials that a wrist injury lingered and that he was unable to fight.

That’s why he’s particularly irritated by a series of verbal attacks from Lorenz Larkin (13-0 MMA, 4-0 SF) regarding his willingness to compete.

“He was obviously misinformed to some extent,” Rockhold said. “I’ve been in that situation, but just to lash out at me, that’s pretty amateur.”

Larkin, who today addressed his grievances with MMAjunkie.com Radio, was twice scheduled to vie for the title before injuries interceded.

“I just feel like guys are acting like they haven’t paved any way for them to go to the UFC and a catastrophe could happen on Jan. 12, where [UFC President Dana White is] going to be like, ‘No. I didn’t like the way you fought, and you’re not going to come over,’” Larkin said.

Rockhold, however, said the UFC wasn’t a part of his decision. He noticed his injury eight weeks prior to a fight scheduled for a Nov. 3 event and announced his withdrawal two weeks later.

“Every time I would grip something, it would be a sharp pain,” he said. “I’d punch wrong, and it would make me want to cry.”

Rockhold saw multiple doctors and had several MRIs done on his wrist. Training never completely resumed.

Four weeks ago, he underwent a blood therapy called PRP (platelet-rich plasma) to speed the healing process on what was diagnosed as a tear to his triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) and ligament sprain. He also spent three weeks in a hard cast, which was removed this past week.

“I don’t take steroids, so I don’t know if I can heal as fast as some of these guys,” Rockhold said. “I do things the way I know how.”

Strikeforce and broadcast partner Showtime dually announced the Jan. 12 event with three title fights: lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez vs. Pat Healy, Rockhold vs. Larkin, and welterweight champ Nate Marquardt vs. Tarec Saffiedine.

Melendez earlier this month withdrew from the event, later titled “Strikeforce: Champions,” citing a nagging shoulder injury. News of Rockhold’s withdrawal became public over the weekend.

Rockhold believes the confusion over his status may stem from a conversation with Strikeforce officials following his first injury in which he gave a timeline for his readiness to fight.

“They never really got back to me, and they just thought I’d be ready, and I wasn’t able to get on it,” he said. “I don’t really know. I don’t really want to get into it, to tell you the truth. I wasn’t able to train.

“They announced the fight, and I immediately called and told them how I felt and now here we are. They wanted to make a date happen, and I know they want to get done with this thing probably as much as anybody else, and for some reason they have to put on a last card. Pushing this card hard, it seems like. I just wasn’t able to make the date at that time.”

Relations between Strikeforce parent Zuffa and Showtime steadily have deteriorated since a March meeting between UFC President Dana White and Showtime officials. White said he was “hands-off” with Strikeforce after his input on the look of the event was nixed.

Two Strikeforce events have been canceled due to high-profile injury withdrawals that prompted Showtime to decline low-wattage events.

With the promotion’s final event slated for January, Rockhold won’t defend the belt he won with a September 2011 decision over Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. But he stressed that he didn’t withdraw from the event because he had designs on starting anew in the UFC once Strikeforce folded.

“That was not any part of my thought process,” Rockhold said. “I’m injured. I want to get paid. I want to shut Lorenz’s mouth. I’m not waiting in any shape or form for the UFC. You can never count on that happening. I’ve heard that in the past, and I’m not going to wait for that to happen.

“I have a lot of things I want to do in my life. This has set me back. I was going to buy a house, and now it looks like I’m going to wait until I’m more financially stable. I want to fight, plain and simple. It doesn’t matter who. Except at this point, after the talk, obviously I’m partial to fighting Lorenz.”

The feeling isn’t mutual for Larkin, who said he wants to move on.

Rockhold doesn’t hold that against the middleweight contender. He estimated he’ll be ready to return in three to four months after completely healing his wrist. He is unconcerned with the location of the next bout.

“I’d be completely happy with the UFC, but I just want to fight and get paid,” he said. “I want to be best in the world. Eventually, whether it’s here or there, I want those fights.”

For more on “Strikeforce: Champions,” stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

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Obama says in an interview with WCCO-TV in Minneapolis that as president, he shouldn’t have to get involved in a sports lockout. He says owners and players “make a lot of money and you make a lot of money on the backs of the fans, so do right by your fans.”

Representatives from both sides met with a federal mediator Thursday but didn’t make any noticeable progress. The two sides appear no closer to a deal to save the season.

Obama says both sides “can figure out how to spread out a bunch of revenue” and should do right by the people who support them.

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Shanahan said Griffin has a Grade 1 sprain of the lateral collateral ligament.

