Hockey: NHL players' union brass mull return to play plans

The National Hockey League's union brass are expected to give the green light to a 24-team playoff format that would crown the Stanley Cup champion, TSN.ca reported on Friday night.

The Canadian sports broadcaster said the conference-based proposal is expected to get at least 18 of the possible 31 votes needed for it to pass. 

Voting on the plan -- to play behind closed doors and in hub cities -- was expected to take place on Friday.

Under the proposed schedule, the top four seeds in each conference would receive byes into the second round.

The seeds would be determined by the number of points each team had on March 12, when the NHL shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The top four seeds in the Eastern Conference would be the Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers. 

The top four seeds in the Eastern Conference would be the Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers. 

The top four Western Conference teams would be the St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche, Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars. 

The other 16 teams would play in a best-of-five first round.

The rest of the bracketed playoff format would have the five vs. 12 winner playing the fourth seed, the six vs. 11 winner playing the three seed, the seven vs. 10 winner playing the two seed and the eight vs. nine winner playing the one seed in best-of-seven series, according to the report.

All remaining series would be best-of-seven.

gph/st

Agence France-Presse

NHL: Fil-Am teenager drafted by Toronto Maple Leafs

A Filipino-American player from Southern California has been drafted into the National Hockey League (NHL).

The Toronto Maple Leafs drafted 17-year-old Nick Robertson with the 53rd overall pick during the 2019 NHL Entry Draft earlier this week, to beef up their scoring and depth.

Robertson stands at only 5-foot-9 and weighs 168 pounds, but has gotten a reputation for being a tenacious player despite his size and small frame.

He credits his achievements on the ice to his Filipina mother, Mercedes, who did almost everything for him and his brother – from home-schooling them to driving them to their hockey games.

"My mom has sacrificed so much for me to get here," said Robertson. "I can't thank her enough. She sacrificed her time with family and friends who are from the Philippines as well."

"She's the backbone of my career," he said.

Jack Hughes was selected by the New Jersey Devils with the No. 1 overall pick.

This story originally appeared on Balitang America.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NHL: Joy and disbelief as Washington Capitals win hockey title

WASHINGTON - A red sea of tens of thousands of fans boiled over in jubilation Thursday as the Washington Capitals won the Stanley Cup for the first time in team's 44-year history.

Capital One Arena in downtown Washington, the Caps' home stadium, was full to the rafters and rocking for a free jumbotron viewing of the away game. 

Many more boisterous fans wearing red Caps jerseys spilled into surrounding Chinatown streets to cheer on their side.

In the end, the 4-3 triumph over the Las Vegas Golden Knights in game five of the National Hockey League finale series was particularly sweet for Caps fans sadly used to seeing their team reach the playoffs fairly regularly, only to choke well before reaching the final round.

"It's beautiful," fan Bobby Parrish told The Washington Post.

"This is incredible. I mean, I've grown up being disappointed and yet I still come back. Sometimes I don't know why. Until it finally happens. It's why you wasted so many years supporting this team. I mean, it's so rewarding."

In the after-game delirium, fans screamed as they hugged each other in gridlocked streets and drivers honked their horns all over the city, as far away as the K Street corridor of lobbyist power not far from the White House.

After Lars Eller scored the go ahead goal for the Caps with 7:37 to go and Washington held on until the final buzzer, people inside the arena shot their arms up in glee, ran onto the basketball court at the center of the multi-purpose facility or even chucked their beer straight into the air.

"Unlike anything I've ever seen before," fan Mark Creamer, 22, told the Post.

Washington is a big sports town and fans were particularly hungry because the last major crown here was the Washington Redskins' 1992 win in the Super Bowl.

dw/jta

source: news.abs-cbn.com

14 dead in Canada bus crash: media

OTTAWA, Canada - Fourteen people were killed when a bus carrying a group of Canadian junior hockey players collided with a truck on a rural highway in Saskatchewan, Canadian media reported citing police.

Fourteen more were injured, including three critically, in the accident involving the Humboldt Broncos team bus -- which was heading north for a Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League playoff game against the Nipawin Hawks, the Saskatooon StarPhoenix reported.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Don't mention the score: N. Korean media silent on 8-0 loss

SEOUL - North Korean media lauded the players and supporters of the unified Korean women's ice hockey team Sunday after their first match at the Olympics -- without mentioning their 8-0 drubbing.

