Daily News: NHL and EPL

 NHL NEWS:

Ovechkin ready and Arnott close to return – Alexander Ovechkin feels that he is ready to return to action for the Caps, while Jason Arnott should be back very soon. Good news for the Caps.

Selanne proving age doesn't matter – At 40 years old, Teemu Selanne is proving to the NHL world that he still has the ability to be a top player. He scored 5 points in last night's win over the Avalanche and has 75 points on the season.

Bertuzzi ejected from game, could face suspension – Todd Bertuzzi's reckless hit on Ryan Johnson last night earned him a 5 minute penalty and a game misconduct call. With the NHL clamping down on bad hits, I wouldn't be surprised to see Bertuzzi get a suspension.

Alfredsson practices for the first time since February - Sens' forward, Daniel Alfredsson has finally returned to practice. He has been out with an injured back since February the 9^th.

Penner returns to Oil City, Kings lose Kopitar til next season - Dustin Penner is returning to Edmonton for the first time since he was traded from the Oilers to the Kings. News has also come out that Anze Kopitar will not return this season. 

EPL NEWS:

Ibrahimovic to City? - AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is cooling any rumours that he will be moving to Manchester City in the summer. I don't see the point in City buying another striker, especially one who is nearing the end of his career.

Neymar dreaming of Blues – 19-year-old Brazilian sensation Neymar has revealed he would love to play for Chelsea. I think this guy could be a player Chelsea really need. They have an ageing squad and could do with some youthful talent.

Gallas staying at Spurs – William Gallas has signed a new deal at Spurs and with that, will probably end his long career at White Hart Lane.

Bale in race to be fit to play Real – Gareth Bale is desperate to be fit for Tottenham's Champion's League clash with Real Madrid. He suffered a minor hamstring injury training with the Welsh squad last week.

Pardew is confident of summer spending – Alan Pardew is hoping that he will have some money to spend this summer. Newcastle received 35 million pounds for the sale of Andy Carroll to Liverpool and Pardew is confident he will be able to use it all to strengthen the Toon squad. 

More news tomorrow!

EPL News Round-up

What's new in the EPL this week?

Alex Ferguson has been handed a five-game ban by the FA following his criticism of referee Martin Atkinson. I like this move by the FA. I get a little tired of managers blaming any loss their team suffers on the performance of the referee when everyone knows how hard that job is. Of course the ref is going to make mistakes, there are 22 players out there on the pitch who are trying to cheat, dive and influence the referee in some way. I wish it wasn't like that but, let's face it, that is a big part of professional football these days.

Fergie wouldn't be whinging if his team had gained an advantage through poor refereeing. In fact, more often than not it is Fergie who gains the advantage, so I'm glad the FA gave him this ban. Perhaps they could duct-tape his mouth up too.

Adam Johnson looks like he is set to return for Manchester City. This is great news for The Citizens and for England fans. The sooner he gets back on the pitch the better.

Nani is still pissed at Jamie Carragher for the nasty tackle he received in Manchester United's 3-1 loss to Liverpool a couple of weeks ago. I guess he has every right to be angry, the tackle was pretty awful but I think he could let it go. It didn't seriously injure him (he was back on Tuesday night to feature in United's Champion's League clash with Marseille) and Carragher did apologise.

I'm not a fan of Nani, he prances round like a fairy half the time, but I do agree with him when he asks the referees to be fair. Carragher should have been sent off but there is far too much inconsistency with how the refs deal with bad tackles.

Bale is back

Gareth Bale is back! This is excellent news for everyone. He was playing so well up until his injury so I hope he gets back to his best as soon as possible. It's a shame he will, like Ryan Giggs, waste his international career with Wales but I guess you can't have it all.

I'll have a wee look at some of this weekend's upcoming games shall I?

SATURDAY:

12:45 Tottenham vs West Ham

Nice London derby to kick things off on Saturday. West Ham have been pretty good recently but I can't see Tottenham losing this one. Maybe a draw, but I reckon Spurs will win.

15:00 Aston Villa vs Wolverhampton

Bent and Young have been so good playing up front for Villa that I cannot see how Wolves will contend with them. However, Villa are suspect at the back (the Bolton game anyone?) and Wolves have the physicality to cause any team problems.

15:00 Blackburn vs Blackpool

Blackpool will be looking to get back to winning ways now they have dropped firmly into the relegation battle. Blackburn are just one place above Blackpool on the same points so this game is easily a six-pointer.

15:00 Man Utd vs Bolton

Man Utd have lost their last two Premiership games in a row and Bolton are never an easy team to play. I can see this one being close but Man Utd's home advantage might see them through.

15:00 Stoke vs Newcastle

This is going to be a tough game for Newcastle. Stoke are very physical and will put plenty of balls into the Newcastle box. I'm not totally convinced by Newcastle's back four so I think they will concede. Can Best and Lovenkrands do enough up front for the Toon? I don't think they can.

15:00 West Brom vs Arsenal

This should be a walk in the park for Arsenal but as any Gunner fan will know, these games never seem to be easy anymore. With Man Utd involved in such a tough game against Bolton, Arsenal should be looking to win this game comfortably to keep the pressure on the Red Devils.

15:00 Wigan vs Birmingham

Wigan desperately need the points, as do Birmingham, who need to shake off that Cup winning hangover quickly if they want to stay in the Premiership. This one should be a cautious game so I can't see too many goals.

17:30 Everton vs Fulham

It has been the same story for both of these teams all year. You never know which team is going to turn up. The really good one or the really poor one. I guess the lack of consistency is the main reason why they are both languishing in mid-table obscurity. I literally couldn't hazard a guess at what will happen in this game.

SUNDAY:

13:30 Sunderland vs Liverpool

I can see Liverpool keeping up their current good form with a win at the Stadium of Light. Suarez looks a fantastic player and I can't see the Sunderland defence coping with him.

16:00 Chelsea vs Man City

This is a huge game for the end-of-season bragging rights. Which of these teams is going to finish third? It should be, I stress should be, a fantastic game. I'm going with Chelsea.