NFLPA to Vote on Monday
The National Football Association Players Association (NFLPA) executive committee will vote on the new ten-year collective bargaining agreement Monday in Washington D.C. If approved, the player reps from each of the 32 teams must vote on the agreement for final approval. If the vote goes through, the NFL lockout, which has lasted over 130 days, will be lifted.
Historically, when the NFLPA executive committee votes for an agreement, the players also approve it.
The NFLPA received a draft from the owners late Thursday, and worked throughout the weekend to come to terms on issues, finally finishing in meetings on Sunday.
Baseball Hall of Fame Inductions
The Baseball Hall of Fame inducted Gold Glove second baseman Roberto Alomar, pitcher Bert Blyleven, and general manager Pat Gillick to Cooperstown this weekend.
Alomar, a 12-time All-Star, and two-time World Series Champion with the Toronto Blue Jays, is the third native Puerto Rican to be inducted into the Hall. In a nod to his heritage, he ended his speech with, “To my fans, to other Puerto Rican people, and Canadians, and the game of baseball. You are and will always be my life and my love. Thank you.”
Alomar leads all second baseman with 10 Gold Gloves over 17 seasons.
Blyleven, who won 287 games in his 22 illustrious seasons in the big leagues, is fifth all-time on the strikeout list with 3701. He won two World Series, his first in 1979 with Pittsburg, and his second in 1987 with Minnesota. Blyleven is the only Dutchman currently in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Gillick was the general manager with the golden touch. He led Toronto to two titles in 1992 and 1993, while Alomar played for Toronto. Most recently he took the Philadelphia Phillies under his wing, resulting in a 2008 World Series title, their first since 1980.
Johan Santana Throws Bullpen Session
“When you throw bullpens, you throw them to get ready for your next outing. I’m throwing bullpens to see how it feels and how I recover from it. So far, it’s been good.” the Mets ace said in an interview aired on the Mets website.
Santana has not pitched this year; he is recovering from surgery to repair a torn capsule in his throwing shoulder.
The Mets lefty will reevaluate his arm tomorrow and barring any major setbacks, he appears to be on track for a minor league start.
Phelps, US Earn Bronze
Michael Phelps and the U.S. swim team earned a bronze medal in the 4×100 meter freestyle relay on Sunday at the world championships in Shanghai, China. The bronze was unexpected, and the first time since 2007 since the team had lost a relay.
Phelps commented after the race on the USA Swimming website, “It was tough not starting out how we want to. I said I wanted to be faster than I was last year and I was faster than I was last year. It stinks, but it going to give us a little bit of motivation for the rest of the meet.”
Australia took the gold and France, the silver.
The meet will last eight days and Phelps will swim on seven of them, all at the Oriental Sports Center.
Big Ben Ties the Knot
Ben Roethlisberger, 29, the quarterback for the Pittsburg Stealers married Ashley Harlan, 26, on Saturday afternoon in front of friends, family, and Stealers players, coaches and officials, at the Ohio Township Church, according to the Pittsburg Post-Gazette.
600 guests attended the wedding, and the bridal party included 21 people.
The Super Bowl Champion quarterback, who has found himself in legal trouble over the last several years, made security a top priority at his wedding. Guests were escorted to and from the event in high priced, dark-tinted-windowed limos. Workers were also reportedly not allowed to have cell phones.
The couple does not have plans to immediately take a honeymoon.
Follow Kristen on Twitter @Call2theBullpen
