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:
MLB: Dodgers at Padres, 6:30 p.m. (MLB Network)
MLB: Brewers at Cubs, 8 p.m. (WGN)
MLB: Athletics at Angels, 10 p.m. (MLB Network)
NBA: Suns at Rockets, 8 p.m. (NBATV)
NBA: Hornets at Lakers, 10:30 p.m. (NBATV)
College basketball: NCAA women’s championship, Louisville vs. UConn, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
NHL: Blackhawks at Wild, 8 p.m. (NBCSN)

AROUND THE WEB:

♦ The Rays’ ninth-inning rally against the Rangers ended Monday night when umpire Marty Foster called out Ben Zobrist on a full-count pitch that was well outside the strike zone, and the umpire later admitted that he blew the call.

The Rays had scored two in the eighth and one in the ninth and had the tying run on first base, but Texas reliever Joe Nathan got a friendly call to end the game at 5-4.

Rays manager Joe Maddon argued immediately and later told reporters: “It just can’t happen in a Major League Baseball game.”

Foster acknowledged his mistake.

“I saw the pitch and of course don’t have the chance to do it again,” he told a pool reporter. “But had I had a chance to do it again, I wouldn’t call that pitch a strike.”

Said Zobrist: “Umpires make mistakes just like players do. It was a tough time to have a bad call.”

♦ When Metta World Peace had surgery to repair a torn meniscus 12 days ago, he was expected to be sidelined for six weeks. However, the Lakers forward said he plans to return for Tuesday night’s game against the Hornets.

“It’s not how sure I’m playing [Tuesday] night,” he said. “It’s how sure I was playing three days ago. I was ready to play.”

World Peace explained that the swelling that normally accompanies meniscus surgery did not exist in his case, allowing him to return much earlier.

“He’s good,” coach Mike D’Antoni said Monday after World Peace participated in a three-on-three scrimmage at practice. “It’s probably a game-time decision, but he looks good. He’s raring to go. The medical staff will make a decision [Tuesday]. It’s unbelievable. He’s different. … I’ve never seen this before.”

With five games to play, the Lakers are battling for the final playoff spot in the West.

“We’ve got a chance to make a push for this championship run,” World Peace said. “We all need it. All the guys under contract, injured or not injured, we all need each other to make a run at this thing.”

♦ Flyers minor leaguer Eric Wellwood was recovering Monday after undergoing surgery Sunday night to repair tendons he cut during the Philadelphia Phantoms’ Sunday game against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in Connecticut.

The 23-year-old Wellwood, who has played 31 games for the Flyers over the past three seasons, apparently clipped himself with his own skate after falling into the boards. He is believed to have severed an artery, as his skate filled with blood.

“I don’t think anyone really saw it,” Phantoms coach Terry Murray said. “It was away from the play. In conversation, everyone figures it was an accident that happened to himself. The play was already in the offensive zone and this happened in the neutral zone, so we’re not sure exactly what took place.”

Trainer Greg Lowden rushed onto the ice — not even waiting for play to be stopped and causing a Phantoms goal to be disallowed — and helped Wellwood to the locker room. Wellwood underwent surgery at a Bridgeport-area hospital to repair vascular damage, stop the bleeding and close the wound. He is scheduled for another surgery later this week in the Philadelphia area. to repair damage to the tendons and ligaments.

Scary incident today. Here’s to hoping Eric Wellwood and his Curt Schilling Skate recover quickly. #Phantomaniac twitter.com/DannySyvret/st…

— Danny Syvret (@DannySyvret) April 8, 2013

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On April 9, 1982, the Celtics retired jersey No. 10 in honor of which player?

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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.

MONDAY’S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
NFL: Texans at Patriots, 8:30 p.m. (WCVB, ESPN; WEEI-FM)
NBA: Pistons at 76ers, 7 p.m. (NBA TV)

AROUND THE WEB:

The Jovan Belcher tragedy in Kansas City apparently was a wakeup call for at least a few NFL players, leading to them turning in their guns to team security.

