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Day the Colts Dreaded Is Finally Here

During the 208 consecutive regular-season games and NFL Jerseys 19 playoff games Peyton Manning has started since he was a rookie in 1998, no player in the N.F.L. has been more intrinsic to his team’s success than he has. The Indianapolis Colts have gone to the playoffs in all but two of Manning’s 13 seasons, including the last nine, and his brilliance has covered a multitude of holes on their roster. But when their season opens Sunday, and perhaps for weeks beyond, the Indianapolis Colts will probably get the answer to the dreaded question that has surrounded them for years: what would they be without Manning? On Monday, in an unusually detailed statement, the Colts announced that Manning, who is still recovering from surgery on a bulging disk in his neck in May and has been practicing for only a week, is listed as doubtful for Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans. More ominous is what else the team said: that Manning, who NHL Jerseys 传奇私服 began having unexplained back soreness over the weekend, is being shut down in practice, and that the rate of improvement in his rehabilitation has slowed. Specialists are being consulted and tests are being completed, suggesting that Manning’s absence may extend further into the season. “As of now, Peyton continues to deal with a complicated neurological recovery, the end date of which is unpredictable,” the Colts’ statement said. The Colts are typically tight-lipped about injuries, which gives added heft to this kind of candor. For them to announce early in the week that the fulcrum of their team is probably not going to play — did you hear that sigh of relief coming from Houston? — indicates how serious the situation is. Last season, according to the Football Outsiders Web site, no player listed as doubtful during a week actually played that week’s game, and no Colts player listed as doubtful has played since 2003. Still, in comments Monday, Coach Jim Caldwell seemed to offer the slimmest hope that Manning could play. “It’s been an incredible feat,” Caldwell said. “He’s been an iron man, there’s no other way to put it. It’s doubtful that he plays this week, but it takes a very unusual individual to have that streak.” For the 35-year-old Manning, of course, this must be a disturbing development. This is the most significant injury of his career, and it raises questions about whether his body is starting to betray him. 传奇私服 He has famously missed only one play because of injury in his N.F.L. career, briefly leaving a game against Miami in 2001 after sustaining a broken jaw. In 2008, he had surgery in mid-July to remove an infected bursa sac in his knee and missed most of training camp and all of the preseason. He was rusty at the start of the season, but went on to win his third Most Valuable Player award. This injury, though, is different in part because the rate of regeneration of nerves is difficult to predict. During the summer, Manning expressed frustration that he was unable to meet with his regular trainers during the lockout, and he said he was taking his rehabilitation particularly slowly because he was working with unfamiliar people. But when he returned to practice last week for the first time since January, Manning was upbeat in a meeting with reporters in which he said he hoped that in consultation with doctors and coaches, he would get to decide if he would play against the Texans. That plan has now been upended and so will the balance of power in the A.F.C. if Manning misses a significant portion of the season. The Texans, a talented division rival, have been poised to reach the playoffs for several years — if only Manning and the Colts would get out of the way. Manning has been so reliable that the Colts have had the luxury of ignoring the backup quarterback position. That is why giving the Texans a week’s head start to prepare for Kerry Collins, who got the Colts’ playbook little more than a week ago when he was lured out of retirement, is so unthinkable and so telling. Collins catches a break with the schedule, because he is familiar with the Texans after his years with the Tennessee Titans. In five starts for Tennessee against Houston, Collins won three games while completing 88 of 157 passes with five touchdowns and four interceptions. Collins said that when he agreed to join the Colts, he was not sure he would ever have to play. “I thought the first week might be a possibility with Peyton’s status so uncertain,” Collins said Monday. “There’s no way I can replace someone like Peyton and what he means for this team and this franchise. But I will bust my butt to get ready and I hope the guys see that.” Clearly, the Colts’ playbook will be drastically scaled back for however long Collins plays. Collins is a smart player who knows how to prepare himself, but the Colts are ill-equipped to change their fundamental nature quickly. Their running game, with Joseph Addai and Donald Brown (neither of whom reached 500 yards last year), is something of an annual adventure. Last year, the Colts ranked 28th in the N.F.L. in rushing attempts and 29th in rushing yards. This year is even harder to forecast because their offensive line is in flux. The Colts are dependent on Manning and the points he produces; last year, the Colts ranked fourth in the league in points, averaging 27.2 a game, enabling them to win 10 games and their division even though they ranked 23rd in points allowed, with 24.2. That is especially bad news considering that after a Week 2 game against the Cleveland Browns, they play one of the N.F.L’s perennial superpowers, the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Colts have been fortunate for nearly 15 years to not have to think about a future without Manning. But if he is not back by the time the Colts face the Steelers, the glance ahead will be unavoidable. And probably painful.

