Erin Andrews spotted in UNC dorm room

With files from the AP



CHAPEL HILL, NC - Fresh off his herculean Pigskin Bowl victory over the previously undefeated Birdmen of St. Louis, the Tar Heels' coach Francisco was photographed with ESPN's Erin Andrews, buying wine among other things, at a liquor store off-campus. The couple then drove off in Andrews' 2010 Chrysler Crossfire, but were later seen pulling up to the men's dorm buildings.



You'd think that the trail would have ended when the couple entered the building. But you'd be wrong. The relentless photographer followed them inside, where he later captured some [ahem] candid shots inside Coach Francisco's dorm room.


(WARNING!! NSFW)


I have no idea what she's holding in this picture, but it looks to me like she has broken a piece off of the Pigskin Bowl, and is either using it to curl her hair or else .... nevermind. Let's stick with curling her hair.

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My Enormous Crystal Balls: NHL '10

By Hockey Guru and TD O'Dell


As is our custom, the Guru and I have each submitted our itemized predictions for the upcoming hockey season. This year, not only did we each try to guess the exact order of the final standings, but in these waning days of the Summer of '09, I will also attempt to predict the outcome of every playoff series in the Spring/Summer of 2010.

You may recall that we had updated our playoff predictions back in April, so look for us to make some more informed picks next Spring. Think of these playoff picks as my long-term forecast, which is always less accurate, but more revealing of my personal biases.

But before we get to who I think will win the Cup, let's take a look at my regular season predictions:

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2010 Final Standings


Eastern Conference

1. Montreal
2. Pittsburgh
3. Washington
4. New York Rangers
5. Boston
6. Ottawa
7. Carolina
8. Philadelphia
9. New Jersey
10. Buffalo
11. Toronto
12. Tampa Bay
13. New York Islanders
14. Atlanta
15. Florida


Western Conference

1. San Jose
2. Chicago
3. Calgary
4. Detroit
5. Anaheim
6. Vancouver
7. Minnesota
8. Los Angeles
9. Nashville
10. Dallas
11. Columbus
12. St. Louis
13. Edmonton
14. Phoenix
15. Colorado

And with that, I'll hand the mic over to the Guru.

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Thanks, TD. I won't be making my playoff picks yet, but I will see your regular season picks and raise you some maths.

In an attempt to put a twist on the pre-season prognostications, the Guru is assigning percentages as far as likelihood of making the playoffs. Since 8 teams make the playoffs in each conference, the total percentage allocated = 800% (i.e. 8 "locks" = 8 teams at 100% each)


Eastern Conference

Philadelphia Flyers: 100%
Pittsburgh Penguins: 99%
Washington Capitals: 98%
Boston Bruins: 80%
Tampa Bay Lightning: 52%
Florida Panthers: 51%
New Jersey Devils: 47%
Buffalo Sabres: 45%

Carolina Hurricanes: 44%
New York Rangers: 39%
Toronto Maple Leafs: 38%
Ottawa Senators: 35%
Atlanta Thrashers: 27%
Montreal Canadiens: 25%
New York Islanders: 20%


Western Conference

San Jose Sharks 100%
Detroit Red Wings 99%
Vancouver Canucks: 95%
Chicago Blackhawks: 90%
Calgary Flames: 85%
Anaheim Ducks: 70%
Columbus Bluejackets: 60%
St. Louis Blues: 56%

Los Angeles Kings: 40%
Phoenix Coyotes: 33%
Minnesota Wild: 26%
Edmonton Oilers: 25%
Nashville Predators: 16%
Dallas Stars: 5%
Colorado Avalanche: 0%

Not sure if this is even interesting to me, after completing it, but I'm going to post it in case anybody finds this remotely interesting and perhaps some discussion can ensue in the Comments section.

Obviously I'm not too high on Dallas this year (to say nothing of Colorado). But the point I think I'm making is that in today's NHL there aren't a lot of surprises. Only a few teams missing the playoffs would really shock me and reasonable arguments can be made for pretty much every team that they will be in the playoffs this year.

Injuries will definitely play a part.

If a couple teams rank way higher or lower than you expect, drop me a line and we'll break it down, Ottawa Hockey League style. Back to you, TD.

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Thanks, Guru.