“We did not know going into the (MRI) if was a Grade 1, 2, or 3,” Shanahan said. “So it’s a Grade 1, you’re hopeful with rehab it gets better very quickly, but we don’t know for sure. We’ll have to go day by day and evaluate it day by day.”

Griffin left the Redskins’ 31-28 overtime victory with less than two minutes remaining in regulation after he took a hit from Ravens nose tackle Haloti Ngata. Griffin returned for four plays, but he was limping badly. He didn’t play in overtime.

Shanahan said renowned orthopedist Dr. James Andrews was on the Redskins’ sideline during the game. Andrews cleared Griffin to return to the game without serious risk. Shanahan said Andrews is on the sideline for most of their games.

Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @DanHanzus.

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Carolina’s second-year starter silenced Atlanta by sustaining drives and keeping Matt Ryan and the Falcons’ typically well-prepared defense on its toes. The Panthers built a 16-0 halftime lead by holding the ball for 21:35 minutes during the first two quarters.

Ryan threw for just 40 yards in the first half. He turned it on in the second, finishing with 342 yards total, but this game belonged to Newton. It was his finest performance of the season — and perhaps of his young career. Newton’s 287 yards off 23 completions included better decision-making and a string of key third-down conversions.

Everyone will talk about Newton’s 72-yard, highlight-reel touchdown scamper in the third quarter, but his growth was evident in how he kept drives alive with his arm.

Many of Carolina’s scoring drives were long, clock-chewing epics. Tight end Greg Olsen’s 25-yard, first-quarter touchdown grab from Newton capped an 11-play, 77-yard drive that took up seven-plus minutes. A Graham Gano field goal capped another 17-play, 72-yard march that swallowed more than nine minutes off the clock.

By the time Ryan and the Falcons’ offense woke to life, it was too late for them to avoid their second loss of the season.

Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.

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The conclusion of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final has made one thing very clear and that’s if you aren’t prepared to win, then you won’t.

Patrick Chan is a great example. He left points on the table with a bobbled jump combination in the short program leaving him to fight his way out of second after the short program. The same could be said for Javier Fernandez whose fifth place finish in the short was less than ideal.

Once the skaters took the ice for the free, it was clear that it was going to have to be ‘do or die’ time. Fernandez stepped up and won the free. He was impressive performing three different quads, the first time that has happened in competition since Brian Joubert did in 2006. It wasn’t enough for a medal, and Fernandez finished fourth overall.

The short program leader was 2010 world champion Daisuke Takahashi. He capitalized on a clean short program and followed it up with a strong free. Takahashi finally won the Grand Prix Final title that had eluded him in six previous attempts.

Japanese dynamo and the holder of the current world record in the short program, Yuzuru Hanyu was methodical in his approach to his free and moved from third to second overall.

The story of the event in my mind was bronze medallist Chan. Finishing fourth in the free program can mean different things in different seasons.

The last time he had a fourth place free program at an event where the results are officially documented, was at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver. It was considered a triumph given that Chan at the time was rebounding from injury and illness.

Back to the drawing board?

This season, Chan was already struggling coming out of the gate. He was defeated at Skate Canada. He rebounded with a title at the Grand Prix of Russia.

In Sochi, he was unable to secure his third consecutive Grand Prix Final title.

Does this mean that he needs to go back to the drawing board? Some might say that the change in coaching to Kathy Johnson and choreographers to Jeffrey Buttle and David Wilson might be the problem.

Could it not simply be that the rest of the field is catching up to Chan?

When skating is at its best in my mind, it’s because skaters are not as focused on the results as they are on the joy of their own skating. That is the beauty of Chan. He decided that win or lose; this was the path he wanted to pursue.

In that way, I think Chan and Takahashi have a lot in common. Both men seem to be looking for a way to succeed at skating. At this competition, it was Takahashi’s turn. The next question is will it be that way at the worlds?

Americans play to their strengths

American ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White took their fourth Grand Prix Final title, by doing what they do best and that is skate well and skate fast. I really like their Giselle-inspired short dance as much as I like the one from rivals Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir.

On a good day with everybody skating their best, I prefer Virtue and Moir’s Carmen free dance to Notre Dame de Paris from Davis and White. That isn’t to say that I don’t like the American’s free dance, I do.

I just don’t think of it as memorable in the way that some of their other free dances have been; most notably last season’s divine Die Fledermaus.

Without looking at the marks, I thought that Davis and White’s performance yesterday in the free dance was the winning one. They were fast, they were precise, and they had great elements performed to perfection so the result made sense to me.

