Eddie Olczyk named to U.S. hockey hall

By Clare Walters For The Herald-News July 11, 2012 8:36AM
Palos Heights native Eddie Olczyk is one of three members of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame’s Class of 2012, USA Hockey announced Wednesday.

 Ed Olczyk | File photo

Olczyk, Lou Lamoriello and Mike Modano will be enshrined in the fall, at a date and location to be announced.

“What a remarkable class,” USA hockey president Ron DeGregorio said. “The positive impact this group has had on our sport is one that will be felt for decades to come.”

Olczyk was the third overall pick of the 1984 NHL draft by the Blackhawks. He played 16 years in the NHL, including two stints with the Hawks, and won a Stanley Cup with the New York Rangers in 1994.

He finished his career with 342 goals, 452 assists and 794 points in 1,031 games.

Now an analyst on Blackhawks games and NHL games on NBC broadcasts, Olczyk also spent parts of two seasons as the coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“The Chicago Blackhawks would like to congratulate Eddie Olczyk and his entire family on the well-deserved honor,” Hawks CEO John McDonough said in a news release. “Eddie’s positive impact is felt through the entire organization, starting from the youth hockey level all the way to our players, coaches and front office staff. He is a great ambassador for the game of hockey and the city of Chicago. We couldn’t be more proud to have him as a member of our Blackhawks family and appreciate everything Eddie does for the club on a daily basis.”

Lamoriello, the longest-tenured general manager in the NHL, led New Jersey to Stanley Cup championships in 1995, 2000 and 2003.

Modano is the NHL’s all-time leader among American-born players with 561 goals and 1,374 points. He played 20 seasons with the Stars franchise before finishing his career with one season (2010-11) in Detroit.

Senators could use some more physical players

By DON BRENNAN, QMI Agency    

Senators forward Chris Neil. (Errol McGihon/QMI Agency)

OTTAWA - Most people know to take Twitter with a grain of salt.
If the THNHockeyInsider says he’s a “former NHL scout” who now writes for The Hockey Network and is “very well connected,” he might be all of that. Or he could be a fan who has never been closer to a game than the big screen in his basement.
I tend to believe more the latter when I read this tweet from him a couple of days ago:
“(Daniel) Alfredsson (is) leaning towards retirement. Could return but doesn’t like the loss of team toughness. No protection, old body.”
As far as we know, the Senators captain is still in Sweden and undecided about his future. If he does decide to call it quits, I doubt it will be because Matt Carkner and Zenon Konopka were allowed to walk via free agency. As Alfredsson himself has said, he’ll retire if he’s worried that his “old body” couldn’t handle the necessary training and rigours of an 82-game schedule. It’s unlikely he has personal concerns about “protection.”

At the same time, Alfredsson knows the Senators are better when they’re tougher. So does GM Bryan Murray.
To that, the Senators are expected to hold a news conference Thursday to announce the signing of Chris Neil, the team’s career PIMs leader, to a three-year extension. The money is decent - $5.75 million over the course of the contract, which kicks in after he makes his $2 million in 2012-13 — although not as much as Neil probably could have made had he waited to become a UFA July 1.
Neil is a better everything than Brandon Prust, who inked a four-year, $10 million pact with the Montreal Canadiens earlier this month. But as someone who wants to spend his entire career in Ottawa, Neil’s surely satisfied.
That said, Neil couldn’t have liked seeing Carkner and Konopka depart. At 33 years old and with 161 fights under his belt, he shouldn’t have to be the lone Senator to handle all the rough stuff. He wants and deserves some nights off from that.
A quick glance at the list of free agents still available sees three players who might help:
Brad Winchester, a 31-year-old winger who stands 6-foot-5, 230 lbs. He had six goals, along with 88 penalty minutes in 67 games for the San Jose Sharks last season. Winchester had 10 fights when he scored 13 goals for the St. Louis Blues three seasons ago. Can he still play? Probably.
Zack Stortini, a 26-year old winger, was once the most feared player in the OHL. But at least one NHL veteran tough guy calls Stortini a “pretender,” and he did play just one game for the Nashville Predators last season, along with another 74 in the AHL. Maybe he wouldn’t fit in with the fast-paced game Senators coach Paul MacLean demands.
Matt Bradley, 34, a Stittsville native who was recently bought out by the Florida Panthers. He’s scrappy, he’ll hit and fight. But when we last checked, the Senators weren’t interested.
If Murray doesn’t sign somebody else who will drop the gloves, there will be a lot of pressure on Zack Smith to pick up his pace.
It’s not just fighting — the Senators need to be more physical, overall. They need to finish their checks more, as well as answer the bell when it rings. Many feel that Ottawa was able to stage so many third-period comebacks last season partly because opponents knew that if they ran up the score, they’d take a beating from Neil, Konopka or Carkner. Murray has to bring in some help for Neil — not so much to protect Alfredsson but to keep his team at the competitive level it has reached.        

