Times wires
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Braves 14, Mets 6
ATLANTA — Dan Uggla, Juan Francisco and Freddie Freeman hit two-run homers off R.A. Dickey for Atlanta. Uggla had been 0-for-24 against the knuckleballer before his home run capped a four-run third and put the Braves up 6-3. It was his first homer in 12 games this season.
By Mike Gore, Times Correspondent
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Redfish: Redfish have schooled up around Fort De Soto and south Tampa Bay. They should push into upper Tampa Bay this month. Expect good numbers around Weedon Island and Double Branch. The reds are mixed with the mullet schools. The slack and slow outgoing tide has produced best.
Snook: The snook have been more aggressive in the late morning and afternoon. Most fish have been out on the grass flats also hanging with the mullet schools. When you arrive on a spot, throw the biggest bait you have, without chumming. This should entice the bigger fish. After 15 minutes throw a few handfuls of greenbacks to get the snook going.
Other species: Target tarpon around the Skyway Bridge, but you can catch Spanish mackerel while waiting for a bite. Spanish mackerel, bluefish and small blacktip sharks have been over the sandy shoals around Pinellas Point.
Mike Gore charters out of Tampa Bay. Call him at (813) 390-6600 or visit tampacharters.com.
Times wires
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Pirates 2, D'backs 1
PHOENIX — Neil Walker's two-out bloop single fell between three players in shallow centerfield and drove in Clint Barmes with the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, lifting Pittsburgh. The Pirates, who won two of three in the series, got back-to-back two-out singles from Barmes and Andrew McCutchen in the eighth off Arizona starter Daniel Hudson before Walker's hit off reliever David Hernandez.
Times wires
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
In a move that had been anticipated by USF coaches, sophomore point guard Blake Nash, whose playing time diminished with the emergence of freshman Anthony Collins, announced Wednesday he is transferring.
Nash, who averaged 3.4 points and 12.2 minutes, is the second backup to seek minutes elsewhere after sophomore Lavonte Dority left in December and is now headed to Valparaiso. Nash said he's looking to find a school close to his family's home in Arizona, and that a family illness may allow him to obtain a hardship waiver and play immediately at his new school rather than having to sit out a year.
USF coach Stan Heath had foreseen Nash's departure when he brought in two recruits for official visits last weekend — prep guard Sam Cassell Jr. and Florida Atlantic graduate transfer Kore White — when he had one remaining scholarship at the time.
DENVER: Boston College assistant Kerry Cremeans was named women's coach.
KENT ST.: Memphis assistant Danielle O'Banion was named women's coach.
N.C. STATE: Standout men's forward C.J. Leslie is returning for his junior season.
TEXAS SOUTHERN: Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, a former star at USC and with the defunct Houston Comets of the WNBA, was named women's coach, leaving North Carolina-Wilmington.
TOLEDO: The men's team will be banned from next year's postseason because of past academic problems after the NCAA denied the school's appeal.
Football
POT CONTROVERSY: Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens said the Ducks actively work to address possible illegal substance use by student-athletes. A report in ESPN The Magazine estimated that 40 to 60 percent of the team smoked marijuana.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN: Running back Austin White, tight end Joe Sawicki and receiver Daniel Harris were kicked off the team after being charged with crimes.
By Stephen F. Holder and Rick Stroud, Times Staff Writers
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
TAMPA — Bucs coach Greg Schiano shot down an online report Wednesday that indicated the team is interested in trading CB Aqib Talib.
"Only because there's some extenuating circumstance, I'm going to comment," Schiano said. "Usually, I won't. In this day and age, with all the blogs and everything, if I commented on every speculation, it would be an everyday task."
PewterReport.com did not say what the team would seek in return for Talib.
"All I can tell you is there is absolutely zero thinking on our part as far as wanting to (trade Talib)," Schiano said. "I want him to be a Buc. I understand there's been issues before I arrived. And I understand that some of those are a heck of a lot bigger than playing football. But I am really hopeful that clears itself up.
"Since I met him, he's done everything I've asked. He's practiced well, and he's prepared well. I try not to judge people other than by how they treat me, and he's treated me well."
The team has been experimenting with veteran CB Ronde Barber at safety, a move that could strain the current lineup of cornerbacks.
One reason Talib is almost certain to remain in the short term: his June 25 trial in Texas on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, for which he faces 20 years in prison.
BLOUNT BACKS OFF: RB LeGarrette Blount still doesn't see a need for the team to draft Alabama RB Trent Richardson, but he says he would welcome him as a teammate.
Asked earlier this month by CBSSports.com how he would react if the Bucs drafted Richardson, Blount said, "I would not like that pick. I would definitely not be happy with that pick."
Blount toned it down Wednesday.
