Team USA opt for youth in ice hockey training squad

(BURKE, TUESDAY, VANCOUVER, GOING, PLAYERS, ORIENTATION)

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Team USA general manager Brian Burke signaled a changing of the guard by naming a youthful training camp squad Tuesday for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
"We`re going to be the underdog in Vancouver, we know that," Burke told a conference call Tuesday to announce the 34 players to take part in a Team USA orientation camp from August 17-19. "There is not going to be a penny bet on us in Las Vegas.
"We are probably going to be the youngest team in the tournament but we are going there to win and we have tried to identify a group that will give us our best chance to do that.
"We think we have a good blend. We have some first violins and we have some tuba players too."
Team USA will have a youthful new look in Vancouver with Burke extending camp invitations to only five players with Olympic experience, led by three-time Olympian Mike Modano of the Dallas Stars.
Future Hall of Famers such as 47-year-old Detroit Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios and national team stalwarts like Doug Weight, Keith Tkachuk and Bill Guerin were not included on Burke`s list, signaling a changing of the guard at USA Hockey.
In their places, rising talents like Chicago Blackhawks Patrick Kane, the top pick in the 2007 draft and young St. Louis Blues defenseman Erik Johnson, the number one selection in 2006, will get their opportunity to shine.
"We`re turning the page to a large extent and some of those choices will be questioned, which we are prepared for," said Burke. "This is not the U.S. Olympic team for 2010, these are the invitations to our orientation camp.
"Some of the guys who were not invited are going to jam it right down my throat and I welcome that.
"If we`re right with our identification virtually all the team will come out of this group but my prediction is a couple of guys are going to make this real hard for us."
The final 23-man rosters are expected to be confirmed in late December.
(Writing by Steve Keating in Toronto; Editing by Justin Palmer)
Original article

NHL`s Panthers use football agent in ad campaign

(PANTHERS, MARKETING, CAMPAIGN, SEASON, TICKET, WOULD)

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Drew Rosenhaus, a sports agent who typically battles with football team owners to get lucrative contracts for his clients, has been enlisted by the NHL`s Florida Panthers in a marketing campaign to boost season-ticket sales.
"This is part of our new marketing campaign that`s launching next week," Panthers President Michael Yormark said in a statement Tuesday. "The premise of the campaign is that he`s been retained by Panthers` fans to renegotiate the season-ticket pricing."
Sports teams have been hurt by the recession as fans cut back on spending at games or attend fewer events. In the National Hockey League, the tight credit markets have led to the expected sale of several teams as well as the bankruptcy of the Phoenix Coyotes.
The Panthers last season had an average attendance of 15,621 at its home arena, which seats 19,250 people. A full-season Panthers ticket currently costs an average $54.16.
Rosenhaus, who represents such National Football League players as wide receivers Terrell Owens and Chad Johnson, will appear in television, radio and print ads talking about how he has been hired by fans of the hockey team to negotiate lower season-ticket prices and other benefits for the 2009-2010 season that begins in the fall, Yormark said.
The campaign is set to start on July 7, but the team would not confirm if it would result in lower season ticket prices.
(Reporting by Ben Klayman, Editing by Maureen Bavdek)
Original article

Top U.S. court agrees to hear case on NFL licensing

(COURT, AMERICAN, NEEDLE, NFL, LEAGUE, NATIONAL, ANTITRUST)

By Ben Klayman
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court said on Monday it would decide whether the National Football League should be treated as a single entity under federal antitrust law in a dispute over an exclusive license to make caps and other headgear.
In a case that could affect other sports leagues, the court agreed to hear an appeal from American Needle Inc, of Buffalo Grove, Illinois, on whether the NFL and its 32 teams can be sued under federal antitrust laws for signing an exclusive licensing deal with Reebok International in 2001.
The case will be argued during the court`s upcoming term that begins in October. A decision is expected in the first half of next year.
American Needle, a former licensee of the NFL, challenged the deal, which offered Reebok an exclusive license for 10 years according to court documents, claiming the NFL was 32 separate business entities and not a "single entity" as the popular professional sports league said.
Germany`s Adidas AG bought Reebok in 2006 for $3.8 billion in a move to boost its U.S. presence.
In its original lawsuit, American Needle had charged the NFL with unlawful restraint of trade and monopolizing the team products licensing, manufacturing and wholesale markets by violating antitrust laws by working too closely together, according to court documents. The cost of basic fitted caps jumped to $30 from $19.99, American Needle said in court documents.
American Needle lost the case in U.S. District Court as well as in the federal appeals court in Chicago in 2008.
"American Needle has pursued this litigation because it feels that if it could compete for the use of NFL trademarks in selling hats that it could provide lower priced merchandise than is currently available on the market," said Glen Nager, an attorney at Jones Day, which is representing American Needle.
The NFL also had urged the Supreme Court to take the case in the hope of winning a national victory, as it and other sports leagues have lost similar cases in other appeals courts.
"We look forward to the opportunity to explain why the court should confirm and extend on a nationwide basis the favorable rulings of the Court of Appeals on the application of the antitrust laws to the unique structure of a sports league," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in an email.
The National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League filed briefs supporting the NFL with the Supreme Court, while Major league Baseball, which has an antitrust exemption on many issues, did not.
The U.S. Justice Department had urged the Supreme Court not to hear the case, saying neither American Needle nor the NFL had presented a question warranting review by the justices.
The case is American Needle v. National Football League, No. 08-661.
(Additional reporting by James Vicini in Washington; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)
Original article

