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The verbal salvos from Carson Palmer about Chad Ochocinco's absence from the Bengals this offseason have intensified. On Sirius NFL Radio on Tuesday, Palmer issued his strongest criticism yet about the absence of the ninth-year wide receiver. "It's definitely a new look for the Bengals receiver corps but I couldn't be happier with the guys we've got," Palmer said. "T.J.'s (Houshmandzadeh) gone and Chad's pretty much gone, he hasn't been here, so we've got guys that want those two spots, guys that compete day in and day out, when we're out there on the field, running, conditioning and in the weight room lifting. They're guys that want to take over for those two spots. They look every bit capable of doing what we're going to ask them to do."

Cincinnati Enquirer

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A team from Chicago is showing interest in trading four players for Jake Peavy -- but for now, it's not the Cubs. It's the White Sox. According to Padres personnel, Peavy met with Padres manager Bud Black late Wednesday night to discuss a trade overture from the Sox. Peavy, whose consent would be needed for a trade to any club, declined all comment after meeting with Black.

San Diego Union Tribune

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Leave it to the Clippers to be conflicted by the No. 1 pick. Blake Griffin is a power forward, and Los Angeles currently is paying power forward Zach Randolph $33.3 million through 2011. Center Chris Kaman is on the books for $34 million through 2012, and Marcus Camby has one year left at $7.6 million. Meanwhile, in the backcourt sits the $60 million white elephant known as Baron Davis, whose return to Los Angeles was an unmitigated disaster. The Clippers wouldn't have minded sending Davis back to Golden State (which reportedly is eager to have him back) and pairing Rubio with Eric Gordon. That said, Griffin is a franchise-altering talent, and those don't come around often. The Clippers have to focus on moving the talented but troubled Randolph. No way does Mike Dunleavy want to risk tainting Griffin with any of Randolph's bad habits. Plus, because the two play a similar style, they wouldn't mesh well. The problem is, the Clippers aren't going to have much leverage.

Detroit News

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The tradition of college football at Yankee Stadium could be in the embryonic stages of being revived at the new Yankee Stadium. Jack Swarbrick, Notre Dame's athletic director, said the Yankees were open to having college football at the new Stadium, and he would like the Fighting Irish to be the first team to play there. Swarbrick stressed that no dates had been discussed. "We've been in contact with Yankee Stadium and asked and inquired," Swarbrick said. "We will be discussing games with them, but we haven't entered into any substantive discussions."

New York Times

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Reports out of Mexico that the Los Angeles Galaxy are interested in acquiring Mexico's Jesus Arellano, currently plying his trade with Monterrey in the Primera Division, have been refuted firmly by the Major League Soccer club. "There's no truth to that," was the official statement from the Galaxy.

Goal.com

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CEO of Strikeforce Scott Coker on internet street fighting legend Kimbo Slice: "We had an option to exercise Kimbo's contract from Pro Elite. Basically out of all those fighters we took, he was the only one that we didn't grab - it was an option to take [Slice's contract.] With that option, there was an expiration date on it. In the very beginning, we tried to have dialogue with them about trying to make the deal a little more realistic and we just couldn't work it out. At the end of the day, if we would have worked it out, we would have exercised the option. I still think that we'll continue the dialogue and at some point, if he really wants to fight in MMA, then we'll let him fight for us. Why not? Why not put him back in the mix? We just need to talk about a different arrangement, that's all."

mmanews.com

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NASCAR has given the attorney for Jeremy Mayfield a copy of the suspended driver's toxicology report. Charlotte attorney Bill Diehl is representing Mayfield and requested the documents from NASCAR. Mayfield was suspended indefinitely May 9 for failing a random drug test. NASCAR has not revealed what banned substance Mayfield used. Mayfield has said he was never told what he tested positive for. The doctor who administers NASCAR's drug-testing program refuted that.

Charlotte Observer

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Another potential buyer has surfaced for the Coyotes, one that would keep the team in Glendale. An attorney for Las Vegas-based businessman John Breslow, who owns 3 percent of the Coyotes, said Wednesday that Breslow told the NHL he has formed a group interested in submitting a bid for the team. Attorney Scott Cohen declined to comment on reports that Breslow's group includes Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky. Breslow served as Nebraska state auditor from 1991 to 1999 and was a Republican candidate for governor of that state in 1998. Breslow was waiting for U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge Redfield Baum to finalize bidding procedures before proceeding, Cohen said. The Breslow interest is separate from another potential purchasing group headed by Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of baseball's Chicago White Sox and the NBA's Chicago Bulls.

Arizona Republic

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Valero Texas Open champion Zach Johnson won his fifth PGA Tour event in 26 months with his third different SeeMore putter. All three SeeMores are members of the same FGP family (the FGP is the original SeeMore). Johnson's newest putter, which he put into play for the first time at the Players Championship, is the recently introduced FGP Stainless.

golfweek

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It's entirely possible that one day we'll all look back on this match -- Roger Federer against Rafael Nadal, fighting it out in the dirt inside the Magic Box, 2009 -- as a career-defining moment. It could go on to be the most critical victory of Federer's career. For Federer has introduced a big question mark in the Roland Garros narrative, and revived the idea that he may yet win the clay-court major. If Federer wins at Roland Garros -- whether his final-round victim is Nadal or someone else -- Madrid will stand as the turning point: the moment when Roger Federer finally got some wind behind his sails and floated free of the shoals of self-doubt and a self-protective embrace of disappointment. We all know just how much that Roland Garros title means in the big picture; the French Open championship match could have a more profound impact on tennis history than any other major final.

Tennis.com

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