Tending Goal - a Hockey and Soccer Blog

Puck Headlines: Toews, Datsyuk among injured stars; Coyotes sale update; T.O. to drop puck

Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.

? Oh, like Chicago could ever say goodbye to Patrick Kane. Here's Kaner at the Bulls' game last night, where he also threw T-shirts to the crowd.

? Oh crap Jonathan Toews is out tonight for the Chicago Blackhawks against the Detroit Red Wings. [Sun Times and YCN]

? Oh crap Pavel Datsyuk is out two weeks after having knee surgery. [Freep]

? Oh crap Jamie Langenbrunner's out a month with a broken foot. [STLToday]

? Oh crap Vinny Lecavalier will be out indefinitely with an upper-body injury. [Lightning Strikes]

? Oh good Ilya Bryzgalov is OK after taking a puck off the hand and will start for the Philadelphia Flyers ? in Winnipeg. Awesome. [CSN Philly]

? Mike Ribeiro and Steve Ott both have years left on their contracts and are both the subject of trade rumors at the deadline. [ESPN Dallas]

? Bob McKenzie reports that Steve Downie is now a member of the Avalanche, with Kyle Quincey going the other way. [TSNBobMcKenzie]

? Bill Daly to Seattle station on the sale of the Phoenix Coyotes: "We are the owner of the team, and thus should know if and when we have a deal to sell the team. I have unequivocally denied (several times) that we have a deal with Jamison, (much less that the Board has approved him). I hope it gets done with Jamison, but there is a long way between here and there." [KING 5, via Henrik]

? The new NBC Sports Network is rating well with hockey and outdoor sports; but Darren Rovell's Feb. 10 show's "8,000 viewers tied for 2,452nd out of 2,544 telecasts on ad-supported national cable shows." [Awful Announcing]

? Another great Pittsburgh Penguins piece by Sean Conboy, this time with James Neal. Here's Neal on "not his girlfriend" but best bud Paul Martin and the criticism he receives: "It is frustrating. They give him such a hard time. Paulie goes out and does an unbelievable job every night. He does all the little things as a hockey player. Maybe he doesn't score much, but you have to think about what he does in his own end, how good of a stick he has and how hard he is to play against. If you really know hockey, you'll understand how smart and how skilled he is." [Pittsburgh Magazine]

? The CHL's Allen Americans will have Terrell Owens drop a puck at their game tonight, and in turn expect to have the first puck-drop celebration on the ice involving either pom-poms or a Sharpie (we assume). [Dallas Stars Blog]

? Paul Kelly's resignation from College Hockey Inc. was unexpected and is causing a stir. [Buzzing the Net and WCHB]

? Alex Burrows has somehow made it to 500 games. And by "somehow" we mean "found chemistry with the Sedins." [Vancouver Sun]

? Jonathan Willis on hiring Pierre McGuire as an NHL GM: "Would I hire McGuire?� Given his current resume, no.� I think handing over the reins of an NHL team to a man who hasn't recently been deeply involved in running an NHL team is too great a risk." [Cult of Hockey]

? Jean-Sebastien Giguere of the Colorado Avalanche will return from injury against the Kings on Wednesday. [All Things Avs]

? The Ducks announced today the club's season ticket pricing for the 2012-13 campaign. All ticket prices will either be reduced or remain flat. The average season ticket price will decrease 4.8%, with reductions ranging from 2% to 35% per ticket. In total, 40% of season ticket holders will see a reduction in price, with 60% remaining flat to this season. [Ducks]

? Well here's an interesting one: ESPN The Magazine has PK Subban address concerns raised by anonymous Internet posters on message boards like the HF Boards. On whether he's "too black" for the hockey establishment: "Everyone is going to have an opinion on what I'm being scrutinized for. There have been a lot of black players in the NHL. I don't want to be noticed for that -- I want to be noticed as being a good hockey player who can have a positive impact on his team. I hope to be a role model for kids of different ethnic backgrounds who want to play hockey." [ESPN]

? Here's Barry from Deadspin on embracing the nuttiness of fake rumors and fake rumormongers on Twitter during the deadline. [Deadspin; and my take on the mater from last year]

? Finally, a trip down memory lane with Cliff Fletcher� and Hal Gill at the 2008 NHL Trade Deadline.

Denver Broncos Dallas Mavericks Colorado Rockies Boston Celtics

Wild, Blues get chippy; suspensions coming for Peters, Clutterbuck, Backes?

It's pretty easy to understand why the Minnesota Wild were frustrated Saturday. On a macro scale, they have all of 4 wins in 2012 and they leave Missouri mired in a 7-game losing streak. On a micro scale, that 7th loss came in one of their worst performances of the season, as the Wild could only muster a season-low 13 shots, falling 4-0 to the St. Louis Blues.