♦ At least seven NFL players have surrendered their guns to team personnel in the wake of last week’s murder-suicide in Kansas City, according to Sports Illustrated’s Peter King.

King, who revealed the information on NBC’s “Football Night in America” pregame show Sunday night, reported that one player turned in multiple weapons, saying that he didn’t trust himself with the guns.

Following last week’s incident involving Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher, it’s been speculated that about 70 percent of NFL players own at least one gun, with many owning more than one.

♦ The Cowboys managed to win Sunday, posting a 20-19 road victory over the Bengals one day after the death of linebacker Jerry Brown and the arrest of defensive lineman Josh Brent on charges of intoxication manslaughter (Brent was released on bond Sunday afternoon).

“It’s a hard, hard situation we’re in,” quarterback Tony Romo said. “There’s no playbook for this sort of thing in life.”

Added defensive end Marcus Spears: “This was a step in the healing process for us. But we haven’t dealt with a lot yet — remembering Jerry and keeping his memory alive, dealing with Josh and supporting him in whatever way we can. That’s still to come.”

Meanwhile, according to a report from Dallas radio station 105.3 The Fan, injured Cowboys nose tackle Jay Ratliff had a “volcanic” argument with team owner Jerry Jones last week.

Ratliff, who signed a five-year, $40 million extension last year, had just 25 tackles and 10 quarterback pressures this season before sitting out the last three games. He’s missed seven games in all this year with join, ankle and foot problems.

Jones, a familiar figure in the locker room after games, reportedly approached Ratliff after last Sunday’s victory over the Eagles and said, “We need you.” Ratliff’s response was an angry one.

“They’re both passionate men and great men and they want to win, that’s all it is,” a source told the station. “But they were in each other’s faces. People had to intervene.”

♦ Spurs guard Stephen Jackson was fined $25,000 by the NBA and apologized for his threatening tweet toward Thunder center Serge Ibaka. Jackson sent his message after Ibaka tangled with Jackson’s friend and former teammate, Lakers forward Metta World Peace, on Friday night.

Wrote Jackson: Somebody tell serb Abaka. He aint bout dis life. Next time he run up on me im goin in his mouth. That’s a promise. He doin 2 much.

After the NBA and the Spurs condemned Jackson’s comments, Jackson sent out a much more well-written apology:

Tweeted Jackson: I apologize to Serge Ibaka, the NBA, and to all my fans for the comments I made. It was unprofessional and childish. I’m not a thug just a man who speaks his mind. It was not appropriate. I do apologize. Only a man can admit when he’s wrong.

Jackson and the former Ron Artest were teammates with the Pacers in 2004, when they both took part in the infamous brawl in the stands in Detroit that led to long suspensions.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Dec. 10, 1980, the Red Sox sent the left side of their infield — shortstop Rick Burleson and third baseman Butch Hobson — to the Angels for which three players?

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Pau Gasol is once again rumored to be on the trading block. (AP)

ESPN.com sources have said that the Lakers are gauging the trade interest around the NBA for Pau Gasol.

These sources are reporting that Los Angeles is looking for a top-10 pick in Thursday’s draft, as well as an established player if they are to trade the 31-year-old. Sources also say they desire a team to pick up the final two years and $38 million owed to Gasol. As of Wednesday afternoon no deal was in the works.

After the Lakers loss in the Western Conference semi-finals last month, president of basketball operations Jim Buss and GM Mitch Kupchak both said that a blockbuster move was unlikely.

Los Angeles has also reportedly shopped Metta World Peace, but are looking for less than Gasol, such as a late first-round pick or cap relief.

Gasol averaged 17.4 points and 10.4 rebounds per game this season.

