Water Cooler – July 28th, 2010
Here we go with today’s sports water cooler talk. Here, you won’t just find the straight news; you’ll find the stuff everyone is talking about – the ice breakers, the Twitter Sports Picks and topics…well, basically all the stuff you discuss at the water cooler.
Enjoy!
The T.O. sweepstakes are finally over and the NHL free agency wheels are finally turning again in today’s news.
NFL news: Terrell Owens signs with Cincinnati
Good news for Terrell Owens and bad news for Antonio Bryant. The Cincinnati Bengals have their man. They signed Owens, a potential Hall-of-Famer, to join the receiving corps. Owens’ deal is reportedly worth $2 million per season with potential to double that number through incentives.
The line of thinking among the Cincinnati media is that the Bengals will want Owens to start and that Antonio Bryant’s knee is in rougher shape than the team is letting on.
NHL news: Frolov signs with Rangers; Ponikarovsky to L.A.; Pens and Caps in Winter Classic
Maybe the Ilya Kovalchuk scandal won’t completely freeze free agent activity after all. Two somewhat important signings happened yesterday.
Both Alexander Frolov and Alex Ponikarovsky were arguably considered top-10 forwards in the remaining free-agent crop.
Frolov took a small deal in both time and finances, signing with the New York Rangers for one year at $3 million. He was offered a four-year, $20-million deal to play in the KHL but decided to stay in North America one more year before deciding on his future.
Ponikarovsky will fill Frolov’s role in the Kings’ offense, albeit with a bit less finesse and a bit more size. The hulking winger inked the same deal – one year, $3 million.
The NHL Winter Classic has been a major success over its first few years and it has a chance to shatter its ratings records next year.
It’s official: the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals will clash at Heinz Field on January 1. Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin will resume one of the sport’s better rivalries.
MLB news: Strasburg pulled from start with shoulder inflammation
Don’t be surprised if we don’t see Stephen Strasburg pitch again this season. It’s not that his injury is necessarily significant, but the Washington Nationals were already handling him with kid gloves and preparing to shut him down in September anyway.
During a warmup before his start yesterday, Strasburg said his shoulder felt stiff. He thought he could “get loose” but Nats pitching coach Steve McCatty said no and yanked him from the game.
Strasburg had an MRI and X-ray and was diagnosed right shoulder inflammation. Thankfully, there was no rotator cuff or labrum damage.
Still – you have to wonder if the Nats will shut their prized hurler down for the year just to be safe.
NBA news: Yao Ming will retire if his health doesn’t improve
Just when the Houston Rockets were smiling at the prospect of Yao Ming finally returning to their lineup, he hinted at doing the unthinkable.
Yao, now 29 years old, missed all of 2009-10 with a broken foot. In a recent interview, he said he’d retire if the injury flares up again.
He’ll resume drills next month and play in full-court games in September.
Then we’ll find out if Yao’s pro basketball days are done.
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