Kim Yo Jong, the sister of the North's leader Kim Jong Un, was on hand to watch the game against Switzerland with her country's ceremonial head of state and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

The match was a political event as much as a sporting one, with the unified team -- the Koreas' first for 27 years, and first ever at the Olympics -- part of a deal forged last month and a symbol of Moon's hopes for a "peace Olympics".

And Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency focused on the team and the North Korean cheerleaders rather than the 8-0 defeat -- mentioning neither the outcome nor the score in its dispatch.

"The appearance of the players and the impressive picture of the cheering groups once again made the spectators feel keenly that the Korean nation is a... nation which can't live separated from each other," it said.

Cheering spectators from both Koreas "burst into warm applause and cheers" to support players "skillfully driving the puck, calling each other by the same language and pooling efforts", it added. 

The unified team is made up of 23 Southern players and 12 Northerners, with at least three from the North required to be on the starting roster of 22.

But the last-minute decision to form the team was slammed by many South Koreans, who accused Moon of using athletes for political purposes and robbing Seoul's own citizens of opportunities to compete at the Olympics.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NHL: Knights rout Avalanche to tie win-streak record

LOS ANGELES - The Vegas Golden Knights' spectacular arrival in the NHL continued with a record-equalling win on Friday.

David Perron, Oscar Lindberg, Cody Eakin and James Neal all scored goals during an 8 1/2- minute stretch in the second period and Oscar Dansk had 32 saves to lead the Knights to a 7-0 victory over the Colorado Avalanche in Las Vegas.

The fifth straight win for the Golden Knights matched the longest win streak by any team during its inaugural season in the 100-year history of the league.

The record was set by the New York Rangers in 1926-27 and equaled by Edmonton Oilers in 1979-80.

Vegas had already set an NHL record for best start by an expansion club by winning its first three games.

The 23-year-old Dansk, recalled from the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League on October 19 after injuries to starting goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and backup Malcolm Subban, produced the first shutout in team history as he made just the second start of his NHL career.

The contest featured few scoring chances in the first 30 minutes before Perron stole the puck at the Avalanche blue line and backhanded a shot over Semyon Varlamov on a breakaway to give Vegas a 1-0 lead at the 9:50 mark of the second period.

Lindberg made it 2-0 just 2 1/2 minutes later with another unassisted goal.

Eakin made it 3-0 and Neal notched his team-best seventh goal of the season a few minutes later, redirecting a shot from the point by defenseman Colin Miller.

Jonathan Marchessault, Erik Haula and William Carrier added goals in the third period for Vegas.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

WORLD SPORTS: Packers' Rodgers well after knee surgery: reports

Packers' Rodgers well after knee surgery - reports

Agence France-Presse

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers underwent left knee surgery after the team's NFL playoff run, according to reports Saturday that said he is recovering well and probable for off-season workouts.

The NFL's website and ESPN reported unnamed sources as saying Rodgers underwent a minor operation on the knee, the same one he underwent reconstructive surgery on in 2004 for a torn ligament.

Rodgers, an 11-year NFL veteran, played all but 10 snaps for the Packers this season. He struggled late in the campaign and had career lows of 238.8 passing yards a game and a 60.7 completion percentage. His eight intercepted passes were his most since 2012.

Rodgers, 32, told ESPN he was "doing well" and "recovering on schedule" but he pulled out of Sunday's NFL Pro Bowl all-star game in Hawaii as a result of the surgery.

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Giants defender Bromley accused of rape attempt - reports

Agence France-Presse

Police are reportedly investigating an attempted rape accusation against New York Giants defensive tackle Jay Bromley stemming from an incident early Saturday morning.

The New York Daily News and New York Post said Bromley, a 23-year-old defensive tackle who made 36 tackles in 16 games for the Giants this past season, is accused of trying to rape a 26-year-old woman and hitting her with his car while fleeing a hotel room.

Reports said the two met online and Bromley picked up the woman at her home and took her to a Manhattan hotel, where Bromley is accused of trying to rape her when she did not want to have sex.

The Giants said they were monitoring the case and had reported it to NFL officials.

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NFL: Concussions remain common even as awareness improves

Andrew Both, Reuters

Two decades after the NFL brushed off concussion concerns as being of interest only to journalists, the issue is at the forefront of any discussion about player safety and unlikely to go away anytime soon.

From the 2015 film "Concussion" about a doctor who fought the NFL's campaign to conceal his research on the brain damage suffered by players, to a lawsuit over brain injuries that could cost America's most popular sports league $1 billion, it is an issue that has the league playing defense.

And while some experts say there has been a sea change in the league's attitude over the past few years, concussions still occur with alarming regularity.