And, to make matters worse, they may be looking at supplemental discipline for a couple of players.

Warren Peters will most certainly be hearing from Brendan Shanahan after his crosscheck to the head of Blues' captain David Backes, which resulted in a 5-minute major and a match penalty:

With the Wild on the powerplay and under five minutes to go in a 4-0 game, Backes showed no signs of letting up, hitting Nate Prosser in the corner just moments before appearing to ride Jared Spurgeon into the side boards. After the puck was frozen at the Wild goal, Backes was met by several Minnesota players, and knocked to the ice by Peters' shot to the head.

Said Peters after the game: "Intent was not to get him in side of head. I got to be more responsible for my stick." Shanahan will undoubtedly echo the second sentence while handing out supplemental discipline of some kind.

UPDATE: According to Mike Russo, Peters has a disciplinary hearing with the NHL Sunday afternoon.

A suspension could hurt for the Wild, as Peters is one of their top centres (a fact that also has to hurt).

But, while the Department of Player Safety is reviewing the Peters crosscheck, they'll likely take another look at that Backes' hit on Spurgeon (earlier in the clip above).

Shanahan has shown a strong dislike for plays of that nature, and with the distance Backes travels prior to the hit, he might be in line for a suspension of his own. However, as Darren Pang said on the broadcast, it looks as though Spurgeon blew a tire.

We'll wait for a better angle to pass judgment, but if Backes avoids suspension here, it will be the second time this season a player has ridden Spurgeon into the boards from behind and walked away. Cody McLeod was forgiven for a similar play along the end boards back in December.

But wait! There's more! Cal Clutterbuck may also be getting a second look after putting his shouler into the head of Blues' defenseman Alex Pietrangelo during a second period hit.

Clutterbuck has been known to charge on occasion, but he isn't usually isn't a feet-leaver. In this case, however, that's what he does, rising off the ice prior to contact.

Pietrangelo wasn't injured on the play and Clutterbuck received 2 minutes for boarding. Is that all he'll get or will Shanahan hit him with the ban-hammer? Lord knows Shanny will be in a sour mood once he realizes he spent his entire afternoon watching tape from a Blues-Wild game.

Bonus material: Clutterbuck also received a two-minute minor for running Brian Elliott in the game's final minute that might draw a second look from the Department. He didn't appear to put much of an effort into stopping, and in the context of this game, it would be very easy to see the sojourn into the crease as an intentional act.

Lucky for Clutterbuck, there's so much else to get through in this game that we'd be shocked if this wasn't lost in the shuffle.

Phoenix Suns Indiana Pacers Cleveland Cavaliers Cincinnati Bengals

Jim Irsay says he would welcome Peyton Manning back ? at the right price

Through the ongoing Peyton Manning medical and financial drama, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay has proven that if larceny abhors a vacuum, as the famed writer Wells Twombly once noted, silence hates that vacuum even more. Especially in Irsay's case. After employing a burn-the-ground mentality to his coaching staff and front office, Irsay went to Twitter and the media to establish himself as the face and voice of the franchise.

After Manning expressed discomfort about all the changes, Irsay called the quarterback a "politician," then tried to reverse course when that blew up in his face. He's acted as an informal medical expert on his quarterback to the media, and he's kept up a constant stream of dialogue on the subject.

Asked once again about Manning's future on Tuesday by Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star, Irsay revealed a bit more of his hand going forward.

"We can make it work if he wants to be here,'' Irsay said. "We'd be excited to have him back and finish his career with us.

"I want him to be able to make the choice. We would love to have him back here if he can get healthy and we can look at doing a contract that reflects the uncertainty of the . . . healing process with the regeneration of the nerve.''

Bang, and there it is -- the first public acknowledgement from the Colts that if Manning wants to stay with the team he's helped define over the last decade, he can most likely throw that $28 million roster bonus he's due out the window. Makes sense, really -- Irsay paid Manning a $26 million bonus in 2011 as part of Manning's new five-year, $90 million contract, and Manning didn't play a single down after a series of well-known neck and nerve injuries scuttled his season.

"There's no question it can be worked out if he wants to be here,'' said Irsay, who has concerns over Manning's long-term health. "It can work if he wants to come back and can get back to being the old Peyton.''

Irsay and Manning are set to meet next week to discuss Manning's future, and it's easy to see that Irsay's latest missive is a pre-emptive strike that puts the ball in Manning's court. Expected to take Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck with the first overall pick in this year's NFL draft, Irsay finds himself in an impossible situation -- no matter which way he turns with his final decision, he's going to step in some fairly deep doo-doo.