What doesn’t make sense to me is the careful examination of the program component scores reveals that Davis and White outscored Virtue and Moir in all five areas, albeit minimally.

The one that I really don’t get is the composition/choreography component score.  Even when not skated to perfection, there can be no denying the complexity and intricacy of this Carmen free dance’s choreography.

Asada back where she belongs

It was only a year ago that Mao Asada rushed back home to Japan and away from the Grand Prix Final when her mother passed away. It somehow seems fitting that she was able to win the title back for the first time since she last competed at this event in the 2008-09 season. I know I am not the only one who has been hoping that Asada is on track to return to her former glory as two-time world champion and 2010 Olympic silver medallist.

American champion Ashley Wagner should not feel anything other than pride at her silver medal in her second Grand Prix Final outing. This is a young woman on the rise with two Grand Prix titles under her belt this season and her sights set on a podium finish at the world championships in London in March 2013.

How did they do it?

I have been fielding questions since the end of the pairs’ event asking how the Russian team of Tatiana Volosozhar and  Maxim Trankov were able to hang on to their lead after the short program to take the title. Closer to the end of their free program, two things went horribly wrong: the first was Maxim taking a tumble on side by side jumps. The second was Maxim catching an edge and falling on the set up for a throw causing them to lose any points for the element.

Fortunately, Tatiana had not really been propelled that far into the air so when she came down she had enough control to not land blade first on him.

It took a very long time for the team to recover. I guess the thing is that this team’s basic pair ability, unison and body line meant that they were able to cover off their mistakes with enough points gained in other ways to stay in first place overall, despite their second place free program.

The surprise for me was silver medallists Vera Bazarova and Yuri Larionov winning the free program. There is nothing wrong with this team as far as pair skating goes; I just find them to be so much weaker as far as unison and performance ability than their team mates.

On a sentimental note, I wish that Chinese veterans Qing Pang and Jian Tong had been stronger in the short program to have been able to take the silver instead of bronze overall.  I am impressed by their willingness to continue to compete when it is clear that Jian is still on the mend physically from earlier and chronic injuries. As Kurt Browning said to me: “It would be faster to say where Jian doesn’t hurt!”

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With the World Cup season now well underway, a few things have become apparent. 

1. The Norwegian men are on fire!

Ted Ligety of the U.S. has picked up his super-G to back up his untouchable giant slalom, which will give him a shot to compete for the title.  

Still, I’d put my money on Svindal, the Norwegian Viking.

2. Maze may take overall title from Vonn in 2013

Lindsey Vonn has won the overall title four out of the last five years, only missing out to Maria Hoefl-Riesch in 2011. Regardless of who ends up with the overall title, I think the whole ski community hopes for a tight race.  

3. Canada’s men’s speed team looking deeper, healthier 

John Kucera conquered the super-G in Lake Louise – where he first injured his leg three years ago – and came away with a 14th place finish this season. He had everyone blown away by both his physical and mental abilities.  

Plus, the smile on his face afterwards was something that could warm even the coldest of hearts.

The men’s speed team suffered a tough blow when they lost Robbie Dixon for the season with a tibia-fibula fracture. Luckily, teammates Erik Guay and Ben Thomsen are still strong and will be fun to watch as they settle into the season.

4. Canada has incredibly strong women’s technical squad

With Britt Phelan notching her first World Cup points in Levi, Finland then following up that performance with more points in Aspen, Colo. she is rounding out Canada’s slalom team quite nicely. 

Between Britt, Marie-Pier Prefontaine, Marie-Michele Gagnon, and Erin Mielzynski, this is a young team to be reckoned with.  

This technical squad is also showing promise in super-G with Gagnon’s 28th-place finish in Lake Louise and 13th in St. Moritz. Prefontaine’s strength is GS and it will only take time and confidence for her to transition into super-G.

Plus, on the speed side, lone athlete Larisa Yurkiw completed her return from injury as she had a career-best super-G result in Lake Louise. I see downhill world cup points in her near future.

5. Gagnon may be Canada’s 1st all-round World Cup threat since Nancy Greene! 

In her first seven World Cup races of the season, Gagnon has scored points in every race across four disciplines. This isn’t just impressive; this is rare for a Canadian athlete. This deserves celebrating and supporting moving forward. 

6. The new FIS ski regulations imposed haven’t destroyed the sport

If anything, these changes towards straighter and longer skis may have made it safer while keeping it just as fast and fun to watch. This is a shock to all involved. I would venture to guess that even FIS was a bit surprised. 