posted by: zada1 at 01:30 | link | comments |

Obama Surveys Damage in Flood-Ravaged New Jersey

President Obama, surveying some of the most crippling NFL Jerseys flood damage from Tropical Storm Irene, vowed on Sunday that budgetary wrangling in Washington would not delay federal aid to stricken communities. In a three-hour visit to North Jersey, which is struggling to clean up the muddy mess left last week by the area’s worst flooding in more than a century, Mr. Obama went house to house meeting with residents who pointed out the high-water marks that stained the walls of their living rooms. Later, standing on a bridge spanning the still-swollen Passaic River, the president assured flood victims that they did not have to doubt whether the federal government would follow through with disaster aid. The House majority leader, Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, and other Republicans have suggested that additional aid money must first be offset by equal spending cuts, a prospect that Mr. Obama rejected. “The entire country is behind you,” Mr. Obama said. NHL Jerseys 传奇私服 “I want to make it very clear that we are going to meet our federal obligations.” For as much as the White House and lawmakers throughout the Northeast have asserted that the government’s response to the storm should not be a political issue, Mr. Obama’s visit carried an unmistaken political subtext on several fronts. After Air Force One landed at Newark Liberty International Airport, Mr. Obama, a Democrat, was greeted warmly by Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, whom some Republicans have all but begged to enter the race to try to unseat Mr. Obama next year. Talk of Mr. Christie’s viability as a presidential candidate again flared up on Sunday, as Michael Gerson, a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, suggested during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week” that Mr. Christie was “actively” considering whether to seek the Republican nomination. People close to Mr. Christie continued to deny that was the case. And here in Paterson, New Jersey’s third-largest city and once a prosperous factory hub, Mr. Obama found the kind of economic desolation that his administration has been unable to turn around. The president spent part of the weekend polishing a job-creation address that he was scheduled to deliver to a joint session of Congress on Thursday, the White House press secretary, Jay Carney, said. Flood-stricken communities have seen visits in recent 传奇私服 days from a phalanx of federal officials, who have seemed determined to convey a level of attentiveness that was notably absent after Hurricane Katrina. The federal homeland security secretary, Janet Napolitano, and the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, W. Craig Fugate, surveyed the flooding here and in the Catskill region in New York on Wednesday, and Mr. Fugate accompanied the president on his visit Sunday. Mr. Obama landed at Newark at noon on Sunday, flew by helicopter to Essex County Airport and then headed to flood-stricken Passaic County. One person along his car route held up a sign that pleaded, “Help Us.” In Wayne, just to the west of here, Mr. Obama walked along Fayette Avenue, where waterlogged dry wall, carpeting and household appliances lined the residential street. Mr. Obama talked with several residents about the flooding, telling one of them, “Just want to let you know we’re going to be here.” The president arrived in downtown Paterson about 1:30 p.m., where orange-and-white plastic barriers blocked off streets and hundreds of people lined the sidewalks along Main Street to greet Mr. Obama’s motorcade, cheering loudly when it passed. Later, the president visited a Lowe’s home-improvement store where volunteers handed out food and supplies to victims of the flood. Standing alongside the Passaic River, Mr. Obama praised Mr. Christie, FEMA personnel and local officials for their farsightedness in responding to the storm, saying that their response “helped to avert even worse tragedies.” On Sunday, FEMA expanded its major disaster declaration for New Jersey to include the entire state, and the president said his main message in visiting was to stress that no one had to worry about the federal government’s following through with its promises of aid to people affected by the storm. “We’re one country, and when one part of the country gets affected, whether it’s a tornado in Joplin, Mo., or a hurricane that affects the Eastern Seaboard, then we come together as one country and we make sure that everybody gets the help that they need,” Mr. Obama said. “And the last thing that the residents here of Paterson or the residents of Vermont or the residents of upstate New York need is Washington politics getting in the way.” Mr. Christie has been a blunt critic of the president in the past. But he has had nothing but praise for the president in recent days, complimenting his administration’s focused response to the storm. He also split from Mr. Cantor and other Republican leaders last week in saying it would be inexcusable to delay federal disaster aid until other spending cuts could be achieved. Representative Steven R. Rothman, a Democrat from North Jersey, praised both Mr. Obama and Mr. Christie, saying they had clearly put aside their political differences. “To the credit of both gentlemen, they are dedicated public servants, doing their best to meet their responsibilities,” Mr. Rothman said. “It was just as it’s supposed to be: a showing of support.”