Damn, I wish I had thought of that. I loves me some maths. Oh well. I'll steal that idea for baseball season. Meanwhile, here are my playoff predictions, as promised:


Conference Quarterfinals

(8) Phi def. (1) Mtl
(7) Car def. (2) Pit
(6) Otw def. (3) Wsh
(4) NYR def. (5) Bos

(1) SJ def. (8) LA
(2) Chi def. (7) Min
(6) Vcr def. (3) Cal
(5) Anh def. (4) Det


Conference Semifinals

(8) Phi def. (4) NYR
(6) Otw def. (7) Car

(6) Vcr def. (1) SJ
(2) Chi def. (5) Anh


Conference Finals

(6) Otw def. (8) Phi
(2) Chi def. (6) Vcr


And the Stanley Cup Finals will be over in 5 games, with the Hawks ending the league's longest drought (which will seem far less impressive when the Cubs win the World Series four months later).

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The Top Ten List: Rule 5 Draftees

By Will-He-M


In case some of you don't know exactly what the Rule 5 Draft is, I'll explain it.

"The Rule 5 Draft was officially brought in 1959 so that teams could no longer stockpile their prospects and prevent them from reaching the MLB, when another MLB organization was willing to play them in the bigs."

The Rule 5 Draft procedures are fairly simple:

• Any player selected must remain on the claiming team's 25-man roster for the duration of the season
  
• Any player selected cannot be optioned or designated for assignment, without first offering the player back to his original team, without compensation
  
• Any player selected ensures compensation of $50 000 to his original team
  
• Any player selected who is later offered back to his original team, only ensures a refund of $25 000
  
• Any player selected must be left off his original team's 40-man roster
  
• Any player selected must have been signed at age 19 or older AND have been with the organization for 3 years, OR must have been signed at age 18 or younger and have been with the organization for 4 years.
  

So, without further delay, here is my Top Ten Rule 5 Sleepers

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10. Dan Uggla (Florida Marlins 2006-present)
573 GP, 2179 AB, 371 R, 562 H, 131 D, 12 T, 111 HR, 332 RBI, 14 SB, .258 AVG

Selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2001 Draft
Selected by the Florida Marlins in the 2005 Rule 5 Draft

TSN National League Rookie of the Year (2006)
2x All-Star (2006, 2008)

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9. Josh Hamilton- 2007-Present

Cincinnati Reds, Texas Rangers

Originally Drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 1999 MLB Draft

Drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 2006 Rule 5 Draft(then traded to Cincinnati Reds for $100
000 dollars)

317 GP, 1184 AB, 185 R, 347 H, 66 D, 9 T, 59 HR, 217 RBI, 19 SB, .293 AVG

2008 Silver Slugger Award
2x All Star(2008, 2009)

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8. Joakim Soria- 2007-Present

Kansas City Royals

Originally signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2001

Drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 2006 Rule 5 Draft(from the San Diego Padres)

157 GP, 7-6, 2.08 ERA, 78 SVS, 87 SVOPP, 173.0 IP, 48 BB, 187 K

2008 All Star

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7. Jeff Nelson- 1992-2006

Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox

Originally Drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1984 MLB Draft

Drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 1991 Rule 5 Draft

798 GP, 48-45, 3.41 ERA, 33 SVS, 82 SVOPP, 784.2 IP, 428 BB, 829 K

4x World Series Champion(1996, 1998-2000)
2001 All Star

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6. Leon "Bip" Roberts- 1986-1998

San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers,
Oakland Athletics

Originally Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1982 MLB Draft

Drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 1985 MLB Rule 5 Draft

1202 GP, 4147 AB, 663 R, 1220 H, 203 D, 31 T, 30 HR, 352 RBI, 264 SB, .294 AVG

1992 All Star

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5. Darrell Evans- 1969-1989

Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants, Detroit Tigers

Originally Drafted by the Kansas City Athletics in the 1967 MLB Draft

Drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 1968 MLB Rule 5 Draft

2687 GP, 8973 AB, 1344 R, 2223 H, 329 D, 36 T, 414 HR, 1354 RBI, 98 SB, .248 AVG

1984 World Series Champion
2x All Star(1973, 1983)

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4. Willie Hernandez- 1977-1989

Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers

Originally signed by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1973

Drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 1976 MLB Rule 5 Draft

744 GP, 70-63, 3.38 ERA, 147 SVS, 190 SVOPP, 1044.2 IP, 349 BB, 788 K

1984 AL TSN Pitcher of the Year
1984 AL Cy Young Award
1984 AL MVP
1984 World Series Champion
3x All Star(1984-1986)

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3. George "Liberty" Bell- 1981-1993

Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox

Originally signed by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1978

Drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1980 MLB Rule 5 Draft

1587 GP, 6123 AB, 814 R, 1702 H, 308 D, 34 T, 265 HR, 1002 RBI, 67 SB, .278 AVG

1987 AL MVP
3x Silver Slugger Award(1985-1987)
3x All Star(1987, 1990, 1991)

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2. Johan Santana- 2000-Present

Minnesota Twins, New York Mets

Originally signed by the Houston Astros in 1995

Drafted by the Florida Marlins in the 1999 MLB Rule 5 Draft(then traded to the Minnesota
Twins for Jared Camp and $500 000 dollars)

309 GP, 122-59, 3.11 ERA, 9 CG, 6 SHO, 1702.2 IP, 473 BB, 1731 K

2006 Pitching Triple Crown
2007 Gold Glove Award
2x Warren Spahn Award(2004, 2006)
2x Player's Choice Outstanding Pitcher(2004, 2006)
2x AL TSN Pitcher of the Year(2004, 2006)
2x AL Cy Young Award(2004, 2006)
4x All Star(2005-2007, 2009)

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1. Roberto "Arriba" Clemente- 1955-1972

Pittsburgh Pirates

Originally signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1952

Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1954 MLB Rookie Draft(the original Rule 5 Draft)

2433 GP, 9454 AB, 1416 R, 3000 H, 440 D, 166 T, 240 HR, 1305 RBI, 83 SB, .317 AVG

1971 Babe Ruth Award
1971 World Series MVP
1966 NL MVP
12x Gold Glove Award(1961-1972)
2x World Series Champion(1960, 1971)
12x All Star(1960-1967, 1969-1972)
1973 Hall of Fame Inductee

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The Top Ten List: Draft Day Sleepers

By Will-he-M


After the Commish started doing his mid-season reports by position, I decided to highlight a few diamonds in the rough - guys who were taken late and have turned into gems. I posted this list on the league Message Board back in mid-July, so the numbers listed as "current" are obviously six weeks old. Anyway, I should have published it here sooner, but heading into the regular season's final week, it's still relevant.

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10. Kendry Morales
Drafted by: Gloucester Expos, 16th Round, 317th Overall
Pre-Draft Rank: 297th Overall, 40th among 1B, 40th among RF
Current Rank: 104th Overall, 20th among 1B, 16th among RF
Current Stars: .288 Avg, 24 D, 17 HR, 52 RBI, .888 OPS, 43 XBH

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9. Jarrod Washburn
Drafted by: Nepean Hotspurs, 29th Round, 569th Overall
Pre-Draft Rank: 324th Overall, 82nd among SP
Current Rank: 94th Overall, 16th among SP
Current Stats: 112.1 IP, 6 W, 72 K, 2.96 ERA, 12 QS

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8. Russell Branyan
Drafted by: Fowl Play, 17th Round, 330th Overall
Pre-Draft Rank: 321st Overall, 42nd among 1B, 40th among 3B
Current Rank: 74th Overall, 15th among 1B, 10th among 3B
Current Stats: .275 Avg, 17 D, 22 HR, 49 RBI, .938 OPS, 40 XBH

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7. Brandon Inge
Drafted By: Fowl Play, 20th Round, 391st Overall
Pre-Draft Rank: 314th Overall, 24th among C, 39th among 3B, 38th among CF
Current Rank: 64th Overall, 3rd among C, 8th among 3B, 10th among CF
Current Stats: .264 Avg, 9 D, 21 HR, 58 RBI, .864 OPS, 31 XBH

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6. Edwin Jackson
Drafted by: Appalachia Christian, 17th Round, 331st Overall
Pre-Draft Rank: 304th Overall, 80th among SP
Current Rank: 24th Overall, 6th among SP
Current Stats: 121.2 IP, 7 W, 97 K, 2.52 ERA, 14 QS

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5. Ryan Franklin
Drafted by: Funky Cold Medina, 19th Round, 372nd Overall
Pre-Draft Rank: 301st Overall, 39th among RP
Current Rank: 22nd Overall, 2nd among RP
Current Stats: 34.0 IP, 2 W, 21 Svs, 27 K, 0.79 ERA