Islanders select Tavares with first pick in NHL Draft

By Roger Lajoie
MONTREAL (Reuters) - The New York Islanders ended weeks of speculation by selecting high scoring forward John Tavares with the first pick in the National Hockey League draft on Friday night.
Tavares, 18, set the Ontario Hockey League`s career goal scoring record in four seasons in the junior league and was the top-rated prospect heading into the draft.
The Islanders refused to announce who they would take with their number one selection prior to the draft, leading to speculation that they would either deal the pick or perhaps take towering Swedish defenceman Victor Hedman.
"I was just like everybody else, wondering what the decision would be," Tavares told reporters. "It was obviously a great moment for me and a special feeling.
"I can`t wait to get started and it`s a great opportunity for me. I couldn`t be more happy right now and excited about my opportunity to play for Long Island and the Islanders."
New York General Manager Garth Snow said that Tavares was the player they most coveted from the outset.
"John`s a special hockey player and an even better person," Snow said. "We had some offers to deal the pick but nothing we really considered. We`re very fortunate to have a player of his abilities."
Tampa Bay used its second pick to take Hedman, a 6-foot-6 defenseman who played last season for Modo of the Swedish Elite League.
"I`m just happy to become an NHL player," Hedman said. "It became Tampa and I`m just as happy as I can be.
With the third pick, the Colorado Avalanche took forward Matt Duchene of the OHL`s Brampton, rated a good playmaker.
Atlanta selected forward Evander Kane from the Western Hockey League with the fourth pick, while the Los Angeles Kings took WHL`s Brandon forward Brayden Schenn, younger brother of Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Luke Schenn.
The Phoenix Coyotes, who are in bankruptcy court as they try to find new owners, took defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson from Leksand in Sweden with the sixth pick.
The Anaheim Ducks and Philadelphia Flyers swung a major deal early in the draft, with the Ducks trading veteran defenceman Chris Pronger.
The former Hart and Norris Trophy winner was dealt along with forward Ryan Dingle to the Flyers for defenseman Luca Sbisa, forward Joffrey Lupul, the Flyers 1st Round pick (21st overall) in 2009, 1st Round pick in 2010 and a conditional 3rd Round pick in 2010 or 2011.
Original article

Penguins put Motor City meltdown behind them

By Steve Keating
PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - The Pittsburgh Penguins returned home on Sunday to prepare for Game Six of the Stanley Cup final series against the Detroit Red Wings insisting they had already put Saturday's Motor City meltdown behind them.
Certainly there is nothing from an embarrassing 5-0 Game Five drubbing on Saturday that the Penguins want to remember as the Red Wings eased to within one win of defending the Stanley Cup.
However, one thing the Penguins have not forgotten is the images of the Red Wings celebrating with the Stanley Cup after winning the best-of-seven series 4-2 at Mellon Arena a year ago.
It is a scene that could well be repeated on Tuesday with Detroit leading this year's series 3-2, though neither side has lost at home so far.
"The situation is pretty clear for us," Penguins center Sidney Crosby said. "We've got to go home and be desperate now.
"It's nothing new. We've got to respond the right way.
"The first two we played here (Detroit), they were close games and could have gone either way.
"Even the games at our rink. They were good hockey games.
"This (5-0 loss) was kind of out of left field but we've got a game to win at home now."
The Penguins did more than lose a game in Detroit on Saturday, they also lost their composure and all momentum from successive 4-2 victories.
Pittsburgh's indiscipline resulted in three Detroit power play tallies in a four-goal second period that buried the Penguins and chased a rattled Marc-Andre Fleury from the game.
The Pittsburgh players rallied around their goaltender on Sunday while coach Dan Bylsma said he had no hesitation in handing Fleury the start in Game Six.
"A goalie's going to be upset in that situation," explained Crosby. "That's a competitor in him (Fleury).
"We need him to bounce back in the next game, and we need everybody at their best, including him."
The Red Wings understand better than most the value of home advantage having lost just once at Joe Louis Arena in four best-of-seven series this post-season. Continued...
Source: Reuters