posted by: zada1 at 03:47 | link | comments |

Titans’ Johnson Ends Holdout With New Deal

The three-time Pro Bowl running back Chris Johnson ended his NFL Jerseys holdout after agreeing to terms on a four-year contract extension with the Tennessee Titans. “He’ll sign tomorrow and take his physical and be ready to start practicing,” Titans General Manager Mike Reinfeldt said Thursday night before Tennessee played New Orleans in its final preseason game. “It was a tough negotiation, but both sides gave some and we got it done.” ¶ Johnson rushed for at least 1,200 yards in each of his first three seasons but refused to report to the camp without a new deal. The 24th pick in the 2008 draft out of East Carolina, Johnson became only the sixth player in league history to run for at least 2,000 yards in 2009, when he led the league with 2,006. ¶NEWTON’S FIRST TD PASS Cam Newton threw his first touchdown NHL Jerseys 传奇私服 pass as a professional during host Carolina’s 33-17 loss to Pittsburgh. ¶ Newton, the Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall draft pick, played only the first series and was 3 of 5 for 25 yards with the 10-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Shockey. ¶ Panthers Coach Ron Rivera has not announced whether Newton or Jimmy Clausen will start the opener Sept. 11 at Arizona. ¶MORE ROOKIE QUARTERBACKS Christian Ponder completed 10 of 17 passes for 83 yards and a touchdown as host Minnesota beat Houston, 28-0. Ponder rushed eight times for 61 yards and did not turn the ball over while playing just over two quarters. ... Jake Locker, who is expected to press Matt Hasselbeck for the starting job at some point this season, completed 15 of 17 for 132 yards and a touchdown in Tennessee’s 32-9 victory at New Orleans. Locker also ran 22 yards to score. ... Blaine Gabbert, the 10th overall pick, completed 9 of 18 passes for 132 yards in Jacksonville’s 24-17 loss to visiting St. Louis. ¶FORMER STAR LEADS DOLPHINS Larry Johnson scored on a 22-yard touchdown run as host Miami beat Dallas, 17-3. Johnson, a two-time Pro Bowl selection who signed with the Dolphins last week after sitting out most of last season, rushed for 39 yards on 10 carries. ¶COLLINS STRUGGLES FOR COLTS Playing eight days after he agreed 传奇私服 传奇私服 to a contract, 38-year-old Kerry Collins went 5 of 10 for 45 yards and fumbled in Indianapolis’s 17-13 win at Cincinnati. ¶BECK STUMBLES John Beck turned in a spotty performance in his last chance to make a case for being Washington’s starting quarterback, completing 10 of 21 passes for 108 yards and an interception in a 29-24 win over visiting Tampa Bay. ¶FRED TAYLOR RETIRES Running back Fred Taylor is retiring after 13 seasons and nearly 12,000 yards. Taylor will sign a one-day contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Friday so he can retire with the team that drafted him ninth over all in 1998. ¶ Taylor ranks 15th on the league’s career rushing list with 11,695 yards.

posted by: zada1 at 05:02 | link | comments |

Texas staying in conference makes sense

When Bill Powers gathered the Big 12 powers NFL Jerseys NHL Jerseys around the conference realignment table a year ago he had one message for everyone. "We are for the Big 12," the Texas president said. "We want everyone to go around and commit to the Big 12." Texas A&M's commitment lasted a year. Now everyone is wondering if Texas' will last much longer. If Powers still holds the same values he did last year, Texas may elect to rebuild the Big 12 rather than bolt to the Pac-12 or become an independent. "The number one topic of discussion was the impact it would have on the student-athletes and their families. From scheduling, to travel, to course disruption to ability of their families [to] drive to the game or at least a lot of the games," Powers said in early August. "That was the dominant, overwhelming topic from the coaches to the athletic directors to the staff to myself." To say Texas is completely dismissing the economics of college athletics would be naive. But Powers insisted that was not the No. 1 factor. Still, it is hard to see a scenario in which Texas would strike out as an independent, traveling the country to find games in volleyball, softball and all the other sports. "The fact of the matter is Texas and other FBS schools have been 传奇私服 传奇私服 expanding schedules, negotiating contracts, doing everything possible to expand their economic fortunes," said noted sports economist Andrew Zimbalist. Whether it's the Big 12 or not, it makes sense for Texas to preserve its foothold in a conference. OK, so in the Big 12 that is more of a stranglehold. But the other schools in the conference clearly profit from the Texas name, and their concessions when it comes to revenue split are more equitable than most perceive. With A&M's exit, Texas has the opportunity to shape the Big 12 in its image. As long as there are no more defections -- Oklahoma and Oklahoma State to the Pac-12 for instance -- Texas and its lure of helping fill other schools' coffers will be tough for some schools to resist. While those programs that could come to the Big 12 might not have fans bases the size of A&M's and Nebraska's, Texas is still a school that is in demand in the college landscape and will do what it thinks is 传奇私服 魔域私服 best for the Longhorns. And if Texas stays in the Big 12, it allows the school to do what Powers says it believes in. "That is another way that you keep these core values,'' he said. "You actually act on them. You don't just have them on slogans, but they actually become part of the decision-making process, and [looking out for the student-athletes and their families] was the key in the decision-making process."

