Sports Rumors

"Inconclusive," is the word the National Hockey League uses to uphold goal/no-goal decisions made on ice by referees. We saw that in Game two of the Flyers-Penguins game when it appeared that Sidney Crosby had scored to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead late in the first. Most believe that it was a goal, but video review couldn't conclusively prove it according to TSN.ca contributor Darren Dreger.

The NHL wants to get it right and has experimented in the past with visual aids that have never been adopted. Last year, during the Stanley Cup final the NHL's hockey operations department tested what it called a "verification line." The test was conducted in between games and was meant to be highly secretive. The test was however caught on camera and it uncovered a second line painted on the ice behind the goal line creating a gap a fraction wider than the width of the puck. So, if the puck touched this "verification line" than it would be deemed a good goal.

Sounds like a good idea, yet it has not been revisited and has never been presented to NHL general managers. Front burner topics such as no-touch icing, the instigator rule and the ongoing discussion on one-minute penalties are considered more pressing. According to one NHL head coach, it is his belief that anything that would help identify a goal from a non-goal would be unanimously accepted

Source: TSN.ca

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He has been rumored to have his bags already packed for Ottawa, but Craig Hartsburg, coach of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League, says that's more than a little premature. Not only has he not talked to the Senators, he hasn't talked to any NHL team looking for a coach.

If they call, Hartsburg, 48, said he'll listen, of course. But he's not going to be putting his résume up on billboards, he said Tuesday. He has also been mentioned as a candidate for the open coaching job with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

It is inevitable that, at some point, Hartsburg will get a call. Not only does he have 13 years of NHL coaching experience — six as a head coach (Chicago and Anaheim) and seven as an assistant (Philadelphia and Minnesota) — but he has also distinguished himself with the Canadian junior team. Over the past three years, he has won three gold medals, including two as head coach. In addition to the Senators and Maple Leafs, Florida, Atlanta, Colorado and San Jose have job openings for a new head coach. Tampa Bay might also be looking, given John Tortorella's uncertain status.

Source: Ottawa Citizen

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Wade Redden, an unrestricted free agent as of July 1, hasn't rejected any offer to return to the Ottawa Senators mainly because he hasn't received one, his agent said Monday. Don Meehan also labelled as "nonsense" a report last week that said Redden had rejected a request by the Senators to take as much as a $3-million U.S. pay reduction from the $6.5 million he made last season. Meehan said he hasn't talked to Senators general manager Bryan Murray, though he expects he will soon.

Redden, who is to get married in August, hasn't offered any instruction to Meehan about what direction he'd like to go in, the agent said. The 30-year-old defenceman has played his entire career with the Senators.

While it is unlikely Redden will return to the Senators — even he seemed to feel the inevitability of a move the day after the team got knocked out of the playoffs by Pittsburgh — it's also not unthinkable he would take a pay reduction to return, though reducing his salary by half might be too much to ask.

Source: Ottawa Citizen

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Wayne Gretzky quieted talk Tuesday about The Great One leaving Phoenix to become president of the Maple Leafs.

"I am the coach of the Coyotes and part owner ... as much as I love Canada and the Toronto Maple Leafs, I have no interest in selling my stakes and leaving the Coyotes," Gretzky said in an email Tuesday night.

Steve Yzerman's name also entered the fray in MLSE's GM search as a candidate to be Gretzky's GM in Toronto, but was also dismissed. The Leafs' GM search team officially interviewed former Vancouver GM Dave Nonis Tuesday and reiterated that they will not comment on candidates, speculation or whether the Leafs have asked for permission to speak with someone under contract to another NHL team.

Source: The Toronto Star

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It's official — both NHL conference finals are 3-nil duds. The good news however, is that a Pittsburgh-Detroit Stanley Cup Final should be dazzling. The Pittsburgh Penguins joined the Detroit Red Wings in positioning themselves one win away from a Stanley Cup berth, taking a commanding 3-0 stranglehold of their Eastern semifinal series against the Philadelphia Flyers.