"It was just a comment," he said. "There's nothing for anybody to read too deep into. There's nothing I would want to explain. I'd welcome him as a teammate. I've met the guy before. He's not a bad kid. But at the same time, like I said, I'd welcome anything that helps the team get better."
WHERE'S DEZ? Teams cannot punish players for missing voluntary offseason workouts. But it has not gone unnoticed that WR Dezmon Briscoe, for the second straight day, did not attend minicamp.
Schiano did not criticize Briscoe, 22, the only player under contract who has failed to attend.
"I had people check to make sure he was okay," Schiano said of Briscoe, who caught a team-high six touchdowns last season. "I'm not going to call on the phone and say, 'Where are you?' If someone's missing, it's a shame because it's hurting the team. But there's reasons sometimes."
Briscoe said Wednesday that he's having personal issues but will be back with the team Monday.
Internet sites have reported a Twitter spat between Briscoe's current girlfriend, reality TV star Royce Reed, and Briscoe's ex-girlfriend Christina Nero, the mother of his son. Nero and Reed have had numerous posts this week, including Nero saying she and Briscoe have been involved in a relationship unbeknownst to Reed.
Reed, who is on VH1's Basketball Wives, and Briscoe have dated since 2011. Briscoe joined the Bucs in 2010 after being drafted by the Bengals that year.
I'LL BE READY: DT Gerald McCoy, participating in noncontact drills because of his surgically repaired right biceps, said he would be 100 percent by the start of training camp.
Times wires
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
NFL
Putting Drama back in the draft?
The networks televising the NFL draft have been discussing ways to not tip viewers as much about who is about to be announced, according to a tweet by Sports Illustrated writer Richard Dietsch.
The league, NFL Network and ESPN have said they won't show players on the phone from the green room during the first night of the draft, Dietsch wrote.
In recent years, networks' images drained some of the effect of the official announcement coming from the commissioner at the podium.
More NFL
Players union files suit against coaches union
The NFL Players Association is suing the NFL Coaches Association in D.C. Superior Court for about $650,000, saying it loaned the coaches' group that amount "to cover payroll and other NFLCA expenses."
The players' union is also asking the court to determine whether NFLCA executive director David Cornwell was "lawfully elected."
Cornwell said "the lawsuit and the alleged debt is a smoke screen to prevent the NFLCA from breaking away from the NFLPA."
Ex-Saint to settle: Former Saints running back Deuce McAllister and Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. reached a tentative agreement to settle a federal lawsuit over his failed car dealership in Mississippi, court records said. NMAC sued McAllister for more than $1.5 million, alleging the dealership defaulted on payments and exceeded credit limits. McAllister filed a counter claim in which he said Nissan knew he "was a young professional athlete inexperienced in the motor vehicle sales business" and did little to help his dealership succeed. The dealership, which closed in 2009, agreed to liquidate its assets through Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Skipping camp: The Jaguars will allow cornerback Aaron Ross to skip part of training camp in order to see his wife, U.S. runner Sanya Richards-Ross, compete in the London Olympics. Richards-Ross, a 400-meter bronze medalist in Beijing, must still qualify for London.
Soccer
Chelsea seizes Champions edge
Didier Drogba scored in first-half stoppage time, and Chelsea beat Barcelona 1-0 in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals in England. It was the first Champions League loss in 14 months for Barcelona, seeking to become the first team to win consecutive titles since AC Milan (1989-90). The second leg of the total-goals series is Tuesday at Barcelona. In the other semi, Bayern Munich leads Real Madrid 2-1 after the first leg.
Tennis
Nadal, Djokovic coast on Monte Carlo clay
Seven-time defending champion Rafael Nadal and top-ranked Novak Djokovic began their claycourt seasons with comfortable wins in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco. Djokovic opened with a 6-1, 6-4 win against Andreas Seppi, while Nadal, 40-1 overall at this event, followed with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Jarkko Nieminen.
ET CETERA
Olympics: A silver cup awarded to Spyros Louis as the winner of the first modern-day Olympic marathon in 1896 sold for more than $865,000, Christie's auction house said.
Track: Reese Hoffa, the U.S. Indoor champion, won the shot put at the Kansas Relays in Lawrence with a throw of 71 feet, 3 3/4 inches, the best mark in the world this year.
Times wires
By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
TORONTO — 3B Evan Longoria remained in dubiously rare company after his three-error game Tuesday, though an appeal of the scoring decision on the first error is in the works.
Under new MLB policy, appeals can be made by either of the teams or by the players union, and the batter, Toronto's J.P. Arencibia, is believed to have requested a review by an MLB committee.
Longoria said he assumed the third-inning play was scored a hit and didn't know it was an error until Arencibia got to third (after Longoria's second error) later in the inning.
