Here’s my thoughts on some stories in the news.

The NHL recently rejected the contract signed by Ilya Kovalchuk with the New Jersey Devils as they rule it was designed to circumvent the salary cap. No shit. That was the whole point. The Devils signed a deal that was within the bounds of the collective bargaining agreement and it has been overturned. I really hope they fight it, as it should be a pretty black and white issue. The loophole has been exposed and the NHL can’t do anything about it now. They can certainly try to address it in the next CBA, but until they have to live with missing this way around the rules. It may not be in the spirit of the rules, but if it’s within the rules, the NHL should back off. Several other deals have been signed in a similar fashion and not been overturned. Just because the Devils went the furthest in pushing the boundaries they shouldn’t be penalized for taking advantage. The good news for them, however, is that people are talking about the NHL again.

Andy Pettitte is hurt for the Yankees, and now, God forbid, they only have 4 good starters in their rotation. Trade rumors are flying, but the Yankees shouldn’t (and likely won’t) do anything they wouldn’t have done before Pettitte got hurt. They likely won’t have Pettitte for 5-6 starts. They are already in 1st place. Last year they got 24 starts from a terrible Chien-Ming Wang, Sergio Mitre and Chad Gaudin. They also got 7 pretty poor starts from Phil Hughes and had an inconsistent and innings limited Joba in the rotation all year. Many of those bad early season starts (especially Wang and Hughes) were when the Yankees weren’t in 1st place. Last years team, despite these weaknesses in the rotation was pretty damn good. There is absolutely zero need to make a trade with Pettitte out.

Pedro Martinez announced today that he will not pitch at all this year. Hopefully he doesn’t pitch again. Not that it’s my place to tell him when to stop, but the more he goes out there with mediocre (or worse) stuff and struggles even in the NL, the less people will remember how great he was. His peak was beyond ridiculous (his Baseball-Reference page looks like video game stats), and I hate to see him trying to get by with a 85 MPH fastballs. As Neil Young sang “It’s better to burn out, than to fade away” and I’d much rather Pedro just get his jumpstart on Cooperstown now. If he decides to come back in 2011 good for him, and I won’t question him for it, I’d just rather him stay away.

USC is returning Reggie Bush’s Heisman trophy. I have major issues with this. Number one, any money or cars or jewelry Bush took while at USC did not make him a better football player. He, on the field, earned that Heisman trophy. Number two, is USC also going to return the millions and millions of dollars that Reggie Bush (and his teammates) earned for the university? Something tells me no. They look the other way for years, but now that Bush is long gone, he’s a bad guy? Screw that. Either go all in with separating yourself from the Bush years or have his back. It’s two-faced the way they are doing it now. What’s next, are they going to bash LenDale White for his recent drug suspension, as if he wasn’t likely using at USC? How about Brian Cushing, who had steroid whispers going back to high school before recently being suspended for a positive test? Are the Trojans going to volunteer to wipe out any of what Cushing did? Cushing’s steroid use improved his performance and affected the playing field. Bush taking some (well earned) money did not. USC can’t have it both ways.