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Wednesday’s Morning Mashup: Bengals safety calls retiring Steelers WR Hines Ward ‘a dirty player’

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Welcome to Wednesday’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.

WEDNESDAY’S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
NBA: Knicks at 76ers, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
NBA: Lakers at Mavericks, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN)
College basketball: NIT, Minnesota at Middle Tennessee, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
College basketball: NIT, Nevada at Stanford, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
NHL: Red Wings at Rangers, 7:30 p.m. (NBCSN)
MLB preseason: Yankees at Rays, 1 p.m. (ESPN)
MLB preseason: Giants at Indians, 4 p.m. (MLB Network)

AROUND THE WEB:

‘™¦ Hines Ward retired from the Steelers Tuesday, and Bengals safety Chris Crocker won’t miss him. Crocker acknowledged that Ward belongs in the Hall of Fame, but he said the receiver was dirty as well. “He tried to end people’s careers, and that’s not the way the game is supposed to be played,” Crocker said.

Added Crocker: “He’s probably the first receiver to make blocking such a big part of his game; he was an all-around receiver. He was a dirty player, but he made a lot of plays. They used him perfectly to suit his abilities and he was a big-time player for them. Some people might think of him as a borderline Hall of Famer, but I think the fact he helped them win two Super Bowls and all the things he did for that team make him deserving.”

In 2008, Ward hit Bengals linebacker Keith Rivers with a blindside block that broke Rivers’ jaw. The following season, Crocker said Ward punched him in the face at the start of a play.

“Stuff like that, it’s just not right,” Crocker said. “And I’m not the only guy that thinks it.”

‘™¦ The Devils and Rangers squared off at the start of Monday night’s game, breaking out into three fights right off the opening faceoff. New York coach John Tortorella said he only put out his fourth-line players in response to New Jersey coach Pete DeBoer doing the same, and he could be seen swearing at his counterpart.

On Tuesday, the two coaches continued to bicker over the incident. DeBoer accused Tortorella of being a hypocrite, pointing out that Tortorella put out his fourth line at the start of a game in New Jersey early in the season.

Responded Tortorella: “I think Peter needs to jog his memory as far as the starting lineups that I’€™ve put in over in their building. And really basically just shut up. And I need to also. I think the situation [Monday] night was disrespectful to players and I think we took a backwards step.”

‘™¦ Cardinals outfielder Lance Berkman is not happy with Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig for making new Astros owner Jim Crane agree to move his team to the American League next year as a precondition of the team’s sale. Said Berkman, who played 12 seasons in Houston: “I feel basically like the commissioner extorted Jim Crane into moving the Astros.”

Added Berkman: “If [Selig] called me, I would tell him. I think that’s exactly what it was. To tell [Crane], ‘We’re going to hold the sale of the team up until you guys agreed to switch’? It just happened that the Astros were being sold at an optimal time for that to happen.”

Crane acknowledged receiving a $65 million reduction in his purchase price for agreeing to the move, which brings additional costs in terms of more West Coast travel and the addition of the designated hitter.

‘™¦ Five members of the Southern Mississippi pep band had their scholarships revoked for participating in an inappropriate chant during their basketball team’s NCAA tournament loss to Kansas State last Thursday. The band members chanted “Where’s your green card?” to Kansas State point guard Angel Rodriguez, who hails from Puerto Rico.

Southern Mississippi announced the punishments Tuesday, after last week making a private and public apology to the player.

“The students have been forthcoming, cooperative, contrite and sincerely remorseful. They acted rashly and inappropriately, and now see the gravity of their words and actions,” vice president for student affairs Dr. Joe Paul said in a statement. “This is a teachable moment, not only for these students but for our entire student body and those who work with them.”

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On March 21, 1991, the Bruins peppered Quebec Nordiques goalie Ron Tugnutt with 73 shots — 10 short of the NHL record set by the B’s in 1941 — in a 3-3 tie. Which Bruin set an NHL record with 19 shots in the game?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “There’s no question I have work to do. I’ve been very open with the Broncos, really all the teams, about my medical history, about where I am, about how I feel. I really let them tell me. I’ve put all the cards out on the table, working out for three teams, going through my entire medical history, not just this past year. I couldn’t sell myself when it came to that. I had to let them tell me and decide this was something they wanted to do.” Peyton Manning, at his introductory press conference with the Broncos

STAT OF THE DAY: 70.8 – UMass’ shooting percentage in the second half of Tuesday night’s victory over Drexel in which the Minutemen rallied from a 17-point deficit

‘NET RESULTS: Baylor’s Brittney Griner becomes the second woman to dunk in an NCAA game with this throwdown against Florida Tuesday night.

Kings coach Keith Smart gives DeMarcus Cousins his suit coat and lets him coach during Tuesday night’s win over the Grizzlies.

Here’s a compilation of goofy plays from the NBA this season.

TRIVIA ANSWER: Ray Bourque

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Russell Thompkins Jr., known for his falsetto leads with the Stylistics, turns 61 Wednesday.


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