Your New York Sports Blog

According to Ken Rosenthal the New York Mets have claimed 1st baseman and former Yankee Andy Phillips. Phillips should serve as a right handed bat of the bench and could also split time at first with Carlos Delgado and play second every once in a while. Rosenthal believes newly brought in Wayne Krivsky had a big part in bringing in Phillips.

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According to this Russian website Wade Dublielewicz is going over to Russia and play for Kazan. It reads

As it became known "SE", "Ak Bars" concluded a two-year agreement with the 29 - year old Canadian goalkeeper "Aylenders" Wayne Dubelevichem.

...Dubielewicz was one of the best backups in the league and always did a nice job when he had to fill in for an injured goalie. Two years ago he put the islanders on a playoff run beating the Devils in the final game of the season to make it as the 8th seed after some people *cough*Sam Rosen*cough* had said they were mathematically eliminated after losing to the Rangers a few games earlier.

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According to the Star-Ledger right guard Chris Snee has agreed to a 6-year contract extension to keep him around until the '14 season. According to the them Snee will be among the top five highest paid players at his position, something Snee rightfully deserves as he has been nothing short of great since his first season in 2004.

Snee is not the only one to sign as the Giants also signed three late round draft picks. The picks who signed were 4th round pick linebacker Bryan Kehl, 5th round pick linebacker Jonathan Goff, and 6th round pick quarterback Andre' Woodson who was just an absolute steal so late in the draft.

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According to MetsBlog.com Ryan Church took batting practice with the team yesterday, took part of the pregame workout, and is expected to join the Brooklyn Cyclones either on Wednesday or Thursday for a rehab assignment.

...If all goes well and Ryan does not feel any symptoms he should be back in time for the weekend Subway Series against the Yankees. The return of Church could end Robinson Cancel's job with the Mets, move Carlo Delgado down in the lineup, and stregthen the bench by allowing Trot Nixon to come off the bench as a pinch hitter.

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Which OF has had the better season so far? Selection Votes Ryan Church (NYM) 38% 15 Bobby Abreu (NYY) 18% 7 Carlos Beltran (NYM) 8% 3 Johnny Damon (NYY) 38% 15 40 votes total

Ryan Church was the clear leader in the beginning, but after his injury Johnny Damon really caught fire and tied it up. My vote is for Johnny Damon, but if Church was healthy he would of ran away with victory..

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The New York Rangers have traded winger Alex Bourret to the Phoenix Coyotes for the 90th pick in the draft. Bourret was a former 1st round pick of the Atlanta Thrashers and was traded to the Rangers for Pascal Dupuis. With the 90th pick the Rangers took top Czech player defenseman Tomáš Kundrátek.

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Derek Stepan center out of Hastings, Minnesota. Missed Jared Staal by two picks thanks to good ol Wayne Gretzky. You can consider this pick a little bit of a stretch, but the Rangers have scouted so well recently that I won't question it even though Kiril Petrov is still around.

Derek is a very good skater who accelerates quickly, pulling away from his opponent. He is quick on the forecheck and he possesses a surprising reach.He has very good hands with a quick-release shot and excellent passing. He is a smart player who will continue to improve.

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Aaron Ness an American defenseman out of Minnesota. Just like Trivino he wan ranked exactly where he was drafted at 40, but this is a great pick I like it the best out of all 3 picks. Scouting report:

Aaron is flamboyant and colorful. He is very quick, everything about him is quick -- his hands are quick, his feet are quick. He is a very good skater and he is gritty and physical. He'll step right in to you without fear -- he picks his spot when he does it. He's a little more polished than some of the other high school defensemen with his passing and playmaking. He is quicker than Brian Leetch was at this age and he's as fast as John-Michael Liles was at the same age.

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COREY TRIVINO, center, from Etobicoke, Canada. He was ranked 36th by TSN so he went exactly where they thought. Here is a scouting report on him.

"He has the ability to see the ice well and to move the puck. He needs to get stronger he's willing to battle, but isn't always winning the puck. He's got a good goal-scoring touch and he's good on face-offs with good skating ability, not necessarily high-end skating, but good."He has the ability to see the ice well and to move the puck. He needs to get stronger he's willing to battle, but isn't always winning the puck. He's got a good goal-scoring touch and he's good on face-offs with good skating ability, not necessarily high-end skating, but good."

