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March 31st 2011: Daily Sports News – Gossip – Headlines

Sports water cooler headlines and sports gossip for Thursday March 31st 2011. Shea Matthews weighs in with his analysis and opinions on today’s sports action…

Water Cooler – March 31st, 2011

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.

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Top PUBLIC Bets Today:

#1. 65 Predators 84%
#2. 54 Flyers 83%
#3. 906 Cardinals 80%
#4. 911 Angels 80%
#5. 55 Rangers 80%
#6. 8 Coyotes 80%
#7. 64 Wild 79%
#8. 910 Yankees 78%
#9. 901 Braves 78%
#10. 70 Sharks 71%

Sports News – NHL news: Ryan Miller injured; Sidney Crosby cleared to practice; Jonas Hiller still out with vertigo; Leafs keeping Ron Wilson?

Sidney Crosby cleared to practice

Did the Buffalo Sabres’ playoff hopes just take a major blow? They have the inside track on the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference but they have to soldier on without their top player. Goaltender Ryan Miller is out with what the team is calling an upper-body injury. He took a hard Dion Phaneuf shot to the collarbone on Tuesday against Toronto. For now, Jhonas Enroth will fill in. So far, so good; he netted a shutout against the Rangers on Wednesday night.

Sidney Crosby’s slow recovery from a concussion continues. He’s been cleared by a doctor to resume fully practicing with the Pittsburgh Penguins. General manager Ray Shero still doesn’t know exactly when he’ll return but did suggest that he’s “certainly not close” to returning yet.

Thanks to the outstanding play of Corey Perry and Teemu Selanne, the Anaheim Ducks are very much in the Western Conference playoff picture, but they still don’t know if their go-to goalie will be ready for the postseason. All-Star Jonas Hiller is still plagued by vertigo-like symptoms and doesn’t know when he’ll be ready for a return to the ice.

Has Toronto’s second-half surge (22-13-6 since New Year’s Day) saved coach Ron Wilson’s job? It appears so. Leafs general manager Brian Burke said this week that Ron Wilson will remain with the team next year even if Toronto doesn’t erase its current seven-point deficit.

NBA news: Dominique Wilkins attacked outside arena; John Wall ejected; did Jay-Z visit Kentucky illegally? LeBron endorses Derrick Rose for MVP

Hall-of-Famer Dominique Wilkins was attacked outside Phillips Arena on Wednesday night by a main claiming that Wilkins owed him money. Rashan S. Michel, a 36-year-old former NBA referee, was arrested and charged with one count of battery. Wilkins wasn’t injured in the attack.

Washington Wizards rookie John Wall was ejected from last night’s game against the Miami Heat for throwing a punch. He took a swing at Zydrunas Ilgauskas after the Heat center hit him with an elbow. It was Wall’s second ejection this season.

The NBA is investigating the New Jersey Nets and, more specifically, rapper Jay-Z in a potential tampering incident. Jay-Z went into the Kentucky Wildcats’ locker room last week after they clinched a Final Four berth at the NCAA Tournament. NBA rules prevent team personnel from having personal contact with players who aren’t yet draft-eligible. Jay-Z is a partial owner of the Nets and thus qualifies as a Nets official.

Two-time MVP LeBron James has his MVP pick for this season: Derrick Rose. LeBron thinks the Bulls point guard is the pick because of “what he’s done for that team, with all the injuries they have and them being first in the Eastern Conference.”

NFL news: Aqib Talib says his mother fired gun; Dez Bryant sued again

Aqib Talib and Dez Bryant are stealing headlines every day this week, it seems. The latest development in the Talib gun scandal; he says his mother fired the gun in the incident that led to his arrest. Police maintain that both Talib and his mother fired shots.

After being sued earlier this week in two separate instances, Dez Bryant has a third suit for his collection. A landlord in Stillwater, Oklahoma, where Bryant went to school, has sued him for failure to pay rent.

MLB news: Barry Zito hospitalized after car accident; Randy Velarde bought HGH from Greg Anderson

San Francisco Giants lefty Barry Zito was hospitalized last night after a two-car accident in Los Angeles. His car sustained major damage and he underwent precautionary X-rays and an MRI for a sore neck today.

The Barry Bonds trial continues. The latest revelation: former major leaguer Randy Velarde says he bought human growth hormone from Greg Anderson, Bonds’ personal trailer, during the 2002 season. He says Anderson helped him inject HGH and that he deliberately sought out Anderson because of his successful work with Bonds.

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Comments are welcome below!

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By Shea Matthews

Shea Matthews the Senior Writer at CP. Lives and breathes sports. He made the transition from athlete to sports journalist at a young age, writing in TV & national papers. Shea applies his knowledge to sports betting + handicapping daily, and shares winning picks with the world.