"He was like, 'How about that error?' I was like, 'What?' And when I looked at the board, I'm like, 'That was an error?' " Longoria said. "And he's like, 'I'm definitely appealing that because I'm hitting .069 or whatever. I'm going to have somebody call for me.' "
Longoria said he felt worse that the error led to a loss than the mark on his record and didn't care whether it was changed or not: "I'll take it. … It doesn't matter to me. It's all about winning and losing." (That's also a diplomatic response since if it is changed, three earned runs get added to teammate Jeff Niemann's stats, hiking his ERA from 4.50 to 7.20.)
Longoria tied the Rays franchise record, joining six others, and is one of only four Gold Glove winners to have a three-error game over the past 10 years, joining Cesar Izturis, Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez.
PLAN OF ATTACK: RHP Jeremy Hellickson has two goals in mind when he takes the mound tonight: be more aggressive and mix his pitches better.
Hellickson doesn't feel there was much wrong in his last outing, when he allowed five runs (on three homers) in five innings at Boston, though he admitted he was too quick in abandoning his changeup when it wasn't working at the start of the game.
"It's tough when it's not there," he said. "It wasn't there, and I went away from it way too early, I think. It goes back to mixing up a little better. The changeup is obviously one of my better pitches, and I need to throw that a little more than last time."
Conversely, he found himself throwing the cutter, a new addition, too often. "I went to it way too much last game," he said. "I was feeling good, getting consistent with it. At the same time I can't throw that many again."
UPTON UPDATE: CF B.J. Upton (lower back soreness) played what were expected to be the final games of his rehab assignment, going 0-for-3 in both games of a doubleheader for Double-A Montgomery. Manager Joe Maddon said Upton could join the Rays in Toronto tonight, though the more likely scenario is for him to meet them at home on Friday. Upton will return to centerfield and most likely hit "more toward the middle" of the order.
HELPING THE CAUSE: With their 2-year-old son, GoGo, diagnosed with autism, INF Sean Rodriguez and his wife, Gisele, are eager to participate in the Walk Now for Autism Speaks event 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Raymond James Stadium. "We want to do everything we can to promote awareness," Rodriguez said, adding that several teammates are expected to stop by. For info, see walknowforautismspeaks.org.
MISCELLANY: RHP Lance Pendleton, who pitched 15 games for the Yankees and Astros last year, was signed from the independent Atlantic League and sent to Triple-A Durham. … Rodriguez got his first homer and his first RBI. … LHP David Price improved to 4-0, 3.41 in Toronto. … Maddon said he "wasn't dissing anybody" in saying he'd start as many lefties as he could Tuesday against Jays LHP Ricky Romero, who snarled at the comments after the game. … Tickets ($45) are available for the April 25 St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Carillon Hilton, See stpete.com for info.
By Rick Stroud, Times Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
TAMPA — His statue stands with those of seven former teammates like a sentry in the lobby at One Buc Place, proof that Ronde Barber has been a fixture at cornerback in Tampa Bay for going on 16 seasons.
But the 37-year-old Barber is willing to move where he is needed.
At the request of new coach Greg Schiano during minicamp this week, Barber has embraced a switch to safety, where Tampa Bay is thin after the recent release of Tanard Jackson.
Despite five Pro Bowls, being on the team that won Super Bowl XXXVII and having the NFL's longest active streak of starts at 199, the most by a cornerback in league history, Barber is okay with starting over.
"I'm fitting where needed currently," Barber said. "They know I can play corner. They know I can play inside. I'm where there's a loose spot right now, which I'm all right with right now. It's good. It's fun. There's a lot to learn, but it's good.
Barber said former coach and defensive coordinator Raheem Morris and former defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin used him at safety.
"I've never been averse to it in the past. It's not as if I'm completely unprepared for it. But I'm a football player. I'm in Year 16. I'm not demanding anything. I want to play, and I want to win. And I think our coaches have that same feeling about me."
Barber signed a one-year, $3 million contract in March and planned to compete to start at right cornerback, possibly with free agent Eric Wright. Starting left cornerback Aqib Talib goes on trial June 25, charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Barber believes the Bucs plan to draft a cornerback — LSU's Morris Claiborne could be available with the fifth overall pick. And Jackson's release left the Bucs with only four safeties: Cody Grimm, Larry Asante, Ahmad Black and Devin Holland. Only Grimm has started a regular-season game.
When Schiano asked Barber to play safety during this week's voluntary minicamp, he didn't hesitate.
"In my short time with Ronde, he is the epitome of a pro football player," Schiano said. "Having coached in this league — even though it was 15 years ago — I remember having the opportunity of being blessed to coach a few true pros. And Ronde is one of those guys.
"There was a play (Tuesday) that is kind of an everyday play you could go through the motions, and he did it like a first-year rookie trying to impress the coaching staff. And that, to me, is what a true pro is. He's trying to perfect his craft. I like what I see out there. I don't know if that's where he'll stay or not. But I really like the way he's attacking it. In the scheme we play, I think he can do it."
