The biggest fish in the 2011 NHL free agent market has chosen the hugest pond.

Brad Richards will be exchanging his Dallas Stars jersey for an Original Six sweater to play with the New York Rangers under his former Lightning coach, John Tortorella .  The coveted UFA signed a nine-year deal reported to be for $60 million after coming off his best goal scoring season.

Richards who has been consistent most of his career finished with 28 goals in just 72 games last season, a career high. The year prior he matched his career-best 91 point total that he originally set in the 2005-06 season in Tampa Bay.

The Murray Harbour, Canada native was originally drafted by the Lightning in the third round of the 1998 NHL Draft and since then has spent his time playing in two southern U.S. markets, Florida and Texas.

One of the reasons Richards mentioned in choosing the Big Apple was the fact they are an Original Six team. The other reasons were stable ownership (are you listening Atlanta Spirit Group) and the facts Torts is behind the bench. Tortorella coached Richards and the Lightning to a 2004 Stanley Cup championship.

So now that Rangers GM Glen Sather has won the Brad Richards sweepstakes, will the jinx of signing top UFAs that flop finally end?

Other major NHL UFA signings.

Used with permission of the author.

Jay Donetelli is a Tampa-based freelance sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax. With an opinion sharper than an Ovechkin skate blade with the sting of an Ali jab, Donetelli has a loyal cult of readers who have found a way to love him.

Copyright ©2011 Sports Climax, LLC

Anyone expecting to see a brawl between Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye for the WBA heavyweight title today walked away disappointed while Klitschko easily walked away with another belt.

Haye, who hyped up the fight with a little help from the T-shirt shown on the right, was outscored on every judge’s card in the lopsided unanimous decision with the official results coming in 118-108, 117-109 and 116-110.

With the win, Klitschko improved his record to 56-3, 49Kos while Haye dropped to 25-2 with 23 Kos. Klitschko also extended his consecutive win streak to 14 fights and improved his record in title fights to 17-2.

As expected, the much taller Klitschko came out trying to establish his dominating  jab. Early in that same first round, Haye fell to the canvas in an obvious slip and continued that scenario several times during the fight. Haye remained on the defensive for a majority of the fight with Klitschko appearing to outpunch the Brit in most every round.

By late in the fight it was obvious Haye needed a knockout to win. Especially after hitting the mat in the 11^th round, triggering a count from referee Genaro Rodriguez and dropping even further behind in the fight.

That said, Haye came out in the final round and was able to land a solid right hand that appeared to stun Klitschko. When you’ve waltzed in the ring almost 60 times at a professional level, you learn how to win and Klitschko did just that by holding on to avoid any further damage before regrouping and returning several shots of his own.

After Haye’s excessive trash-talking leading up to the fight, the brawl many were hoping for turned into a one-sided affair and another easy title win for the champion Klitschko. Hopefully for fight fans the Mayweather Jr. vs. Ortiz fight will provide a much better competition.

Used with permission of the author.

Jay Donetelli is a Tampa-based freelance sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax. With an opinion sharper than an Ovechkin skate blade with the sting of an Ali jab, Donetelli has a loyal cult of readers who have found a way to love him.

Copyright ©2011 Sports Climax, LLC

The Buffalo Sabres dropped out of the Brad Richards sweepstakes and instead jumped on the opportunity to sign Philadelphia Flyers UFA forward Ville Leino, inking him to a six-year, $27 million deal.

Although Richards is considered by many to be the prize catch of the 2011 NHL free agent market, the Sabres GM Darcy Regier felt he needed to make some sort of major move. Not wanting to be left empty-handed, he snagged Leino.

Leino is coming off his best season in the NHL, finishing with 19 goals and 53 points, both career highs. Also proven to be a factor in the playoffs, Leino scored seven goals and added 14 assists for 21 points in the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Leino, a Finland native, is a reliable forward who was discovered by the Detroit Red Wings after originally going undrafted. He is known as a versatile player who can step into any of the forward positions, including the center spot where the Sabres appear to have some holes to fill.

