FanNation - The Republic of Sport

The latest report, on ESPN.com, has Browns owner Randy Lerner chasing after Mike Holmgren. It's believable. Lerner approached him last year. It's also a face-saver. The new guy would have to be someone of that stature to save Lerner from this debacle. The pool of Super Bowl champion coaches -- Holmgren, Bill Cowher, Tony Dungy, Mike Shanahan, Jon Gruden -- who might look to get back in the game in 2010 either on the sideline or upstairs is unprecedented.

Cleveland Plain Dealer

> Comment

The next step in the Royals' offseason makeover is to acquire a catcher before Dec. 12 and therefore provide an alternative to offering a contract to arbitration-eligible John Buck. One rumor to watch: A deal sending second baseman Alberto Callaspo to the Los Angeles Dodgers for catcher A.J. Ellis, a 28-year-old rookie who currently projects as a backup to Russell Martin following the anticipated free-agent departure of veteran Brad Ausmus.

Kansas City Star

> Comment

Kobe Bryant has not signed a contract extension. In fact, it might not happen at all this season. The Lakers guard is under contract until July 2011, but he seems to be in no hurry to extend his deal. The Lakers have offered Bryant the maximum money he could earn. On top of the total of $47.8 million he is scheduled to make this season and next, he can sign a three-year extension worth $86 million to $91 million more, depending on NBA salary-cap figures to be determined in 2011.

Los Angeles Times

> Comment

The very fact that the NHL has cut a deal to buy the Coyotes, which has basically excluded Wayne Gretzky and the money owed him, may save them a few million dollars in the process but won't be worth the alienation created with the most important player the game has known. The relationship between Gretzky and the league is the worst it has ever been no matter what rhetoric is spread. Of all that Bettman has bungled over the years, this may be his largest gaffe from a public relations point of view. Hockey is a hard enough sell in the United States and selling out Gretzky will end up costing them more in the long run than it would have cost them to pay The Great One what he was owed.

Toronto Sun

> Comment

After Saturday's 23-21 loss to Navy, Notre Dame can officially be described as a football program in turmoil. Speculation about coach Charlie Weis' position on the imaginary bun warmer will come from all the directions. Game No. 7 this season decided by seven points or fewer, decided in the final seconds. This one, though, won't go away. It's one that will be on the top of the pile come review time. ND athletic director Jack Swarbrick will keep this one in his top right-hand drawer. It could be a deal-breaker.

South Bend Tribune

> Comment

Real Madrid have announced that they will not allow Cristiano Ronaldo to travel to Portugal. The world's most expensive player could be risking everything if he plays for his national side against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

goal.com

> Comment

The early ratings are in for CBS's Saturday night MMA show, and although the numbers aren't as good as the network did last year with Kimbo Slice, CBS executive Kelly Kahl tells FanHouse he's encouraged that CBS improved on its usual Saturday night ratings among the coveted young male demographic. Now the question is whether MMA will improve to CBS in 2010. Kahl said it's too soon to say about that, but that a significant improvement in the targeted demographic means CBS accomplished its first goal. Kahl noted that MMA on CBS beat college football on ABC in the demographic.

mmafighting.com

> Comment

Jamie McMurray, fresh off his first Sprint Cup Series win in two years, now appears to have a full-time job for the 2010 season, the Observer and ThatsRacin.com have learned. McMurray is set to drive Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing's No. 1 Chevrolet starting next season, reuniting the 33-year-old driver from Joplin, Mo., with his first team owner in Cup, Chip Ganassi, multiple sources said Sunday.

Charlotte Observer

> Comment

Tiger Woods sent a secret scout to Melbourne to check out the venue for this week's Australian Masters. The visit to the famed Kingston Heath layout took place earlier this year as part of Woods' burgeoning course design business. The golfing superstar was holed-up inside his luxury Southbank hotel suite yesterday but continued his pre-Masters reconnaissance mission by sending his caddie Steve Williams to inspect the course. The meticulous Williams spent two hours taking yardages on all 18 holes in a sign his boss is determined to earn his giant $3 million pay packet.

Daily Telegraph

> Comment

Belgian tennis player Xavier Malisse said he was considering retiring as he did not have the money to appeal his one-year ban for missing a drug test. Malisse and compatriot Yanina Wickmayer, the U.S. Open semifinalist, were both suspended by the Flemish Doping Tribunal (VDT) on Thursday for failing to comply with doping regulations. But 95th-ranked Malisse, who has earned over 3.5 million dollars in his career, said that he did not have the money to appeal his suspension to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). "A procedure before CAS is very costly and lasts a very long time," said the 29-year-old, who has won three career titles and was ranked 19 in 2002. "I currently don't have the financial means to take on such a battle. I still don't know what I'm going to do, but if the suspension is maintained that means the end of my career." Malisse was punished for missing a drugs test and for twice failing to fulfill the ADAMS (Anti-Doping Administration and Management System) under which athletes are obliged to tell national anti-doping authorities where they will be at a chosen hour each day for a three-month period.

AFP

> Comment