Sean Avery May Not Get A Sloppy Seconds Chance With The Dallas Stars

This offseason in NHL free-agency, Sean Avery was a bit of a hot commodity. Some teams were weary of him because of his checkered past, and history of getting on teammates nerves. There was Dustin Brown who played with Avery on the Los Angeles Kings, and Avery often made fun of Brown speech-impediment. Brown is now the Kings captain. And there’s the rumor Avery may have slept with a teammates wife while he was on the New York Rangers. This didn’t stop the Dallas Stars from giving Avery a 4-year 15.5 Million dollar contract, even though Stars captain Brenden Morrow has long hated Avery. Now, the Stars are regretting their decision to sign Avery, and may release him, because according to ESPN the players might not want him back. From ESPN:

Sean Avery may have more to deal with than just a possible suspension from the NHL.

He might be personal non grata with his own team, as well.

Dallas Stars coach Dave Tippett, in unusually candid remarks for a coach, addressed the situation Wednesday prior to the Stars game against the Oilers in Edmonton.

“From a coach’s standpoint, I try to build a team that has an atmosphere where players care about each other and play with each other and play with continuity, and I find it hard to believe that Sean could come back in that dressing room and we could find that continuity again,” Tippett said.

Tippett was particularly incensed by the fact that he had spent some time Tuesday in Calgary defending Avery in front of the Canadian media, only to turn around and hear Avery say: “I am really happy to be back in Calgary, I love Canada … I just want to comment on how it’s become like a common thing in the NHL for guys to fall in love with my sloppy seconds. I don’t know what that’s about. Enjoy the game tonight.”

“It’s frustrating for me to go out and defend the guy,” Tippett said. “It’s disappointing, because in the morning with all the stuff going on in the media, I approached Sean and asked him if he was going to talk to media; he told me, no. He talked to our PR people and he told them, no, he wasn’t going to talk to the media … and to have a calculated response like that … it was a calculated statement for what I feel was personal gain.”

Former Boston Celtic Rodney Rogers Paralyzed

From ESPN:

Former NBA and college basketball star Rodney Rogers is paralyzed as the result of an all-terrain vehicle accident, his college coach told the News & Observer of Raleigh-Durham, N.C.

Rogers, 37, who had a 12-year NBA career and won the league’s Sixth Man Award in 1999-2000, was riding in the woods in rural Vance County, N.C., last week when he fell off the vehicle, according to the North Carolina Highway Patrol, the newspaper reported. He was recently transferred from Duke Hospital to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, which specializes in rehabilitation for people with catastrophic injuries.

A Durham native who starred in high school football and basketball, Rogers had returned to his hometown and was working for the city public works department as a heavy machinery operator. He was promoted to a supervisory position six months ago, according to the report.

He was also volunteering as a girls’ basketball coach at a Durham middle school and had set up a computer lab at a city public housing complex, according to the report.

Barry Melrose Is Back!

Ladies and gentlemen, your prayers have be answered. According to the Dallas Morning News, ESPN is bring back Barry Melrose, who had previously worked for the network for 12 years. Melrose decided to leave ESPN this summer to take the head coaching gig with the Tampa Bay Lighting, but his stay only lasted 16 games, as the Lighting went 5-7-4 in the quick Melrose era. Still longer than Britney Spears marriage to Costanza, I mean, the other Jason Alexander. The Lighting’s loss, was ESPN’s gain, as they now bring back perhaps their best analyst. Who also happens to have one great head of hair. Matthew Barnaby, it was fun while it lasted. More from the Dallas Morning News:

Looks like Barry Melrose, fired after 16 games in his return to coaching this season, is moving back to Bristol. I think this is breaking news. I don’t know because I seldom recognize it.

Melrose worked 12 years as an ESPN hockey analyst after coaching the Los Angeles Kings. The Tampa Bay Lightning thought so much of his work, it hired him to coach the team this season. That gig lasted about one-fifth of a season. Melrose’s new ESPN deal is for three years.

Nice Shot!

