Penguins, Pennsylvania reach arena deal (Post-Gazette)

Officials from both the state of Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL have reached a deal on a new arena to be built in downtown Pittsburgh, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Cards can WR coach nabbed in prostitution sting (AP/CNN)

The Arizona Cardinals fired wide receivers coach Richie Anderson, four days after he was arrested for solicitation of a prostitute.

Head coach Ken Whisenhunt reviewed all the details of the case and decided it was in the “best interests of the team” to relieve Anderson of his duties.

Former world champ Tapia apparently overdoses (AP/ESPN)

Five-time world champion Johnny Tapia was hospitalized in critical condition Monday after an apparent cocaine overdose.

Rockies cut Lopez (Yahoo! Sports/Reuters)

The Colorado Rockies have released former all-star catcher Javy Lopez Monday.  The team issued his release at an early date in hopes that he can latch on with another major league club.

Samsonov regrets signing with Canadiens (TSN/Montreal Gazette)

Montreal Canadiens forward Sergei Samsonov told the Montreal Gazette that if he had to do it all over again, he would’ve signed elsewhere. The unhappy Samsonov feels he’s been blamed for everything that’s gone on in Montreal this season and feels like he would’ve done things differently in retrospect.

Ex-N. Colorado punter pleads not guilty; trial set (AP/ESPN)

A former Northern Colorado backup punter accused of stabbing the starter pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of attempted murder and assault.

Emmitt to join ESPN’s studio team (PFT)

Sources tell ProFootballTalk.com that ESPN will be hiring former Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals running back Emmitt Smith as a member of its NFL studio team.

A media conference call is expected within the hour.

***UPDATED at 1:16 p.m. CDT***
ESPN has formally announced the hiring.

Arena Rumor (HockeyBuzz)

According to HockeyBuzz writer Brian Metzer, rumors suggest that the talks between Kansas City and Pittsburgh Penguins officials have broken off. There is mention that some members of the media have been told to “make themselves available on Wednesday” as an arena announcement could be coming on that day.

Leverage pays off. Again.

News and notes while noshing away on some nachos…

An ‘Enemies’ List at ESPN? Say What? An Interview with Sportsline’s Mike Freeman (The Big Lead) The Big Lead interviews the author of the definitive book on the history of ESPN.

NHL solves nothing with suspension of Simon (Sportsnet.ca) The NHL did something wrong again? Sportsnet’s Jim Kelley thinks so.

Kentucky AD: Tubby is our coach (AP/ESPN.com) Kentucky hoops coach Smith thought to be on the firing line.

New Marlins stadium has hurdles to clear (Miami Herald)

Charles Rabin of the Miami Herald profiles what hurdles the Florida Marlins face in getting their ballpark approved for construction before it becomes a reality.

***UPDATED at 12:23 p.m. CDT***

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported in their March 9th editions that Miami City Commission voted unanimously to support the plan of placing the new facility near the Orange Bowl. The article provides a bit of background to the original blog post here.

MLB meets with inDemand over ‘Extra Innings’ (Multichannel News)

Officials from Major League Baseball and inDemand have met to discuss the availability of MLB’s ‘Extra Innings’ on cable and other satellite outlets. MLB has given other entities until the end of March to match the deal the $700 million deal they reached with satellite provider DirecTV.

The main dispute centers around the desire if cable systems will back off their demands of placing MLB’s new baseball-centric channel on a premium sports tier package instead of basic cable, ala the dispute between the NFL Network and several cable systems.

(Some information was provided by the excellent site, The Biz of Baseball.)

According to a broadcast report on ESPN News, the New York Knicks have extended the contract of coach Isaiah Thomas.

More details soon..

***UPDATED at 11:15 am CDT***

ESPN has a link from their news services regarding this story.

News and notes while rolling out of bed this ay-em…

The NCAA hoops bracket (Sportsline) Print and share with your friends.

Americans rise in Japan (USA Today) Where have you gone, Terry Collins, Bobby Valentine and Trey Hillman? Go Ham Fighters!

Federer’s 41-match win streak ends (AP/USA Today) Guillermo Canas is the answer to a trivia question: Who beat Roger Federer to end his 41-match win streak?

Early seed musings (The Big Lead) The Big Lead breaks it all down in their initial look at the NCAA hoops brackets.

Chatman’s assistant blew whistle on relationship with former player (ESPN.com) Long-time friend alerts LSU officials of sexual relationship.

Sosa’s second act (Yahoo! Sports) Sosa looks back at his time away, looks forward to season in Texas.

NHLPA director Saskin, senior director Kim on paid leave (Hockeybuzz) The two are accused of snooping around players emails.

The best young centerfielders of 2007 (Hardball Times) Cleveland’s Sizemore, Arizona’s Young head class.