My Sports News Digest

They grew up on 1980, on Mike Eruzione and Jim Craig and Herb Brooks. They grew up on a shot and a dream that unbelievably came true. That Olympic tournament in Lake Placid 32 years ago, that historic win by the rag-tag group of American kids led by one of the hardest-driving coaches on the planet, sent the United States into a euphoric celebration that gave birth to a new generation of hockey superstar in the country. Jeremy Roenick. Brian Leetch. Brett Hull. Mike Modano. Chris Chelios. Doug Weight. Bill Guerin. Mike Richter. And the list goes on. They were [...]

Read the full story

The Anaheim Ducks looked like they were dead in the water a few weeks ago. Today, their playoff hopes are in full flight. The Ducks continued their tremendous second-half surge Wednesday night by rallying from an early deficit to beat the Penguins 2-1 in Pittsburgh. Though they are still 13th in the West, the Ducks are just six points behind eighth-place Phoenix after winning for the second time in two nights — a big improvement from the 20-point hole they were in on Jan. 6. Anaheim is 3-0-1 at the halfway point of an eight-game road trip, 5-0-2 in its [...]

Read the full story

There are only a dozen days left until the 2012 NHL trade deadline. With that in mind, here are a dozen of the most pressing questions about teams and players as the deadline approaches — and some possible answers. 1. Why haven’t there been any big trades yet? There have been a couple of big trades this season, but they came earlier in the campaign. To this point, the only two deals where contending teams added someone for a future return are Chicago picking up Brendan Morrison and New Jersey obtaining Alexei Ponikarovsky from the Carolina Hurricanes. The biggest reason [...]

Read the full story

NEW YORK — Soon after finishing his media responsibilities Wednesday afternoon at Chelsea Piers, Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp went down the long row of benches looking for John Scott’s shoes. It was time for a practical joke. Sharp, smiling like a mischievous prankster, found the big guy’s footwear, snagged them from off the rubber-matted floor, walked back down the row of benches, and placed them in an equipment bag. He then had a good laugh with captain Jonathan Toews as the rest of the Blackhawks started to come off the ice at Sky Rink and prepare for the bus [...]

Read the full story

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. — Kris Versteeg looks like he might get his wish. Despite having three 20-goal seasons on his resume at the age of 25, Versteeg has been traded four times in his career, including three times in a span of 366 days. Versteeg doesn’t want to become a hockey nomad. He wants to stay in one place for a while, and his performance this season has given the Florida Panthers every reason to keep him around. Right Wing – FLA GOALS: 22 | ASST: 26 | PTS: 48SOG: 138 | +/-: 5 Given an expanded role with the [...]

Read the full story

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. — Kris Versteeg looks like he might get his wish. Despite having three 20-goal seasons on his resume at the age of 25, Versteeg has been traded four times in his career, including three times in a span of 366 days. Versteeg doesn’t want to become a hockey nomad. He wants to stay in one place for a while, and his performance this season has given the Florida Panthers every reason to keep him around. Right Wing – FLA GOALS: 22 | ASST: 26 | PTS: 48SOG: 138 | +/-: 5 Given an expanded role with the [...]

Read the full story

BOSTON – Here’s a scary thought for teams around the League — the New York Rangers, who are the NHL’s top team based on points percentage, have the potential to be better than they were against the Bruins on Tuesday night. That’s the stance coach John Tortorella and some players took following the team’s 3-0 victory, a win that gave the Rangers a nine-point lead on Boston for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. “I wouldn’t pay for the start of that game,” said Tortorella, whose team scored twice in the first period. “I thought we played better in [...]

Read the full story

Mike Keenan works three part-time television jobs in order to stay abreast of what is going on in the National Hockey League today. The coach known as “Iron Mike” would give them all up for a chance to emulate what Ken Hitchcock is doing in St. Louis. Keenan, who spoke to NHL.com in Las Vegas during Wayne Gretzky’s Fantasy Camp, wants to coach again in the NHL. He remains hopeful that the opportunity still exists for him despite his age (62), his reputation as being hard-driving and relentless on his players, and the fact he hasn’t coached since the 2008-09 [...]

Read the full story