There were 182 concussions reported in the 2015 regular season, up sharply from 115 in 2014, according to figures released by the league, and reversing a downward trend from the previous three years.

Dr. Thom Mayer, the medical director of the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), warned not to jump to conclusions about the 2015 number, saying it did not necessarily mean there were more concussions but rather could reflect better expertise at diagnosing the condition.

Under the NFL's concussion protocol started in 2013, each team is assigned an independent neurotrauma specialist who is not on the team's payroll. There is also a "spotter" who can stop a game if they see a player showing concussion-like symptoms.

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Zou Shiming recaptures WBO International Flyweight Championship

Agence France-Presse

Former WBO International Flyweight Champion Zou Shiming recaptured the title by defeating Brazilian Natan Santana Coutinho by TKO in the eighth round in front of a raucous Shanghai Oriental Sports Center crowd.

A three-time Olympic medallist who won China’s first ever boxing gold medal in 2008, Zou was fighting his first professional match in Mainland China after his seven previous matches were held in Macau.

“The homecoming was great,” he said. “I really fed off the energy of the crowd.”

The fight marked Zou’s return to the ring since losing an IBF Flyweight title match to Thailand's Amnat Ruenroeng last March.

“I’ve taken ten months off to rest, spend time with my family and even found a little reality TV fame, but my heart never left the ring,” Zou said after the fight.

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South Korea's Choi clings to share of PGA lead

Agence France-Presse

KJ Choi, chasing his first US PGA victory in nearly five years, closed with a birdie to share the lead after Saturday's third round of the $6.5 million Farmers Insurance Open.

The 45-year-old South Korean shot an even par 72 to match American Scott Brown on nine-under 207 after 54 holes at Torrey Pines near San Diego.

Choi, the most successful Asian male golfer in PGA history, has won eight titles on the US tour, the most recent of them at the 2011 Players Championship when he won a playoff over David Toms.

Jimmy Walker fired a 68 to share third with fellow American Gary Woodland on 208 to pace 21 rivals with four strokes of the co-leaders entering the final round, when wet and windy conditions are predicted.

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Spluttering Spieth three off the pace in Singapore

Patrick Johnston, Reuters

World number one Jordan Spieth struggled again with his putting as he ended a long 28-hole Saturday three shots off the pace at the Singapore Open.

The American was on the course at 07:30 (2330 GMT) to finish 12 holes of his weather-delayed second round, signing for a one-under-par 71 before returning in the afternoon to shoot one-under for 16 holes of his third round before dusk fell.

The six-under-total left him tied fifth, three shots behind overnight leader Song Young-han of South Korea who was level through 13 holes of his third round before play was called off.

Spieth, the headline act of the Asian and Japan Golf Tour's season opening event, had begun Saturday five adrift of Song but felt the gap should have been closed further.

"I made all my putts inside six feet yesterday but missed five or six today. I've just got to get comfortable on the shorter length putts," the American said after his second round.

FINA 'temporarily suspends' Mexico federation

Agence France-Presse

Swimming's world governing body FINA announced on Saturday at its bureau meeting in Budapest that it had temporarily suspended the Mexican federation over Guadalajara's withdrawal as host of the 2017 World Championships.

It was not immediately clear how FINA's action would affect Mexican swimmers' hopes of competing in the Rio Olympics this year.

"In accordance with FINA Rule C 12.1.1, FINA temporarily suspended the Mexican Swimming Federation for not fulfilling contractual obligations concerning the cancellation of the 2017 FINA World Championships in Guadalajara," the governing body said in a statement.

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Los Angeles named site for 2017 All-Star Game

Agence France-Presse

Los Angeles was named Saturday as the host city for the 2017 National Hockey League All-Star Game, with two days of events set to be staged at the Staples Center next January.

The home arena of the Los Angeles Kings, winners of the Stanley Cup twice in the past four years, will host a skills contest on January 28 on the eve of the NHL's 62nd mid-season showcase of elite talent.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

NHL, players reach tentative deal on new collective bargaining agreement

Kings fans had waited 45 years for their beloved team to win the Stanley Cup last June, so it seemed cruel that a labor dispute between the National Hockey League and the NHL Players' Assn. delayed their chance to see the Kings raise their championship banner at Staples Center.

Their wait is now near an end.

The league and players' union early Sunday announced a tentative accord on a new collective bargaining agreement that will bring up to 10 years' labor peace to a league that has shut its doors three times because of conflicts. The agreement, reached with the help of a federal mediator after a tricky 16-hour day of negotiations, has some loose ends that must be wrapped up before it's put on paper and voted upon by both sides this week.