Barber, who has 1,142 career tackles and 27 sacks — an NFL record for defensive backs — has played in the tackle box as a slot defender in nickel packages.
"There's no transition," Barber said. "What I've done so far in this camp is really no different than me playing down in the box all these years. It's just slowing my feet down from corner feet to safety feet. It's a little bit of a learning curve with the verbiage and assignments, but it's nothing I can't handle if need be."
If there is a concern, it might be that at 5 feet 10, 190 pounds, Barber is small for an NFL safety.
"Some would worry about his size," Schiano said. "I don't worry about it."
Others have moved from cornerback to safety late in their careers.
"Rod (Woodson) and Aeneas (Williams) did it," Barber said. "I can cheat like I've always cheated without having to worry about covering so many receivers. I've been doing it this week, and we'll see what develops."
Times wires
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
DENVER — Jamie Moyer wasn't overly sore or elated after his record-setting night.
The 49-year-old Rockies left-hander was pretty much business as usual Wednesday, the day after becoming the oldest pitcher to win a major-league game.
Moyer was the talk of baseball after he turned in a vintage performance against the Padres to work his way into the record books.
But the record didn't mean as much to him as pulling the Rockies out of a two-game skid.
"Milestones and records become secondary when you're playing a team sport and have a goal of progressing into the playoffs," he said. "If I can give the team enough innings, enough quality innings to put us in a position to win games, that's what it's about."
He has received more than 100 texts and 20 voice messages offering congratulations.
And he will get back to everyone, just as soon as all the hubbub and hoopla die down.
"I pull for him. I think he's amazing," said Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel, who had Moyer for parts of five seasons when he was in the Phillies rotation. "I've known him basically his whole career."
In other Rockies news, SS Troy Tulowitzki was out of the lineup in a scheduled day off.
PUDGE TO RETIRE: C Ivan Rodriguez plans to retire as a member of the Rangers, his team for the first 12 years of his 21-year career, during a pregame ceremony Monday, MLB.com reported. Rodriguez, 40, was a 13-time Gold Glove winner and a 14-time All-Star and won the 1999 AL MVP Award.
CLEMENS SAGA: The lawyers for seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens are seeking to limit the testimony of Yankees LHP Andy Pettitte at Clemens' perjury trial, according to a document filed in U.S. District Court. Pettitte is expected to say he received HGH from Brian McNamee, Clemens' former trainer, which the defense says is guilt by association.
DYKSTRA SENTENCED: Former Mets OF Lenny Dykstra was sentenced to nine months in jail after pleading no contest to charges he exposed himself to women he met on Craigslist and assaulted one.
ANGELS: Gold Glove-winning SS Erick Aybar, 28, is close to agreeing to a contract worth a guaranteed $35 million over four years, ESPN.com reported. The deal could be announced today.
D'BACKS: CF Chris Young went on the disabled list with a right shoulder contusion a day after slamming into the wall making a catch. INF Geoff Blum went on the DL with a pulled muscle in his side. OF A.J. Pollock and INF Cody Ransom were recalled from Triple-A Reno.
GIANTS: All-Star closer Brian Wilson is set to have reconstructive surgery on his right (pitching) elbow today in Pensacola.
INDIANS: RHP Jeanmar Gomez was suspended for five games and fined by Major League Baseball for intentionally throwing at the Royals' Mike Moustakas on Saturday.
PIRATES: RHP Jeff Karstens went on the 15-day disabled list with shoulder inflammation.
RANGERS: 1B/DH Mitch Moreland returned to the lineup after missing three games following oral surgery for an abscessed tooth. DH Michael Young sat out with back stiffness.
RED SOX: RH reliever Mark Melancon, who has a 49.50 ERA in four outings, was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket. On Tuesday he gave up six earned runs, including three homers, without recording an out, which baseball-reference.com said had never been done before. RHP Junichi Tazawa was recalled from Pawtucket. … Former manager and current ESPN analyst Terry Francona changed his mind and said he will attend the team's 100th anniversary celebration of Fenway Park on Friday.
Times wires
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Marlins 9, Cubs 1
MIAMI — Hanley Ramirez homered for the third game in a row, Mark Buehrle pitched eight innings for his first victory with Miami and the Marlins handed Chicago its fourth straight loss. Ramirez put the Marlins up 4-0 with a two-run homer in the fifth inning. He started the season slowly but in the past four games has gone 9-for-16 with nine RBIs to hike his average from .133 to .283.
By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
TORONTO — The numbers on the Rays' lineup card may be little different tonight.
Manager Joe Maddon moved Ben Zobrist up to the second slot Wednesday, ostensibly to give him a different look than in the middle of the order, and Zobrist hit a two-run homer on his first swing to send the Rays on their way to a 12-2 victory.
