. Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots t

NEWARK, N.J. -- The NHL reduced its penalty against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday for signing Ilya Kovalchuk in 2010. The Devils will keep the first-round draft pick they were scheduled to forfeit this year, and the league will reduce the $3 million fine assessed against the team for circumventing the NHL-NHLPA collective bargaining agreement The Devils recently applied to the league for reconsideration and relief from a portion of the original penalty, citing primarily changes in circumstances which, in the clubs view, changed the appropriateness of the sanctions. The NHL did not spell out what changed, but Kovalchuk retired after last season and returned to Russia to play there. Devils president and general manager Lou Lamoriello said the franchises new ownership asked the league to reconsider the penalty, and a hearing was held this year. "Were pleased," said Lamoriello, who said several factors other than Kovalchuks retirement went into the leagues decision, without elaborating. Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur felt the original NHL penalty was harsh. "I thought it was a bad judgment by them when they penalized with a first-round pick and all the money," Brodeur said. "I thought they hit our organization pretty hard at the time. It will be nice for the future to count on an extra No. 1 pick." The league said the Devils will be entitled to the 30th selection overall -- the last pick in the first round -- in the 2014 draft. They will not be permitted to trade or transfer its right to that pick. Kovalchuk, who had been acquired by the Devils in February 2010, became a free agent at the end of that season. New Jersey signed him to a 17-year, $102 million deal but the league ruled what would have been the longest contract in NHL circumvented the salary cap and rejected it. Arbitrator Richard Bloch heard the unions appeal and nullified the deal. The Devils eventually signed the Russian to a 15-year, $100 million contract deal. However, the NHL ruled the original contact tried to get around the salary cap and penalized the three-time Stanley Cup champions. The Devils had already forfeited a third-round draft pick in 2011. The team also had a first-round draft pick taken from them in the ruling handed down by an independent arbiter, but they had the right to defer until 2014. The Devils kept deferring the loss of the first-round pick, which they were due to lose in June. The NHL said it would not comment further on the decision. Oakland Athletics Gear . Bring on Freddy Garcia. The well-travelled 36-year-old right-hander earned his second NL victory since 2007, and his first since he joined the Atlanta Braves last month, pitching six innings to help beat Miami 6-1 Thursday. Stitched Athletics Jerseys . Arsene Wenger reportedly wants to convert the player into an attacking force, much like he did with Robin Van Persie. https://www.cheapathleticsonline.com/ . The Canadian Football Leagues all-time passing leader said he has not made a final decision, but he will discuss his future with Montreal Alouettes owner Bob Wetenhall on the weekend. Cheap Athletics Jerseys . Colorado came up big against Chicago last spring, and repeated that performance Tuesday night. Varlamov stopped 36 shots and Paul Stastny had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche in a 5-1 victory over the Blackhawks. Oakland Athletics Pro Shop . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona.LANGLEY, B.C. - Dane Dobbie scored four goals and assisted on four more as the Calgary Roughnecks downed the Vancouver Stealth 13-8 in National Lacrosse League action on Friday. Curtis Dickson scored three and helped on four, Daryl Veltman had two goals and two assists, Shawn Evans had a goal and three assists, and Geoff Snider scored once and picked up two assists for Calgary (7-5). Matthew Dinsdale and Jeff Shattler had a goal and an assist appiece for the winners.dddddddddddd Lewis Ratcliff led Vanouver (3-9) with three goals and three assists. Rhys Duch had two goals and two assists, Brett Bucktooth had a goal and two assists, and Tyler Digby and Jamie Lincoln had a goal and an assist apiece. Roughnecks goaltender Mike Poulin stopped 45 shots for the win. Vancouvers Matt Roik made 30 saves and gave up six goals in 44:49, and Tyler Richards stopped six of 13 shots. ' ' '