Welcome to Friday’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.

FRIDAY’S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
NHL: Bruins at Sabres, 7:30 p.m. (NESN)
NHL: Canadiens at Capitals, 7 p.m. (NHL Network)
College hockey: Boston University at Vermont, 7:30 p.m. (NBCSN)
NBA: All-Star Rising Stars Challenge, 9 p.m. (TNT)
College basketball: Marquette at West Virginia, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
College basketball: Butler at Valparaiso, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
College basketball: Fairfield at Iona, 9 p.m. (ESPNU)

SATURDAY:
NHL: Bruins at Senators, 7 p.m. (NESN)
NHL: Lightning at Penguins, 1 p.m. (NHL Network)
NHL: Capitals at Maple Leafs, 7 p.m. (NHL Network)
NBA: All-Star Saturday Night, 8 p.m. (TNT; WEEI)
College basketball: Boston College at Wake Forest, 1 p.m. (WEEI)
College basketball: Robert Morris at Quinnipiac, 11 a.m. (ESPNU)
College basketball: Notre Dame at St. John’s, noon (ESPN)
College basketball: Vanderbilt at Kentucky, noon (CBS)
College basketball: Villanova at Georgetown, 2 p.m. (CBS)
College basketball: Missouri at Kansas, 4 p.m. (CBS)
College basketball: North Carolina at Virginia, 4 p.m. (ESPN)
College basketball: Temple at St. Joseph’s, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
College basketball: Syracuse at UConn, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
College basketball: Northwestern at Penn State, 9 p.m. (ESPNU)

SUNDAY:
NBA: All-Star Game, 8 p.m. (TNT; WEEI)
College basketball: Indiana at Minnesota, 1 p.m. (ESPN)
College basketball: Pittsburgh at Louisville, 2 p.m. (CBS)
College basketball: Wisconsin at Ohio State, 4 p.m. (CBS)
College basketball: Florida State at Miami, 6 p.m. (ESPNU)
NHL: Blackhawks at Ducks, 7 p.m. (NBCSN)

AROUND THE WEB:

Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban takes a hit from Bruins forward Brad Marchand last week. (AP)

♦ Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban is a popular target of Bruins fans mainly due to his habit of embellishing in an attempt to draw a penalty. Apparently, he saves his hardest play for practice. According to a report on TSN, Subban was involved in a confrontation with teammate David Desharnais at Thursday’s practice.

The report indicates Subban dumped Desharnais to the ice, and Desharnais responded by cross checking and slashing Subban before teammates stepped in to prevent the situation from getting worse.

This wouldn’t be major news in and of itself, but this is the fourth reported confrontation Subban has had with a teammate this season. And with rumors that the talented 22-year-old could be available before the trade deadline as the struggling Canadiens look for help, it only adds fuel to the fire.

♦ According to the New York Daily News, Knicks television play-by-play announcer Spero Dedes received only a verbal warning after using the phrase “chink in the armor” last week to refer to a poor performance by Knicks guard Jeremy Lin. The use of the same phrase cost an ESPN mobile website editor his job and led to a suspension for an ESPN News anchor.

Madison Square Garden Network would only say that Dedes was the recipient of “appropriate disciplinary action” for “unintentionally and inadvertently” using the phrase.

♦ Joe Torre‘s group is no longer in the bidding for the Dodgers, pulling out because owner Frank McCourt will not include the parking lots around the stadium.

“Since the outset, we felt that operationally it would be impossible to effectively manage baseball operations having the parking lots that surround the stadium under separate ownership,” read a Feb. 17 letter from the group to Major League Baseball. “We believed that during the bid process that we would have the opportunity to buy the lots. It has not been made clear to us by Mr. McCourt that the lots are not and will not be for sale.”

The group indicated it would be willing to reconsider “if the circumstances of the sale change.”

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Feb. 24, 1917, which Red Sox legend was sold to the Indians?

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Joe Torre wants to be a part of the new ownership group of the Dodgers. (AP)

Joe Torre left his position as executive vice president of baseball operations with Major League Baseball to join a group that is attempting to buy the Dodgers, the league announced Wednesday.

Torre joined MLB’s front office after managing the Dodgers from 2008-10.

