NHL suspends Penguins D Letang for 2 games
NEW YORK — Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang has been suspended for two games by the NHL for boarding Winnipeg Jets forward Alex Burmistrov.
Letang’s ban was handed out Tuesday, just hours before the Penguins beat the Minnesota Wild. The defenseman also will miss Thursday’s home game against Montreal and be eligible to play on Saturday when the Penguins face New Jersey.
Letang hit Burmistrov from behind and drove him into the boards at 13:08 of the third period during Pittsburgh’s 2-1 loss at Winnipeg on Monday night. Letang, who was given a minor penalty for boarding, will lose $37,837.84 in salary for the suspension.
The Penguins recalled defenseman Brian Strait from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to take Letang’s spot in the lineup. Strait left Tuesday’s game in the second period with an undisclosed upper body injury and didn’t return.
Letang’s absence comes at a tough time for Pittsburgh, which is already playing without Sidney Crosby (concussion), Evgeni Malkin (knee), Brooks Orpik (lower body), Tyler Kennedy (concussion), and Dustin Jeffrey (knee surgery).
Local track club receives USATF grant
The Hawks Track and Field Club of Hermon has received a $1,000 grant from the USA Track & Field Foundation.
The USATF grant will be used for league dues, uniforms and equipment, according to David Petersen, the primary organizer of the the club for middle-school age youngsters from Hermon, Carmel and Levant.
The USA Track & Field Foundation provides a means to attract and guide funds to new and innovative track and field programs nationwide, with an emphasis on providing opportunities for youth athletes, emerging elite athletes, distance training centers and anti-doping education.
Lee Academy postgrads win three games
MIRAMICHI, New Brunswick — Lee Academy’s postgrad men’s basketball team opened its season with three victories in a weekend tourney. Lee defeated St. Thomas College 75-68 on Friday, beat Holland College 100-65 on Saturday and stopped Crandall University 89-59 on Sunday. Lee players gaining MVP honors in each game were Rodell Wigginton on Friday, Drew Crudup and Arturas Makovskis on Saturday and Travion Leonard on Sunday.
Lee returns to action on Friday, Nov. 4 when it hosts Notre Dame Prep of Fitchburg, Mass.
Cincinnati financier Carl Lindner Jr. dies
CINCINNATI — Cincinnati financier Carl Lindner Jr., who used his experience running the family dairy store to build a business empire whose reach included baseball, banks and bananas, has died. He was 92.
He was surrounded by his wife, sons and other family members when he died Monday of causes related to age, his Cincinnati-based company, American Financial Group Inc., said in a statement Tuesday. A person close to the family told The Associated Press that Lindner had been taken to a hospital gravely ill Monday morning.
Lindner became controlling partner and chief executive officer of the Cincinnati Reds in a 1999 deal that ended Marge Schott’s rocky 15-year reign as owner. In contrast to her grandstanding, Lindner stayed mostly in the background — save for a lasting memory in 2000 when he picked up Ken Griffey Jr. at the airport in his Rolls-Royce following the blockbuster trade.
Lindner was chairman of American Financial Group, a publicly traded financial holding company that had more than $17 billion in assets. In 2009, Forbes magazine estimated Lindner’s personal wealth at $1.75 billion, placing him among the 400 richest Americans.
Lindner, who sold his controlling interest in the Reds in 2005, ruled over a complex maze of corporations with nearly 70,000 employees worldwide.
American Financial Group owned, or held substantial investments in, Charter Co., marketer of fuel to electric utilities; Chiquita Brands International Inc., one of the world’s largest food producers, and Great American Insurance Co.
Lindner’s financial support for the University of Cincinnati, which named its business school after him, and various charities earned him a reputation as a philanthropist.
University of Cincinnati President Gregory Williams said in a statement that he saw Lindner last week and “he was as gracious and kind as ever.”
“What more people should know about Mr. Lindner is his inspiring life, and of his efforts to guide generations to succeed the right way,” Williams said.
In the business world, some critics considered him a ruthless takeover artist. He made millions in the 1970s and 1980s by investing, then retreating, from companies. He bought The Cincinnati Enquirer newspaper in 1971, selling it to Combined Communications Corp. in 1975.
Cowboys-Patriots game earns strong TV rating
NEW YORK — The New England Patriots’ comeback win over the Dallas Cowboys drew the highest television rating for a regular-season NFL game on Fox since Brett Favre’s return to Green Bay.
Fox’s national broadcast Sunday, mainly the Patriots’ 20-16 victory, earned a 17.1 rating and 31 share. It was Fox’s third highest-rated regular-season game in the last 10 years and the best since a 17.4 for the Vikings-Packers matchup in 2009.
Ratings represent the percentage of all homes with televisions tuned into a program. Shares represent the percentage of all homes with TVs in use at the time.
Hester says he was assaulted at Illinois casino
DES PLAINES, Ill. — A suburban Chicago man has been charged with assaulting Chicago Bears wide receiver Devin Hester at a casino.
Police say Hester was in a cashier line Friday night at the Rivers Casino in Des Plaines when Daniel Rago slapped the player in the back of the head with his hand and then walked away. The 52-year-old Rago of Mount Prospect faces one misdemeanor count of battery after the incident, which was captured on surveillance camera.
Police Chief Jim Prandini says Hester didn’t retaliate, calling him a “perfect gentleman” when he reported to the casino what happened. He says Rago had been drinking and later explained he was just trying to slap Hester’s hat off.
Two days later, Hester caught a touchdown pass and added a career-long, 98-yard kickoff return for a score that helped Chicago beat Minnesota Vikings 39-10.
Raiders acquire Carson Palmer from Bengals
ALAMEDA, Calif. — The Oakland Raiders have acquired quarterback Carson Palmer from Cincinnati in a bold move to replace injured starter Jason Campbell.
The teams made the deal Tuesday, one day after Campbell had surgery on his broken collarbone that will sideline him at least six weeks.
The Bengals had been adamant that they wouldn’t trade Palmer, who hasn’t played since the end of last season. The franchise quarterback decided he wouldn’t play another season with Cincinnati, even though his contract runs through the 2014 season.
But owner Mike Brown reversed course when the Raiders were willing to send a 2012 first-round pick and a conditional pick in the 2013 draft to the Bengals.
4 Bayern fans briefly hospitalized after stabbings
NAPLES, Italy — Italian media is reporting that four Bayern Munich fans were briefly hospitalized with stab wounds before Tuesday’s Champions League match against Napoli.
The ANSA news agency reports that two men were admitted to hospital after being stabbed near the San Paolo Stadium Tuesday afternoon. One had suffered a knife injury to his knee.
Earlier, ANSA reported that two men aged 42 and 47, respectively, were hospitalized after telling police they were walking in town late Monday when people aboard two scooters stabbed them in their backs with a knife.
Naples Mayor Luigi de Magistris condemned the stabbings saying “episodes like this offend the festive spirit and positive expectations around the city.”
Marion Jones representing US on diplomatic visits
Former Olympian Marion Jones has been chosen by the State Department to represent the United States on a series of diplomatic visits to Serbia and Croatia this week.
Jones won five medals at the 2000 Olympics but had them taken away and served prison time for lying to federal investigators about taking performance-enhancing drugs. She later played for a season and a half in the WNBA.
Ryan Rowlands, a public affairs officer for the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade, says Jones was chosen to visit the region hit by war and an earthquake in recent years because she’s an example that “you can have things go wrong and you can move beyond them.”