Lakers' center Jordan Hill is facing felony assault charges in connection with a Feb. 29 domestic dispute. (AP)

The Lakers have already lost Metta World Peace for the first few games of the playoffs due to a seven-game suspension, and now one of the players helping to replace him will have a plate full of off-court distractions. Lakers center Jordan Hill has a scheduled court date on Tuesday in connection with a felony assault charge stemming from a Feb. 29 argument with his girlfriend, Darlene Luna. Hill, who was playing for Houston at the time, is accused of shoving and choking the 28-year-old Luna when, according to court documents, the two got into an argument about their future.

Hill did not answer many questions about the charges following practice on Monday.

“I can’t speak on it right now,” Hill told reporters after practice. “I’m going to let my attorney, my agents take care of that. Unfortunately, it happened at this time, but I’m going to keep my head up, keep working, keep playing.”

The 6-foot-10 Hill was traded to Los Angeles in March for Derek Fisher and a first-round draft pick. Hill did not play significant minutes for the Lakers until stepping in for World Peace in the Lakers’ 114-106 win over the Thunder on April 22. The former eighth overall draft pick recorded 14 points and 15 rebounds in 35 minutes of action in the game and followed that performance with an eight-point, eight-rebound showing through 30 minutes of play in Los Angeles’s regular season final against the Kings. Hill played 24 minutes in the Lakers’ Game 1 win over the Nuggets, putting up 10 points and 10 rebounds. His availability for Game 2 is unknown.

Metta World Peace called his elbow to James Harden's head the result of "erratic passion." (AP)

The Laker formerly known as Ron Artest is still making headlines after he was handed a seven-game suspension for elbowing Thunder sub James Harden in the head. Metta World Peace, who has been suspended nine times for a total of 102 games through his 14-year career, said after a Lakers practice on Wednesday that he did not mean to elbow Harden so viciously and blamed the elbowing on passion.

“I was just way too emotional,” he said. “It seemed like anger but it was a lot of passion involved. But it was erratic. It was erratic fire, it was erratic passion. It was way too much.”

Despite his acknowledgement that his passion was out of control, World Peace struck back at some former NBA players, including Shaquille O’Neal and Magic Johnson, who criticized World Peace for the elbowing.

World Peace responded on his Twitter account Wednesday night, tweeting:

Shaq ,How can u comment on elbows.. What about the punch you threw at brad miller. And the elbows at dikembe and the prizbilla concussion?

Can magic johnson,jon barry and steven A compare my accidental elbow to the Luis scola face step and the Blake griff take down..?

The tweets have since been removed from his account. Later on Wednesday, World Peace posted a five-paragraph item on his website, ronartest.com, meditating on referees and emotions on the court.

The referees’ jobs are hard because they have to control the game and emotions, World Peace wrote. The refs have to be aware of the two teams and if there are any bad feelings between the teams… They also have to be aware of the players on the floor, and the aggressive nature of players and player tendencies.

You have to expect one of the asteroids or shooting stars to be more powerful or more strategic at the point of impact… You most definitely have to be passionate, first and foremost.

Artest will miss one regular-season game and six playoff games due to his suspension. Harden missed the final regular-season game of the season but has been cleared to play in the playoffs.

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:
NHL playoffs: Capitals at Bruins, 7:30 p.m. (NESN, NBCSN; WEEI)
NBA: Clippers at Knicks, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
NBA: Spurs at Suns, 10:30 p.m. (ESPN)
MLB: Red Sox at Twins, 8:10 p.m. (NESN Plus; WEEI)
MLB: Cardinals at Cubs, 2:10 p.m. (WGN)
MLB: Angels at Rays, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)

AROUND THE WEB:

Metta World Peace, shown leaving the court after being ejected from Sunday's game, received a seven-game suspension Tuesday. (AP)

♦ Metta World Peace was suspended seven games by the NBA Tuesday for his elbow to the head of Thunder guard James Harden in Sunday’s game. The Lakers will be without their defensive specialist for the final regular-season game and the first six games of the postseason. This means he would at most miss two games of a potential second-round series between the teams.

Although World Peace insisted the elbow was accidental, even his own teammates didn’t appear to be convinced.