AP Source: Saints, Brees apart on guaranteed money

Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints still must close a significant gap in guaranteed money if they are to agree on a five-year contract worth about $100 million by Monday's looming deadline for a long-term deal, said a person familiar with the negotiations.

By BRETT MARTEL

AP Sports Writer

NEW ORLEANS —

Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints still must close a significant gap in guaranteed money if they are to agree on a five-year contract worth about $100 million by Monday's looming deadline for a long-term deal, said a person familiar with the negotiations.
The sides were more than $10 million apart in the guaranteed portion of the contract on Wednesday, the person told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because talks the talks are ongoing.
The stakes are high for both sides and the negotiations have lasted for months, including long gaps in communication between the two camps.
Brees, who is 33 and entering his 12th season, has never before had the chance to negotiate a contract on par with the elite quarterbacks of the game. The Saints, meanwhile, risk alienating the best quarterback in franchise history, not to mention their fan base, by failing to make an offer to his satisfaction by Monday - the deadline for players with the franchise tag to sign long-term deals.
Several months ago, Brees first raised the possibility that he would not report to the opening of training camp if all that was on the table at that time was the one-year franchise tag of about $16.3 million. People familiar with the quarterback's plans say that remains the case.
Brees has said he does not want to play under a one-year contract with no long-term security in the coming seasons. He did it once before, with costly consequences, when he played under the franchise tag for San Diego in 2005 and wound up with a career-threatening injury to his throwing shoulder.
That injury led him to accept a six-year, $60 million deal with New Orleans in 2006, which left him playing for well below market value in the past few seasons, even as he was setting club and league records.
Brees had hoped that an extension would be done before 2011, but when it was not, he decided not to hold out and played without the security of a long-term contract. He remained healthy the entire season and passed for an NFL single-season record 5,476 yards. Brees considered that an act of faith in the Saints, and now he is insistent that that faith be returned in the form of a contract that not only give him the highest average annual salary in the game, but also guarantee a significant portion of his salary.
Mickey Loomis has said he understands that Brees' contract is the most important deal on which he has worked in his career. However, he has stressed that such a rich deal, with the potential to affect the team's ability to sign other players, must be entered into with caution.
Both sides have offered proposals that would give the Saints more flexibility under the NFL's salary cap than New Orleans would have if Brees played for the franchise tag the club has placed on him.
In those proposals, a relatively low base salary number in the early years would be offset by guaranteed signing bonuses that are pro-rated, for salary cap purposes, over the life of the contract.
Such a contract structure would increase the salary cap burden of Brees' contract significantly in the final years, but the salary cap likely will be higher by then.
The current salary cap is about $120 million, but could rise substantially under a new NFL TV deal that will begin in 2014. Under the league's current labor agreement, players are supposed to receive about 55 percent of TV revenues.
If the two sides can narrow their differences on the guarantees, the remaining portions of the contract should be easier to figure out.
The two sides are working from a framework of five years. The difference in the annual average pay is about $1.25 million, with the Saints last offer at about $19.25 million and Brees' last proposal at about $20.5 million.
However, it is not yet clear how much Brees is willing to come down from a $20.5 million annual figure that some in his camp have argued is low, past on past trends.
Peyton Manning recently signed a five-year, $96 million deal, which averages $19.2 million. Manning is three years older than Brees and did not play last season because of neck surgery.
Meanwhile, teams have had a history of offering new contracts to elite players which represent annual multimillion dollar increases over the previous top contract for a player at that position. Detroit receiver Calvin Johnson's last contract averages $16.2 million a year, which exceeds Larry Fitzgerald's pay by more than $1 million per year.
Even major contracts can be negotiated quickly under deadline pressure, and the types of differences the Saints and Brees have can be resolved in less than a day, so there remains plenty of time to work out a deal.
However, if the deadline passes without a long term contract, Brees could still hold out for a one-year contract worth more than the current franchise tag. Brees could also hold out until the Saints put it in writing that they will not use the franchise tag on him again next season, allowing him to test the open market.

