Today in sports: Some rare memorabilia, the NHL readies for its next labor fight, and Wenlock is watching you!

New York Giants legend Lawrence Taylor is auctioning off the Super Bowl ring he won in 1991, when his team beat the Buffalo Bills on Scott Norwood's infamous (missed) FG. Taylor who has had more than his share of legal troubles since his Hall of Fame career ended, did not give a reason for the sale. The ring, which has significant wear, is valued at around $75,000 to $100,000 dollars, mostly because of the name and game number on it. Plenty of championship rings have sold to public before, but rarely one from a player as famous and important as Taylor. [New York Daily News]

Ready for a new lockout? The NHL informed its player's union today that it won't be renewing their current collective bargaining agreement when it expires this offseason. That means a new deal must be negotiated before the start of next season and given the trouble the NFL and NBA had during their last offseason, observers are not optimistic about the talks. NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr (he of the notorious Major League Baseball strike of the 1994) already said this week that he expects the league to ask for significant revenue rollbacks that the union does not plan to accept lying down. [CBS Sports]

TBS has been given the rights to broadcast the two new Wild Card playoff games that were added to Major League Baseball's postseason this year. As a trade off, two of the Division Series games that TBS would have normally broadcast will be given to the MLB Network, which broadcast live payoff games for the first time. Plan your October accordingly. [Businessweek] 

If you're looking for something to read, try this Wayne Drehs story on former U.S. Soccer coach Bob Bradley, who is trying to re-build Egypt's national team, in a country struggling to rebuild itself after a revolution and a tragic soccer riot that killed 74 people. [ESPN]

The 2012 Olympic torch relay officially got under way today as Princess Anne (with help from David Beckham) accepted the torch from Greek organizers in a ceremony in Athens. The torch will now be flown back to the UK, where it will make a 70-day, 8,000 mile jog around the nation. Princess Anne, who competed for Great Britain in equestrian events in 1976, said she would have hated having to compete on her home soil, because of all the pressure put on today's athletes. So have fun, kids! [The Guardian]

Speaking of pressure and the London Olympics, have you seen their one-eyed mascot, Wenlock? He and his partner, Mandeville, would be pretty adorable if it weren't for the fact that his one-eye is actually a camera that lets him "record everything." (Seriously, that's how the Olympic committee actually made him.) Just a friendly reminder that everything you do anywhere in London this summer is being watched over by the biggest closed-circuit security operation ever assembled. Wenlock is watching! [Forbes]

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Dashiell Bennett