[Dan Wetzel: Feud between Peyton Manning and Colts owner gets uglier]

He's either going to decide that Manning is done, and release the best quarterback in franchise history (our apologies, Johnny U.) in a PR nightmare that will take a while to overcome, especially since the roster-barren Colts will be rebuilding for years. Or, he can keep Manning at the agreed price, draft Luck, and set the Colts on the path to a potential salary cap disaster that Gordon Gekko couldn't pull them out of.

Thus, floating the idea that Manning would be welcome back at a reduced rate is a fairly brilliant bit of gamesmanship. Under those conditions, Manning would be perceived as a team player or not, for a team that will need all the cap space it can get in the next few years.

Manning, for his part, recently said that he would be fine with the idea of an incentive-laden contract with little money upfront for the right team, but are the Colts the right team at this point in his career? Once the two men meet next week, we'll probably have a much better idea -- and we're quite sure that Irsay will keep us posted.

Other popular content on the Yahoo! network:
? Super Bowl champ Brandon Jacobs tries his hand at pro wrestling
? Georgia boys basketball team forfeits playoff game over football brawl
? GrindTV: Pop star Shakira attacked by sea lion

Rashard Lewis Washington Redskins San Antonio Spurs Vince Carter

Create-a-Caption: President Obama joins the Brewers

Am I going against my better judgment in serving up a political picture featuring President Obama, Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and a Milwaukee Brewers jersey that was busy spanning the aisle on the tarmac of Air Force One today? Probably.

But let this be a challenge to the more reasonable Stewies out there. Can the simple joy of crafting a creative and funny C-a-C entry overcome the urge to turn every Yahoo! post into a festival of mud-slinging and name-calling? I'd like to believe that it can, so please prove me right.

So have at it, amateur Internet copy editors of the world. How should this caption read?

Follow the jump for winners from the last C-a-C, featuring fashion model Matt Cain:

Matt Cain's great pair of golf pants

1st ? Greg F. "GET OUT. I do NOT look like Mark McGwire 30 years from now."

2nd ? Mattingly's Mullet. "You're a free agent at the end of the year? Well then, Yankee Stadium is that way."

3rd ? PeDRo. "I'm tellin' you man... a ghost falcon... right here on my arm!"

HM ? Beev. "The sweater vests are that way."

Philadelphia 76ers NFL Toronto Raptors Tampa Bay Rays

Puck Daddy chats with KHL President Alexander Medvedev about NHL negotiations; Vityaz goons; and future for Kuznetsov, Tarasenko

KHL President Medvedev is also the head of Russian natural gas giant Gazprom. He was in New York to attend the annual meeting with American shareholders as well as conduct other Gazprom business. But he still found time to have a meeting with the heads of the NHL [please note how he calls Bettman "Gary" without using his last name]. Right after the lunch was over Medvedev spoke exclusively with me?

"Yes, we held a meeting today with Gary [Bettman] and Bill Daly. I would like to point out that the meeting had a very friendly feel to it. It was also very constructive which indicates that both Leagues understand each other's positions and views. It can only help the development of the game of hockey on both sides of the Atlantic. And even though we haven't accomplished a lot yet, nevertheless we already have a few regulatory documents that govern the respect of each other's contracts," he said.

"This is the second year that these regulations have been in place, and even though there are some things we don't agree on, none of them have grown into any sort of conflicts. The agreements we have in place have already helped up resolve a few situations concerning a number of players from the KHL who were able to sign contracts in the NHL, as well as a number of players from the NHL who signed contracts in the KHL having their contracts either terminated or amended in accordance with the rules in principles we have in place with the NHL."

Medvedev said there aren't any concrete agreements in place ? yet. "But this level of cooperation gives us the opportunity to have high hopes that in the near future our partnership will be developed further in a number of different ways," he said.

We went into detail with Medvedev during a Q&A:

Q. Does this include having games between KHL and NHL teams?

MEDVEDEV: "Of course we couldn't avoid touching on this subject, and I am talking about regular season games as well as exhibition games which would not only be held in KHL countries, but in North America as well. But there is still a lot that needs to be done to achieve that, especially considering the fact that the new CBA negotiations between the NHL and the NHLPA would take away the League's attention from the KHL. It is difficult to work on any projects together until there is a new CBA in place."

"Nevertheless, the types of projects we are discussing, the range of ideas we are sharing ? this cannot be seen as anything but a positive. It is our understanding that a lot will depend on the new CBA, which will give us more clarity as far as what we can and cannot do, but at the same time we both, the KHL and the NHL, share our ideas with each other at this time how to make the impossible possible. This dialogue will continue and we agreed that our consultations and conversations will intensify."