Bryce Miller will be the Des Moines Register’s new sports columnist.

Posted: Jul 12, 2012 9:12 AM Updated: Jul 12, 2012 9:12 AM  

SAN PABLO, Calif. (AP) - A city councilman in Northern California says an attempt to say hello went sour when an unknown man knocked him out and later dumped him at a horse racing track.

The Contra Costa Times reports (http://bit.ly/O8g35f) that San Pablo City Councilman Paul Morris went to greet a tenant July 3 at a property he manages in nearby Richmond. Morris says a man suddenly burst from the door screaming "get out" and punched him.

Morris says he passed out after hitting his head on concrete.

Morris says the next thing he remembers is waking up about 90 minutes later in the passenger seat of his Mercedes-Benz at Golden Gate Fields, a race track about five miles away.

He pushed the car's SOS button and paramedics took him to an Oakland hospital. He was released July 5 with a slight concussion.

Richmond police are investigating, but no arrests have been made.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://www.keyc.tv/story/19005483/calif-city-councilman-knocked-out-left-at-track

Des Moines Register names new sports columnist

Bryce Miller

Written by Des Moines Register   

  Bryce Miller will be the Des Moines Register’s new sports columnist.

Miller, 44, is a lifelong Iowan who has served as sports editor for the last seven and a half years.

Since 1914, when Sec Taylor became sports editor, The Register has had only four lead sports columnists. Miller will be the fifth.

“It’s an incredible honor — and opportunity,” Miller said. “I know how much the Register means to readers, and I know the responsibility of being the sports columnist for the Register and those readers is immense.

“Growing up in Iowa, and living and working here, makes me keenly and completely aware of how important college and high school sports are to people in the state. I’m ready to jump in with both feet — and a couple of keyboards.”

Miller grew up in Redfield, west of Des Moines, and graduated from the University of Iowa. Following a couple of years as a news assistant for The Des Moines Register, primarily covering high schools, he became a sports reporter and editor at the Iowa City Press-Citizen for seven years. He returned to the Register in 1999.

Under his direction as sports editor, the Register’s sports staff was presented with two “Triple Crown” awards by the Associated Press Sports Editors group — the most prestigious national honor for a sports department. That award recognizes excellence in daily and Sunday sports coverage, as well as in special sections. The Register’s digital sports coverage has earned honorable mention in national contests.

While at the Register, Miller has covered Olympics in Salt Lake City, Athens, Torino and Beijing for the newspaper and USA Today group.

He will be at his fifth Olympics later this month in London.

Miller’s first column will appear Aug.26 in The Des Moines Sunday Register and DesMoinesRegister.com.

“I couldn’t be happier that Bryce has accepted this new opportunity and will continue the Register’s long tradition of stellar sports columnists,” said Register executive editor Rick Green. “He’s a native Iowan with deep knowledge of the state’s athletic programs, coaches, athletes, parents, fans and readers of The Register.

“He has guided the Register’s sports staff for seven years as its editor. Now, he will bring a fresh approach and strong storytelling — in print and in the digital space — to the issues sports fans throughout Iowa are talking about. Our readers deserve a great sports columnist, and I’m confident that’s what they will be getting in Bryce Miller.”

Miller replaces Marc Hansen, who retired in April.

The Register’s other lead sports columnists over the years: Taylor, who for decades wrote a column titled “Sittin’ In with the Athletes,” Maury White and Sean Keeler.

Belmont winner Union Rags out with ligament injury

NEW YORK (AP) -- First I'll Have Another, now Union Rags.

