With free agency looming in less than three weeks, New Jersey Devils captain Zach Parise has crossed the rival New York Rangers off his list of potential future employers.
Meeting with the media for the first time since his team lost the Stanley Cup in six games to the Los Angeles Kings two days ago, the 27-year-old Parise reiterated that he would like to continue playing for the Devils and would even consider signing before free agency starts on July with the right deal.
When asked if he'd play for the Rangers, a team New Jersey defeated in the postseason, he was short and simple: "No."
"Don't try to get a headline out of this," Parise said as he and the other Devils cleaned out their lockers at the Prudential Center in Newark.
The Stanley Cup Finals television ratings were down 29 percent from last year.
The Kings' victory over the Devils in six games averaged a 2.2 rating and 4 share on NBC. The 2011 series between the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks, boosted by a Game 7, averaged a 3.1 and 6.
Monday's decisive Game 6 earned a series-high 3.1 rating, down 3 percent from last season's Game 6.
Ratings measure the percentage of homes with televisions tuned into a program. Shares measure the percentage of all households with TVs in use at the time.
The Winnipeg Jets signed Jim Slater to a three-year contract. The 29-year-old center had 13 goals and eight assists in 78 games last season.
NFL: Detroit Lions running back Mikel Leshoure was suspended for two games without pay and will have to give up two more game checks for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy. Leshoure pleaded guilty to marijuana possession in May.
Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Dontay Moch was suspended for the first four games of the season because he violated the policy on performance-enhancing substances.
TENNIS: At the Aegon Classic in Birmingham, England, Misaki Doi, a lefthander ranked outside the top 100, beat top-seeded Francesca Schiavone, 7-5, 6-4, while Ursula Radwanska defeated the second-seeded Sabine Lisicki 6-3, 6-4.
The upsets could be a boon for former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic, who survived two set points and a bee attack before winning, 6-1, 7-6 (3), against wild card Melanie South, a grass-court specialist.
The bee attack happened as Jankovic, trailing 2-4 in the second set, seemed ready to receive South's first service of the seventh game. Instead, Jankovic suddenly ran, calling out: "Wait! Wait! Wait!"
HORSE RACING: The $1.5 million Hambletonian, the richest race for 3-year-old trotters, will be televised by the CBS Sports Network on Aug. 4. NBC had televised the race for the last five years, but the network couldn't accommodate the August date for the race because it will be airing the Olympics.
CYCLING: The 2010 Tour de France champion Andy Schleck pulled out of this year's race with an injury he sustained during the Criterium du Dauphine earlier this month.
Schleck's father said his son will not be able to ride for at least five weeks and is likely to miss the London Olympics.
The men's Olympic race will take place on July 28, less than a week after the Tour ends on the Champs Elysees.
AUTO RACING: Indycar announced its Aug. 19 race in Qingdao, China, is canceled.
- Staff and wire reports
