Blue Jackets’ Boll receives four-game suspension
Columbus Blue Jackets forward Jared Boll drew a four-game suspension from the NHL on Thursday for his actions on Tuesday night in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Boll was called for interference after his late hit on Flyers forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and received a game misconduct penalty at 3:26 of the second period in the Blue Jackets’ 3-2 shootout win in Nationwide Arena.
“I didn’t intend to hurt (Bellemare),” Boll said, according to The Columbus Dispatch. “I was making a play, finishing a check. With how fast the game is happening, it’s pretty hard to pull out of that hit. It might have been a little late; I understand the interference call.”
As a repeat offender under the league’s collective bargaining agreement, Boll will be fined $82,926.84. It is the third suspension of his career.
Ex-No. 1 picks seeks spot with Rangers
Matt Bush was long ago designated as the biggest draft bust in the history of the San Diego Padres.
The No. 1 overall pick in 2004 later bottomed out on a personal level as an incident while driving under the influence led to a 3 1/2-year stint in a Florida prison.
Now age 30, Bush is in the mix to make the Texas Rangers as a reliever.
Bush’s comeback attempt picked up steam on Wednesday when he pitched two hitless innings against the Chicago Cubs during a spring-training contest.
Bush had an opportunity to make the Tampa Bay Rays roster in 2012 when his longstanding issues with alcohol emerged.
He borrowed the truck of teammate Brandon Guyer and went on a drinking binge. He collided with a motorcyclist and nearly killed him and then left the scene.
He later pled no contest to DUI with serious bodily injury to a motorcyclist.
The incident and the ensuing prison sentence appeared to end Bush’s professional baseball career. But when he was released from prison last Oct. 30, he could still throw 97 mph.
The Rangers investigated the situation and signed him in early December. Bush says he has been sober since the accident in 2012.
MLB to open Mexico City office in 2016
Major League Baseball is opening a Mexico City office in 2016 and has renewed a deal with a long-time Mexican broadcast partner, the league said on Thursday as part of a bid to grow its fan base.
Mexico City will be the sixth MLB office outside the United States — joining Beijing, London, Santo Domingo, Sydney and Tokyo — and will direct league efforts to embrace local fans and partners of baseball.
“Commissioner (Rob) Manfred’s vision for globalizing baseball cannot become a reality without localizing MLB in Mexico,” Chris Park, MLB’s senior vice president of growth, strategy and international, said in a statement.
MLB also said it renewed a broadcast deal with Televisa through 2018 that includes a new national “Game of the Week” that will air each Saturday during the season.
Bruins’ Carlo reassigned to Providence
Defenseman Brandon Carlo was reassigned to the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League.
Carlo, 19, was a second-round pick who skated in 52 games with the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 2015-16, recording five goals and 22 assists for 27 points with 94 penalty minutes.
Last season, he played in 63 games with the Americans, compiling four goals and 21 assists for 25 points with 90 penalty minutes, and was selected to play in the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.