Was there any talk about the Olympics?

"It was impossible to avoid the topic of the Olympics because it if obvious that for our sport, for the game of hockey, the Olympics are extremely important. We have very high hopes that the problems that are being discussed between the NHL and the IIHF that may prevent players from participating in the Olympics will be resolved. I am also not excluding the possibility that the KHL itself, which also has its own marketing interests in the Games, will join in on the negotiations. I think it will be easier to resolve all issues if we do it together [with the NHL]. But it is still too early to talk about it because the actual negotiations haven't started yet."

Talking about the KHL, there is more talk that the League is expanding West to countries like Italy with Milan being one of the possible destinations. Could you talk about the League's strategy?

"The criteria for joining the KHL are very transparent and there are a few candidates to join the League. And these candidates have the support of their countries' respective hockey federations that will have to provide their official approval for those teams to join the League. Milan hockey club as well as [Croatian] club Medvescak are the real viable candidates to join the KHL in the very near future. There are also other candidates that are a little too remote to talk about right now. But this development and expansion of the KHL to Western Europe is obvious and unavoidable, and it will help to promote the game of hockey and make it very popular in countries and places that may not have been considered hockey places for a long time."

And what is the League going to do about the likes of Vityaz who started yet another brawl, if you could even call it that, in their last home game this season, chasing Atlant players who obviously didn't want to fight?

"I have already heard about the incident even though I haven't seen exactly what happened. We have the League Regulations that spell out what type of punishment will be imposed on the guilty. I don't think you will see those players again this season, especially considering there are only 4-5 games left until the end of the season. And as far as the future, especially considering the so-called 'tough guys,' the League doesn't see a reason that any club should have 4-5 people who have a very narrow specialty. The League will discuss eliminating the opportunity to have the number of 'tough guys' outweighs the number of 'playing' players."

When the League launched players like Jaromir Jagr, Alexei Yashin and Alexander Radulov were the faces of the league. Jagr is gone, Yashin's not getting younger and it looks very likely that Radulov will be back in the NHL next year. Who will be the face of the League in the future?� What about young players like Vladimir Tarasenko and Evgeny Kuznetsov and what is the League doing to keep them in the KHL?

"There are few steps the League is taking to keep it more attractive for those and other players to stay, including special bonuses from the League, like the one Tarasenko is getting. The base contracts are set at a certain level, especially for those drafted in the first round of the [KHL] draft. And the overall level of pay for young players is quite high. But players also have to have a good head on their shoulders to realize that leaving before the Olympics is not to their advantage. It is obvious that after the Olympics their value and influence is going to be a lot higher regardless of who will actually win the Olympics.

"It is too early to say if we will be able to keep Tarasenko [Tarasenko was traded by Sibir to SKA before the trade deadline; Medvedev is also SKA's president]. But I know for a fact that Evgeny Kuznetsov is very seriously considering the possibility of continuing his career with Traktor. As for us, we will create the best for them so that they would stay and play in the KHL, especially because they have already proven how good they are."

The KHL All Star Game was, for the first time, broadcast in North America by a major sports network ? TSN. Are there any plans to broadcast regular season and playoff games in North America in the future?

"We are currently negotiating with interested parties in North America. Just like there is interest in the NHL in Russia, there is interest in the KHL in North America. I think a true hockey fan is always interested to see how hockey is played on different rinks, different styles. And it is not far away that North American hockey fans will be able to see both NHL and KHL games."

A few years ago when we met in Washington, there was a talk that you may be heading a team of investors interested in acquiring an NHL franchise. What is happening with this idea now?

"There was a talk at the time between us and a number of business partners who wanted to acquire stakes in KHL clubs as well as an NHL club. This idea has not yet materialized, although I think this cross-ownership would help bring the two leagues closer together. At this time we don't have anything concrete even though we know there are teams that have some problems and want to change ownership. But we'd still want to do it as we first planned [same ownership group behind a KHL and an NHL club], because we want it to be a two-way street."

As well as running the KHL you are also President of SKA St. Petersburg. The team is expected to do well in this year's playoffs. What kind of dare would you do if your club wins the Gagarin Cup?� In 2007 Metallurg Magnitogorsk's general director Gennadi Velichkin promised fans he'd shave his head if his team won the championship. And he kept his word.

"I would let my hair grow to have the same style I had when I was young!� I would look just like someone from the Beatles of the 70s."

Miami Heat Minnesota Twins Houston Astros Vernon Wells