Sharks make Grier first Black GM in NHL
The San Jose Sharks’ three-month search for a general manager ended with a barrier-breaking hire as the team made longtime NHL forward Mike Grier the first Black GM in league history.
“It means a lot to me,” Grier said at his introductory news conference Tuesday. “It’s not something I take lightly. I realize there’s a responsibility that comes with the territory. But I’m up for it. How I carry myself and how this organization carries himself, I think we’ll do well and hopefully we’ll leave a footprint and open some doors for people to follow.”
Grier fills the spot that opened when Doug Wilson stepped away for health reasons on April 7.
Team president Jonathan Becher said Grier emerged from a pool of dozens of candidates because of his experience as a player, scout, coach and executive over the last few decades and his commitment to building a winning culture in San Jose.
But he acknowledged the history-making nature of the hire as well.
“I hope you do serve as an inspiration to lots of people and that I hope you’re the first and certainly not the last,” Becher told Grier.
Grier spent three of his 14 seasons in the NHL with the Sharks from 200609. He retired in 2011 after playing 1,060 career games, and has spent time as a scout in Chicago, an assistant coach in New Jersey and most recently the hockey operations advisor for the New York Rangers, where he was given many of the responsibilities of an assistant general manager.
The hire comes less than a week after Will announced that head coach Bob Boughner and three of his assistants wouldn’t return next season. Assistant GM Joe Will said he made the move two months after the season ended to give the new general manager a clean slate.
Grier will have to get to work quickly, dealing with the draft Thursday and Friday, the start of free agency next week and the need to hire a coaching staff and build up the front office.
Grier said the draft and free agency are the immediate priorities as well as trying to create more salary cap flexibility if possible before he turns to the coaching search.
“I just think that’s a challenge to try to get everything in order as quickly as possible, but still doing it the right way and being thorough,” he said. “It’s all a challenge but everything I’m looking forward to.”
The Coachella Valley Firebirds have hired the American Hockey League’s first female assistant coach.
Jessica Campbell is ready for the opportunity.
Campbell, whose hiring was announced Tuesday, has spent the past year working with the Tri-City Storm of the USHL development program and she was an assistant coach with Germany at the IIHF men’s world championships.
Coachella Valley is set to begin its first season this fall as the AHL affiliate for the Seattle Kraken.
Colorado’s first big move in what’s sure to be a busy offseason was resigning veteran forward Andrew Cogliano to a oneyear deal Tuesday.
Warren signs 1-year deal with Nets
Free agent guard TJ Warren agreed to a oneyear deal with the Brooklyn Nets.
The Nets were one of three teams to offer the 28-year-old a contract, ESPN reported on Tuesday. Warren missed all of last season.
Warren gets a fresh start after injuries took a toll on his role with the Indiana Pacers, with whom he played just four regularseason games in 2020-21.
Seahawks, Blazers owner not selling
The NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers are not currently for sale, the chairwoman of both franchises said Tuesday.
Jody Allen’s statement came amid growing speculation about the future ownership of the teams due to stipulations in Paul Allen’s will that called for both teams to eventually be sold and the proceeds given to philanthropic endeavors. Most of the speculation has centered on the future of the Trail Blazers.
“As chair of both the Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle Seahawks, my long-term focus is building championship teams that our communities are proud of,” Jody Allen said in her statement. “Like my brother Paul, I trust and expect our leaders and coaches to build winning teams that deliver results on and off the court and field. As we’ve stated before, neither of the teams is for sale and there are no sales discussions happening.”
Former Pro Bowler Thomas had CTE
Former NFL Pro Bowl wide receiver Demaryius Thomas is the latest in a growing list of football players diagnosed with CTE.
His family said Tuesday that researchers found that Thomas, who died in December at age 33, suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy. The fourtime Pro Bowl wide receiver was dealing with depression, anxiety and other CTE symptoms at the time of his death.
CTE, a degenerative brain disease which can only be diagnosed posthumously, has been found in more than 100 former NFL players as well as semi-pro and high school soccer players. Hall of Fame linebacker Junior Seau had CTE when he died in 2012 of a gunshot wound to the chest.
Hall of Famers Ken Stabler, Frank Gifford and Mike Webster also were diagnosed with CTE.
Boston University CTE Center researchers discovered that Thomas was at stage 2 following a brain study through the Concussion Legacy Foundation. Thomas’ family released the findings of the study.
Stage 2 CTE is associated with “progressive behavior, cognitive and mood abnormalities.” Family members say Thomas developed depression, anxiety, panic attacks, and trouble with his memory in the years before his death. Stage 4 is the most severe stage of CTE and is usually associated with dementia.
• The Dallas Cowboys sparked criticism on social media Tuesday after announcing a marketing agreement with a gun-themed coffee company with blends that include “AK-47 Espresso,” “Silencer Smooth” and “Murdered Out.”
The partnership with the Black Rifle Coffee Co. was revealed on Twitter the day after six people died in a shooting at a Fourth of July parade in suburban Chicago.
It also comes a little more than a month since the Cowboys announced their role in a $400,000 donation to support victims and survivors of the school shooting in Uvalde in South Texas, where 19 students and two teachers died.
The tweet announcing the agreement between “America’s Team” and “America’s Coffee” drew about 200 comments in the first few hours, most of them critical and suggesting the timing of the announcement was poor.
Half-marathon canceled in China
The world half-marathon championships have been canceled because China wasn’t able to host the races due to the coronavirus pandemic, World Athletics said on Tuesday.
The president of the governing body, Sebastian Coe, said it was “no fault” of local organizers in China that the event can’t be held in Yangzhou in November. The city will, instead, be given the rebranded world road running championships in 2027.
“The (World Athletics) council’s decision to award another event to Yangzhou in 2027 indicates its faith in the organizing committee and willingness to return and stage a World Athletics Series road running event there at the first available opportunity,” Coe said.
This year’s event was due to be the last before the championships are renamed the world road running championships with the addition of 5-kilometer races and mass-participation events alongside the elite competitions.