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4. Luke Scott
Drafted by: Chesapeake Abyss, 20th Round, 388th Overall
Pre-Draft Rank: 278th Overall, 41st among LF
Current Rank: 107th Overall, 15th among LF
Current Stats: .298 Avg, 11 D, 18 HR, 51 RBI, .957 OPS, 30 XBH

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3. Aaron Hill
Drafted by: Toronto Maple Leafs, 15th Round, 294th Overall
Pre-Draft Rank: 288th Overall, 24th among 2B
Current Rank: 36th Overall, 5th among 2B
Current Stats: .289 Avg, 16 D, 20 HR, 60 RBI, .811 OPS, 36 XBH

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2. Jason Bartlett
Drafted By: CT Defenders, 23rd Round, 456th Overall
Pre-Draft Rank: 306th Overall, 22nd among SS
Current Rank: 59th Overall, 4th among SS
Current Stats: .343 Avg, 17 D, 8 HR, 39 RBI, 19 SB, .921 OPS, 28 XBH

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1. Marco Scutaro
Drafted by: Montreal Royals, 19th Round, 380th Overall
Pre-Draft Rank: 310th Overall, 26th among 2B, 37th among 3B, 24th among SS
Current Rank: 89th Overall, 10th among 2B, 11th among 3B, 6th among SS

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As an addendum to this list, I would be remiss if I failed to mention the top undrafted player.

Ben Zobrist
Added by: Montreal Royals on March 30th
Pre-Draft Rank: 307th Overall, 25th among 2B, 23rd among SS, 49th among LF, 41st amonf RF
Current Rank: 34th Overall, 4th among 2B, 3rd among SS, 7th among LF, 5th among RF
Current Stats: .300 Avg, 15 D, 17 HR, 52 RBI, 11 SB, 1.013 OPS, 36 XBH

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The Guru Report: Monday, August 24

By Hockey Guru


Tonight!

I paraphrase the famous ten year old question, and put it to a 40-year old veteran: will the real John Smoltz please stand up?

Or Hell, sit down? Or just lay there? Whatever you did before your last game, when the Cards benefitted from your greatness.

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Then!

I'll welcome Sierra Menace into the fold. As long as this guy streams his players more than Plano, I'm certain we'll get along.

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Finally!

My guest tonight in the studio will be Dany Heatley.

I'll ask him not what he can do for the league, but what the league can do for him. Tonight ... on the Guru Report!

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Welcome Nation. I know it's still only Olympic evaluation Camp time, and that hockey season doesn't even kick into first gear for another few couple of weeks, so I'll remember to include some more non-hockey material in tonight's episode. First up, it's Hockey Guru's segment called, "Balls ... for kids (of all ages)!"

Eager to have a top-of-the-rotation arm, particularly one pitching for the Red Sox, I drafted John Smoltz in several leagues this Spring.

His return has been ... shall we say ... less that stellar?

Even when he's getting outs, it feels like it is being done through smoke and mirrors. Why does age have to impact pitchers? Why did Ulf Samuelson's knee have to ruin Cam Neely's career? And why can't I drink and avoid hangovers anymore?

In late July, after Week 16 had ended, the Guru transformed into his alter-ego, Clubber Lang. Witnessing yet another bad week from my man Smoltz seemed to set me off. I responded to the Commish's Week 16 Awards™ with my own recap:

"I pity the fools that performed so poorly in Week 16 that it caused me pain - so much pain that this list is limited to one fool...

John Smoltz

There was more scoring off you this past week, John Smoltz, than there was off Paris Hilton - and don't forget it was Fleet week, fool!

You say you bad? You ain't so bad. You a chump.

All your records and history is made up against creampuff National League opponents, fool.

Now go score yourself some of that HGH - I got plenty of the stuff in Clubber Lang's Laboratory. C'mon fool, you part of the chemistry team, now ..."

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Moving on!

We here at the Clubhouse would like to take this opportunity to welcome Sierra Menace to the league. It's always great to see the Yankees rebranded and run outta New York, even if they were a 20th place team this season.

Sierra was joined soon after by another expansion owner, Gloucester Expos, who took over the unfortunately named Gobble Gobble Gobble team.

So to help acclimate them to their new surroundings, the Guru has a few things that you both should know...

• TRADER DICK ISN'T YELLING WHEN HE POSTS IN ALL CAPS, SO DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT
  
• Billy Bradski is probably not the real Jesus - no miracles have been performed by him to date. Perhaps he is employing his avatar in the hope that we bow down before him and let him win?
  