"The framework of a deal has been agreed upon," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters at a news conference held in New York shortly before 6 a.m. Eastern.

Timing for the ratification process hasn't been determined. After both sides give their expected approval, the NHL will announce a revamped schedule in which teams will play 48 or 50 games, instead of 82, within their respective conferences. The Kings' crowning moment — raising their banner to the Staples Center rafters — is likely to occur Jan. 19.

"We're going to be hanging our banner and giving some championship rings out and we're going to try to do it again," said a jubilant Tim Leiweke, the Kings' governor and the president and chief executive of their parent company, AEG.

"That's more important than having any anger over what just happened. That was not in our control. Now, our journey continues."

The NHL locked players out on Sept. 15 after claiming teams could not operate profitably while paying players 57% of hockey-related revenue they received in the final year of the previous labor deal. With the aim of ending long-term, front-loaded contracts that circumvented the spirit of the salary cap, the NHL proposed severely limiting the length of players' contracts and toughening terms of free agency. Its initial offer stipulated that players would get 43% of hockey-related revenue.

In trying to reduce players' share of revenue, the NHL followed the path of the National Football League and National Basketball Assn., which endured labor problems in 2011. The NFL didn't miss any regular-season games, but the NBA dispute lingered until Christmas 2011 and led to a schedule of 66 games instead of the usual 82.

This was the NHL's third lockout during Bettman's nearly 20-year tenure. The league previously cut the 1994-95 season to 48 games and canceled the entire 2004-05 season.

This disagreement pitted Bettman against NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr, the former leader of the Major League Baseball Players' Assn. They butted heads often and each side accused the other several times of being unwilling to negotiate in earnest. The league believed Fehr was slowing the process in an attempt to wear owners down; the union believed Bettman wanted to take back many contractual rights players earned during previous disputes.

The disagreement was resolved only after several influential club executives — including Leiweke, Pittsburgh Penguins owner Ron Burkle and representatives of the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning — began pressuring Bettman two weeks ago to kick-start the stagnant negotiations. Bettman presented a proposal Dec. 27 that launched intense bargaining sessions. The work of federal mediator Scot L. Beckenbaugh, who acted as a go-between when the two sides couldn't face each other, also was crucial to the resolution.

The deal's 10-year term (with a mutual opt-out clause after eight years) is longer than the NHLPA had wanted. The maximum length of player contracts will be seven years, with an exception permitting teams to re-sign their own free agents for eight years, and is longer than the NHL's previously proposed five-year limit.

The salary cap for the 2013-14 season was set at $64.3 million, well above the NHL's proposed $60 million but short of the union's target of $65 million. The floor — minimum each team must spend on payroll — will be $44 million. The salary cap for the upcoming season will be a prorated portion of the previously agreed-upon $70.2-million limit. Teams will be permitted to buy out two players' contracts before the 2013-14 season without that money being counted against their salary cap.

Other pivotal elements, such as a 50-50 split of hockey-related revenue and keeping the same terms for entry-level contracts and free agency, were previously negotiated. Some issues, including players' participation in the 2014 Winter Olympics, in Sochi, Russia, have not been settled.

"Hopefully, in a few days people can start watching people who are skating and not us," Fehr told reporters in New York.

Said Bettman: "Absolutely."

Many players who had signed with European teams to stay in shape during the lockout began scrambling to arrange transportation back to North America after the tentative agreement was announced. Kings captain Dustin Brown said he planned to fly home from Switzerland on Monday, and center Anze Kopitar — who sprained his right knee in a game for the Swedish team Mora IK on Saturday — was expected back in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

A resolution was never certain, even during the final days of talks. Tempers flared on Thursday, when the league introduced language that would have reduced penalties against teams that under-reported their hockey-related revenue, and players remained angry after the NHL withdrew that provision.

"It felt like driving your car on the edge of a cliff. We could still get to where we had to go, but at any moment we could fall off the edge," said Kings forward Kevin Westgarth, a member of the players' negotiating committee and participant in those final sessions.

"We are all extremely happy to have made it over the hill. It's going to be a quick change out of our suits and into our skates, as well."

source: latimes.com

Stanley Cup: All tickets to Kings rally Thursday are sold out

All 18,000 tickets for the L.A. Kings celebration at Staples Center are sold out, organizers said Tuesday night.

The hourlong "championship rally" is scheduled to begin at Staples Center on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. and will feature video highlights, presentations and speeches from several players.