Carlos Peña had done well in the No. 2 spot, then Zobrist started well, so Maddon quickly went down the bench with a new plan. "It was funny," Matt Joyce said. "Joe was telling everybody, 'You're a two-hole hitter, you're a two-hole hitter.' " Tonight, he's planning to post a lineup card with a 2 in front of each name.
"It was a nice look," Maddon said. "I liked it.'
Zobrist got the Rays started on what turned out to be their biggest night of the year: Their first game in double-digit runs; their biggest inning, a six-run ninth; and their first with four (or even three) homers, as Joyce, among a career-high three extra-base hits, and Sean Rodriguez hit solo shots and Luke Scott a grand slam.
"We worked good at-bats," Maddon said.
Add in a good-but-not-great start by David Price and encouraging relief work by Wade Davis and Joel Peralta and the Rays got back to even at 6-6 with the end of their tortuous 10-game trip to Detroit, Boston and Toronto finally upon them tonight.
Maddon had been thinking for a few days of moving Zobrist up to second, primarily to provide RBI opportunities for Peña and Evan Longoria, who each moved down a spot to third and fourth.
So what if it worked slightly different than he had planned.
"I sure liked it after I hit that ball," Zobrist said. "I sure liked the look of it then. I liked the look of 12 runs, too."
More change is coming with the pending return of B.J. Upton, likely Friday. One of the players who will be most affected will be Joyce, who, with Upton going back to centerfield and Desmond Jennings to left, will go from being the everyday leftfielder to a platoon starter in right, playing against right-handers (with Zobrist at second) and sitting vs. lefties (with Zobrist in right and Jeff Keppinger at second).
Joyce at least gave Maddon something to think about, showing there was some merit to the theory that by playing every day he would do better against lefties (.267, 4-for-15).
Said Joyce: "It's a presentable case."
Price didn't necessarily look like he had the best stuff of his life, as he said going into the game, but he did hold the Jays to two runs before another small Rogers Centre crowd of 15,828.
The problem, once again, was that he threw too many pitches to work deep into the game, in this case 106 in 52/3 innings. That's after throwing 107 in 61/3 in his debut and 83 over three his last time out, Friday in Boston.
"I'm still struggling a little bit," Price said, "so I need to get back into form and take it from there."
"You know there's more dominating coming," Maddon said. "But I'll take it tonight."
Marc Topkin can be reached at tampabay.com.
Times wires
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Nationals 3, Astros 2
WASHINGTON — Jayson Werth drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the score and Wilson Ramos hit a sacrifice fly as Washington rallied in the eighth and won its third straight. The Nationals (10-3) became the first team to win 10. The Dodgers and Rangers began the day with nine. Washington drew three walks in the eighth and scored twice against three relievers.
Times wires
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
BOSTON — They bash, they pitch and they keep winning.
So much for any hangover from losing last year's World Series.
Mike Napoli hit a two-run homer and drove in four runs, Derek Holland pitched seven solid innings and Texas completed a two-game sweep with a 6-3 win over the Red Sox on Wednesday night.
Unlike Tuesday when the Rangers pounded Boston's pitching, they relied on the formula that has helped them to the AL's best record.
"They've been outstanding," Rangers manager Ron Washington said of his starters, who improved to 8-0 for the first time in club history. "They worked hard in spring training to do what they're doing. We're playing good baseball and we're doing it in different ways."
Texas starters have posted a 1.84 ERA in their past eight games, allowing three runs or fewer in the past six.
Josh Hamilton had three singles and drove in a run for the Rangers, who won their sixth straight.
By Tom Jones, Times Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
tom jones' two cents
These are the overriding images of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs: gloves and sticks and blood littering the ice, disturbing brawls, players dazed on all fours and, in the most somber snapshot so far, the Blackhawks' Marian Hossa unconscious on a stretcher after a brutal hit to the head.
"I've never seen anything like this," NBC analyst Pierre McGuire said.
No one has. Here's a look at what has happened in these playoffs, why it is happening and how to stop it.
What has happened?
The playoffs are 8 days old, and already, eight players have been suspended. That includes Phoenix's Raffi Torres, who is suspended indefinitely and scheduled to have a hearing Friday for his hit Tuesday night on Hossa.
But it doesn't include several incidents that could have prompted suspensions such as Nashville's Shea Weber repeatedly slamming the head of Detroit's Henrik Zetterberg into the glass in a move straight out of the WWE.
Three suspensions belong to a Pittsburgh team that embarrassed itself with a disgusting display of goonery in Sunday's Game 3 loss to Philadelphia. What does it say when a skilled team that has condemned chippy play becomes the dirtiest in the league? What does it say when that team's top player, Sidney Crosby, arguably the best player on the planet, fights?
