Canadiens place D-man Streit on waivers
Veteran defenceman Mark Streit is suddenly the odd-man out in the Montreal Canadiens’ ongoing blue line shuffle. The Canadiens placed the 39-year-old on waivers Thursday three months after signing him to a one-year, US$700,000 contract. Streit won a Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh last season. The Canadiens signed Streit to restock their depleted group of defenceman. Andrei Markov left to play in his native Russia, Alexei Emelin was claimed in the NHL expansion draft and Nathan Beaulieu was traded to Buffalo. Streit had no points in Montreal’s first two games, before being benched the next two in favour of Brandon Davidson. The Canadiens’ reformed defensive group also includes free agent addition Karl Alzner and rookie Victor Mete.
FOOTBALL Giants suspend cornerback
Suspended cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie met with New York Giants coach Ben McAdoo on Thursday and told that his suspension is indefinite. Neither Rodgers-Cromartie nor McAdoo was immediately available for comment. Players can be suspended a maximum of four weeks under the collective bargaining agreement. The Giants suspended Rodger-Cromartie on Wednesday for leaving the team facility before practice. He had been told by McAdoo on Tuesday night that he would be inactive for Sunday night’s game in Denver because he left the bench in the second half of a loss to the Chargers and went to the locker-room. He later returned. The 31-year-old told ESPN that he left the building because he was upset.
SOCCER Bradley shifts focus to MLS
Michael Bradley says the disappointment of the U.S. failure to qualify for the World Cup won’t go away any time soon. But the Toronto FC and U.S. captain says he won’t let one ounce of anger or frustration from the World Cup setback carry over into his MLS team’s playoff push. Bradley listed off a litany of the emotions he had been feeling since Tuesday’s loss against Trinidad & Tobago. He says the U.S. team let itself down, plain and simple.
BASEBALL Jays revamp media staff
The Toronto Blue Jays have announced a restructuring of their baseball media department, a plan that has cost three longtime members of the team’s media relations staff their jobs. Mal Romanin, Erik Grosman and Sue Mallabon were relieved of their duties this week. The team’s baseball media and fan engagement divisions will be combined in one communications department, a team spokesman confirmed Thursday. The fan engagement division, established last year, is responsible for social media, public relations and communications initiatives. Sebastian Gatica will oversee the new team.