Looking at the numbers, it’s still too early to tell if the new skis – for GS in particular — are safer. Early speculation says they are, but we’ll see. 

Regardless, I do hope more attention will be given to the bindings and boot setups moving forward. This still seems to be the crux of many preventable injuries. 

So what does all this mean? I suppose not much at this point in the season, as there is a lot of racing left. However, it does mean that we’re in for an exciting season of racing with many Canadians to cheer on!

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Irving police confirmed Brent is being processed on the charge, a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $10,000. Irving police spokesman John Argumaniz said Brent is being held without bond.

According to a report released by Irving police, Brent was behind the wheel of a car at 2:21 a.m. when it hit a curb, causing the vehicle to flip at least once before coming to rest in the middle of a service road. When officers arrived on the scene, Brent was responsive and able to speak. Brown, 25, was unresponsive and transferred to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Officers suspected alcohol played a role in the accident and had Brent perform field sobriety tests. Brent was eventually taken into custody. The charges were altered from driving while intoxicated to intoxicated manslaughter when police learned Brown died as a result of injuries sustained in the accident.

A statement was released Saturday night on Brent’s behalf by his agent, Peter Schaffer:

“I am devastated and filled with grief. Filled with grief for the loss of my close friend and team mate, Jerry Brown,” the statement read. “I am also grief-stricken for his family, friends and all who were blessed enough to have known him. I will live with this horrific and tragic loss every day for the rest of my life. My prayers are with his family, our teammates and his friends at this time.”

Brent pleaded guilty to a DUI charge in 2009 after he was arrested for speeding while driving under the influence with a suspended license, according to Champaign County, Ill., court records obtained by The Associated Press.

The Cowboys confirmed Brown’s death as the team prepared for Sunday’s matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. Team owner Jerry Jones released a statement of condolence:

“We are deeply saddened by the news of this accident and the passing of Jerry Brown. At this time, our hearts and prayers and deepest sympathies are with the members of Jerry’s family and all of those who knew him and loved him.”

The NFL released the following statement:

“We have been in contact with the Cowboys and have deployed staff members and our independent professional counselors to assist the team in dealing with this tragedy. We are deeply saddened by the loss of Jerry Brown and extend our condolences to his family, friends, and the Cowboys organization.”

Brent and Brown were college teammates at Illinois and were living together, a team source told Rapoport. 

Brent is in his third season with the Cowboys. A promising nose tackle, he had been in line to start for injured veteran Jay Ratliff on Sunday.

Brown was signed to the Cowboys’ practice squad on Oct. 24. He was previously on the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad before his Oct. 20 release.

Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @danhanzus.

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NFL.com’s Albert Breer reported Friday that the Cardinals fined Dockett $200,000 for conduct detrimental to the team, according to a source briefed on the fine.

A union source told Breer and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport that the NFL Players Association already has begun the progress of filing a grievance on Dockett’s behalf.

After the news broke, Dockett tweeted his thanks to the NFLPA and said “I ain’t got no worries.”

The punishment came five days after Dockett and Rhodes argued on the field about defensive strategy late in the fourth quarter. Rhodes — and defensive coordinator Ray Horton, who said Friday that he suggested the plan — wanted to let the Jets score, giving the Cardinals’ offense a final possession while facing an eight-point deficit. Dockett disagreed with that thinking. Jets running back Shonn Greene eventually broke a run and knelt down at the Arizona 1-yard line, allowing New York to run out the clock.

It was reported that Dockett, who apologized Wednesday, spit on Rhodes during the altercation, prompting Rhodes to release a statement.

“Yes, we had a disagreement on the field but, no he did NOT spit in my face,” Rhodes said in an email released by the team Tuesday. “I’m not going to get into all the details because I think those are things you keep within the team. But Darnell and I talked after the game, we’re both moving on and I’ll leave it at that.”

The severity of the fine makes sense given the implication that Dockett was defying coaches’ orders on the field. This is an obvious no-no that won’t make Dockett any new friends. Dockett, 31, signed a six-year, $56 million contract with the Cardinals in 2010.

Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @DanHanzus.

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Posted Friday December 7, 2012 2:03 AM GMT

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Entrepreneurs “give back” to society not only in taxes but in products that improve our lives — and in charity. While individual success is aided by public institutions, private associations such as family and community often play a larger role.

Obama is not a quasi-communist; he is just a liberal. Yet at a time when more than 40 percent of our gross domestic product is spent by government, we should be asking how much government is too much. Obama’s speech suggests that his instinct is for more, not less.

Full column at Newsday.

