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Posted on Thu, Jul. 2, 2009

Morning Report: Hossa’s really long-term deal

By Don McKee

INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Most of us don't know what we'll be doing in 12 months, let alone 12 years, but we're not Marian Hossa.

The star forward signed a stunning, 12-year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks yesterday, the first day of NHL free agency.

After spending the last two seasons with the two Stanley Cup finalists - Pittsburgh in 2008 and Detroit last season - Hossa gave up his quest for a ring and settled for money.

Not that Chicago can't win one somewhere along the way - the Blackhawks had the youngest lineup among the contenders last season - but Detroit seems a better long-term bet.

But the length of the contract was the eye-opener. Hossa is 30, and who's to say he can't play till he's 42? Chris Chelios is 47 and says he wants to come back one more time.

Either way - stardom or bust - Hossa will be tying up salary-cap space until 2021.

Quotable. Jeremy Mayfield will be roaring around the high-banked oval at Daytona International Speedway this weekend, just two months after a positive test for methamphetamines.

Yesterday, U.S. District Court Judge Graham Mullen issued a temporary injunction to allow the NASCAR driver to return to the track, lifting his suspension.

At a hearing in Charlotte, N.C., Mullen sided with Mayfield's attorney, Bill Diehl, who argued that the test results could only be accurate if Mayfield was a habitual meth user.

If the driver had used the drug at the levels the NASCAR test indicated, Diehl suggested, Mayfield would be "either a walking zombie or he's dead."

How is he with a turkey? The Reading Phillies, home to such festive promotions as Gluttony Night, held their annual Spam carving contest before Tuesday night's game.

More than a dozen knife-wielding artists, who might have a future in whittling, attempted to win the ceremonial spatula.

Jose Alicea of Gilbertsville won the $250 prize by carving a living room, complete with a miniature sofa and TV.

From a canned spam!

Shockingly, no one carved a replica of Wernersville's Kate Goselin.

The competition raised $500 for Opportunity House, which aids low-income families in Reading.

Contact staff writer Don McKee at 215-854-4611 or

dmckee@phillynews.com.

This article contains information from the Associated Press.

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