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NHL

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow spoke at dinner last Thursday night and met again afterward and plotted further talks this past weekend. NHL executive VP Bill Daly said he remains cautiously optimistic. "The last hour-and-a-half of (last Monday's) meeting, there was certainly not an agreement, but a good discussion of the issues and it seemed like we were more on the same page in terms of an overall framework than we have been throughout most of this process." Daly said.
-- Toronto Star

Predators right wing Scott Walker, the team's NHLPA representative, said a number of players expressed some respect for ownership's more open attitude when they were updated on the negotiations by conference call. "It means a lot to the players that the owners are getting in there and listening," Walker said. "I think when only Gary Bettman is in there and people think he's trying to run the whole thing, players sometimes get their nose out of joint."
-- Nashville Tennesseean

Negotiations toward a new CBA will likely resume this week, but all the mutual back-patting may come to an end if the two sides can't make progress by April 20. That's when the NHL's Board of Governors is scheduled to meet, with the possibility that the league will start taking serious steps toward using replacement players in the fall.
-- Nashville Tennesseean

Whispers are abound in hockey circles, indicating that Wayne Gretzky will terminate his association with the Coyotes in the near future to join the Rangers as club president. The move of Gretzky to New York, should it happen, will coincide with the likely retirement of Glen Sather (who has really already retired, but hasn't bothered to inform anyone). Gretzky would get an opportunity in New York that he wouldn't have in Phoenix: To build a team from scratch with unlimited resources.
-- Toronto Sun

Canadian GM Steve Tambellini names his roster for the 2005 world championship today, and a five-day training camp begins in Calgary on Wednesday. Indications are that about half of this team has not played a meaningful game this season.
-- Globe and Mail

Soccer

Real Madrid will test Jose Mourinho's wavering resolve to stay at Chelsea this summer by making a bid to tempt him to become their manager. Mourinho has had talks with Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich, after revealing that he was considering his position over a perceived lack of support from the club's hierarchy. The Russian billionaire is keen to hand him a new £6million-a-year contract following negotiations with his agent, Jorge Mendes. But Mourinho is genuinely angry with his bosses over their response to his two-match touchline Champions League ban by UEFA.
-- The Daily Mail (UK)

Mourinho said, "My commitment to the team and the club has not altered in any way. Of course not. Why should it? I am part of a fantastic group, a fantastic club and a fantastic project." But his much-mooted £6 million contract improvement is not considered imminent.
-- The Daily Telegraph (UK)

If Liverpool are to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League, they are going to have to do it without their occasionally inspirational captain Steven Gerrard in Turin on Wednesday. The England midfielder suffered a groin strain in the 1-0 defeat to Manchester City at the weekend.
-- The Guardian (UK)

Manchester United have been told they will have to find £8m to land Tottenham goal keeper Paul Robinson. United are rumored to be set to splash out on a stopper this summer, following Roy Carroll's reluctance to sign an offered deal and Tim Howard having failed to convince that's he's ironed out gaffe-prone tendencies in his game. Robinson is reportedly at the top of manager Alex Ferguson's shopping list but his signature will come at a cost.
-- Manchester Evening News

Everton's James Vaughan -- at 16 years and 271 days -- became the youngest goal scorer in English Premiership history, as his goal helped his team shut out Crystal Palace 4-0.
-- The Sun (UK)

David Beckham, described by the Spanish newspaper Marca as "marvellous, brilliant, extraordinary, with passes worthy of a maestro and a physical display out of the ordinary," helped Real Madrid down their bitterest rivals first place Barcelona 4-2, slicing Barça's once 11-point lead now down to six, with seven games remaining.
-- The Guardian (UK)

Former Bayern Munich coach Ottmar Hitzfeld said that he has turned down numerous jobs in the past year, including an offer from Real Madrid.
-- Associated Press

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