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Posted Tuesday December 4, 2012 11:00 PM GMT

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Ronson believes a recent victory over fellow lightweight Ryan Healy proves he’s capable of joining his well-known teammates in the UFC.

“I would like for this fight to put me on the next level, but we’ll see how it goes,” he told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

Ronson (12-2) dominated Healy (23-12) over three rounds to earn a unanimous-decision win at this past Friday’s Score Fighting Series 7 event, which took place at Hamilton Place Theatre in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The event’s main card, including Ronson’s feet, aired on AXS TV.

One judge scored the lopsided fight 30-25 in favor of Ronson, a native of nearby London, Ontario. The crowd, including 75 of his friends and family, chanted “UFC” during the action.

Ronson, though, snickered at the thought of a UFC offer on his desk.

“I didn’t know they came that soon,” he joked. “Was I supposed to get it on Saturday?”

The 26-year-old has had far more time to win over his training partners at London’s Adrenaline Training Center, which Sam Stout, Chris Horodecki and Mark Hominick founded. An endorsement from the Canadian MMA stars won him the representation of agent Rob Roveta.

“They’re pulling for me,” Ronson said. “We’ll see if I get that call.”

The resources at Ronson’s disposal were considerably smaller in his early career. He trained at a kickboxing academy in London and had few grappling partners.

“I would do jiu-jitsu with the guys that were there,” he said, “with guys that didn’t know what jiu-jitsu was, and I was fighting MMA.”

That changed when Ronson joined Adrenaline in September 2010. Although he went 1-2 in his next three outings, including an eye-opening loss to the well-rounded Mike Ricci of “The Ultimate Fighter 16″ fame, he has won his past seven fights.

And Healy, who’s brother is current Strikeforce contender Pat Healy, couldn’t keep the fight on the mat to ground and pound him.

Although satisfied with his win, Ronson expressed frustration at being unable to finish his opponent, who took no fewer than three head kicks in the waining minute of the third and final round.

“I was just upset because I think I landed six or seven clean ones with my power leg and two or three with my lead leg, and I was like, ‘This guy has to go down from one of these,’” Ronson said. “So I threw the one and he wobbled, so I’m like, ‘One more and he’s going down.’ I hit him with the second one, and he didn’t go down. The more he didn’t go down, the more I wanted to hurt him and try to knock him out.”

The knockout didn’t come, but Ronson certainly made a statement about his abilities.

If the UFC comes calling, he said he’d like to fight in February. But in reality, any time will do.

“If they call me and say, ‘Do you want to fight this guy,’ I’m not going to say no,” Ronson said.

For more on Score Fighting Series 7, stay tuned to the MMA Events section of the site.

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Ronson believes a recent victory over fellow lightweight Ryan Healy proves he’s capable of joining his well-known teammates in the UFC.

“I would like for this fight to put me on the next level, but we’ll see how it goes,” he told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

Ronson (12-2) dominated Healy (23-12) over three rounds to earn a unanimous-decision win at this past Friday’s Score Fighting Series 7 event, which took place at Hamilton Place Theatre in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The event’s main card, including Ronson’s feet, aired on AXS TV.

One judge scored the lopsided fight 30-25 in favor of Ronson, a native of nearby London, Ontario. The crowd, including 75 of his friends and family, chanted “UFC” during the action.

Ronson, though, snickered at the thought of a UFC offer on his desk.

“I didn’t know they came that soon,” he joked. “Was I supposed to get it on Saturday?”

The 26-year-old has had far more time to win over his training partners at London’s Adrenaline Training Center, which Sam Stout, Chris Horodecki and Mark Hominick founded. An endorsement from the Canadian MMA stars won him the representation of agent Rob Roveta.

“They’re pulling for me,” Ronson said. “We’ll see if I get that call.”

The resources at Ronson’s disposal were considerably smaller in his early career. He trained at a kickboxing academy in London and had few grappling partners.

“I would do jiu-jitsu with the guys that were there,” he said, “with guys that didn’t know what jiu-jitsu was, and I was fighting MMA.”

That changed when Ronson joined Adrenaline in September 2010. Although he went 1-2 in his next three outings, including an eye-opening loss to the well-rounded Mike Ricci of “The Ultimate Fighter 16″ fame, he has won his past seven fights.

And Healy, who’s brother is current Strikeforce contender Pat Healy, couldn’t keep the fight on the mat to ground and pound him.

Although satisfied with his win, Ronson expressed frustration at being unable to finish his opponent, who took no fewer than three head kicks in the waining minute of the third and final round.