Erin Andrews Going For The Repeat

Will she win Playboy’s Sexiest Sportscaster of the year, again ? We here at Sons of Bill Simmons will definitely be masterbating voting numerous times for the apple of every ESPN viewers eye. As many of you may know, last season Andrews took home her first title as America’s sexiest sportscaster, awarded to her by Playboy. Since that award, Andrews has continued to impress with her beauty and brains, both on and off the field. It looks like she is a shoe-in to win the award, yet again. I’m setting the odds of her victory at 1 to 3. To cast your vote, click here. (it will bring you to Playboy.com, just a heads-up if you’re at work)

Thanks to Busted Coverage

John Kruk Wanted To Do Damage To The Face Of Karl Ravech

It’s a tough marriage among ESPN personalities. They’re around each other more than they are around their families and it’s inevitable that they get on each others nerves. Much like how my boss gets on my nerves when he question’s me about my work performance. So with that brings tension and the potential for a good fight. Well, a good beat down of an ex-athlete on an ESPN personality. In a recent article with Mcall.com, John Kruk talked about his sometimes salty relationship with Needham’s own Karl Ravech, and how he would at times like to do some very bad things to the often tan face of Ravech:

Kruk seems to have a good rapport with ”Baseball Tonight” host Karl Ravech, but says like with any family, there are some less-than-harmonious moments.

”You better have a good rapport because we’re on four days a week from March through October,” Kruk said. ”If we didn’t get along, it would be hard.

”I mean there have been times when I wanted to punch him in the face. And, I’m sure there are times when he’d like to do the same to me. We argue. One time we went three days without speaking to each other, except on the air.

”A lot of it has nothing to do with TV. He might have said something while we were golfing or something like that. It’s just like teammates on a baseball team. There were days I wanted to walk into the clubhouse and drop someone and I’m sure someone wanted to do it to me.”

This Won’t Help Blake Griffin’s Draft Stock

Your 2008-09 Player of the Year: Blake Griffin

Thanks to The Lost Ogle

You Can Put A Halt To Those Jets Super Bowl Predictions

After watching ESPN yesterday, were it was discussed, in all seriousness if the New York Jets were the best team in the AFC, better than the 11-1 Tennesse Titans. The Eric Mangini led Jets, lost to the defensively inept Denver Broncos, 34-17. So much for that stellar, shutdown Jets defense that people have been hyping up for the past few weeks. Oh, and Cris Collinsworth can stop campaigning for Kris Jenkins to be MVP, seventh round draft pick, Peyton Hillis managed to rush for 129 yards and a touchdown against that vaunted Jets defense. Brett Favre managed to revert to his normal self, going 23 of 43 for 247 yards, 0 touchdowns and 1 interception. Though, Thomas Jones and rookie Dustin Keller bought managed to have big games. In what could have been a major coup for the Patriots if they had beaten the Steelers, the division would have been tied with four games to go. The Patriots still remain one game behind the Jets. The remaining schedule for the Jets is: at San Francisco, home against the Bills, at Seattle, and home against the Dolphins. Not exactly the toughest schedule, but they are traveling to the west coast two separate times which can be difficult for any team. Look for the Jets to lose to the Seahawks. You heard it here first. The Patriots should win-out, but they do have a tough game against the Arizona Cardinals on December 21st. Any passing offense gives the Patriots trouble, but the Cardinalspassing game might be the best in the league, which should definitely give Deltha O’Neal and Ellis Hobbs major problems. Only thing the Patriots have going for them is the weather and the fact that the Cardinalswould have wrapped up their division and might be resting their starters.

Are You Smarter Than Plaxico Burress ? I Hope So

Thanks to Deadspin

Anything Is Possible In College Football

Somehow, someway, the University of Oklahoma managed to leapfrog Texas in the BCS standings and will now play Missouri in the Big 12 Championship. It appears that the BCS didn’t take into account the 45-35 loss that Texas gave the Sooners. Instead the 65-21 whooping that Oklahoma gave to Texas Tech was the biggest factor in the Sooners possibly earning a chance to play for the National Championship. There is something wrong with the BCS/Big 12 if two-teams with identical records play each other in a conference game and the winner of that games doesn’t determine who plays for the Big 12 Championship. It still won’t make a difference because the best two teams in the country won’t be playing for the National Championship. Those teams being Florida and USC. It’s likely that Florida will play in the National Championship game after they beat Alabama (it’s a lock), but they will likely take on Oklahoma, after they beat Missouri. Because of their conference a team from the Big 12 should play for the National Championship, but that team is clearly Texas, not Oklahoma.

For complete BCS Standings click here