Several other players left the Flyers over the past week including fan favorites Jeff Cater and Mike Richards who were shipped out by GM Paul Holmgren and Danny Carillo who was allowed to test the free agent market and signed with the Blackhawks.

Used with permission of the author.

Jay Donetelli is a Tampa-based freelance sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax. With an opinion sharper than an Ovechkin skate blade with the sting of an Ali jab, Donetelli has a loyal cult of readers who have found a way to love him.

Copyright ©2011 Sports Climax, LLC

While being considered as a potential starter for the NL in next week’s All-Star Game, Atlanta Braves starter Jair Jurrjens made a strong case with a one-hit gem last night. Jurrjens took a no-hit bid into the seventh until Adam Jones bounced a single up the middle with one out.

After several successful streaks and a run at NL Rookie Pitcher of the Year the first half of his inaugural season, it’s hard to believe the 4-0 win goes into the books as Jurrjens’ first career shutout.

The win improved Jurrjens’ record to 11-3 and placed him in the NL lead in the win column while dropping his NL-best ERA to 1.89. It was also the second complete game for J.J. this season in a game he showed great control, finishing with eight strikeouts while walking just one.

After the game, Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez campaigned for his starter to make the All-Star roster.

“Outstanding. It was one of his best performances of the season so far. He’s been the most consistent pitcher we’ve had…maybe will get some people’s attention. “

That person he’s referring to would be San Francisco Giants’ manager Bruce Botchy who will be choosing the pitching staff for the National League team.

The win was the Braves ninth of the past 11 and keeps them near the top of the NL East just four games behind Philly. Not a bad position for a team to be in after losing several players to injuries including their entire outfield for much of the season.

Used with permission of the author.

Jay Donetelli is a Tampa-based freelance sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax. With an opinion sharper than an Ovechkin skate blade with the sting of an Ali jab, Donetelli has a loyal cult of readers who have found a way to love him.

Copyright ©2011 Sports Climax, LLC

While Brad Richards and his agent ponder the slew of offers put on the table yesterday, several other players inked deals in the first day of 2011 NHL free agency.

Philly hockey fans are known as some of the most dedicated and educated fans in the NHL. But after these past few weeks, if you’re a Flyers’ fan you better get a game program before settling into your seats this upcoming season to get familiar with the team’s revamped roster.

After GM Paul Holmgren dealt away two of his top forwards, Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, so they could ink goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov to a long-term deal last week, the team was one of the most active yesterday.

The team signed Jaromir Jagr, who returns after a stint in the KHL, and Maxime Talbot, and allowed forward Ville Leino to be picked up by the Buffalo Sabres. Leino has been a permanent fixture in the NHL since becoming one of several undrafted Euro players discovered by the Detroit Red Wings.

In addition to those moves, the Flyers also inked FA defenseman Andreas Lilja and let rugged forward Danny Carcillo test the free agent market.

Carcillo went to the Blackhawks; another team that has been totally remodeled this offseason. In addition to Carcillo, Chicago picked up forwards Andrew Brunette and Jamal Mayers and defenseman Sean O’Donnell, signing them all to one-year deals. Those moves come one week after GM Stan Bowman swung his salary cap axe, dealing defenseman Brian Campbell and Troy Brouwer to make room to shop yesterday.

Pulling a play out of the Detroit Red Wings book of success, Lightning GM Steve Yzerman concentrated on goaltending. A favorite for GM of The Year, Yzerman inked goaltender Dwayne Roloson to a one-year $3 million contract this past Thursday then picked up a great back-up, signing Blue Jackets FA Mathieu Garon to a two-year deal worth $2.6 million deal.

In other notable moves, defenseman Ed Jovanowski returned to his former Florida Panthers team to join Campbell and newly-signed FA goalie Jose Theodore while penalty kill specialist FA forward Marty Reasoner left Florida to join the NYI.

The list of players who decided they didn’t want to change lockers and signed with their current teams included Devils’ goaltender  G Johan “Moose” Hedberg (Flyers), RW Radim Vrbata (Coyotes), D Sami Salo (Canucks) and F Ruslan Fedotenko (New York Rangers).

See all Day One deals on NHL.com.

Used with permission of the author.