“I am so appreciative of the chance the commissioner gave me to see the game from a different perspective by working for Major League Baseball, especially during such a great time for our sport,” Torre said in a statement from MLB. “I have made this decision because of a unique chance to join a group that plans to bid for the Dodgers. After leaving the field, this job was an incredible experience, one that I enjoyed very much. I want to thank the commissioner and all of my colleagues over the last year, particularly the members of the baseball operations group and the major league umpires.”

Torre’s role with MLB will be filled on a temporary basis by Joe Garagiola Jr., Kim Ng and former Red Sox front office employee Peter Woodfork.

MLB Vice President of Baseball Operations and former Yankees manager Joe Torre once again put on the pinstripes for Sunday’s Old-Timers’ Day at Yankee Stadium.

“Putting it back on felt good,” said Torre. “Taking it off was quite emotional back in ’07 because when I was doing it, I knew I wasn’t going to be here anymore. I just don’t like to dwell on stuff, but I certainly did feel different when I put it on, because it was something I hadn’t done it in a long time, and it’s obviously the uniform that has meant the most to my career.”

Torre received a standing ovation during pre-game introductions.

“It was heartwarming,” Torre said of the ovation he received. “These fans are so special, and you can feel their heartbeat.”

ESPNNewYork.com’s Mike Mazzeo wrote Monday that Torre had been asked to come back for Old-Timers’ Day every season since leaving after losing to the Angels in the 2007 ALDS, but did not attend because he was managing the Dodgers.

Torre led the Yankees to six World Series and four titles in 12 years with the Yankees. He left following contentious contract negotiations with then-owner George Steinbrenner.

Welcome to Friday’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.

WHAT’S HAPPENING LOCALLY FRIDAY:
MLB: Blue Jays at Red Sox, 7:10 p.m. (NESN; WEEI)

SATURDAY:
NHL Playoffs: Canadiens at Bruins, 7 p.m. (NESN)
MLB: Blue Jays at Red Sox, 1:10 p.m. (NESN; WEEI)

SUNDAY:
MLB: Blue Jays at Red Sox, 1:35 p.m. (NESN; WEEI)
NBA Playoffs: Knicks at Celtics, 7 p.m. (CSNNE, TNT; WEEI)
MLS: Revolution at Dynamo, 7 p.m. (CSNNE)

AROUND THE WEB:

♦ With Yankees reliever Pedro Feliciano likely done for the season with a tear in his shoulder, general manager Brian Cashman defended the team’s handling of the bullpen by talking about how he used to try to protect relievers from being overused by former manager Joe Torre.

♦ Six Major League Baseball teams have had the worst crowds in their current stadiums’ histories this year, and five others have had near-record-low turnouts. USA Today examines the situation.

♦ Last month, a University of Georgia baseball player was paralyzed for the second time in three years. This time, outfielder Jonathan Taylor broke his neck after colliding with a teammate going for a ball. Mark Schlabach at ESPN has the story.

♦ The New York Times has an interesting profile of Marquis Barnett, a basketball recruit who lives in a homeless shelter on New York City’s Lower East Side.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On April 15, 1993, which Red Sox player hit his 400th career home run?

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Bobby Cox, Joe Torre and Lou Piniella, all of whom retired from managing this year, were honored by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on Saturday for their combined 81 years of managerial experience.

Cox finished fourth in career regular-season wins with 2,504, while Torre finished fifth with 2,326 and Piniella 14th with 1,835.

Torre and Piniella both thanked late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner — Torre for letting him manage New York for 12 years and Piniella for giving him his start as a manager. Cox, meanwhile, singled out former Braves pitchers Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz ‘for allowing me to keep working.’

Former manager of the Yankees and Dodgers Joe Torre confirmed on Wednesday that he has been in talks with baseball commissioner Bud Selig about getting a job with Major League Baseball, ESPN.com reports. Torre said on Wednesday that he has not received an official offer yet, and he believes that Selig is still considering other candidates.

Torre has been attending quarterly owners meetings in Arizona as part of Selig’s competition committee. The next owners meeting is scheduled for Thursday, when Torre said he hopes to discuss the potential position with the commissioner, “if he has time.”

“The commissioner and I have been talking. I’m just trying to figure out what feels right, I guess,” Torre said.

News reports in the past few days have indicated that the position for which Torre is applying is that of executive vice president for baseball operations, formerly held by new Mets general manager Sandy Alderson.

Welcome to Friday’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.

