Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy are becoming free agents following decisions by the Braves not to offer 2015 contracts to the right-handers, both recovering from their second Tommy John surgeries. The Braves failed to offer a contract to right-hander Gus Schlosser. Medlen and Beachy, once considered rising stars in the rotation, did not pitch in 2014 after they had ligament-replacement surgeries during spring training.
Medlen won a combined 25 games in 2012 and 2013. He excelled as a reliever and starter in 2012, when he was 10-1 with a 1.56 ERA. Beachy had his first surgery early in the 2012 season and struggled in 2013, when he was 2-1 with a 4.50 ERA. Schlosser had a 7.14 ERA in 15 games last season.
The 16-year veteran free-agent outfielder is returning to his roots. "You talk about true love,'' Hunter told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.”That's the Twins right there.''
Hunter, after playing five seasons for the Los Angeles Angels and two with the Detroit Tigers, has agreed to a one-year, $10.5 million deal with the Twins. The Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles were also reportedly in the running for Hunter.
Hunter, 39, played his first full season for the Twins in 1999. He has made five All-Star appearances and won nine Gold Glove Awards and two Silver Slugger Awards. He is a career .279 hitter with 331 homers and 1,310 RBIs. Hunter became a star with the Twins before signing a $90 million, five-year contract with the Angels after the 2007 season. He then signed a $26 million, two-year deal with Detroit.
Dish Network subscribers will lose access to CBS-owned stations Thursday night if the companies can't agree on a new contract. In a statement, CBS said after six months of talks, Dish has "not been operating with the same sense of urgency" to make a deal."In the last few weeks, we have granted two extensions, in the hopes that this would give both parties sufficient time to come to a resolution," the network's statement said.
"The second extension, which protected Dish subscribers’ programming over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, was the final one.""We would very much like to avoid going dark," CBS added. "Unless agreements are reached, however, our viewers should be prepared to lose CBS from their Dish systems on Thursday evening at 7:00 PM/ET."
Customers of the satellite-TV service could lose access to CBS outlets in 14 cities including Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston and Detroit. And it's possible an impasse also could endanger carriage of some CW and independent stations and cable networks including Showtime and CBS Sports Network.
At issue, The Street reports, is how much money Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen is prepared to pay CBS to to carry the network that remains the most watched on television.
CBS has pressed for higher fees to cover higher production costs, but The Street reports this year is different because advertisers are redirecting some marketing money to digital platforms, and away from TV. Still, TV remains a $70 billion ad market, The Street reports, though growth is shrinking.
In a statement, Dish said "only CBS can force a blackout of its channels, Dish is actively working to reach a deal before the contract expires," Dish said. "There is time for the two parties to reach a mutually beneficial deal." USA Today notes CBS went dark for much of August last year for Time Warner Cable customers while the companies tried to work out a new contract; the blackout ended in September 2013 when a new deal set higher fees for CBS and allowed the network to retain streaming rights for live and archived shows.
The National Football League "failed" in its efforts to police domestic abuse by its players but has "learned from those mistakes," a top NFL executive testified to Congress on Tuesday. Troy Vincent, the NFL's executive vice president for football operations, conceded that the case involving Ray Rice was handled poorly.
"The commissioner (Roger Goodell) has acknowledged those mistakes," Vincent told a packed hearing by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee."We failed. This is all part of our evaluation as we look at a new personal conduct policy ... But we learned from those mistakes."
Representatives of the four major U.S. sports were on hand at the hearing on domestic abuse although none of the commissioners were present and only one of the top players' union officials, Michele Roberts of the National Basketball Association. Domestic abuse has been a flashpoint issue ever since the NFL's handling of the Rice case, in which Goodell suspended the former Baltimore Ravens running back for two games for knocking out his fiancée, who later became his wife.
Only when graphic video emerged showing him knocking out his then-fiancée did the Ravens release him and the NFL suspend him indefinitely. Repealing the NFL's tax-exempt status and favorable anti-trust position was discussed by the senators should the league fail to implement an effective domestic abuse policy."When young people see athletes committing acts of violence, and when those acts are excused, glossed over, and given pathetically weak punishments, they learn that domestic violence is not taken seriously," said Connecticut Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal.
Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, said he knew of six NBA players who were charged with domestic violence recently but not sanctioned by the league because there were no convictions."The Commissioner (Adam Silver) has acknowledged that we need to do more in this issue in terms of discipline going forward," said Kathleen Behrens, the NBA's executive vice president for social responsibility."Mostly in terms of due process and not really relying on the criminal justice system," she added.
Vincent, who played in the NFL for 15 years, broke down when discussing his childhood."Domestic violence was a way of life in my home growing up," he said. "My brother and I watched helplessly numerous times as my mother was beaten and knocked unconscious while we dialed 911."
"We saw how she struggled to seek help and find the courage to say 'no more.'
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RANGERS over FLYERS 3 to 0
BLACKHAWKS over DUCKS 4 to 1
CAPITALS over ISLANDERS 5 to 2
BRUINS over JETS 2 to 1
SABRES over CANADIENS 2 to 1
RED WINGS over DEVILS 5 to 4
HURRICANES over PENGUINS 4 to 2
CANUCKS over BLUE JACKETS 5 to 0
PANTHERS over SENATORS 3 to 2
BLUES over OILERS 4 to 3
WILD over STARS 5 to 4
RANGERS over FLYERS 5 to 2
SABRES over CANADIENS 4 to 3
MAPLE LEAFS over CAPITALS 6 to 2
LIGHTNING over SENATORS 4 to 1
ISLANDERS over DEVILS 3 to 1
PENGUINS over HURRICANES 3 to 2
PREDATORS over BLUE JACKETS 2 to 1
BLUES over WILD 3 to 2
AVALANCHE over STARS 5 to 2
BLACKHAWKS over KINGS 4 to 1
FLAMES over COYOTES 3 to 0
SHARKS over DUCKS 6 to 4
RED WINGS over CANUCKS 5 to 3
COLTS over REDSKINS 49 to 27
TEXANS over TITANS 45 to 21
BILLS over BROWNS 26 to 10
CHARGERS over RAVENS 34 to 33
JAGUARS over GIANTS 25 to 24
BENGALS over BUCCANEERS 14 to 13
RAMS over RAIDERS 52 to 0
SAINTS over STEELERS 35 to 32
VIKINGS over PANTHERS 31 to 13
FALCONS over CARDINALS 29 to 18
PACKERS over PATRIOTS 26 to 21
BRONCOS over CHIEFS 29 to 16
SPURS over CELTICS 111 to 89
BULLS over NETS 102 to 84
WARRIORS over PISTONS 104 to 93
GRIZZLIES over KINGS 97 to 85
HEAT over KNICKS 86 to 79
MAGIC over SUNS 93 to 90
TRAIL BLAZERS over TIMBERWOLVES 107 to 93
LAKERS over RAPTORS 129 to 122
MAVERICKS over 76ERS 110 to 103
WIZARDS over PELICANS 83 to 80
HAWKS over HORNETS 105 to 75
CAVALIERS over PACERS 109 to 97
CLIPPERS over JAZZ 112 to 96
ROCKETS over BUCKS 117 to 103