Jay Donetelli is a Tampa-based freelance sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax. With an opinion sharper than an Ovechkin skate blade with the sting of an Ali jab, Donetelli has a loyal cult of readers who have found a way to love him.

Copyright ©2011 Sports Climax, LLC

The Amarillo Sox are an independent minor league baseball team in Texas and after showcasing their new mascot, we have to say they are giving Scrotie, the giant penis mascot for the Nads hockey team at the Rhode Island School of Design a run for his money.

The pic of the Sox’ mascot taken by Amarillo.com is shown here and if it’s family entertainment you’re shooting for, this is a gaffe, a mistake, a real boner…

Have to wonder if the team’s staff may have sent their new mascot to the (cold) showers after realizing what he looked like walking the isles shaking hands with the fans in his inaugural game.

The Amarillo Globe News interviewed GM Mark Lee who said:

“I’m very disappointed in the lady who did it, and I’ve told her so. She is going to make the changes we want. I want to say on the record, if we offended anybody, I apologize.”

Now we know the competition involved with creating new mascots is stiff but shouldn’t the….wait….a lady designed and created this costume?

Interesting….have to wonder if she had any help from a subliminal source.

Used with permission of the author.

Jay Donetelli is a Tampa-based freelance sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax. With an opinion sharper than an Ovechkin skate blade with the sting of an Ali jab, Donetelli has a loyal cult of readers who have found a way to love him.

Copyright ©2011 Sports Climax, LLC

It appears that the financial savior for the nearly defunct Phoenix Coyotes has taken his ball of cash and is going home, no longer willing to play.

So now what will be NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman’s next move?

After Bettman decided to have the NHL take over the bankrupt franchise two years ago instead of allowing gazillionaire Jim Balsillie to purchase the team, Windy City businessman Matthew Hulsizer has been the strong front-runner to purchase the team.

After hitting several hurdles including the threat of a lawsuit to the city of Glendale regarding use of tax dollars to fund the Yotes operation, Hulsizer has finally walked away from hockey in the desert.

All this comes after Glendale rolled a wheelbarrow full of tax dollars ($50 million cash) to Bettman to cover last year’s and this year’s losses in hope of Hulsizer going through with the purchase.

It’s hard to feel sorry for a league losing this sale after how it recently deserted the fans in Atlanta, allowing the Thrashers to relocate to Winnipeg after what many felt was a lame effort to keep the team in Atlanta.

A lot of fans also feel the NHL has shown favoritism to the Yotes in their efforts to keep them in place while letting the Atlanta Spirit Group (owners of the Thrashers, NBA Hawks and Philips Arena) dump the Thrashers after having the team on the block for a shorter period of time.

Hulsizer was expected to buy the Coyotes for a far less amount than Balsillie was said to have offered for the team but regardless of that, we’ll have to wait and see how Bettman responds to this continuing saga that just won’t go away.

Used with permission of the author.

Jay Donetelli is a Tampa-based freelance sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax. With an opinion sharper than an Ovechkin skate blade with the sting of an Ali jab, Donetelli has a loyal cult of readers who have found a way to love him.

Copyright ©2011 Sports Climax, LLC

After last weekend’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 race at Infineon Raceway, NASCAR may want to start their future races with “Gentlemen, start your demolition derby!”

Tempers flared on the track after Tony Stewart pushed Brian Vickers’ Toyota into a tire barrier area on Lap 37, causing a 7-car wreck. Vickers, in premeditated fashion, returned the favor in Lap 88, slamming Stewart’s Chevy into the same area. The move destroyed the rear end of Stewart’s vehicle and knocked him out of the race.

It’s one thing sending a stern message with a tap on occasion but this was a premeditated retaliation. Vickers clearly waited for Stewart to pass him before getting revenge for the earlier wreck.

“I probably had it coming because I dumped him earlier, but I dumped him because he was blocking,” Stewart said. “If anybody wants to block all year, that’s what I’m going to keep doing, so they can handle it however they want.”

Stewart has been outspoken regarding some of the driver’s lack of etiquette and has referred to his fellow competitors as “a bunch of idiots”.