“I was just upset because I think I landed six or seven clean ones with my power leg and two or three with my lead leg, and I was like, ‘This guy has to go down from one of these,’” Ronson said. “So I threw the one and he wobbled, so I’m like, ‘One more and he’s going down.’ I hit him with the second one, and he didn’t go down. The more he didn’t go down, the more I wanted to hurt him and try to knock him out.”

The knockout didn’t come, but Ronson certainly made a statement about his abilities.

If the UFC comes calling, he said he’d like to fight in February. But in reality, any time will do.

“If they call me and say, ‘Do you want to fight this guy,’ I’m not going to say no,” Ronson said.

For more on Score Fighting Series 7, stay tuned to the MMA Events section of the site.

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Jesse Ronson guns for UFC contract following weekend win over Ryan Healy is a post from What's going on around the world?

FX now airs six fights, not the usual four, prior to the Dec. 8′s main-card broadcast on FOX.

The bouts include bantamweights Mike Easton (13-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) vs. Raphael Assuncao (18-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) and featherweights Dennis Siver (20-8 MMA, 9-5 UFC) vs. Nam Phan (18-10 MMA, 2-3 UFC).

UFC on FOX 5 takes place Dec. 8 at Seattle’s KeyArena and features a main event between lightweight champion Benson Henderson and top contender Nate Diaz.

Although FUEL TV carried past UFC on FOX prelims, they now head to the bigger FX. Other bouts part of next week’s three-hour broadcast, which follows additional prelims on Facebook, include heavyweights Brendan Schaub (8-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) vs. Lavar Johnson (17-6 MMA, 2-1 UFC), “The Ultimate Fighter 15″ lightweight winner Michael Chiesa (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) vs. Marcus LeVesseur (22-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC), “TUF 13″ runner-up Ramsey Nijem (6-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) vs. fellow lightweight Joe Proctor (8-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC), and lightweights Yves Edwards (41-18-1 MMA, 9-6 UFC) vs. Jeremy Stephens (20-8 MMA, 7-6 UFC).

The full UFC on FOX 5 card includes:

MAIN CARD (FOX, 8 p.m. ET)

• Champ Benson Henderson vs. Nate Diaz (for lightweight title)
• Alexander Gustafsson vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
• Rory MacDonald vs. B.J. Penn
• Matt Brown vs. Mike Swick

PRELIMINARY CARD (FX, 5 p.m. ET)

• Lavar Johnson vs. Brendan Schaub
• Mike Chiesa vs. Marcus LeVesseur
• Raphael Assuncao vs. Mike Easton
• Nam Phan vs. Dennis Siver
• Ramsey Nijem vs. Joe Proctor
• Yves Edwards vs. Jeremy Stephens

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook, 3:30 p.m. ET)

• Daron Cruickshank vs. Henry Martinez
• John Albert vs. Scott Jorgensen
• Tim Means vs. Abel Trujillo

For more on UFC on FOX 5, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Mike Easton)

Isla Fisher this link

UFC on FOX 5′s FX-televised prelims add Easton-Assuncao and Siver-Phan is a post from What's going on around the world?

Kate Middleton just announced … she’s got a CRUMPET IN THE OVEN!!!

The Royal Palace has released a statement … confirming Middleton is preggo with Prince William’s royal fetus.

The Palace did not say exactly how far along Middleton is … but noted she was in the “very early stages” of the pregnancy. 

According to Middleton’s reps, Kate was admitted to King Edward VII Hospital in Central London with severe morning sickness … and will remain in the hospital for several days.

Kate and William were married back in April 2011. This is their first child together.

If the child is born while Elizabeth II is still alive, it instantly jumps Prince Harry and becomes 3rd in line for the throne.

… which means more time for naked billiards!
 

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Kate Middleton — I’m Royally KNOCKED UP! is a post from What's going on around the world?

by Steven Marrocco on Nov 30, 2012 at 5:30 pm ET

Even five years ago, when he was preparing himself mentally for a wrestling match, Shawn Bunch saw fighting in his future. As a friend of Daniel Cormier and Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal, Bunch didn’t need to be sold on crossing over from mat to cage.

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Video: Strikeforce’s Larkin lashes out at Rockhold’s withdrawal, questions UFC timing is a post from What's going on around the world?

FX now airs six fights, not the usual four, prior to the Dec. 8′s main-card broadcast on FOX.

The bouts include bantamweights Mike Easton (13-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) vs. Raphael Assuncao (18-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) and featherweights Dennis Siver (20-8 MMA, 9-5 UFC) vs. Nam Phan (18-10 MMA, 2-3 UFC).

