CHICAGO -- It's been one thing after another for the Chicago Blackhawks this offseason after a trip to the Western Conference finals. They signed one star forward in Marian Hossa, only to lose another one in Martin Havlat. They stunned everyone by demoting general manager Dale Tallon.
And now one of the young stars Tallon brought to Chicago, Patrick Kane - the centerpiece of the team's marketing effort for the past two seasons - is accused of teaming with his cousin to beat up a Buffalo, N.Y., cabbie over pocket change before daybreak Sunday.
Whether the incident will amount to much remains to be seen. Andrew LoTempio, an attorney for the cab driver, told WGN radio in Chicago on Monday that he thinks Sunday's incident was blown out of proportion.
"There was a dispute over the fee and it just kind of escalated from there," LoTempio told the station. "It was not really a robbery. That is probably a large distortion of what happened."
Asked if the case would end up as a felony, he said: "Absolutely not."
"I think we should be able to work things out," he added.
Kane is scheduled for a court hearing next Monday in a Buffalo courtroom. He has pleaded not guilty to felony robbery and misdemeanor counts of theft and criminal mischief. His cousin, James Kane, faces the same charges.
Next Monday is the same day a U.S. Olympic Men's Hockey orientation camp starts in suburban Chicago. USA Hockey spokesman Dave Fischer said Monday that Kane is still expected to participate in the three-day camp.
"We are aware of the incident. We don't condone or approve of what has been suggested the facts are. We are looking into it ourselves," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Monday.
Police say the cab driver was beaten because he did not have 20 cents in change to give Kane, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft and the NHL rookie of the year the following year. The 62-year-old cab driver, identified as Jan Radecki, said he was punched, grabbed by the throat and had his glasses broken.
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Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
MLB Capsules: Grimsley appears at Clemens grand jury courthouse
WASHINGTON — Former pitcher Jason Grimsley, a key figure in the federal investigation of steroids in baseball, met with prosecutors Tuesday at the courthouse where a grand jury is looking into whether Roger Clemens lied to Congress.
A former Houston-area gym owner also was at the federal courthouse, giving testimony in the probe into whether Clemens misled a congressional committee last year when the seven-time Cy Young Award winner denied under oath using steroids or human growth hormone.
Grimsley and his lawyer, Edward Novak, did not comment after spending a little more than an hour meeting with prosecutors. Grimsley’s agent, Joe Bick, said Grimsley did not give formal testimony and this was the 15-year major leaguer’s first involvement with the current investigation.
"It was just a meeting," Bick said. "He called me and told me he was going to be meeting with some people."
Shortly after lunch, ex-bodybuilder and former gym owner Kelly Blair spent some 90 minutes testifying before the grand jury. Blair said previously that he used to take steroids himself and once provided Andy Pettitte’s father with HGH for medical reasons, but he has denied supplying Clemens or any professional athletes with the substances.
Asked what he told the grand jury, Blair said: "Nothing that hadn’t already been said. I’m just glad to be finished with all this and looking forward to just getting on with my life."
Blair blames the publicity surrounding the case for ruining his gym business. He is considering filing for bankruptcy.
"I’ve made it clear from the very beginning, and I stand by what I said," Blair said. "But I do have to respect the process and let them do their job from here on out, and I’m just looking forward to going home and just trying to get back my reputation."
Grimsley pitched for seven major league teams from 1989-06, and federal agents searched his home in Scottsdale, Ariz., in June 2006. In a statement that year, IRS Special Agent Jeff Novitzky said Grimsley implicated nine players — including Jose Canseco, Lenny Dykstra and Rafael Palmeiro — in doping. Clemens was not among the players named by Grimsley.
Source
A former Houston-area gym owner also was at the federal courthouse, giving testimony in the probe into whether Clemens misled a congressional committee last year when the seven-time Cy Young Award winner denied under oath using steroids or human growth hormone.
Grimsley and his lawyer, Edward Novak, did not comment after spending a little more than an hour meeting with prosecutors. Grimsley’s agent, Joe Bick, said Grimsley did not give formal testimony and this was the 15-year major leaguer’s first involvement with the current investigation.
"It was just a meeting," Bick said. "He called me and told me he was going to be meeting with some people."
Shortly after lunch, ex-bodybuilder and former gym owner Kelly Blair spent some 90 minutes testifying before the grand jury. Blair said previously that he used to take steroids himself and once provided Andy Pettitte’s father with HGH for medical reasons, but he has denied supplying Clemens or any professional athletes with the substances.
Asked what he told the grand jury, Blair said: "Nothing that hadn’t already been said. I’m just glad to be finished with all this and looking forward to just getting on with my life."
Blair blames the publicity surrounding the case for ruining his gym business. He is considering filing for bankruptcy.
"I’ve made it clear from the very beginning, and I stand by what I said," Blair said. "But I do have to respect the process and let them do their job from here on out, and I’m just looking forward to going home and just trying to get back my reputation."
Grimsley pitched for seven major league teams from 1989-06, and federal agents searched his home in Scottsdale, Ariz., in June 2006. In a statement that year, IRS Special Agent Jeff Novitzky said Grimsley implicated nine players — including Jose Canseco, Lenny Dykstra and Rafael Palmeiro — in doping. Clemens was not among the players named by Grimsley.
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