Unless Stewart’s statements were out of frustration, fans should expect the driver to race demolition derby style for the remaining of the season and maybe his career.

“I’ve been complaining about the way guys have been racing all year. If they want to block that’s what is going to happen to them every time for the rest of my career.”

“I wasn’t blocking him,” Vickers said after the race. “The way I see it, we’re all good. We’re all square.”

I wouldn’t be so sure.

BTW, Kurt Busch won the race, his first of the season and 23rd of his NASCAR Sprint Cup career.

Used with permission of the author.

Jay Donetelli is a Tampa-based freelance sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax. With an opinion sharper than an Ovechkin skate blade with the sting of an Ali jab, Donetelli has a loyal cult of readers who have found a way to love him.

Copyright ©2011 Sports Climax, LLC

In the midst of a long NFL lockout, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco appears to be on a campaign that can be compared to that of the late NBA great Manute Bol. After riding a bull in Georgia in a stunt that last about a half of a second, Ochocinco now says he’s planning to wrestle an alligator. And here is a GRAPHIC VIDEO showing why he shouldn’t:

“I am going to wrestle alligators,” the controversial wideout said in a recent interview. “Don’t laugh, like I am serious and you’ll see it.”

We actually might.

When No. 85 first said he would mount a bull at a rodeo event, many people laughed it off as trash-talk but that media stunt actually did occur.

You have to hand it to Ochocinco. The colorful member of the Batman and Robin tandem in Cincy has certainly found a way to stay in the headlines with his publicity stunts, even with the longest lockout in NFL history is in effect.

After an NBA career playing with four teams, Manute, a 7ft-7in. beanpole from Sudan, did the same. On a campaign to raise money for his fellow Sudan people who were fighting a war for freedom, Bol climbed into the ring against Refrigerator Perry in a Celebrity Boxing match, donned ice skates in an IHL hockey game and became a licensed horse jockey; all for the sake of donating the proceeds to his people across the Atlantic.

Back to Ochocinco. Riding a bull is one thing but messing with a gator even in a controlled arena, is a serious matter.

Used with permission of the author.

Jay Donetelli is a Tampa-based freelance sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax. 

Copyright ©2011 Sports Climax, LLC

Not to be outdone by the Vancouver Canucks fans repeat riot of 2011, the River Plate soccer fans in Buenos Aires rioted again at Monumental Stadium. This latest moronic act came after the Argentine team tied Belgrano 1-1 leading to a demotion to a lower division.

The violence broke out just before the match was over with fans heaving objects at players. In deja vu mode from previous riots, the police responded by nailing the aggressors with high-powered water hoses. These fans are aggressive, some actually climbing the barbed wired fences that were put in place after the past riots. Rioters also set fire to stadium concession stands and ripped apart seats to use them as weapons (another proud custom there).

What happened to expressing yourself by blowing Vuvuzelas?

The violence spread outside the stadium where rioters were greeted by tear gas, rubber bullets and police attack dogs. People not familiar with the behavior of these fans who refer to themselves as “Los Borrachos del Tablon” may think the police response sounds too aggressive but watch this video from 2006, you will see it is justified to protect themselves:

With the latest report indicating more than 100 were injured in yesterday’s riot, including dozens of police officers, what is it going to take to put an end to these hooligans injuring and threatening the lives of police, players and other innocent fans when their team loses?

What does it tell you when law enforcement there knew to assign more than 2,000 riot police prior to the match?

Sports aren’t that important.

If there’s a guarantee of that kind of violence move the match to a neutral spot. The players wouldn’t mind since they themselves have been the main target of their fans recently.

These rioters both in Vancouver and at River Plate are not demonstrating for a cause or making a stance on an issue, they are sore losers who are continuing a trend of violence if their teams lose; doesn’t get any more shallow than that…and for that, these hooligans get our Bitch Slap of the Week.

Used with permission of the author.

Jay Donetelli is a Tampa-based freelance sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax. With an opinion sharper than an Ovechkin skate blade with the sting of an Ali jab, Donetelli has a loyal cult of readers who have found a way to love him.

Copyright ©2011 Sports Climax, LLC