Today's top sports stories: one of baseball's best young stars is about to receive one of the biggest contracts ever, Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard publicly bicker, and more.

Felix Hernandez is about to become a very, very rich man. The 26-year-old Seattle Mariners ace seems likely to sign a seven-year $175 million contract, the richest ever for a pitcher. [USA Today]

Recently crowned NFL Most Valuable Player Adrian Peterson underwent surgery to repair a sports hernia. Last year, Peterson had surgery following a torn ACL then gained over 2,000 yards rushing, so who knows what new superhuman powers he'll gain this time. [ESPN]

More trouble in Lakerland, as Kobe Bryant called out Dwight Howard for not playing through pain, which led to Howard retorting that "he's not a doctor." BURN! [N.Y. Daily News]

In a radio interview, Curt Schilling claimed that someone in the Red Sox organization recommended that he use performance-enhancing drugs to help speed his recovery from shoulder trouble. [S.I.]

Hockey can be dangerous, and not just for the players. On Monday a referee took a deflected puck to the head. Watch that, and nine more incidents of refs getting knocked out during games. [GuySpeed]

More From B98.5