Welcome to Tuesday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.
TUESDAY’S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
NHL: Bruins at Islanders, 7:30 p.m. (NBCSN, NHL Network)
College basketball: Indiana at Minnesota, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
College basketball: Memphis at Xavier, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
College basketball: Auburn at Alabama, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
College basketball: Towson at George Mason, 7 p.m. (CSNNE)
College basketball: Florida at Tennessee, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
College basketball: Nebraska at Wisconsin, 9 p.m. (Big Ten Network)
College basketball: Wake Forest at Florida State, 9 p.m. (ESPNU)
MLB preseason: Yankees at Phillies, 1 p.m. (MLB Network)
MLB preseason: Diamondbacks at Angels, 4 p.m. (MLB Network)
AROUND THE WEB:
Johnny Damon
♦ With Curtis Granderson out for an estimated 10 weeks after breaking his arm, the Yankees are looking for outfield help. Former Yankee (and Red Sox) Johnny Damon is eager to return, but he isn’t expecting he’ll get a call.
“I don’t think it will [happen],” Damon told the New York Post. “They’ve had plenty of opportunities since 2009 and it hasn’t happened. But if they call, I’m ready to go.”
Damon was released by the Indians after hitting .222 in 64 games last season. He lobbied for a chance to prove his worth to the Yankees, for whom he hit 24 home runs during their 2009 World Series championship season — although even then he was moved to a DH role as his outfield skills deteriorated.
“I would play for the minimum [$490,000 one-year deal] for six weeks,” Damon said. “If Granderson returns, I would leave. If there’s no room for me, I am gone.”
♦ The Jets added to speculation that they want to part ways with cornerback Darrelle Revis when they avoided contact with Revis’ camp at the scouting combine in Indianapolis, according to a New York Daily News report.
Jets general manager John Idzik, coach Rex Ryan and owner Woody Johnson reportedly had no contact with Revis’ representatives, who were staying at a hotel a few blocks from the Jets brass before departing Monday. Meanwhile, the Jets executives met with representatives of a number of other Jets players.
Revis suffered a season-ending knee injury after playing just two games last season. He is scheduled to earn $6 million in 2013 and is looking for a long-term deal, ideally to remain in New York.
♦ Dennis Rodman and three members of the Harlem Globetrotters are part of a group heading to North Korea as part of an HBO show. Rodman, the controversial former NBA star, is visiting the country that is in a state of war with the United States two weeks after North Korea conducted an underground nuclear test in defiance of a United Nations ban.
“Is sending the Harlem Globetrotters and Dennis Rodman to [North Korea] strange? In a word, yes,” said Shane Smith, VICE media company founder who is host of the upcoming series. “But finding common ground on the basketball court is a beautiful thing.
“These channels of cultural communication might appear untraditional, and perhaps they are, but we think it’s important just to keep the lines open,” he said. “And if Washington isn’t going to send their generals, then we’ll send our Globetrotters.”
ON THIS DAY TRIVIA (answer below): On Feb. 26, 1994, Patriots fans bought 5,968 season tickets, a team single-day record, following the previous day’s announcement that Robert Kraft had purchased the team from which man?
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It was huge. Whatever that was, it was the best win of the year for me. To go into overtime and still have enough to win.” – Celtics coach Doc Rivers, after Monday’s 110-107 victory over the Jazz in Utah
STAT OF THE DAY: 4.82 — Manti Te’o‘s surprisingly slow time in the 40-yard dash at the scouting combine Monday
‘NET RESULTS (mobile users, check the website to see the videos): The Raptors are the latest team to come out with a “Harlem Shake” video.
TRIVIA ANSWER: James Busch Orthwein
SOOTHING SOUNDS: Johnny Cash, who died in 2003, was born on this day in 1932.