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Brian Burke will be free to negotiate with any NHL team within two weeks. Michael Farber on S I suggested Burke should be able to negotiate a “non-interference” clause with Maple Leaf Sports, something similar to the acomodation given to Bryan Colangelo, Raptors GM. Richard Peddie will be deeply troubled by a new source of influence and I expect him to attempt to scuttle negotiations in any way he can. And will Cliff Fletcher be anxious to give up his power now that the hour is at hand?  This story is going to become very interesting but the only palatable solution for Leaf fans has to be the hiring of Burke as the next GM…Evengi Nabokov will miss his fourth straight game for the San Jose Sharks tonight…ex-Leaf Bryan McCabe scored his first goal for the Florida Panthers last night…Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson, currently getting by on 11.5 million a year, as a coach!, rejected an offer from owner Jerry Buss to extend the contract at the same lucrative terms…the Raptors needed to beat a slumping Philadelphia squad last night. Not only did the team come up flat, they watched their worst case scenario unfold when Jose Calderon left the game with a sore hamstring. No depth, no hope?… okay I have no idea who Mindy McCready is, but if the new reality show she is shopping, Mending Mindy, in any way humiliates Roger Clemens then consider me a fan! Clemens is alleged to have had an affair with the country singer when she was, ahem, quite young…the New York Jets have lost eleven of their past twelve games to the New England Patriots. The fun gets underway tonight at 8.30pm from Foxboro with the Pats giving a field goal. Brett Favre and his insane competence swings make the game untouchable…Minnesota Viking QB Gus Frerotte has nine interceptions in the past four games…Matt Hasselback is expected to make his long awaited return for the Seahawks Sunday against Arizona. The Hawks trail Arizona by four games in the epic battle for the NFC West title…very disturbing rumours have Jon Gruden set to leave the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at this seasons conclusion. Gruden is being wooed by a number of high profile University programs… the New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers have the number one ranked defences in their respective conferences. Surprises include the New York Jets defence a boisterous fourth in the AFC while the San Diego Chargers are a dismal thirteenth. In the NFC the Minnesota Vikings are a robust third, marking them as a team to watch if they ever acquire a reasonable quarterback…the top ranked offences are in Denver and New Orleans, respectively, with the biggest surprise arguably the Arizona Cardinals and the resurgent Kurt Warner second in the NFC…Dale Earnhardt Racing has announced a merger for the 2009 season with Chip Ganassi Racing. Many people are fuming, viewing this step as an indictment of Teresa Earnhardt and her handling of operations since the death of the Intimidator. If Dale Jr had not been so brusquely moved aside does anyone believe this drastic step would have been necessary?…the NASCAR season concludes with a whimper Sunday with the Ford 400 from Homestead. Jimmy Johnson has had the championship settled for weeks now…