“It’s hard to get into a guy’s head and know exactly what happened in that situation,” Kobe Bryant said Tuesday. “I haven’t really spoken to him about it. You’ve really got to ask him.”

Artest was brief in a statement he published on his website: I apologize to the Oklahoma City Thunder fans and the OKC organization. I look foward to getting back on the floor with my teammates and competing for the Lakers fans.

♦ Despite continued denials from the Saints — and despite the fact that the statute of limitations for both state and federal wiretapping crimes has passed — Louisiana police and the FBI have begun investigating accusations that the team wired the Superdome so general manager Mickey Loomis could listen to opposing coaches’ radio communications during games.

“It’s absolutely ludicrous. It’s impossible,” interim head coach Joe Vitt said Tuesday. “I’ve never heard of it before. That’s something from ‘Star Wars.’ When I first heard something about it being a wiretap, I thought they were talking about Sammy “The Bull” Gravano or something. I didn’t even know what they were talking about. … And then to associate Mickey with that? That’s irresponsible. It’s a shame.”

Added Vitt: “Anybody that ever wants to question Mickey’s integrity on something like this. I mean, this is juvenile. This is so bad, what’s been reported, and it’s irresponsible. It really is. … I just know it’s not true. I know what Mickey’s meant in my life and I know what he’s meant in the lives of a lot of people around this league and you can’t get anybody to find fault with Mickey Loomis. That’s just the truth.”

♦ A Babe Ruth League baseball coach in Pennsylvania went from arguing with an umpire to brandishing a gun before leaving a game. John Zahradnik, 39, complained to the umpire about a call before taking his dispute to parents at the game. Zahradnik then allegedly punched a man before getting into his truck and pulling out a handgun before driving away.

Zahradnik was arraigned on charges of recklessly endangering another person and harassment. He was released on $20,000 bail.

♦ As we close in on the NFL draft, Real Clear Sports has a list of the top 10 regrettable draft picks. The list is topped by two Penn State alums: quarterback Todd Blackledge, selected seventh overall by the Chiefs in 1983, and running back Blair Thomas, drafted second by the Jets in 1990. No Patriots made the cut.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On April 25, 1950, the Celtics became the first NBA team to draft a black player when they selected which Duquesne star in the second round?

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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.

MONDAY’S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
MLB: Red Sox at Twins, 8:10 p.m. (NESN; WEEI)
MLB: Yankees at Rangers, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
NHL playoffs: Rangers at Senators, 7 p.m. (NBCSN)
NHL playoffs: Coyotes at Blackhawks, 9 p.m. (CNBC)
NBA: Cavaliers at Grizzlies, 8 p.m. (NBA TV)

AROUND THE WEB:

♦ Lakers guard Metta World Peace claims it was an accident, but even he acknowledges that the video makes him look bad delivering a vicious elbow to the head of Thunder guard James Harden during Sunday’s game in Los Angeles.

World Peace was celebrating a dunk when he brushed up against Harden and then knocked him to the floor. World Peace was ejected from the game. Harden, who was on the floor for about a minute, also did not return to action. The Lakers went on to rally from an 18-point second-half deficit and win in double overtime, 114-106.

“During that play I just dunked on [Kevin] Durant and [Serge] Ibaka and I got really emotional and really excited and it was unfortunate that James had to get hit with an unintentional elbow,” World Peace said after the game. “I hope he’s OK. The Thunder, they’re playing for a championship this year, so I really hope that he’s OK and I apologize to the Thunder and to James Harden.”

Later, World Peace tweeted: I just watched the replay again….. Oooo.. My celebration of the dunk really was too much… Didn’t even see James ….. Omg… Looks bad.

♦ Timberwolves guard J.J. Barea is not happy with his team after Minnesota squandered a 21-point lead vs. the Warriors on Sunday to lose for the 12th time in 13 games.

“We’ve got problems here,” he said in the locker room after the game. “We just got a lot of guys that don’t care. When a basketball team got a bunch of players that don’t care, it’s tough to win games. It’s going to happen until we get players in that care — care about winning, care about the team, care about the fans.”