Injuries to the left front legs of both 3-year-old colts have left thoroughbred racing without its classic winners for the rest of the year, and beyond.
Belmont Stakes winner Union Rags is out with a ligament injury, but could return to the races next year, the colt's veterinarian Kathy Anderson said Wednesday.
The news comes just over a month after Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner I'll Have Another was retired with a tendon injury the day before the Belmont, which ended his chance to become the first Triple Crown winner in 34 years.
Union Rags, considered the top 3-year-old in training after his Belmont win, has a "small lesion of his high suspensory," said Anderson, but added his prognosis is "excellent" for a return in 2013. The injury likely occurred after a July 6 workout.
"He is scheduled to undergo treatment and therapy immediately with the goal of keeping his options open for 2013," Anderson said in a news release issued by Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Md. "Needless to say his owners, trainer and all connections are extremely disappointed with this turn of events, but we believe that this early diagnosis and treatment combined with rest will ultimately favor his full recovery and future success."
The same cannot be said for I'll Have Another.
After the colt was retired, he was sold by J. Paul Reddam to Big Red Farm in Japan for $10 million, and a report Wednesday said I'll Have Another was ailing for more than two weeks before the Belmont on June 9.
The New York Times reported that veterinary records obtained from New York state racing officials show I'll Have Another was being treated with painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs in the weeks after his win in the Preakness on May 19.
According to the records, X-rays of the colt's front ankles and knees taken four days after the Preakness showed that I'll Have Another had osteoarthritis.
The report said that two days before the Belmont, the colt was injected with painkillers and a synthetic joint fluid, and the next day trainer Doug O'Neill cited a left front tendon injury as the reason the horse was being retired.
However, O'Neill told The Associated Press on Wednesday that I'll Have Another did not have osteoarthritis. The newspaper had four veterinarians who did not treat the colt review his vet records.
"X-raying is something that is just part of my caretaking for the horses. It's perfectly normal to X-ray horses," O'Neill said. "To have four vets who have never seen the horse come and speculate off vet reports, it's irresponsible. I'll Have Another was sound, doing great all the way up until the tendon issue came up."
O'Neill called the Times report "irresponsible journalism."
"That horse went through every physical exam and blood exam known to man," he said. "He retired sound. He had the start of the tendon and we stopped on him. It's a time where I really think we should be celebrating I'll Have Another and all his accomplishments and applauding the Reddams for doing the right thing and not running him."
Union Rags won the Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park to open the year, then finished third in the Florida Derby and seventh in the Kentucky Derby after troubled trips with Julien Leparoux aboard.
A jockey change to John Velazquez brought the success expected of the colt by trainer Michael Matz, with Union Rags holding off Paynter to win the Belmont in a photo finish. Union Rags, owned by Phyllis Wyeth, was in training for the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on July 29.
Matz said Union Rags wasn't lame, but there was "a little fluid" after a Sunday jog.
"So we put a thicker poultice on it and he galloped great on Monday. He galloped again on Tuesday and couldn't have gone any better, but afterward he did have some fluid again," Matz said in a story posted on bloodhorse.com
"The vet felt it was nothing, but did an ultrasound just to make sure. That's when we discovered the slight tear in the suspensory. The prognosis is four to six months off, and there should be no sign of it after that."
With the top two 3-year-olds out of the picture, the division championship could be up for grabs. Bodemeister seems to be the current leader with a victory in the Arkansas Derby and narrow losses to I'll Have Another in the Derby and the Preakness. His next start is scheduled for the Haskell.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Sports facility decision angers

KATRINA LINTONBON
  A decision by Matamata-Piako District Council not to build a new community sports facility in Matamata has infuriated a man who pledged $750,000 toward the project.
Speaking from from Australia, Matamata man Bruce Magan said he had little faith in any decisions made by the council any more.
"They just want to look at our neighbouring districts and those district councils who have invested in top class facilities for members of their communities," Mr Magan said.
"We are standing still while the rest of the world is moving ahead."
But Matamata-Piako District Mayor Hugh Vercoe said $2 million had been allocated to the upgrade of Headon Stadium in the year 2015-2016 and if a community group in Matamata could come up with a good case to build a new facility, the council would investigate the option further.
Because of Matamata's relative isolation, Mr Magan said it would have been perfectly suited for a new community sports facility.
"The only way a new facility can be built is with the council's support," Mr Magan said.
Meanwhile the $3 million that was to be allocated to the building of a new library in Matamata has been held back.
"It's not the time for us to be doing something like that," Mr Vercoe said.
The council will spend $50,000 to investigate the idea of building a new community centre and will look at renovating the memorial centre.
"The memorial centre is a fantastic facility and with a bit of work could become an ideal conference centre."