Maine Roller Derby doubleheader set Saturday
PORTLAND — Maine Roller Derby hosts one of its most popular events of the season with the Wicked vs Good exhibition game at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Portland Expo.
This doubleheader features the skaters of Maine Roller Derby going head to head as Team Wicked and Team Good, followed by the Casco Bay Gentlemen’s Derby taking on a team from Vermont.
Wicked vs Good is an annual fan favorite tradition for Maine Roller Derby where the skaters from all three teams — The R.I.P. Tides, The Calamity Janes, and The Port Authorities — are mixed into two teams: Team Good and Team Wicked. Each team chooses a theme related to good or wicked. For more information, visit mainerollerderby.com.
ESPN, TNT make billion-dollar deal with NBA
Walt Disney Co and Time Warner Inc will more than double their annual payments to the National Basketball Association under a nine-year deal that underscores the importance of sports to an increasingly fragmented TV industry.
The NBA said on Monday it renewed broadcasting agreements with both Disney’s ESPN and Time Warner’s Turner Broadcasting System, beginning with the 2016-17 season. It did not disclose financial details.
But people familiar with the deal said it will more than double annual payments to the league by the two networks to over $2.5 billion from $960 million in the past agreement. Over nine years, the deal could be worth more than $22.5 billion.
ESPN paid a bigger share than Turner because its deal includes international and radio rights, as well as WNBA games, according to people familiar with the matter.
Blue Jackets sign Johansen for $12M
The Columbus Blue Jackets and restricted free agent center Ryan Johansen agreed to terms on a three-year, $12 million contract Monday.
The signing ends a holdout that dragged more than two weeks into training camp.
The Blue Jackets announced Johansen would make $3 million in 2014-15 and 2015-16, and $6 million in 2016-17. The contract has an average annual value of $4 million.
Johansen, 22, had a breakout season in 2013-14 with team highs of 33 goals and 63 points while centering the top line.
Dolphins’ Shelby arrested, suspended
Arrested and tasered three times by Fort Lauderdale Police on Sunday, defensive end Derrick Shelby has been suspended by the Miami Dolphins.
Shelby was asked to leave Cyn Nightclub for “touching females without permission” and charged with trespassing and resisting arrest on Sunday.
The FLPD first took Shelby to Broward General Hospital before booking. Police arrested Shelby because he became aggressive when he ignored “multiple verbal commands” as officers asked him to leave the club. Police used a taser on Shelby three times to get him “under control” and his booking mug shot show his lip bloodied and face bruised.
Shelby’s lawyer claims police used excessive force, causing the visible damage to his face.
49ers’ CEO: ‘Jim’s our coach’
San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York denied in a television interview that Jim Harbaugh will be out as the 49ers head coach after this season.
“It’s categorically not true,” York said on The Rich Eisen Show. “I mean, Jim’s our coach. I said it clearly yesterday.”
York says the relationship between Harbaugh and general manager Trent Baalke is “very professional” and the results speak for themselves. And York doesn’t believe Harbaugh wants to leave.”