Added Barea: “There’s a bunch of us, too, that care and play hard. But there’s a bunch that don’t care, and we’ve just got to change that.”

♦ The Nets will play their final game in New Jersey Monday night, and they have invited a number of former players to attend. One of the alumni not invited is former All-Star forward Jayson Williams, who was released from prison 10 days ago after serving more than two years for assault and DWI. Nonetheless, Williams says he still has fond memories of his days with the team in the 1990s.

“I don’t think there is a person who loves the Nets as much as I do — from our fans, all the employees in the arenas, the front office personnel and the owners,” Williams told the New York Daily News through his longtime friend and manager, Akhtar Farzaie. “I will always be loyal to our fans and the Nets.”

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On April 23, 1969, Ted Williams returned to Fenway Park as the manager of which team?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It was a coming-of-age goal there in overtime.” – Bruins goalie Tim Thomas, on Tyler Seguin‘s game-winning goal in Sunday’s Game 6 vs. the Capitals

STAT OF THE DAY: 3-for-22 – Thunder guard Russell Westbrook‘s shooting numbers in Sunday’s 114-106 double-overtime loss to the Lakers

‘NET RESULTS: Clippers guard Chris Paul delivers a no-look pass from the ground for an Eric Bledsoe dunk in Sunday’s game vs. the Hornets.

The World Series trophy, in Springfield, Mo., for a Cardinals minor league game, almost was destroyed by a foul ball.

TRIVIA ANSWER: Washington Senators (who moved to Texas after the 1971 season to become the Rangers)

SOOTHING SOUNDS: The late Dale Houston, half of the group Dale & Grace, was born on this day in 1940.

Metta World Peace is struggling on the court this season, and there are reports that he's not getting along with his coach. (AP)

Lakers coach Mike Brown and forward Metta World Peace met after Tuesday’s shootaround following reports of friction between the two.

The former Ron Artest, who has struggled in Brown’s first season at the helm, recently questioned Brown’s credentials.

“Right now, coach is a stats guy,” World Peace told CBSSports.com. “His background is video coordinator or whatever. So he’s all stats. But Ron Artest is all feel.”

Responded Brown before Tuesday’s game against the Hawks: “If I were him, I’d be frustrated. I talked to him about it. I said, ‘Metta, I don’t take anything personally. I’m OK with it. Just be careful what you say to the media in that regard. But if I was a stats guy, Metta, you wouldn’t be playing at all. Because look at your stats offensively, and then Synergy [a video scoring service] says you’re the 192nd best defensive player in the league.”

World Peace is averaging 4.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.7 steals, all career lows. The 32-year-old also is shooting career lows from the field (32.7), 3-point range (19.0) and the free throw line (51.4). But he insists that didn’t play a role in his comments.

“I was never frustrated,” he said. “There was no frustration. Just looking for the consistency of whether I was on the bench or whether I was playing, just looking for the consistency. Once you find the consistency you already know where you stand at and you can move forward and win games.”

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.

MONDAY’S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
NHL: Canadiens at Bruins, 7 p.m. (NESN)
NHL: Ducks at Stars, 8 p.m. (Versus)
NFL: Steelers at 49ers, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
College basketball: Nicholls State at North Carolina, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
College basketball: Davidson at Kansas, 9 p.m. (ESPNU)

AROUND THE WEB:

Jeremy Shockey

♦ Panthers tight end Jeremy Shockey wasn’t happy following his team’s game against the Texans Sunday. Shockey was upset about what he considered a lack of decorum by Houston players during the national anthem.

“I was pretty upset in the way that they weren’t showing respect to America during the national anthem,” Shockey said. “There were about 10 players that didn’t put their arms across their chest. This is America. You should at least respect America.”

Responded Texans linebacker DeMeco Ryans: “If he’s so patriotic, why was he looking at our bench instead of the flag? Where did he come up with the number 10? Was he counting? Why was he paying attention to us during the national anthem?”

