Morning News Links
NBA
Several league executives felt David Stern's behaviour on "The Jim Rome Show" diminished the reputation of the league. [Yahoo! Sports]
Former Raptors SF Sonny Weems is drawing interest from 4 NBA teams. Weems spent this past season playing in Lithuania. Those interested teams are Boston, Detroit, Cleveland & the LA Clippers. [Hoopsworld]
Trail Blazers centre Mehmet Okur may leave the NBA and sign with a Turkish League team. Okur, a native of Turkey, averaged 7.7 ppg & 4.8 rpg this past season for the Nets. [KFNZ Radio]
Jerry Sloan has withdrawn his candidacy for the Bobcats head coaching job. The two remaining candidates are reportedly Pacers assistant coach Brian Shaw and Lakers assistant coach Quin Snyder. [SI.com]
Gerald Wallace is opting out of his deal with the Brooklyn Nets. Wallace had a $9.5 million player option for the 2012-13 season. He averaged 15.2 ppg and 6.8 rpg in 16 games with the Nets, who traded their 1st-round pick (6th overall) in this year's draft for his services. [ESPN]
MLB
Alex Rodriguez will likely skip the World Baseball Classic, now that Joe Torre has been named manager of Team USA. [New York Post]
The LA Dodgers and New York Yankees are the two teams most interested in acquiring Cubs starter Ryan Dempster. [Chicago Sun-Times]
The Boston Red Sox may be forced to trade 1B/3B Kevin Youkilis due to a roster crunch. Youks is hitting .219 this season with 4 HR in 128 at-bats. [ESPN]
The Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles have recently been scouting the Chicago Cubs. The Orioles are reportedly pursuing OF Alfonso Soriano. [ESPN]
R.A. Dickey said that if he is credited with a no-hitter as a result of an appeal, it "would be a little cheap." [Newsday]
NHL
The top ranked European skater in this year's NHL draft, Filip Forsberg, will likely play at least one more season overseas before joining the NHL. [NHL.com]
As many as 7 teams have spoken to the Columbus Blue Jackets about acquiring forward Rick Nash. The Rangers are considered the front-runners, while Toronto is in the mix too. [Columbus Dispatch]
The St. Louis Blues are looking to sign forward T.J. Oshie to long-term contract. Oshie is a pending restricted free agent. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
Ryan Suter's agent has denied that his client has offered Nashville a list of teams that he would agree to have his rights traded to. [Minneapolis Star-Tribune]
Pending UFA Dustin Penner could take a hometown discount to remain with the LA Kings. [NHL.com]
Two Boston Bruins who suffered concussions, are reportedly making good progress in their recoveries. Adam McQuaid has been given full medical clearance, while Nathan Horton has begun exertion exercises. [CSNNE]
NCAA FB
The nation's top recruit, DE Robert Nkemdiche of Georgia, has made a verbal commitment to the University of Clemson. [SI.com]
The NCAA has signed off on a new rule that allows college coaches to send an unlimited number of text messages to recruits in their junior season and beyond. [Hoopsworld]
NFL
The Cincinnati Bengals and Marvin Lewis have not spoken about a contract extension. Lewis' deal expires at the end of the 2012-13 season. [Cincinnati Inquirer]
