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Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainments efforts to find a replacement for chief executive Tim Leiweke have stalled in recent weeks, with some board members musing that the company should try to convince Leiweke to stay on board. The board has spent months interviewing possible replacements for Leiweke and has been collectively surprised that some qualified candidates havent been interested in even interviewing for the job. MLSE is jointly owned by Bell Media, TSNs parent company, and telecom rival Rogers Communications. The perception that those companies are often at odds has made some sports executives contacted by MLSE wary. Leiweke said in August that he plans to leave MLSE by June 2015. He has since confirmed to Bloomberg News that he has talked with Live Nation Entertainment chairman Irving Azoff about starting a joint venture that could include assets that belong to Madison Square Garden Co. Leiweke joined MLSE in 2013 after working for 13 years for the Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns the Los Angeles Lakers and Kings. After a rough start, when he drew criticism for a plan to remove photos of Leafs legends from the hallways of the Air Canada Centre, Leiweke won praise for his hiring of Raptors GM Masai Ujiri, and for navigating local politics to get a new $30-million practice facility built for the Raptors. John Cassaday, chief executive of Corus Entertainment in Toronto, is widely considered a front-runner for the job. But even he has his detractors on the board. Cassaday is 60, according to Forbes.com, and some MLSE board members, a source told TSN, would prefer a younger CEO. One person familiar with the matter told TSN that the board has realized in recent months the talent it is poised to lose when Leiweke leaves. Several board members had discussions with Leiweke about staying on as recently as December, but that option has been abandoned, the person said. Leiweke and MLSE part-owner Larry Tanenbaum have a fractious relationship and unless Tanenbaum sells his minority stake in Canadas highest profile company - a development that probably wont happen - Leiweke is unlikely to change his mind about leaving. Leiweke has spent recent weeks addressing issues with TFC. Star player Jermaine Defoe wont return to the team next season and Leiweke has been trying to get MLSE the best return for him, and plotting a plan to replace him. The story of who will replace Leiweke has percolated in sports business circles for months. Several Toronto-based sports business executives said perhaps the best candidate to replace Leiweke would be his own brother. Tod Leiweke, Tims younger brother, is the chief executive of a sports holding company that owns the Tampa Bay Lightning and its arena. He previously was the CEO of the NFLs Seattle Seahawks. Tods so well respected in the industry, but I really dont see it happening, said one Toronto-based sports industry executive. How does that conversation go when Tod calls Tim and asks, what do you think of the board? Should I interview for the job? . His recovery time is expected to be six to eight months. Seidenberg was injured in the third period of Fridays 5-0 victory over the Ottawa Senators, when he got his leg tangled with forward Cory Conacher. .Before a raucous sellout crowd, the Hawks won for the 29th time in 31 games to extend their Eastern-best record to 36-8.As usual, pretty much everyone chipped in.Four starters were in double figures and backup point guard Dennis Schroder led a spurt at the start of the fourth quarter that helped the Hawks pull away. .com) - Klay Thompson is quickly proving he is worth every penny of his recently signed four-year contract extension. . Despite Barcelona showing the same vulnerability in defence, Messis best performance since returning from a lengthy injury layoff ensured that his side bounced back from a defeat by Valencia in the previous round. . Betancourt was 2-5 with a 4.08 ERA and 16 saves for the Rockies last season before tearing a ligament in his pitching elbow. He considered undergoing platelet-rich plasma therapy to fix his arm, but announced in August his decision to have Tommy John surgery.The Pittsburgh Penguins will try to grab their first lead of the second round on Monday when the series shifts to New York City for Game 3 at Madison Square Garden. This best-of-seven set is tied at one game apiece. The Rangers opened the series with Fridays 3-2 overtime win in Pittsburgh, but the Penguins rebounded with a 3-0 victory Sunday in the Steel City. New York went 20-17-4 at Madison Square Garden during the regular season and posted a 2-1 record on home ice against Philadelphia in the opening round. The Rangers, of course, eliminated the Flyers with a 2-1 Game 7 victory at MSG on Wednesday. Pittsburgh and the Rangers split a pair of meeting in New York this season, but the Pens have claimed five of the last seven regular-season encounters in the Big Apple. Marc-Andre Fleury anchored Sundays home win over the Rangers, making 22 saves to set a franchise record with his seventh career playoff shutout. Pittsburghs frequently criticized netminder also picked up his 50th career postseason win, becoming the 17th goalie in league history to reach the milestone. "He was very good tonight," Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma said of Fleury. "The calmness and how he made the saves ... It made it feel like it wasnt as many (chances). But the puck was in the crease a little bit and he played it really well. He deserved the shutout tonight." Kris Letang was credited with a goal and collected assists on third-period goals by Jussi Jokinen and Evgeni Malkin. Letangs goal was the 15th of his postseason career, tying Larry Murphy for the most by a defenseman in franchise history. Pittsburgh won despite giving the Rangers three power-play opportunities in the first 10 minutes of the game. The Pens killed off the three early penalties and New York finished the game 0-for-4 on the power play..dddddddddddd. "Maybe the penalty killers set the tone for us," said Bylsma. "Maybe it was them stepping over the boards in those situations. You are not happy about having to kill three in a row but they do a great job for us and I thought, to a man, our players were extremely good tonight." Sidney Crosby is still without a goal in eight playoff games this spring, but the Penguins star captain did register six shots on net in Game 2. Crosby, who has 40 career postseason goals, has gone 13 straight games in the playoffs without scoring. He has six assists in this postseason. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 32 shots for New York, which has now failed to score on 29 straight opportunities with the power play. The Blueshirts are just 3- for-37 with the man advantage in this postseason. "Power play had some looks," Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault said. "Could have given us momentum, we didnt finish. Power play ultimately is my responsibility, and Ive got to find the right trigger points here to make it work and spend the night trying to figure it out." New York is aiming for its first playoff series win against Pittsburgh, which has won all four previous postseason meetings. The Pens boast a 17-5 all-time record against the Rangers in the playoffs and a 7-2 mark at the Garden. Overall, the Rangers have won seven of nine and 12 of their last 17 home playoff games. Pittsburgh defenseman Brooks Orpik has missed three straight games for Pittsburgh with an undisclosed injury and expects to sit out again on Monday. Orpik has been sidelined since missing Game 6 against Columbus in the opening round and Robert Bortuzzo has filled in for him. The Rangers will also host Game 4 of this set on Wednesday before the series heads back to Pittsburgh for Fridays Game 5. ' ' '
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