So far, players have been suspended for ugly incidents such as cross-checking an opponent in the throat, drilling an opponents' head into the glass with an elbow and bowling over an unsuspecting goalie behind the net.
"I'm all for good hockey hits," McGuire said. "But these hits to the head, the attempts to injure, they have no place in our game."
Why is it happening?
Intensity, tension and physical play are ratcheted up in the playoffs. The higher the stakes, the higher the passion. Over a seven-game series, intimidation is an integral and ongoing part of the game plan.
However, fighting and cheap shots often decrease during the postseason because there is too much on the line. One bad penalty can cost you a game, and one game can cost you a series. Players known for playing on the edge often see less ice time because teams want their most talented players on the ice.
But so far, players of every skill level have not only crossed the line, they've poured kerosene on it and scorched it beyond recognition. Quite simply, players have lost respect for another.
"It's not just in hockey. It's a societal thing," McGuire said. "I think people in general have lost respect for one another, and it has carried over into everything and all sports, including hockey. I've talked to linesmen, guys who have been around 10, 15 years, and they tell me that the amount of disrespect on the ice is the worst they've ever seen."
What can be done to stop it?
The NHL needs to get tougher with the suspensions — usually a game or two — because clearly the message is not getting through.
Take Torres. He has been suspended twice for a total of six games in the past year. Obviously, his previous suspensions did not serve as a deterrent Tuesday, when he delivered his vicious, leaping, shoulder-to-head hit on Hossa.
Former NHL star Brendan Shanahan is the NHL's disciplinarian. His mandate is to help cut down on hits to the head that cause concussions.
"He has a thankless job, but it's clear that the punishments need to be more severe,'' NBC's McGuire said. "The league needs to be more like the NFL, which has become draconian, but it has been effective. Look at how the NFL has cracked down on the Saints with bounty-gate. Look at their no tolerance for hitting quarterbacks in the head. Their punishments are severe, and that's how you get things done.''
While no one doubts Shanahan's good intentions or the difficulty of his job, his punishments have fallen somewhere between inconsistent and laughable. Torres will meet with Shanahan on Friday, and Shanahan has the perfect opportunity to send a message to Torres and every other player in the league.
He should suspend the repeat offender for the remainder of the playoffs and then for 41 games next season — that's half a season. That sends a message. That will have players thinking twice the next time they put a player in his crosshairs.
Players aren't getting the message with suspensions of two or three or four games. Shanahan needs to add some zeroes to those suspensions — as in 20, 30 and 40 games.
"Make players scared of doing something stupid," McGuire said.
The other person who needs to step up? NHL Players Association chief Donald Fehr. Instead of spending his time bellyaching about realignment or flexing his muscles for the upcoming collective bargaining negotiations, Fehr should do what he is supposed to do first and foremost: protect the health and well-being of his players.
He should work with the league on stiffer suspensions. Don't fight on Torres' behalf, fight on Hossa's behalf. He should send an e-mail to every player immediately, an e-mail that says, "Guys, enough! Stop the cheap shots. Stop the dirty hits. We are destroying ourselves!"
Until Shanahan gets tougher and Fehr steps up and the players start respecting one another, sadly we'll see fewer highlights of players celebrating dazzling goals in these playoffs and more clips of players being carted off on stretchers.
By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Phone message of the day
Among the messages 3B Evan Longoria got after his three-error game was a Wednesday morning call from senior adviser Don Zimmer. "His message was it won't be the last time you make three errors in a game," Longoria said. "Coming from Zim it means a lot. I know that it's heartfelt, regardless of the fact he's taking a little jab at me."
Fan message of the day
The Rogers Centre crowd is typically tough on Longoria, serenading him with chants of EVA, EVA (as in the model/actor of similar name), and adding a few more choice words after his three errors. "When there's only, what, 15,000 people there, you can hear everything that everybody's saying," he said.
Numbers of the day
23 Career bunt singles by Carlos Peña
261 Career home runs by Peña
Rays at Blue Jays
When/where: 7:07 tonight, Rogers Centre, Toronto
TV/radio: Sun Sports; 620-AM, 680-AM (Spanish)
Probable pitchers
Rays: RH Jeremy Hellickson (1-0, 3.29)
Jays: RH Henderson Alvarez (0-0, 2.77)
Watch for …
Jeremy the K: Hellickson is coming off a rough start at Boston, allowing 5 runs on 3 homers in 5 IP. He is 1-0, 4.26 in two starts against the Jays, both in Toronto.
Whiz kid: Alvarez, who turned 22 Wednesday, throws hard and throws a lot of strikes with a sinker and changeup. In 12 starts, he has walked more than one once, vs. the Rays in August.