UFC on FOX 5 takes place Dec. 8 at Seattle’s KeyArena and features a main event between lightweight champion Benson Henderson and top contender Nate Diaz.

Although FUEL TV carried past UFC on FOX prelims, they now head to the bigger FX. Other bouts part of next week’s three-hour broadcast, which follows additional prelims on Facebook, include heavyweights Brendan Schaub (8-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) vs. Lavar Johnson (17-6 MMA, 2-1 UFC), “The Ultimate Fighter 15″ lightweight winner Michael Chiesa (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) vs. Marcus LeVesseur (22-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC), “TUF 13″ runner-up Ramsey Nijem (6-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) vs. fellow lightweight Joe Proctor (8-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC), and lightweights Yves Edwards (41-18-1 MMA, 9-6 UFC) vs. Jeremy Stephens (20-8 MMA, 7-6 UFC).

The full UFC on FOX 5 card includes:

MAIN CARD (FOX, 8 p.m. ET)

• Champ Benson Henderson vs. Nate Diaz (for lightweight title)
• Alexander Gustafsson vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
• Rory MacDonald vs. B.J. Penn
• Matt Brown vs. Mike Swick

PRELIMINARY CARD (FX, 5 p.m. ET)

• Lavar Johnson vs. Brendan Schaub
• Mike Chiesa vs. Marcus LeVesseur
• Raphael Assuncao vs. Mike Easton
• Nam Phan vs. Dennis Siver
• Ramsey Nijem vs. Joe Proctor
• Yves Edwards vs. Jeremy Stephens

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook, 3:30 p.m. ET)

• Daron Cruickshank vs. Henry Martinez
• John Albert vs. Scott Jorgensen
• Tim Means vs. Abel Trujillo

For more on UFC on FOX 5, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Mike Easton)

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Posted Saturday December 1, 2012 9:44 PM GMT

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Posted Friday November 30, 2012 6:00 PM GMT

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Posted Friday November 30, 2012 11:28 PM GMT

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Entrepreneurs “give back” to society not only in taxes but in products that improve our lives — and in charity. While individual success is aided by public institutions, private associations such as family and community often play a larger role.

Obama is not a quasi-communist; he is just a liberal. Yet at a time when more than 40 percent of our gross domestic product is spent by government, we should be asking how much government is too much. Obama’s speech suggests that his instinct is for more, not less.

Full column at Newsday.

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Stop me if you’ve heard this one. 

Toronto FC holds a press conference to announce a new executive that is here to turn the club around. 

No, full stop, that’s the joke. There is no punch line. 

I was going to go with: what’s red, has been beaten black and blue and likes to start all over, but I figured most have already heard that one. 

In fact, Wednesday’s scene at BMO Field was one that we’ve all heard before. Here is a new face brought into right the ship, with promises of a clear direction and assurances that success is just over the horizon. 

It has become so played out that I’m sure years from now, a historian with the hopes of finally identifying what went wrong with the club, will sit down and pull together all the transcripts from the hiring and firing press conferences Toronto has hosted. He’ll discover that they were, shockingly, or perhaps not, completely identical. He’ll then conclude that Toronto FC never found success because it was always looking for the solutions in the same places.

Payne is one man. He is one man in an organization that took six full seasons of losing to discover that they needed to hire a president who knew a little something about this game called soccer. 

Yes, Tom Anselmi was the defacto-president for most of those years but as he has admitted on a number of occasions it has been a ‘learning process’ for them. Which if you’re trying to decipher press conference speak, means lost in the woods. 

The man they’ve hired to point the way is one who comes with a mixed reputation. 

On one hand, the beat on Payne is that he is a man who had a tremendous amount of success in his early MLS years (four MLS Cups, four MLS Supporters Shields, two U.S. Open Cups) and has established himself as a well-connected league broker since. 

Rocky formative years

He helped MLS navigate through its rocky formative years and was widely regarded as a pioneer – even visionary — for North American soccer. He gave Bruce Arena, one of MLS’ most successful coaches, his first pro deal as a coach and even helped bring D.C. United (and MLS) one of its first big money shirt sponsorships. 

On the other hand, his detractors have suggested bluntly that his best years are behind him and that he isn’t as adept at wading through the modern and often murky MLS set-up. It has been five years since D.C. United won a Supporters Shield and eight since their last MLS Cup. 

And at age 59, there is some question whether Payne still has the drive to build winning franchises the way he once did. 

When he left D.C. United in 2001 it was a dynasty. He joined AEG soccer, the entertainment group that oversaw a number of MLS teams, and took on a role more focused on the business side of the game. 

