News & Notes

MLB

- Seattle Mariners C Kenji Johjima has decided to leave the team and the $24 million left on his contract to finish his career in Japan. Johjima hasn't lived up to the hype, partially because of age. The Mariners won't be upset about the cap flexibility.
- The New York Daily news reported over the weekend that Many Acta is the leading candidate to become the next manager of the Cleveland Indians. Former Indians' manager Eric Wedge was let go prior to the conclusion of the regular season. ESPN is now reporting that former analyst and MLB manager, Bobby Valentine is also in the running for the vacant managerial position.
- According to the Toronto Sun, the Blue Jays are interested in bringing back free-agents C Rod Barajas and SS Marco Scutaro. Both players will garner significant raises after good years with the team. GM Alex Anthopoulos won't know if the team can afford both players until ownership releases the budget at the end of the month.
- The Arizona Diamonbacks are expected to try to move SS Stephen Drew in the off-season. The Boston Globe is suggesting that the Red Sox could be interested in his services and will look to make a play for Drew in the off-season. Stephen's brother J.D. plays right field for the Red Sox.
- The Boston Globe is also speculating that Don Mattingley could replace Joe Torre as manager when his contract expires after the 2010 season. Torre told reporters last week that he plans on taking a step back from baseball when his contract is up.

NBA

- Minnesota Timberwolves C/F Kevin Love will undergo surgery to repair a fractured left hand on Tuesday. Love sustained the injury bumping into his own teammate, Oleksiy Pecherov in pre-season action last Friday against the Chicago Bulls. He will be re-evaluated after the procedure to determine a timeline for his return.
- The New York Post is claiming that sources close to the situation revealed that Indiana Pacers GM Larry Bird will retire after this season.
- The Milwaukee Bucks plan on starting Kurt Thomas at the power forward position. Thomas was acquired over the summer in a deal that sent SF Richard Jefferson to the San Antonio Spurs.
- The Utah Jazz must decide on the contracts of G/F Ronnie Brewer and second-year C Kosta Koufos prior to the start of the regular season. The Deseret News is reporting that the team is currently planning on picking up the 2009-2010 contract option on the contract of Koufos and would like to extend Brewer long-term. It will be interesting to see if they can get the deals done in time.
- The Los Angeles Daily Times is reporting that SF Ron Artest revealed on Sunday that he hired a sports psychologist last season to help him deal with anger issues he's been infamous for his entire career. "The main thing is that I can sense when something's wrong, and when I need to figure it out, I go down and talk to her," Artest told reporters.

NFL

- On Sunday, Green Bay Packers WR Donald Driver became the team's all-time receiving leader. In the first quarter of the game against the Detroit Lions, Driver made a 5-yard catch to pass Sterling Sharpe with 596 career receptions.
- New England Patriots QB Tom Brady threw an NFL record, 5 touchdown passes, in a 45-0 abomination of the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
- Buffalo Bills QB Trent Edwards left Sunday's game against the New York Jets in the 2nd quarter with a concussion. He will be out of the lineup indefinitely. The Bills went on to complete the upset, scoring a field goal in over time to take the 16-13 win over the Jets.
- New York Jets star nose takle, Kris Jenkins is out for the season with a torn ACL in his left knee. He injured the knee in Sundays loss to the Buffalo Bills. This is a huge loss for a team looking to contend. He is their leader on defense and a huge force on the D-line. He will be missed.
- Atlanta Falcons CB Brian Williams is out for the season with a torn ligament in his knee.
- Cincinnati Bengals DE Antwan Odom will miss the remainder of the season because of a torn Achilles.  He sustained the injury during the Bengals' loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday.
- Arizona Cardinals WR Anqaun Boldin suffered a high ankle sprain in the team's win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. He didn't finish the game but is not expected to miss any games because of the injury.

NHL

- According to ESPN, Boston Bruins LW Milan Lucic will be out of action for 4-6 weeks after undergoing surgery to repair an injured index  finger. He suffered the injury Friday night against the Dallas Stars and underwent the procedure on Sunday. He will be re-evaluated in two weeks time.
- On Sunday, the Boston Bruins traded RW Chuck Kobasew to the Minnesota Wild for RW Craig Weller and RW Alexander Fallstrom. The Wild also sent a 2011 2nd round pick to Boston in the deal.
- ESPN.com is reporting that Chicago Blackhawks F Marian Hossa skated on Friday for the first time since shoulder surgery in the off-season. After singing a 12-year/$62.8M free-agent deal with the team in July, Hossa underwent rotator cuff surgery. No timetable has been set for his return.
- Phoenix Coyotes G Ilya Bryzgalov has been named the "NHL's first star" for the week ending Oct. 18. Colorado Avalanche G Craig Anderson was named the second star and Washington Capitals LW Alexander Ovechkin was named the third star.
- New Jersey Devils G Martin Brodeur recorded his 102nd career shutout on Saturday night when the Devils defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0. Brodeur is now one shutout away from tying Terry Sawchuk's NHL career record.
- The Nashville Predators have signed 2009 1st round pick (11th overall) D Ryan Ellis to a three-year entry-level deal. Due to team policy, terms were not disclosed.

MMA

- Yahoo Sports! reported last week that free-agent middleweight fighter Dan Henderson was close to coming to a contract with Strikeforce. He responded Friday, telling MMA Weekly that he would like to return to the UFC but is weighing all his options. "I'm still hoping to come to terms with the UFC, until I heard this. And I will be exploring other options for sure, but I definitely need to make sure I get paid. I've never seen an offer from (Strikeforce)," said Henderson.
- The UFC has announced numerous fights for the following events:

UFC Fight Night 20:

Josh Koscheck vs. Mike Pierce

Chris Leben vs. Jay Silva

Efrain Escudero vs. Nik Lentz

Tom Lawlor vs. Aaron Simpson

Rick Story vs. Jesse Lennox

UFC 106:

Brock Larson vs. Brian Foster

UFC 108:

Carlos Condit vs. Paul Daley

Tyson Griffin vs. Jim Miller (in the works according to MMAjunkie)

UFC 109:

Demian Maia vs. Dan Miller