WHAT’S HAPPENING LOCALLY FRIDAY:
No games scheduled

SATURDAY:
NHL: Rangers at Bruins, 7 p.m. (NESN)

SUNDAY:
NFL: Patriots at Chargers, 4:15 p.m. (CBS)

AROUND THE WEB:

♦ Forbes magazine has a list of the worst World Series champions. Two of Joe Torre‘s Yankees teams are on it, but the 1987 Twins are at the top. The 1916 Red Sox, with a young lefty pitcher named Babe Ruth, are fifth. Meanwhile, Forbes lists the 1975 Reds, who beat the Red Sox in seven games in a memorable World Series, as the most dominant champion of all-time.

♦ The Yankees are on the brink of elimination as they face the Rangers in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series on Friday night. The bad news? According to a study by The Wall Street Journal of the team’s spending patterns since 1995, the Yankees spend more in offseasons when they lose.

♦ Good news for fans of the Celtics, who went 7-1 in the preseason (while the Heat and Lakers have struggled to 3-4 marks): John Schuhmann at NBA.com writes that preseason stats are in some ways a prediction of what will happen in the regular season. He predicts that the Magic (7-0 preseason) will have the best regular-season record in the NBA in 2010-11.

♦ Heat president Pat Riley and Magic coach Stan Van Gundy used to be close friends when they worked together in Miami, but their relationship has turned 180 degrees, writes Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel. He notes that the two have not spoken to each other in two years, and they had a war of words through the press this offseason.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Oct. 22, 1951, Lou Boudreau was named Red Sox manager. Whom did he replace?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I have come to the decision that I cannot and will not let the league office stop me from playing the game that I love.” — Steelers linebacker James Harrison, upon returning to the team following his fine for a hit to the head of a Browns receiver

STAT OF THE DAY: 3 — Power-play goals for the Bruins in Thursday night’s 4-1 win over the Capitals, a team that had not allowed a power-play goal in its first six games

‘NET RESULTS: A Capitals employee promised a puck to a youth hockey player who celebrated a goal by doing a snow angel during the mini-game between periods of the Bruins-Capitals contest in Washington on Tuesday. The whole team decided to get in on the act.

TRIVIA ANSWER: Steve O’Neill

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Leslie West of Mountain turns 65 Friday.

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.

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY:
MLB: Orioles at Red Sox, 7:10 p.m. (NESN, WEEI)
MLS: Revolution at FC Dallas, 8:30 p.m. (CSNNE)

AROUND THE WEB:

♦ After learning that outgoing Dodgers manager Joe Torre publicly admitted to having interest in the Mets managerial job that undoubtedly will become open after this season, current Mets manager Jerry Manuel criticized Torre and questioned his integrity. It doesn’t help Manuel that the underachieving Mets were eliminated from playoff contention on the same day he blasted the apologetic Torre.

♦ Even in death, George Steinbrenner is controversial. His newly unveiled plaque at Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park is substantially larger than those around it. A number of people have started to complain about that Steinbrenner’s tribute should not dwarf those for Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and other Yankees legends.

♦ A Texas man named Kelly Blair, who had sued the authors of a book about Roger Clemens‘ fall from grace, withdrew his $25 million lawsuit after Andy Pettitte‘s father detailed his purchase of performance-enhancing drugs from him.

♦ Patriots fans might be encouraged by Clark Judge‘s story at CBSSports.com in which he writes that NFL teams don’t need a running game to be successful.

♦ USA Today has a piece on how colleges are using mandatory student fees to boost college sports budgets and keeping the details hidden.

♦ In The New York Times, Elizabeth Olson writes about how sports teams are connecting with fans via electronic devices.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Sept. 22, 1974, which Red Sox reliever set a team record for strikeouts thrown in relief with 12 in 7 2/3 innings vs. the Orioles?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I’ll be ready to go by spring training. I’ll come back stronger, faster and a better baseball player next spring. You have to take the best out of everything. That’s the way I’m looking at it.” — Injured Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury

STAT OF THE DAY: 0.32 — Clay Buchholz‘ ERA in his last four starts vs. the Orioles this season, including Tuesday night’s performance

‘NET RESULTS: Impressive back-heel goal in an indoor soccer game.

Braves outfielder Matt Diaz helps subdue a man in a red bodysuit who ran onto the field in Philadelphia.

TRIVIA ANSWER: Diego Segui

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Joan Jett turns 52 Wednesday.

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.