• On your first day, you've already posted more Season-to-date messages than half the league. I apparently missed the memo about the rule that this is supposed to be the OttawaHockeyLeague Library Edition
  
• Never disrespect Aaron Hill - it is critical that his value in this league does not get questioned. That issue has the potential to shut the league down, entirely
  

Anyway, it's great to see someone who can give the Commish a run for his money in the Total Transactions department. Unfortunately for Nepean, he forgot to include that column as a scoring category, which is why he'll never see the Top Ten.

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Moving on!

My guest tonight is none other than Ottawa Senators forward, Dany Heatley. Let's give him a hand, Nation - Dany Heatley!!

...

[silence]

...

[*crickets, crickets*]

...

Ummmm Tito? Our producer, Tito O'Dell in the booth, everyone ... Tito, you there? What's going on? Where's tonight's guest?

He what?!? Just because we took him out of the first segment and replaced him with that John Smoltz piece?

Did you explain to him that he's still an important component of the show? Or that he is guaranteed more than one-third of the air-time AND he is playing the third act, aka the powerplay segment of the show?

And he still won't join us? I don't get it ...

What's that? He was booked to go on The Nightly Show with Plano Flames, then quickly cancelled his appearance in Alberta as well? What a turd. Do we have any video of that? Roll it, Tito:




You know what? Screw him. We'll do this segment without him, and probably have better chemistry to boot.

Ladies and gentlemen, Nation, it’s time for the formation of the DHL – the Dany Heatley League. There’s no room for him in the NHL anymore. In fact, the DHL doesn’t need to be limited to hockey players only – it can be a league for all athletes that are simply entitled to everything.

Society has moved so far away from accountability it’s ridiculous. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time nor probably the last time we see this garbage take place.

The outrage, disappointment and utter contempt this creates among fans is like seeing Santa Claus steal your flat screen TV. It’s something that just shouldn’t happen. It’s just plain wrong. Unfortunately, fans will root for him again. He will be loved again – not because of who he is – but merely because of the sweater he’ll pull over his shoulder pads.

His legacy is tarnished forever. He can’t un-ring that bell. Hopefully he’ll never land in the Hall of Fame (if his numbers even end up supporting his case), because voters and fans simply won’t want to honour somebody that brought dishonour to the sport.

Having the talent and opportunity to play professional sports is something that 99% of society can never fully understand. However, that 99% of society spends absurd amounts of money which gets channeled into the pockets of those gifted few.

Dany Heatley capitalized on his skills and abilities and chose to sign a 6-year $45 million dollar contract with Ottawa and required a no movement clause in that contract.

When you sign a contract like that, both you and the team lose the right to move on.

In his August 21st press conference, he claimed that he requested a trade because he felt his role had been reduced in Ottawa. Awwww, poor baby. It's an embarrassment to him, his agent and his parents that he wasn't raised to understand the importance of accountability and responsibility.

He’s guaranteed the money, but you can’t be guaranteed the ice time. That is earned. If you don’t like your role, then bust your ass and improve your role. Dany reduced his own role ever since separating his shoulder against Detroit in December 2007. Since that time, he plays mostly on the periphery looking for the big wind-up slapshot.

If he wanted out of Ottawa, he should have offered to have Ottawa tear up the contract. (Not that that would have been legal in today's NHL, unlike when Daniel Alfredsson cancelled his last contract). At the very least, let Ottawa trade his rights to whichever team makes the best offer. He’s not a free agent and shouldn’t control the process. On the open market he wouldn’t even sniff the contract he is currently paid under.

Now he wants to be given a role that may not be deserved?

Meet me over on camera 3, Mr. Heatley.

Okay, you listening Dany? If you truly love the fans of Ottawa and the city of Ottawa, then bust your ass and earn the role you want to have. Earn your contract. Become an MVP candidate.

Given his life's experiences so far, he shouldn’t be feeling sorry for himself. Rather he should be thanking his lucky stars that he continues to have the opportunities he has, and he should never have requested the trade in the first place.

At this point, there probably aren’t too many NHL teams that really want to bring in an overpaid star that wants his role given to him rather than earning his ice time. It’s the wrong message for an organization to send its players, its’ the wrong message for the league and it’s the wrong message for sports.

The Guru says trade him to the KHL so he can play with his apparent mentor - Alexei Yashin. Or better yet, create the DHL and simply let him go away and rot.

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