Blackhawks recall ex-UMaine goalie Darling
With star goaltender Corey Crawford out Tuesday and Antti Raanta ready to make his 2014 debut with the Chicago, the Blackhawks have recalled former University of Maine goaltender Scott Darling from the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League.
Crawford is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, coach Joel Quenneville said.
Darling, who played two seasons at Maine (2009-11), will be the No. 2 goalie Tuesday night against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Darling, 25, has appeared in two games with Rockford, posting a 2-0-0 record with a 1.44 goals-against average and .948 save percentage.
He played two games in the preseason with Chicago, stopping all 27 shots on goal with two wins in 91 minutes of action.
NFL suspends Bucs’ Bowers
The NFL suspended defensive end Da’Quan Bowers of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers without pay for two games after violating the league policy on performance enhancing substances.
The suspension begins immediately, forcing Bowers to miss the Buccaneers’ next two games. He’ll be eligible to return after a Nov. 2 game against the Cleveland Browns.
After missing the regular-season opener this year, Bowers started two games but was a reserve in the Buccaneers’ last three games.
Rice appeal scheduled for Nov. 5-6
Ray Rice will appeal his indefinite suspension from the NFL more than two months after commissioner Roger Goodell handed down the punishment, with a hearing set for Nov. 5-6 before former U.S. District Judge Barbara S. Jones.
As reported Monday by The Sports Xchange, Jones will determine this week whether Goodell must testify during the appeal process he ordered.
The NFLPA has pushed for Goodell and any staff present in the first meeting with Rice following the former Ravens running back’s domestic violence incident to give their testimony to Jones. Rice’s representatives claim he told Goodell exactly what happened at a casino in February when he punched his then-fiancee and rendered her unconscious.
Goodell said in a TV interview that Rice’s first version of the events was ambiguous.
Minus Starr, Favre scraps Packers reunion
Brett Favre’s reunion with the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field next month is on hold, the former quarterback told ESPN.
Favre was scheduled to be part of a pregame ceremony on the field with Bart Starr on Nov. 9 before the Packers-Chicago Bears “Monday Night Football” game. Starr recently had a second stroke and a heart attack, and is unlikely to be fit for the appearance. Favre told ESPN he doesn’t want to participate until Starr can also be there.
“It was my idea to do it,” Favre said. “And now that Bart can’t, I just don’t think I will.”
That could mean Favre will not appear at a game any time soon, though he is scheduled to be honored in Green Bay next summer.
McCoy starts next game for Redskins unless Griffin is ready
On a day when they lost three-time Pro Bowl outside linebacker Brian Orakpo for the season with a torn pectoral muscle, it was still all about the quarterbacks for the Washington Redskins.
Coach Jay Gruden plans to start third-stringer Colt McCoy next Monday at NFC East leader Dallas unless usual starter Robert Griffin III can prove that the left ankle he dislocated on Sept. 14 is fully recovered. Griffin is expected to return to practice this week after resuming individual drills last week, not quite six weeks after he was injured yet again.
McCoy, who completed 11 of 12 passes for 128 yards and a touchdown against the Titans, will start his first game in nearly three years in his home state on national television against the 6-1 Cowboys.