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY:
MLB: Orioles at Red Sox, 7:10 p.m. (NESN, WEEI)

AROUND THE WEB:

♦ Giants running back Brandon Jacobs has taken over the spotlight in New York, and not for good reasons. He’s been upset since losing his starting job in the preseason, and he’s asked for a meeting with team officials following his helmet-throwing incident Sunday night in Indianapolis. There had been speculation that he would request a trade, but later reports indicated that’s not the case. In the Bergen Record, Tara Sullivan writes: Brandon Jacobs is on an unparalleled streak of selfishness, which for him, is saying a lot.

The Yankees unveiled their monument to George Steinbrenner on Monday night. At the event, Joe Torre hugged general manager Brian Cashman in their first meeting in almost two years, but it doesn’t appear the two have mended their relationship.

♦ Following Sunday’s incident in which Cubs baserunner Tyler Colvin was hit by a broken maple bat and hospitalized, there’s been an outcry to ban the bats. In the Chicago Sun-Times, Gordon Wittenmyer looks at the controversy.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Sept. 21, 1985, Wade Boggs collected his 223rd hit to break the team’s single-season record. Whose record did he break?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “We’ve got to find a way to rally around each other when things are not going [well]. It’s easy to rally around each other when you’re making the plays, you’re having fun and you’re blowing people out. That’s easy. Don’t give me that team. Give me the team that can rally around when things are not going your way, that’s got the fight. I want a team like that. As soon as we get that together, we’ll be OK.” — Patriots defensive lineman Vince WIlfork, on Monday’s Dale & Holley show, talking about Sunday’s loss to the Jets

STAT OF THE DAY: 7 — Consecutive starts in which Daisuke Matsuzaka has given up at least four runs

‘NET RESULTS: Ohio University’s bobcat mascot was relieved of his duties following this attack on Ohio State’s mascot before Saturday’s game.

TRIVIA ANSWER: Tris Speaker

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Leonard Cohen is 76 Tuesday.

Welcome to Monday’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.

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY:
MLB: Orioles at Red Sox, 7:10 p.m. (NESN, WEEI)

AROUND THE WEB:

♦ The Yankees will unveil a monument of George Steinbrenner at Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park before Monday night’s game vs. the Rays. With the Dodgers having an off day, Los Angeles manager Joe Torre and his recently announced replacement for 2011, Don Mattingly, have indicated they plan to attend the ceremony. It will be Torre’s first visit to the Bronx since he left the Yankees following the 2007 season after reportedly being offended at a low-ball offer from management. “There are no issues with Joe Torre and the Yankees,” general manager Brian Cashman said. “The issue was his rejecting the offer. Without question he is welcome.”

♦ A huge number of Major League Baseball teams could be changing managers at the end of the season. Phil Rogers in the Chicago Tribune looks at the 13 teams that face a possible turnover. Meanwhile, Bill Plaschke in The Los Angeles Times questions the Dodgers for handing the job to the inexperienced Mattingly .

♦ It’s been under the radar because he plays in Colorado, but Troy Tulowitzki has been on a record tear for the Rockies. On Saturday, he became the third player in the modern era to hit 14 home runs in a 15-game stretch. Evan Drellich at MLB.com looks at Tulowitzki’s Barry Bonds-like month.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Sept. 20, 1994, in the midst of Major League Baseball’s work stoppage, who was fired as Red Sox manager?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “We couldn’t do anything in the second half. … We couldn’t run it. We couldn’t throw it. We just sucked.” — Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, following Sunday’s 28-14 loss to the Jets

STAT OF THE DAY: 4 — Players in NFL history with 150 career touchdown receptions, after Randy Moss became the fourth following his one-handed grab in Sunday’s loss to the Jets

‘NET RESULTS: In case you missed it, here’s Michigan State’s game-winning touchdown on a fake field goal in overtime vs. Notre Dame on Saturday.

Here’s a great soccer goal, as a player uses his back heel to deflect a corner kick into the goal.

From late last week, new Red Bulls striker Thierry Henry injured FC Dallas goalkeeper Kevin Hartman when Henry went to celebrate a teammate’s goal. Henry went up to kick the ball back in the goal after it came out, and Hartman was preparing to kick it to midfield. Hartman injured the MCL in his right knee on the play.

TRIVIA ANSWER: Butch Hobson

SOOTHING SOUNDS: On this date in 1973, Jim Croce died in a plane crash in Louisiana at the age of 30.