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Michael Del Zotto ,defenseman, out of Oshawa, Canada. TSN ranked him #15 I had him going 13th to Buffalo so the Rangers should be happy he slid a little bit. This is what the Rangers needed a defenseman with puck moving ability. Here is a mini scouting report that you can read by clicking the link above:

Great purely offensive defenceman. Has all the offensive abilities of moving the puck up the ice and shooting it through traffic. Somewhat of a defensive liability though, has to work on that to truly be effective, has all offensive instincts to make him successful. Brings some physical play for his size, but is something that will never be part of "his game".

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Josh Bailey center from Oshawa, Canada. He is referred to as a very 'safe' pick and it makes sense why they moved back for him. He is not top 5 talent, but is big and skilled and has a good hockey IQ. He also put up good stats last season with 29 goals, 67 assists, and 96 points in 67 games. Could possibly contribute right away or in 1-2 years from no, but expect him up sooner rather than later.

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For the #9 pick and #47th pick. Filatov was gone and no one that the Islanders HAD to take. So by moving down you get another pick and can still a great player.

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The Islanders have traded the #5 pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs for the #7 pick, the 2nd round pick(60 overall), and 3rd round pick this year or the 2nd pick next year and 3rd next year.
...What a steal. Filatov still may be available so they can still get their guy and and two more picks great value.

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1. Tampa Bay Lighting- Steven Stamkos, C (OHL)

Steven Stamkos is the clear #1

2.Los Angeles Kings- Drew Doughty, D (OHL)

3.Atlanta Thrashers- Zack Bogosian, D (OHL)

4.St. Louis Blues-Luke Schenn, D (WHL)

5.New York Islanders- Nikita Filatov, LW (Russia)
...This kid is an absolute STUD. Behind Stomkos he is the best scorer in the draft and unlike last years top Russian prospect and Ranger draftee, Alexei Cherepanov, he has already said he is going to come to America next year and try to make the team that drafts him. The only downside is his size (5'11 165ish)

6.Columbus Blue Jackets-Alex Pietrangelo, D (OHL)

7. Toronto Maple Leafs- Mikkel Boedker, C (OHL)

8.Phoenix Coyotes- Tyler Meyers, D (WHL)

9.Nashville Predators(from Florida)- Cody Hodgson, C (OHL)

10. Vancouver Canucks- Colin Wilson, LW (Boston University)

11.Chicago Blackhawks- Zach Boychuk, C (WHL)

12.Anaheim Ducks(from Edmonton)- Kyle Beach, LW (WHL)

13.Buffalo Sabers- Michael Del Zotto, D (OHL)

14.Carolina Hurricanes- Colten Teubert, D (WHL)

15. Nashville Predators- Luca Sbisa, D (WHL)

16.Boston Bruins- Joe Colborne, C (AJHL)

17.Calgary Flames- Joshua Bailey, C

18.Ottawa Senators- Chet Pickard, G (WHL)

19.Columbus Blue Jackets(from Colorado)- Mattias Tedenby, LW (Sweden)

20.New York Rangers- John Carlson, D (USHL)
...Big, good skating, puck moving defenseman something the Rangers have been lacking since the departure of Brian Leetch. They could also go for offense and take a guy like Kirill Petrov if he is still around or take Jared Staal and hope he pans out. Another option is Greg Nemisz.

21.New Jersey Devils- Tyler Cuma, D (OHL)

22.Edmonton Oilers- Jordan Eberle, C (WHL)

23.Washington Capitals- Kirill Petrov, RW (Russia)

24.Minnesotta Wild- Colby Robak, D (WHL)

25.Montreal Canadians- Mikhail Stefanovich, C (QMJHL)

26.Buffalo Sabers(from San Jose)- Zac Dalpe, C (BCHL)

27.Philadelphia Phillies- Greg Nemisz, C (OHL)

28.Los Angeles Kings(from Dallas)- Jake Gardiner, D (Minnesota HS)

29.Atlanta Thrashers(from Pittsburgh)- Tyler Ennis, C (WHL)

30.Detroit Red Wings- Anton Gustafsson, C (Sweden)

Were Listed in the DCProSports NHL Mock Draft Database.

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I am hoping and praying that this story is not true. It is well known that Omsk in Russia has coveted Jaromir Jagr and have been trying hard to sign him and bring him over there. Most reports have been saying that the Rangers have been leaning towards bringing him back. Well now we can think otherwise with good reason. It is now June 19th, one day from the draft and one of the greatest players of all-time still has not received a contract from really the only team in America he wants to play for. John Dellapina of the Daily News has recently talked about this same topic over at his blog.