posted by: zada1 at 01:43 | link | comments |

Final: Yankees 5, Red Sox 2

Final: Yankees 5, Red Sox 2 The Yankees took the first game of this three-game set NFL Jerseys against the Red Sox to whittle Boston's lead to a half game in the American League East standings close within a 5-2 victory before a Fenway Park crowd of 37,773. CC Sabathia, winless in four previous starts against the Red Sox, picked up his first win of the season against Boston by going sixseven innings and allowing two runs on 10 hits and two walks while striking out 10 batters. John Lackey, meanwhile, absorbed his first loss of the season against the Yankees after winning his two previous starts vs. the Bronx Bombers. Lackey went seven innings and allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits and four walks while striking out three batters. New York pitchers gave up a combined 13 hits but struck out 13 Red NHL Jerseys Sox batters as Boston stranded 16 runners in a game that took 3 hours 59 minutes. Top of 9th: Yankees 5, Red Sox 2 Aceves holds the line with a 1-2-3 inning. The Red Sox, down to their last three out, will face Yankees closer Mariano Rivera. Bottom of 8th: Yankees 5, Red Sox 2 Nothin' doing for the Sox in the eighth. Rafael Soriano relieved Boone Logan (2/3-inning, 1 hit, 2 strikeouts) and, after issuing a lead-off walk to Jacoby Ellsbury, retired the next three batters he faced, getting Scutaro to line out sharply to left (nice running catch by Brett Gardner), and Gonzalez and Pedroia to fly to center. Alfredo Aceves has emerged from the bullpen to relieve Albers and will 传奇私服 pitch the top of the ninth. Top of 8th: Yankees 5, Red Sox 2 The Yankees were poised to break this one wide open. They loaded the bases on relievers Franklin Morales (a pair of singles) and Matt Albers (hit batsmen), but wound up getting stymied when Albers induced Cervelli to ground out to short. Bottom of 7th: Yankees 5, Red Sox 2 With Sabathia out of the game, the Sox went to work on 传奇私服 the Yankees bullpen, loading the bases against relievers Corey Wade (walk, single) then Boone Logan (single), before squandered a huge scoring opportunity by stranding all three baserunners -- David Ortiz (walk), Jed Lowrie (soft fly to center), and Carl Crawford (single to left) -- when Logan struck out Jarrod Saltalamacchia (swinging at three sliders) and Darnell McDonald (swinging at a 94 fastball). Franklin Morales has emerged from the bullpen to relieve John 传奇私服 Lackey (7 innings, 5 runs, 4 earned, 7 hits, 4 walks, 3 strikeouts, 1 home run), who threw 119 pitches (75 strikes).

posted by: zada1 at 04:38 | link | comments |

Redemption road complete for Vick with six-year deal

Michael Vick's return to the NFL elite received another NFL Jerseys boost when the Philadelphia quarterback agreed to a lucrative six-year deal on Monday that will make him one of the league's highest paid players. The lucrative contract is worth $100 million, according to local NHL Jerseys media, and completes Vick's rehabilitation into professional football after he spent 18 months in prison following his 2007 conviction on dog-fighting charges. The re-signing will be formally announced at a press conference on Tuesday. "I'm very happy we were able to reach an agreement with Michael on this long-term contract," Eagles coach Andy Reid told the team's website (philadelphiaeagles.com). "It's a product of all the hard work Michael has 传奇私服 done to better himself over the last couple of years, both on and off the field." The 31-year-old Vick returned to the NFL in 2009 when he joined the Eagles as a backup quarterback. An injury to former Philadelphia starter Kevin Kolb last season opened 传奇私服 the door for Vick and the electrifying runner and passer threw for 3,018 yards and 21 touchdowns to go with nine rushing touch-downs as he reached his fourth career Pro Bowl. His play-making ability is one of the prime reasons the Eagles are among 传奇私服 the pre-season favorites to reach the Super Bowl.

