T.J. Quinn of ESPN.com is reporting that a congressional source indicated that a House committee does not expect to give immunity to former pitcher Roger Clemens or four other witnesses who are scheduled to testify about performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball on Feb. 13.
More:
The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is proceeding as if no immunity will be granted, although the final decision will be made next week.
Clemens’ lawyers also will likely be asked if they have a tape recording that McNamee’s lawyers say exist in which investigators working for Clemens spoke with McNamee days before the release of Mitchell’s report, the congressional source said.
According to TV3, a New Zealand-based media outlet, famed adventurer Sir Edmund Hillary has passed away at the age of 88.
The man who scaled Mt. Everest in 1953 with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and met Sir Vivian Fuchs at the South Pole in 1958, was mourned by Prime Minister Helen Clark of New Zealand in a prepared statement (after the jump). More after the jump »
The Washington Capitals and forward Alexander Ovechkin have opened up contract talks in hopes of extending the Russian superstars stay in the nation’s capital.
According to RDS.ca, the French-languaged outlet of TSN–Canada, the two sides have reached an agreement on a six-year pact worth $54 million. But a source with knowledge of the negotiations say nothing has been finalized as of yet.
Ovechkin was the first overall selection by the Capitals in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.
***UPDATED at 6:19PM ET***
It’s official: the Caps and Alexander Ovechkin have agreed to a multi-year extension. Unbelievably, the forward represented himself in these negotiations.
Wild owner Bob Naegele is selling a majority interest in the hockey club to former Nashville Predators owner Craig Leipold.
The deal, according to the vice-chairman of the holding company that runs the organization, is expected to close in several months after the city of St. Paul and the NHL approve the sale.
The team said in a news release that the sale includes all of the partnership’s assets.
The Wild have sold every home game in their short history that dates back ten seasons.
It’s that time of year again — time to speculate on the future of Green Bay’s Brett Favre.
In an exclusive to the Biloxi, Miss. paper The Sun Herald, is strongly leaning towards coming back for his 18th season in Green Bay.
“Each week, I bring more stress on myself wondering if this is too good to be true,” Favre told the Sun Herald. “I want to continue the streak and winning. When I talk about the streak, it’s not the (consecutive) starts; it’s the hot streak we are on. Then, I ask what can I do better?
“I am trying to enjoy it because this could be my last game in Green Bay. For the first time in three years, I haven’t thought this could be my last game. I would like to continue longer.”
We’re quite sure that this story could change as the offseason begins and training camp approaches but judging by Favre’s comments and the Packers’ season, it makes sense.
Cubs trade for Orioles’ Brian Roberts likely (Chicago Tribune) Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune writes that the Cubs are on the verge of landing second baseman Brian Roberts from the Baltimore Orioles. We won’t hold our breath since O’s owner Peter Angelos is a big fan of Roberts.
Report: Naegele sells Minnesota Wild (StarTribune.com) The Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minnesota Wild owner Bob Naegele plans to sell his interest in the hockey club. It’s been reported that Naegele has been negotiating with the former owner of the Nashville Predators, Craig Leipold.
Arkansas star running back Darren McFadden was handcuffed at a Little Rock, Ark. bar Thursday after a bar fight broke out at the establishment he was visiting.
Lt. Terry Hastings of the local police department noted that the fight broke out at a piano bar and the disturbance ended up spilling out into the streets of downtown Little Rock.
“There was a whole bunch of people there,” Hastings said. “They were inside and it spilled out into the street.”
Outside, McFadden was handcuffed by a police officer “because he was agitated and was provoking aggressive behavior inciting the incident,” according to the police report.
“We handcuffed him for a few minutes because he was rowdy,” Hastings said.
This wasn’t the first bar incident that McFadden has been involved in as he injured his toe during a 2006 fight.
Last July, we posted the story on one Oscar Pistorius, a double-amputee sprinter who was trying to gain eligibility to compete with able-bodied sprinters at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
Fast-forward to Saturday where word will likely to come down that the International Association of Athletics Federations — the sporting body with a heart — will declare the sprinter ineligible to compete in the Beijing Games.
Hank Steinbrenner has reversed field on the Johan Santana trade sweepstakes, telling the New York Daily News that a deal for the ace left-hander carries with a consequence: a hefty payday.
“I don’t know what he’d even want, or what they’d settle for. I don’t know. We obviously haven’t talked to him or his agent, so I have no idea,” Steinbrenner said. “But a six- or seven-year extension, no, I wouldn’t do that.”
[…]
“I’m growing more and more comfortable with what we have, and the veteran players I’ve talked to seem to be pretty comfortable with what we have. But we’ll see what happens,” said Steinbrenner, who reiterated that the plan is to shift Joba Chamberlain into the starting rotation. “I’m hoping we’ll be set to go (to spring training).”
So depending on the New York temperature — and what ‘ol Hank had for breakfast — seems to determine the Yankees direction for the ‘08 season.
Congress to investigate Clemens denials (New York Times) Duff Wilson and Michael S. Schmidt report that Congress postponed next week’s scheduled PEDs hearing — featuring accused users Chuck Knoblauch, Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens and trainer Brian McNamee — due to the subcommittee wanting to investigate Clemens’ denials.
Bedard to Mariners getting closer (FOXSports.com) Baseball insider Ken Rosenthal writes that things are progressing in the Erik Bedard sweepstakes, with the Seattle Mariners being the leading suitor for his services.
Golf Channel anchor suspended (AP/Y! Sports) Kelly Tilghman, the Golf Channel anchor who made ill-advised comments about golfer Tiger Woods, was suspended two weeks by the cable channel.
Heat’s Riley issues denial on coaching future (AP/SI.com) Despite rumors to the contrary, Miami Heat bench boss Pat Riley dismissed those, telling reporters that he’ll remain around and “things will work its way out.
The Kelly Tilghman video (YouTube/FanIQ) The blog FanIQ comes through with the video that has many in the sports world talking: The Golf Channel’s Kelly Tilghman talking to analyst Nick Faldo on what young golfers need to do to catch Tiger Woods.
Loading ...