Key matchups
Rays VS. ALVAREz
Desmond Jennings 1-for-3 HR
Matt Joyce 1-for-3
Evan Longoria 2-for-3, 2 HRs
jays VS. hELLICKSON
Jose Bautista 4-for-5, HR
Edwin Encarnacion 1-for-6
Yunel Escobar 0-for-7
On deck
Friday: vs. Twins, 7:10, Sun Sports. Rays — Matt Moore (0-1, 5.54); Twins — Liam Hendriks (0-0, 1.50)
Saturday: vs. Twins, 7:10, Sun Sports. Rays — James Shields (2-0, 3.38); Twins — Carl Pavano (1-1, 5.23)
Sunday: vs. Twins, 1:40, Sun Sports. Rays — Jeff Niemann (0-2, 4.50); Twins — Francisco Liriano (0-2, 11.91)
Marc Topkin, Times staff writer
Times wires
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Twins 6, Yankees 5
NEW YORK — Justin Morneau hit two mammoth homers and Jason Marquis won his Minnesota debut with his healthy daughter in the stands. Marquis, just up from Double-A New Britain, had left spring training after four starts when his 7-year-old daughter, Reese, was seriously injured in a bicycle accident. Minnesota has won two of three in the four-game set.
By Gary Shelton, Times Sports Columnist
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
In the new world of Josh Freeman, here at the cusp of a new start, the first thing you notice is his new look.
He is leaner, hungrier. Those rounded cheeks of his are gone. His body is sleeker, harder, perhaps 15-20 pounds worth. Even his hair is shorter, giving him a more serious appearance. If you did not know Freeman was a quarterback, perhaps you would mistake him for a tight end.
For Freeman, and for his franchise, it is all fresh, as if someone has hit the reset button on his career. His head coach is new, and his offensive coordinator, and his quarterback coach. He has a new star receiver and a new guard and, for the most part, a new center. He has a new playbook, a new vocabulary and, perhaps, a team with a new direction.
Maybe, just maybe, Freeman's promise is new again, too.
He is still the hope around One Buc Place. Even after last season's nightmares, even after his interceptions soared, even when doubts about his future returned, Freeman is still the Bucs' quickest path to victory.
That said, this is a huge year in Freeman's career. If he really is going to be a big deal in this league, if he really is going to blossom, this is the time for it. After all, he is entering his fourth season. Now we will begin to see who Freeman is and what he will become.
This time last year, the skeptics had been silenced. Freeman was so good in 2010, throwing 25 touchdowns and only six picks, that it was easy to argue that he was among the top 10 quarterbacks in the league. Everyone raved about his ability to lead a team from behind. No one questioned his future.
After last year, the perceptions have changed. Freeman's touchdowns slipped to 16. His interceptions rose to 22. His quarterback rating fell by more than 21 points. True, the Bucs were behind a lot, and it's hard for a team to succeed when it's behind by two touchdowns or more. Still, Freeman's decision-making was not as sharp as it needs to be.
"Just trying to force too much,'' Freeman says.
"Trying to make too many things happen.''
Perhaps, but doesn't that seem too simple for such a colossal dip in performance? Could Mike Williams' own struggles have hurt Freeman? LeGarrette Blount's? Could it be that Freeman's injuries (a bad thumb cut in a target shooting accident and a shoulder that caused him to miss a start) were worse than reported?
"I'm not going to talk about injuries to the media,'' he said. "That's part of the deal. You don't talk about injuries.''
Regardless, righting Freeman's career seems to be the first hurdle for new Bucs coach Greg Schiano and his staff. They need Freeman to be as accurate, as calm, as dangerous as he was in 2010. To put it another way, turning around this franchise begins with turning around Freeman.
Give the Bucs credit for this: They seem intent on surrounding Freeman with as much talent as possible. He has a new receiver in Vincent Jackson (which should make the receiving corps better). He has a new guard in Carl Nicks (which should make the line better). He has a new coaching staff with a new blueprint.
"What I see is the guy is incredibly hungry, incredibly focused to do what we ask him to do,'' Schiano said. "It's going to take some time, but this guy wants to be good, and that's a lot of it. He wants to be great.
"It's a lot to learn. He made a throw (Wednesday) that was fun to watch. He was a big-time quarterback who put the ball in there. If we can protect him and run the ball effectively, he can make those throws. He will.''
A year like this past one can harden a quarterback. It can scar him, drive him, change him. When a season spirals out of control, a career can follow along behind.
The best news about Freeman is that, for all the changes, he sounds the same.
"It's never fun, never easy when you lose,'' Freeman said. "It was a rough year personally, a rough year for the team. When you drop 10 games straight, that's rough. But it is what it is.
"We still have a talented, young team. The goal is still to go out and compete for championships.''
Championships? After 10 straight losses, you still think this team can be a contender?
"You don't?" Freeman said. "If I didn't, I wouldn't be out here.''
Ah, April, and the optimism is new, too.