He returned three seasons later to once again head D.C. United as its president, but this time only saw a modicum of success compared to the force he had once created in the league’s early days.  

It’s a standard that is still miles beyond anything Toronto FC has ever seen but the question of which Payne has come to Toronto is one that will still need answering. 

For now, what is clear, is that this is a soccer executive that has left a club with very few resources and has managed to have a history of success, to come to one with nearly every modern amenity afforded to it and six seasons of losing. Payne alone will not be able to end the suffering for Toronto fans but he is capable of putting together an organization that perhaps, in a few years, can find on-field success. 

Although, for the long-suffering Toronto FC fans, most would probably just be happy to not have the ‘Payne’ of being a bad joke. Cue rim shot.

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Rycroft: Toronto FC president Payne has tough task ahead is a post from What's going on around the world?

We at CBCSports.ca will be keeping an eye on the next generation of NHL stars on Canada’s seven clubs, whether they’re working on the “farm” in the AHL or honing their game overseas, waiting for the end of the lockout.
We’ll periodically check in with these players throughout the 2012-13 season, no matter what league they’ll be lacing up their skates in. Today, we check in with Vancouver Canucks’ does of sandpaper-on-the-wing Zack Kassian, who has done his part in racking up penalty minutes in the AHL while still finding the back of the net.

Zack Kassian
Age/ Birthplace: 21, Windsor, Ont.
Position: RW
NHL club/draft position: Vancouver Canucks, drafted 13th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 2009
NHL GP: 44 (17 with the Canucks)
Junior team: Peterborough Petes/Windsor Spitfires
Current team: Chicago Wolves (AHL)
Stats on current team: 16GP, 5G, 6A, 40 PIM

As we stated last time we spoke of Kassian, we talked about how the Canucks traded away a “natural goal-scorer in Cody Hodgson in exchange for Kassian and the skill set they believe the big forward possesses: size (6’3″, 214 lbs.), physical presence and an offensive upside.”

Kassian seems to be fitting the bill so far with the Wolves, after just 16 games with the club he has 40 minutes in penalties, with moderate offensive production. One case in point of his role going forward with the parent club Canucks is his performance in Abbotsford, B.C. last month, torching the Heat with what one commenter called a “Kassian hat trick;” that is a goal, fight and shootout tally:

Highlight: Slow-motion score

Bonus highlight: Chucking knuckles in Abbotsford

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The Package: Zack Kassian is a post from What's going on around the world?

The Ravens were returning from a bye, fresh off their 43-13 pasting at the hands of the Houston Texans. Harbaugh told his players they were practicing in full pads. The players nearly revolted.

“It was practically a mutiny,” one Ravens player told Mike Silver of Yahoo! Sports in a terrific piece. “It came very close to getting out of control. But the way Coach Harbaugh handled it was amazing. He let people have their say, and he listened, and he explained himself, and pretty soon it was like a big group-therapy session. In the end, a lot of positive things were said. We didn’t practice in pads, but we came out of there stronger as a group.”

Several players, including safeties Ed Reed and Bernard Pollard, openly challenged Harbaugh. The meeting soon turned into a back-and-forth session where players griped about Harbaugh’s perceived shortcomings.

“I’ve never seen a head coach handle anything like that as well as he did,” one Ravens assistant said. “There were some things said where we were like, Damn.”

Some of the complaints from Harbaugh’s players: His mood swings and treatment of players. The team’s no-huddle offense was brought up.

“I wasn’t threatened by it,” Harbaugh told Silver. “That’s the main thing. And, you know, they had some good points, and I had some good points. Other guys stood up and said some great things. To me, it embodied everything that you should have on a team.”

Harbaugh stays under the radar considering he’s heading to a fifth consecutive playoff appearance. He’s not as successful as Bill Belichick or as dynamic as Mike Tomlin or Harbaugh’s brother, Jim. John Harbaugh took over a successful program with a ton of strong-willed veterans and the best leader in the NFL in Ray Lewis. This Harbaugh blends in, often by design.

“I don’t know how to put it in words, and maybe someday there’ll be a way to express it, but we have such great leaders,” Harbaugh said. “You’ve got to let ‘em lead, but you also have to lead ‘em, you have to direct them, and someone’s gotta make decisions. But we’ve just got some incredibly strong men on this team. I mean, I could tell you some stories, but I’d probably rather not.”

Harbaugh has done a laudable job pointing the Ravens in the right direction during a challenging season. Baltimore has overachieved, and Harbaugh deserves his share of the credit.

Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.

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