♦ The Jets were getting embarrassed by the Eagles Sunday, but that didn’t stop Jets receiver from Santonio Holmes from celebrating a touchdown by mocking Philadelphia. After scoring to draw his team to within 28-10, Holmes put a foot on the ball and slowly waved his arms, earning him a 15-yard penalty. New York went on to lose, 45-19.

“Just being a vet, I can’t do silly things like that,” acknowledged Holmes, who had four catches for 40 yards but also had a fumble that was returned for an Eagles touchdown and failed to catch a ball that turned into an interception.

♦ As he prepares for his first season as Metta World Peace, the former Ron Artest continues to be an enigma to friends and foes alike. The Los Angeles Times has a closer look at the controversial Laker, whose stats have diminished the past couple of seasons but who is optimistic that he can bounce back at age 32 and with his new name.

“He was getting away from the person that he’s seen as possibly being evil in his life, so he made the name change to start a new path,” said Lakers assistant Chuck Person, a longtime confidant. “Hopefully, this path will be a more consistent path and he can be the person he always wanted to be.”

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Dec. 19, 2001, the Red Sox traded catcher Scott Hatteberg to the Rockies for a player they did not tender a contract to, making him a free agent. Two years later, they signed the same player to a one-year deal and he played for the Sox’ 2004 World Series championship team. Who is he?

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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: Rangers at Red Sox, 7:10 p.m. (NESN; WEEI)

SATURDAY:
MLB: Rangers at Red Sox, 7:10 p.m. (NESN; WEEI)

SUNDAY:
MLB: Rangers at Red Sox, 1:35 p.m. (NESN; WEEI)

AROUND THE WEB:

♦ Lakers guard Ron Artest continues to make headlines while the NBA is stuck in a lockout. In an interview with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, Artest guaranteed the Lakers will win the 2012 NBA title. “Win it all,” he said he asked how his team will do. “Win the whole thing. That’s a guarantee.”

Artest, recently named to the upcoming season of “Dancing With the Stars,” wasn’t as confident about being successful on the dance floor. “That’s going to be a problem,” he acknowledged.

Artest also said that new Patriots receiver Chad Ochocinco inspired him to change his name to Metta World Peace. “When Ocho did it, I was like, ‘That’s kind of dope,’ I want to change my name,” Artest said.

Artest’s petition to change his name was put on hold due to unpaid parking tickets. Said Artest: “I don’t know how to pay a parking ticket. I’ve never paid a parking ticket in my life. There’s so much fine print. I just get them and throw them in my glove compartment.”

♦ Former ESPN writer Bruce Feldman left the company for CBS and finally is speaking about his situation with the sports media giant after being silenced for his involvement with former Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach. Feldman said ESPN was well aware he was writing “Swing Your Sword” with Leach, who is suing ESPN. Yet, ESPN still chose to limit Feldman’s workload and keep him from attending events related to his job covering college football. After being offered a one-year contract extension instead of the three years he expected, Feldman departed for CBS. “There’s more to the sports world than ESPN,” Feldman said, adding that he could no longer trust his former employers.

Replied ESPN in a statement: “We have significant disagreements with his account. Beyond that, we aren’t commenting.”

♦ The Louisville (Ohio) High School football team was penalized for excessive celebration because two players pointed toward the sky after a go-ahead touchdown with 1:15 remaining in their game against Walsh Jesuit this week. The players were paying tribute to a 16-year-old teammate who died the previous week in a car accident. Following the penalty, assessed on the kickoff, Walsh Jesuit took advantage of the better field position and was able to get into position to kick a 29-yard game-winning field goal as time expired. “We have good kids here,” Louisville coach John DeMarco said. “It wasn’t taunting or anything like that, it was celebrating one of their friends.”

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Sept. 2, 2001, with Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina one strike away from a perfect game, which Red Sox pinch-hitter singled to center field?

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