Still, after the way last season ended, isn't it good to hear it from somewhere? And when you get down to it, why can't Freeman be successful again? He throws it well enough. He wants it badly enough. He is just 24, and he has new voices and new teammates.
Soon, we will find out what Freeman will do with them.
After that, we will discover the new definition to his career.
Times wires
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
White Sox 8, Orioles 1
CHICAGO —Adam Dunn lined a three-run double, A.J. Pierzynski homered and Chicago snapped a three-game slide. Dunn was jeered by the crowd of 13,818 when he swung and missed for his 19th strikeout in the first inning, dropping his average to .175. But the DH walked and scored in the third, walked in the fifth then in the sixth sent Troy Patton's full-count pitch into the leftfield corner.
Times wires
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Remembering the Alamo at the Texas Open is easy, thanks to the giant photo backdrop behind the 18th tee. The turnout, on the other hand, is somewhat forgettable.
The Texas Open has moved on the PGA Tour calendar and is now at a new course, TPC San Antonio, in hopes of luring golf's bigger names. Matt Kuchar, two weeks after his near miss at the Masters, headlines a lackluster field that Johnson Wagner called even weaker than usual.
It's a sad truth for an event that's eager for a bigger profile. It gets another shot next year when the tour moves the Texas Open date for the fourth time in five years, this time right before the Masters.
For now, Wagner, ranked fifth in the FedEx Cup standings, sees an opportunity.
"It's weaker than most of our fields out here. But the purse is huge, and the golf course is tough and takes a lot of local knowledge," Wagner said Wednesday on the eve of the opening round.
Kuchar, ranked 15th, has made the cut at all eight tournaments he has played this year and finished tied for third at the Masters. While his peers chose to pass, Kuchar said he began thinking he needed to add the Texas Open to his schedule after watching it on TV last year.
"I would hope guys that are the best in the world don't say that course may be too difficult for me," he said. "I think there are courses that are more enjoyable to play and some may be more fun. You might not walk off this course thinking you've had a great deal of fun up there."
LPGA: The first round of the Lotte Championship in Kapolei, Hawaii, was not completed at press time.
. fast facts
On tour this week
PGA: Texas Open, San Antonio, TPC San Antonio, Oaks Course. TV: Today-Friday, 3 p.m., Golf Channel; Saturday-Sunday, 3 p.m., Ch. 10
LPGA: Lotte Championship, Kapolei, Hawaii, Ko Olina Golf Club. TV: Today-Friday, 6:30 p.m., and Saturday, 7 p.m., Golf Channel
Champions: Legends of Golf, Savannah, Ga., Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort and Spa. TV: Friday, 12:30 p.m., Golf Channel; Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m., Ch. 10
By Bryan Burns, Times Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
ST. PETERSBURG — The Tampa Bay Rowdies earned a point against Carolina for the first time in nearly two years.
The Rowdies, though, will likely focus on the two points they left behind.
Tampa Bay produced 10 shots on goal to the RailHawks' four and controlled the majority of the possession Wednesday, but only a 70th-minute equalizer from Tsuyoshi Yoshitake could salvage a point in a 1-1 draw with Carolina before 2,288 at Al Lang Field.
"A point, it's good," Rowdies coach Ricky Hill said. "It gives us a second game unbeaten, so to speak, in the league. It will give the players a lot of confidence because this time last year, perhaps we … would've not drawn that game. We might have lost that game. I felt the players were resilient."
The Rowdies (1-1-1) had to remain resilient after allowing a goal to Brian Shriver, a Clearwater High product, in the 66th minute. Shriver got loose along the back post and shot Mike Palacio's cross past goalkeeper Jeff Attinella (three saves) to put Carolina (0-0-3) in front.
"Obviously the goal was against the run of play," Rowdies forward Luke Mulholland said. "I felt like we dominated the second half as well. I feel like that was the only chance I can remember (Carolina) having."
Four minutes later, defender Frankie Sanfilippo sent a cross into the box toward Daniel Antoniuk, the Rowdies' tallest player at 6 feet 3. Antoniuk jumped to push a header toward the middle of the box, and Yoshitake charged the pass with a header of his own past goalkeeper Ray Burse (eight saves). Yoshitake's goal helped break a string of five straight losses to the RailHawks.
"We never gave up," Yoshitake said. "Everybody pushed up and tried talking to each other. We were much better the rest of the game."
Tampa Bay had ample chances to score more but couldn't convert on several well-designed opportunities. The Rowdies had three shots on goal in the first half, all during a 30-second sequence in the 40th minute.
In the second half. Mike Ambersley slotted a through pass to Yoshitake that left him one-on-one with Burse. Yoshitake maneuvered around the goalie, but by the time he settled the bouncing ball, Burse had recovered to stop the shot at the post.
"I think if we play like (tonight), we're going to win more games than we lose," Hill said.
