Associated Press
TORONTO ó Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille are waiting by the phone.
The three former NHL stars won a Stanley Cup together with the Detroit Red Wings in 2002. On Tuesday, they could be part of the same Hockey Hall of Fame class.
They’re among an impressive list of first-time eligible players that also includes Brian Leetch, Alexander Mogilny and Dave Andreychuk.
The Hall’s 18-member selection committee will announce its newest members on Tuesday and can choose only four players. The voters can also elect members into the builders and referee/linesmen categories.
Yzerman, the longtime Detroit Red Wings captain, retired in the summer of 2006 with the sixth-highest point total in NHL history. His 1,755 trail Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Gordie Howe, Ron Francis and Marcel Dionne; those five are in the Hall.
Yzerman also is a three-time Stanley Cup winner and won a gold medal with Canada in the 2002 Olympics.
Hull’s 741 goals rank third all-time.
– NEWARK, N.J. ó Lou Lamoriello says he won’t accelerate his search for a New Jersey Devils head coach just to have one hired before this weekend’s NHL draft.
Brent Sutter resigned as the Devils’ coach two weeks ago.
– STOCKHOLM ó Vancouver Canucks center Mats Sundin says he will not play for defending champion Sweden at the Vancouver Olympics in February.
NBA
LOS ANGELES ó The Clippers remain intent on keeping the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, and they’re expected to make Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin the top selection.
Assistant general manager Neil Olshey said that the pick is not going anywhere.
The Clippers finished 19-63 last season.
During the NBA finals, the Clippers showcased Griffin during an open workout for media, season ticket holders and sponsors. The 6-foot-10 center averaged 22.7 points and 14.4 rebounds as a sophomore for the Sooners.
– GREENBURGH, N.Y. ó Mike D’Antoni’s system is in place. The New York Knicks still need help running it.
Donnie Walsh thinks his team can find it in this draft.
There will be plenty of point guards available Thursday night, and the Knicks could take one of them when their turn comes up at No. 8.
Ricky Rubio will likely be gone by then, but Stephen Curry, Jrue Holiday, Jonny Flynn, Ty Lawson and Brandon Jennings are among the players who could still be available.
And if Walsh goes for a playmaker, he knows the kind he’s looking for.
“I think a guy that can play a fast tempo and I’d like a guy that can defend, too,” the Knicks president said Monday. “Somebody who can play a fast tempo, because that’s what we want to play.”
Walsh praised the athleticism of Syracuse’s Flynn and the shooting of Davidson star Curry, so he knows he’ll find something he likes when it’s his turn.
He just doesn’t know who it will be.
JAYSON WILLIAMS
SOMERVILLE, N.J. ó Retired NBA star Jayson Williams will remain free on bail after a judge on Monday rejected a prosecutor’s request to revoke the bail and send him to prison for covering up the shooting of a hired driver more than seven years ago.
Prosecutors asked the judge to reconsider the sentencing delay due to Williams’ recent run-ins with the law, saying he has become “unpredictable.”
NFL
MIAMI ó The Dolphins are merging with Miami Sound Machine and Margaritaville.
Singer Gloria Estefan and her husband, producer Emilio Estefan, are buying a “very small” ownership stake in the NFL team.
Seven-time Grammy winner Gloria Estefan has had hits with Miami Sound Machine and as a solo artist. Ross began a partnership in May with Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville enterprise, which includes Land Shark Lager.
– ST. LOUIS ó Veteran defensive tackle La’Roi Glover is retiring after 13 NFL seasons.Glover, who turns 35 on July 4, spent the past three seasons with the St. Louis Rams.
– GREEN BAY, Wis. ó Green Bay Packers safety Nick Collins showed up for the team’s mandatory minicamp, though he clearly doesn’t consider his contract situation resolved.
ESPN SOCCER
LONDON ó ESPN will broadcast live Premier League matches for the first time in Britain after gaining rights from financially troubled Setanta Sports.
The Premier League on Monday announced that ESPN, owned by The Walt Disney Co., will televise 46 matches next season and 23 in each of the three seasons from 2010-11 in its first major contract to broadcast live sports in Britain.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
CINCINNATI ó Cincinnati has given football coach Brian Kelly a contract extension, adding a year at nearly $1.5 million.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
OKLAHOMA CITY ó Tulsa basketball coach Doug Wojcik has agreed to a new six-year contract to remain with the Golden Hurricane.
The new deal adds a two-year extension to the former UNC assistant’s previous contract, which now runs through the 2014-15 season.