NHL-League owners approve new labor deal

Jan 9 (Reuters) - The National Hockey League's (NHL) board of governors ratified the tentative labor deal on Wednesday, bringing players one step closer to playing after a four-month lockout that threatened to wipe out the entire season.Requiring a simple majority to pass, league owners voted unanimously to approve the tentative agreement that was agreed to early on Sunday after a marathon 16-hour...

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UPDATE 1-NHL-Maple Leafs fire Brian Burke as general manager

* Maple Leafs failed to make playoffs during Burke's tenure* Toronto placed 13th in the Eastern Conference last season (Adds quotes, detail)TORONTO, Jan 9 (Reuters) - The Toronto Maple Leafs fired President and General Manager Brian Burke on Wednesday in a shock move just days before the National Hockey League returns to action following a bitter labor dispute with players.Assistant General Manager...

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Maple Leafs fire Brian Burke as general manager

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Toronto Maple Leafs fired President and General Manager Brian Burke on Wednesday in a shock move just days before the National Hockey League returns to action following a bitter labor dispute with players.Assistant General Manager Dave Nonis will replace Burke, who is remaining with the Maple Leafs team as a senior advisor."This is a decision the board and myself made collectively,"...

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Soccer-Krasnozhan sacked as Kuban Krasnodar coach

MOSCOW, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Yuri Krasnozhan has been fired as coach of Kuban Krasnodar following a "strategic" disagreement with the club's bosses, the Russian Premier League side said on Tuesday.Krasnozhan's sacking came as a shock to most soccer experts after he had led modest Kuban to fourth place midway through the season - their best position in Russia's top flight."It was a tough decision but...

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Soccer-Buonanotte spares Malaga's blushes against lowly Eibar

MADRID, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Diego Buonanotte saved Malaga from a potential King's Cup humiliation when he scored twice and created another in a 4-1 comeback win at home to third-tier Eibar that put them through to the last eight on Tuesday.Eibar, who are second in their regional section of the Segunda B division and have never played in the top flight, took a surprise lead in the 12th minute of the...

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Soccer-South African morale dented by loss ahead of Nations Cup

CAPE TOWN, Jan 8 (Reuters) - African Nations Cup hosts South Africa suffered a morale-deflating 1-0 defeat at home to a young Norway side on Tuesday in their penultimate warm-up international.Norway, with a team of inexperienced home-based players, scored the only goal from captain Tarik Elyounoussi four minutes before half-time.Elyounoussi took advantage of some slopping defending to net from close...

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NHL-Vanderbeek gains sole ownership of Devils after refinancing

 New Jersey Devils majority owner Jeff Vanderbeek completed a refinancing of the team's debt on Thursday, assuming full control of the National Hockey League club.Vanderbeek, a former Lehman Brothers executive who purchased the team in 2004, made the announcement as NHL officials and locked out players were meeting in New York trying to thrash out a new collective bargaining agreement in an effort...

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Vanderbeek gains sole ownership of Devils after refinancing

 New Jersey Devils majority owner Jeff Vanderbeek completed a refinancing of the team's debt on Thursday, assuming full control of the National Hockey League club.Vanderbeek, a former Lehman Brothers executive who purchased the team in 2004, made the announcement as NHL officials and locked out players were meeting in New York trying to thrash out a new collective bargaining agreement in an effort...

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NHL, union stay apart much of Thursday

Any momentum gained from a long night of negotiations between the NHL and the players' association seemed to have been lost Thursday when the sides remained mostly apart.A meeting that Commissioner Gary Bettman said would begin at 10 a.m. EST didn't start until several hours later, and then ended quickly.That one hour of talks centered on the reporting of hockey-related revenues by teams, and both...

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