Reuters Sports

(Reuters) - The fun and games of the National Hockey League's All-Star weekend turned serious Saturday as league commissioner Gary Bettman and player's union chief Donald Fehr danced around questions about a looming labor war. With the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) set to expire on September 15, NHL owners and the players association ( NHLPA ) have been quietly preparing the framework for negotiations that could prove as contentious as those that wiped out the entire 2004-05...Read Full Story

( Reuters ) - Super Bowl-bound Tom Coughlin of the New York Giants and Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots are competitive coaches that share a penchant for preparation, according to a former coach who won a title with both on his staff. Former head coach Bill Parcells, a Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist for the Class of 2012, won a Super Bowl with the Giants in 1991 with Coughlin and Belichick on his staff as assistants. "They do have an awful lot in common," Parcells said in an...Read Full Story

LONDON (Reuters) - More than 6,000 urine and blood samples will be analyzed during the London 2012 Olympics, and scientists say the task of getting them from athlete to laboratory and back to Games officials is a race that demands speed, skill and security. Athletes can be tested anytime and anywhere, whether they're in the official villages or in private residences and whether they're inside or outside of the UK . London 2102 officials are confident cheats will be caught, and their testing...Read Full Story

Following a recommendation by Los Angeles Lakers basketball player Kobe Bryant, the Yankees gave Rodriguez approval to have an Orthokine procedure, where blood is taken from a vein in the arm and spun in a centrifuge to isolate protective proteins. "Kobe had maintained, according to Alex, that he felt significantly better because of it," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said on a conference call. "Alex was interested in pursuing it as long as the Yankees' medical staff was comfortable...Read Full Story

( Reuters ) - The New York Yankees avoided arbitration with Phil Hughes by agreeing to a one-year, $3.2 million contract with the right-hander, the Major League Baseball (MLB) team said on Monday. The deal for the former All-Star, who was limited to 17 games in 2011 because of injury, includes performance bonuses. After going 18-8 in 2010, the 25-year-old pitcher went 5-5 last season and missed time with shoulder and back problems. Hughes has a 36-23 record during a five-year career spent...Read Full Story

MELBOURNE ( Reuters ) - Under-fire Australian golfer Robert Allenby is to take a break from the game in the wake of a controversy-charged return to his home country, citing mental fatigue and the need to spend more time with his children. Allenby, who has had a frosty relationship with Australian media for years, endured a poor Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne last month as one of Greg Norman 's two captain's picks, becoming only the second player in the tournament's nine editions to lose...Read Full Story

The 39-year-old Czech, in his first season back in the NHL after spending three years playing in Russia, put in a reduced shift in the second period of Monday's Winter Classic. His loss, announced by Flyers general manger Paul Holmgren, is a blow to a Philadelphia team that is just four points out of first-place overall in the NHL. Jagr left Monday's game during the final minutes of the first period before returning briefly in the second period. He logged seven minutes of ice time, about 10...Read Full Story

SALVO, North Carolina ( Reuters ) - Triple Olympic champion Usain Bolt was quick to remind those who think young Jamaican training partner Yohan Blake will be the favorite for next year's London Games 100 metres that he was still the man to beat. "A lot of people have said guys are going to beat me but I am still number one. I am still the Olympic champion," the world's fastest man told Reuters in a telephone interview from Kingston Saturday. "It doesn't really matter what people say. I go...Read Full Story

Bailey, a two-time All-Star, converted 24 of 26 save opportunities for Oakland last season to rank as the second-most successful closer in the American League (AL). The 27-year-old, the AL Rookie of the Year in 2009, posted a 3.24 ERA in 42 relief appearances with the A's in 2011, compiling 41 strikeouts. "I love the Bay Area, but if you're going to get traded, I can't think of a better situation for myself and my family to be in," Bailey, who lives in Connecticut in the offseason, told...Read Full Story

( Reuters ) - The Los Angeles Kings named Darryl Sutter as their new head coach in hopes he can help the struggling team get their National Hockey League (NHL) season back on track, the club said on Tuesday. Sutter, who will make his debut Thursday when the Kings host the Anaheim Ducks , last coached in the NHL with the Calgary Flames but stepped down from that role in 2006 to focus on being the team's general manager, a position he vacated a year ago. The 53-year-old Sutter, who has also...Read Full Story