The event, along with a downtown parade, were announced following the team's Stanley Cup victory Monday over the New Jersey Devils, the team said.

The free tickets were distributed on a first-come, first-served basis and were available online. Officials had said that season-ticket holders and suite and premier seat owners would be given priority, with the remaining tickets made available to the public at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

source: latimes.com

Russia beats Slovakia 6-2 to win ice hockey world title

HELSINKI — Russia battled from a goal down to win the world championship on Sunday, beating 2002 champions Slovakia 6-2 in the final.

Washington Capitals right winger Alexander Syomin scored two goals and picked an assist, while Detroit Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk collected a goal and two assists to record Russia’s 10th win in as many matches at the event.

“Every one of my gold medals was really hard to win,” said Russia’s skipper Ilya Nikulin, who won his third word title on Sunday. “And this year’s is not an exception.

“We won all our matches here but it was much harder to win every encounter than someone can imagine looking at the scorelines.”

“We had to battle back in the matches with Sweden, Finland and Slovakia and it wasn’t easy in these games. Today we played strictly according to our plan, with discipline and it decided the game. We all are really happy to win.”

Slovakia, who were playing in their third final, got off to a flying start through their skipper Zdeno Chara, who fired the puck in with a powerful slap shot just 1:06 into the match.

Russia put the pressure on Slovakia goaltender Jan Laco and levelled nine minutes later through Syomin.

In the second period, Russia, who won their last world title in 2009, stepped up a gear and scored three goals through right winger Alexander Perezhogin and center Alexei Tereshenko, while Syomin netted his second to give Russia a 4-1 lead.

Datsyuk scored Russia’s fifth 3:55 into the third period, sending the puck into the net on Syomin’s pass from behind the goal line forcing Slovakia manager Vladimir Vujtek to substitute Laco for Peter Hamerlik.

Boston Bruins rear guard Chara scored Slovakia’s second and his second of the match at 49:37 on powerplay but NHL scoring champion Yevgeni Malkin made it 6-2 for Russia at 58:02.

“We were planning to play tight in defense, keeping our net clean as long as possible, forcing Russia to become nervous,” said Slovakia’s center Jurai Mikus.

“It worked well in the first period as we finished it 1-1 but we made too many errors in the second allowing them to make it 4-1. With this score against Russia you have almost no chance.”

Earlier, the Czech Republic grabbed bronze for the second consecutive year with a tight 3-2 win over the last year’s champions Finland.

source: japantoday.com

Evgeny Kuznetsov, Caps' top prospect, says he's staying in KHL

Evgeny Kuznetsov says he's staying put.

The Washington Capitals' 2010 first-round pick, regarded as one of the top players outside the NHL, doesn't believe he is ready to play in North America and will stick with Chelyabinsk Traktor of the KHL for two more seasons, he told Russian media outlet Sovietsky Sport.


Kuznetsov, who turns 20 on March 19, could've opted to leave Traktor for the Capitals—or failing that, another KHL team as a free agent in that league—and was openly undecided as recently as March.

"I said I was staying in the KHL so they'd leave me alone," Kuznetsov told a Russian television network on March 24.

Kuznetsov had 41 points in 42 games for Chelyabinsk Traktor in 2011-12, and Capitals GM George McPhee had said that he expected the 2010 first-round pick to play for Washington in 2012-13.

‘To be honest, my decision has been reached,” Kuznetsov told the KHL's TV network earlier in March. “It is my intention to continue my career in the KHL. At the same time there is no clarity as to which club it will be.”

Now, he says, clarity has arrived. There was no word on how much the deal was actually for, but previous estimates had his potential annual salary pegged at $4 million. His entry-level NHL deal would pay $900,000 annually for three seasons.

Keeping Kuznetsov in the fold is a win for the KHL, which lost star power when Jaromir Jagr and Alexander Radulov opted to return to the NHL. Other top Russian prospects, like presumed No. 1 overall pick Nail Yakupov and Mikhail Grigorenko, left Russia to play Canadian junior hockey and say they're only interested in the NHL.

Ak Bars Kazan told the Edmonton Journal recently that it has made an offer to Winnipeg Jets winger and 2010 first-round pick Alexander Burmistrov, who is still under contract with the Jets—a claim Burmistrov's agent flatly denied. The NHL and KHL have an agreement that each will honor the other's contracts, but there's no real legal obligation on either side to do so.

source: http://aol.sportingnews.com/nhl/story/2012-05-01/evgeny-kuznetsov-capitals-khl-alexander-radulov-alexander-burmistrov