Neues » trying to keep Defoe.

NHL and NHLPA executives are expected to announce on Friday the details of the rekindled World Cup of Hockey, a tournament that will feature eight teams, including two unconventional ones. Wholesale MLB Jerseys . Besides Canada, the U.S., Russia, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Finland, the league and union will announce a European All-Star team will participate. That team will be stocked with players who come from countries other than those participating as nations. Also, the tournament will feature a team with North American players under the age of 23. An executive with an NHL sponsor confirmed the details to TSN. The tournament will also feature a best-of-three final, which will help to drive up the broadcast and sponsor rights for the tournament both in North America and Europe. The National Hockey League and its players association have told team executives they hope to generate between $75 million and $100 million from the rekindled World Cup of Hockey. A person familiar with the matter told TSN that the tournament, which is scheduled to be held in September 2016, will raise about half its revenue from the sale of broadcast and internet streaming rights. The NHL and NHLPA have predicted those rights may garner close to $50 million. Its a gamble to spend so much on a tournament like the World Cup when theres no guarantee Team Canada will advance beyond the round robin portion. But if it does, there could be a big payoff in TV ratings. The final of the World Cup will be a best-of-three format, TSN has learned. Besides TV rights, the NHL and NHLPA will also sell sponsorship rights to the World Cup. They anticipate selling to eight premier corporate sponsors and negotiating deals of at least $1.5 million in each category, a source told TSN. The NHL and NHLPA will also garner revenue from ticket and merchandise sales. However, its expected that the NHL and the Players Association will have to pay Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment at least $5 million for hosting the three-week tournament. While executives with the Montreal Canadiens wanted to host some of the World Cup games at the Bell Centre, the NHL and its players union decided to host all of the games in Toronto. That way, if the tournament is a success, they could auction off the rights to host the games in 2019, perhaps, to the city that offers the best revenue guarantee - be it Montreal, New York, Stockholm, Moscow, or another city. To be sure, there are still many unanswered questions about how much profit the NHL and players union will generate from the World Cup. They need to pay for insurance for all of the players. Typically, the NHL and the Players Association buy premiums that offer better coverage than simply career-ending policies. Payouts are rare, but they do happen. The Islanders John Tavares, for instance, was covered by an insurance policy when he was injured during the Winter Olympics earlier this year in Sochi, Russia. The Islanders were compensated by an insurance company for the time he missed. Its unclear how much insurance will cost the NHL and NHLPA. Then Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson said last August that it would cost at least $1 million simply to pay for insurance for the 47 Canadian players invited to Team Canada workouts in advance of the Winter Olympics. NHL player agent Allan Walsh said some NHL players have been skeptical over whether its a good idea to steer away from the national team concept. Some players believe this should be limited to players playing for their country, Walsh told TSN. What are you playing for if its Team Young Guns or European All Stars? What are you playing for? Thats a problem. Its an issue. Walsh said featuring a young guns team particularly could lead to lopsided scores. The downside is that team gets pounded, Walsh said. I dont think it would have an impact on the players psychology or career - just an impact on the legitimacy of the team in the tournament, when people sit back and say whether this kind of team was a good or bad idea. Still, Walsh and other agents said there could be a great payoff for the league from marketing a team built around young stars like Nathan McKinnon, Connor McDavid and Jonathan Drouin. Walsh said that while some fans have called for the NHL and NHLPA to include teams from Slovakia or Slovenia, that might not be practical, since the tournament is run by the league and its players association - both of which want to use the event to build the profile of their own players, not those playing in leagues overseas. Cheap Nike MLB Jerseys . Toronto has lost six of its last eight games but is coming off Thursdays 7-3 victory at Kansas City. Juan Francisco and Colby Rasmus both went deep for the Blue Jays, who are second in the American League with 34 home runs on the season. Cheap MLB Jerseys China . Booth picked up 65 caps after making her national team debut in 2002 at the age of 17. She most recently played for Sky Blue FC of the National Womens Soccer League. "It just felt like it was my time to move on," she said in a phone interview from her hometown of Burlington, Ont. http://www.cheapmlbjerseysusa.com/ . An offseason trade acquisition from Kansas City, Greinkes National League debut was delayed by a non-baseball injury in the spring, and he was 0-1 after dropping an 8-0 decision at Atlanta in his initial appearance with the Brewers on May 4. TORONTO -- After making moves to bolster its attack and midfield, Toronto FC has turned its attention to the backline by acquiring American defender Justin Morrow from the San Jose Earthquakes in exchange for allocation money. The deal also adds experience to Torontos young roster. In four years with the Quakes, Morrow has played in 71 regular-season games and two playoff games with 65 starts. Only Toronto midfielder Jeremy Hall (114) has played more MLS games. "In Morrow, we are adding a young all-star calibre player to our back line," Toronto general manager Tim Bezbatchenko said in a release Tuesday. "Justins steady presence, versatility and MLS experience make him a great addition to the club." The move beefs up the Toronto backline with the 26-year-old Morrow able to play both fullback and centre-back. Morrow adds depth to captain Steven Caldwell and Doneil Henry in the middle of defence and will likely challenge Ashtone Morgan at left back. Mark Bloom appears to have inherited the right back position from Englands Richard Eckersley, who is likely to move on once the team buys out the $500,000-plus last year of a contract renegotiated to make the number more palatable in 2013. Fullbacks Jonas Elmer and Ryan Richter and centre back Gale Agbossoumonde are also on the Toronto roster. Torontos defence, in a state of flux for the first half of the season, yielded 47 goals in 2013. That was down from 62 in 2012 but still ranked 14th in the 19-team league. Morrow, who made US$139,562 last season with San Jose, has two career goals. Its the latest in a series of off-season movess by Toronto FC as it bids to leave a 6-17-11 season far behind it. Cheap MLB Jerseys Free Shipping. . Toronto unveiled Brazilian striker Gilberto last Friday, its newest designated player. Jermain Defoe is expected to join him in the January transfer window in a megabucks deal that will make the Spurs and England forward the face of the Toronto franchise. While club officials have not confirmed the signing of Defoe, privately they see it as a done deal. The firing of Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas is a complication given the new boss might be more amenable to trying to keep Defoe. TFC officials hope that any such wooing will be too little, too late. Toronto also recently traded away the rights to goalie Stefan Frei and midfielder Bobby Convey for draft picks, acquired Brazilian midfielder Jackson from FC Dallas and re-signed goalie Joe Bendik to a new deal. Toronto also appointed Greg Vanney as assistant GM and head of its academy. San Jose picked Morrow in the second round -- 28th overall -- of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft. Morrow also started for the U.S. in a 0-0 friendly against Canada last January and was on the bench for World Cup qualifying matches against Costa Rica and Mexico in March. Judging from his Twitter account, Morrow is a Cleveland Browns fan with a sweet tooth and a taste for travel. He played collegiate soccer at Notre Dame where he made 89 appearances in four seasons. Having played under Notre Dame coach Bobby Clark while he was in charge of Stanford, Nelsen takes the Fighting Irish connection seriously. Morrow joins forward Bright Dike as Notre Dame alumni on the Toronto team. ' ' '