Of course, that hardly answers all the questions. It’s possible that Bardin will meet with Jagr’s European representative. Anything’s possible regarding No. 68, whose status for next season is going from unpredictable to bizarre.
Jagr told me again today that he hasn’t heard anything from Rangers GM Glen Sather since they spoke on the day the team broke up for the season. While such a cat-and-mouse act is long-standing standard operating procedure for Sather, it makes little sense in this case.

Not only can Jagr sign with Omsk-Avangard at any time, there seems to be little to be gained by making him sit and wonder whether the Rangers want him back. His personal experience (see: Washington 2000-2004) is that things don’t go well when he’s playing for a team that doesn’t fully believe in him. And every day that goes by without the Rangers reaching out to him has to make him wonder even more.

If you were wondering about the other big Ranger's free agent Sean Avery he is busy partying at
fashion shows and music festivals with the Olsen twins (who can blame him for that part though?).

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ESPN:

NEW YORK -- The NHL is threatening to kick the owners of the New York Rangers out of the league as punishment for accusing league officials of violating antitrust laws.

The NHL filed court papers Wednesday that included a draft letter from commissioner Gary Bettman proposing discipline against Madison Square Garden, L.P. that could lead to suspension or termination of its ownership of the Rangers.

In its court filing, the NHL asked a judge to agree Madison Square Garden breached its contract by challenging league rules.

Madison Square Garden sued the NHL in September, saying it violated antitrust laws by monopolizing control of team promotions. A judge ruled in November that the league seemed within its rights to take control of the team's Web site.

Madison Square Garden, L.P., which is owned by Cablevision Systems Corp., owns the Rangers, the NBA's New York Knicks, the WNBA's New York Liberty and several venues, including Madison Square Garden -- the home of the Rangers, Knicks and Liberty.

Messages left with Madison Square Garden officials were not immediately returned.

...WTF? Are they kidding me? I have never heard of a owners being kicked out of the league over a website. I remember last year how they were getting fined for not turning over their website after every other team had already done so, but I never thought it would be taken this far. This 'threat' should not be taken serious at all though. The NHL is at one of its low points attendance wise and getting rid of the 'top' New York team is not going to help at all. It would be one of the dumbest moves ever so who knows Bettman might actually do it. Simply put the last time the ratings were high was in '93-'94 when who else, but the Rangers won the Stanley Cup. Now I know it says they wouldn't be kicking the Rangers out and that it is the owners and MSG, but where would they play then? The Rock or Coliseum? I don't think so.

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Yankees v. Padres

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
San Diego	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	1	0		5	8	2
NY Yankees	1	2	1	0	1	0	2	1	X		8	14	1

Rollin Rollin Rollin Keep Rollin Rollin Rollin.....

Make that 6 straight wins for this Yankees team. They have not missed a beat despite the news of losing Chien-Ming Wang. Not only that, but they are now 6 games over .5oo and only 5.5 games back of the 1st place Red Sox in the East and 3.5 behind Tampa Bay for the Wild Card.

Darrell Rasner was not spectacular by any means, but he was able to get the win against Jake Peavy so he gets an A+ just for that. He did what a pitcher like him is supposed to do and that is manage the game. He doesn't have to get that 10+ strikeout game, but just hold the other team to a couple of runs and you'll be fine. His control was a little off with 5 walks something that has not been a problem so far this year so I wouldn't worry.

I don't think anyone can justify a $28,000,000 contract, but if anyone can come close that is definitely Alex Rodriguez. He's like a man amongst boys. 3-4 with his 14th home run in just 193 at-bats. That is a clip of a home run every 13.8 at-bats, which comes out to about 1 home run every 3/4 games and then if you multiply that by a whole season its about 45-50+ home runs. He also had 2 RBI's so in terms of Yankee leaders he is 2nd in home runs, 3rd in RBI's, 1st in average, and 5th in hits even though he missed about 15 games less than everyone else.

After Edwar Ramirez gave up 2 home runs in the 7th and Kyle Farnsworth gave up 1 in the 8th it made for a save opportunity for Mariano Rivera. Mo got into early trouble when he game up a lead of double, but got a strikeout and then got a bloop out to Derek Jeter ran to second for a game ending double play. Here are some highlights from Baseball Tonight.

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Islander's captain Bill Guerin has had off season surgery on his shoulder. No details regarding the surgery were disclosed such as which shoulder it was on or how long he has had the injury. Knowing the type of player Guerin is he has had the surgery for quiet some time and continued to play through it.

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