On a night when the Flyers just could not give their bloodthirsty crowd anything to hang some of their legendary intimidation on, Marian Hossa scored twice and Sidney Crosby had a pair of assists to send Pittsburgh's playoff record to an astounding 11-1.

"It's rewarding," said Crosby, who pulled into the playoff scoring lead with 19 points. "You come into a building that's a challenge to play in, you're facing some adversity. It feels like you're against more than just their team."

Source: Canwest News Service

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The Philadelphia Flyers are stunned. After beating the Penguins five times out of eight — and four of four at home — in the regular season, after getting past scoring machine Alex Ovechkin and Washington in the first round, after knocking off top-seeded Montreal in the second round, they have no answers against the Pittsburgh Penguins. At least that seemed to be the prevailing emotion after Philadelphia dug a hole that precedent suggests it will have a difficult time climbing out of.

"I don't know if I completely have an explanation right now," winger Joffrey Lupul said after the Penguins trapped, clogged the neutral zone and stifled the Flyers, 4-1. We didn't get many chances, and when we did, we missed the net or they blocked shots. We're working. We're in there. We're skating. But they're just doing a good job defensively."

And getting enough offense to go along with all that backchecking and strong defensive play to hold a commanding 3-0 lead going into Game 4 tomorrow night.

Source: Post-Gazette

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LenDale White says his surgically repaired left knee feels fine as he took part in organized team activities with the Tennessee Titans on Tuesday after revealing he played all of 2007 with a torn meniscus. White, who had arthroscopic surgery in January, had been limited to individual work in last week's open workout. White suffered the injury in preseason last August.

"This happened last year in preseason. I tore my meniscus," White said. "I played on it all season. Contrary to what people believe, I am a soldier. I played on it all year and I didn't complain, not once. I waited until the season was over to get it fixed and now I'm feeling good."

White played in all 16 games last season and the Titans AFC Divisional playoff loss at San Diego, rushing for 1,110 yards in the regular season. Despite posting a breakthrough season, White said the injury bothered him plenty at times last year.

Source: Nashville City Paper

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Seattle Seahawks linebacker Lofa Tatupu was arrested Saturday and cited for driving while intoxicated.

Tatupu was arrested in Kirkland at about 2:30 Saturday morning after an officer observed his car driving at what the officer estimated was in excess of 50 mph in a 35-mph zone. Tatupu submitted to field-sobriety tests, but declined to take a portable Breathalyzer.

He was arrested, handcuffed without incident and taken to the police station. Tatupu was polite and cooperative throughout the process, according to the Kirkland Police Department. Tatupu's blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) was measured at 0.155 and 0.158, nearly double the legal limit of 0.08. That measurement was taken about two hours after Tatupu was observed driving the car.

Source: Seattle Times

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took the field Tuesday for their second set of organized team activities of the offseason. Quarterback Jeff Garcia participated in the voluntary workout, but he still is frustrated by his current contract situation.

Garcia, 38, is entering the final year of his deal with the Buccaneers. It is scheduled to pay him $2 million in base salary and also includes $2.5 million in not-likely-to-be-earned incentives. Tampa Bay's front office and Garcia's agent, Steve Baker, have had dialogue regarding a contract extension for the Pro Bowl signal caller. But according to Garcia, little progress has been made on that front.

"[The Bucs] have indicated to my agent that they'd be working something out or trying to work something out, but it's at a snail's pace it seems right now," said Garcia. "I have one year left on my contract. At the rate it's going who knows if it will actually happen before the season starts."

Garcia signed a two-year contract with the Bucs in March of 2007. He earned a $2 million base salary and received a $3 million signing bonus when he inked his contract. It is unclear what level of compensation Garcia is looking for. However, Garcia, who completed 209-of-327 (63.9 percent) of his passes for 2,440 yards and tossed 13 touchdowns and four interceptions in 13 games last season, is reportedly looking to be paid in the $7 million per year range.

Baker and Bucs general manager Bruce Allen were scheduled to discuss Garcia's contract situation on Friday, but Garcia said the Bucs canceled that scheduled conversation and a new one has not been scheduled.

Source: PewterReport

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