posted by: zada1 at 04:46 | link | comments |

Rangers rally against Weaver, Downs to beat the Angels, 9-5

If there’s been one constant to the Angels this NFL Jerseys season, it’s been inconsistency. Twice they’ve had winning streaks of five or more games. And three times they’ve had losing streaks that long. They’ve gone into hitting streaks and fallen in hitting slumps. But through all the ups and downs, there were two things on which the Angels could depend: the right arm of Jered Weaver and the left arm of Scott Downs. Sunday night, in perhaps the Angels’ biggest game of the NHL Jerseys summer, both came up lame, allowing the Texas Rangers to rally for a 9-5 victory that pushed the Angels three games behind the first-place Rangers in the American League West, one game further back than when they arrived in Texas on Friday. Only now they have three fewer games in which to make up the deficit. The Rangers took two of three in the series. Pitching on three days’ rest for the first time in his career, Weaver had one of his worst outings of the season, giving up a seven runs and a season-high eight hits in six innings. He also walked a season-high four batters. Weaver left the game with the score tied, 5-5, after giving up three consecutive hits to start the seventh. The Angels then turned to Downs, who has had 25 appearances in which he hasn't allowed a hit this season, stranding 21 of 25 inherited runners. That lasted all of one pitch Sunday when Josh Hamilton greeted him 传奇私服 by singling in the go-ahead run. The Rangers made it 8-5 a couple of batters later on a two-run pinch single from Endy Chavez, then tacked on an eighth-inning insurance run on Elvis Andrus' single. For the next month the Angels and Rangers will be watching each other on the scoreboard since they don’t meet again until the final three games of the season. And the paths they’ll be following to that final series have wildly different degrees of difficulty, with the Angels seemingly enjoying the easier schedule. Although the Angels will play 26 games in 28 days before seeing the Rangers again in Anaheim, the six teams they’ll meet have a combined winning percentage of .467. And just one -- the Yankees, who come to 传奇私服 Angel Stadium for a three-game series next month -- currently has a winning record. The Rangers, meanwhile, have two fewer games and two more off days than the Angels, but the five teams they’ll meet have a .509 winning percentage. And just two -- Oakland and Seattle -– have losing records. What’s more, the Rangers, who have lost seven of their last 11, could enter the season’s final weeks missing two of their biggest offensive threats. Third baseman Adrian Beltre, who has 20 homers and 76 runs batted in, has been on the disabled list with a sore left hamstring for three weeks, and outfielder Nelson Cruz, who leads the team with 28 homers and 传奇私服 84 RBIs, came up lame running out a sixth-inning double Sunday. He'll have an MRI test Monday. The Angels, who once led 4-1, took a 5-4 lead into the decisive seventh thanks to Howie Kendrick's fifth-inning home run, his fifth homer in his last six games. Earlier the Angels scored on Bobby Abreu's RBI single in the first, and Abreu scored in the third when he doubled and came home on Mark Trumbo's double. The other two runs scored on singles by Jeff Mathis in the second and Vernon Wells in the third. The Rangers got their first run in the second when Yorvit Torrealba hit a two-out solo home run off Weaver, and got even in the third when they scored three times, on Andrus' RBI triple and a two-run home run from Hamilton.

posted by: zada1 at 04:55 | link | comments |

Red-hot Brad Keselowski wins Bristol night race

Brad Keselowski did nothing during Saturday's NFL Jerseys Irwin Tools Night Race to damage his status as NASCAR's hottest driver. Keselowski's pit crew gave him a stellar pit stop on the race's final caution at Bristol Motor Speedway, then he did the rest, surging ahead of Martin Truex Jr. to lead the final 80 laps and collect his third Sprint Cup win of the year. "This is a race of champions. I can't believe it," Keselowski said. "There's races that pay more; maybe some with more prestige. … But this is the best damn one of all." In his last four races, Keselowski has gone from 21st to 11th in the points standings with two first-place finishes, a second and a third. Truex Jr., who took two tires under the final caution to gain NHL Jerseys track position, ended up second. Jeff Gordon seemed to have the most dominant car most of the night and settled for third. "We just didn't get the position we needed to on that last pit stop," Gordon said. "We just didn't quite have it there at the end." Keselowski took four tires on the last caution and still was able to put his No. 2 Penske Racing Dodge ahead of previous leader Gordon. "The last pit stop was good. The adjustments were good. And I was driving my butt off," Keselowski said. "The next thing you know, we find ourselves in victory lane." Of Keselowski's dominance, Gordon — a four-time champion and a five-time 传奇私服 winner at Bristol — said, "Those guys are on a roll right now. … They're, to me, as strong a team out there as there is." Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR's most popular driver, had an uneventful but maybe the most beneficial night, points-wise. A caution at lap 298, brought about when David Stremme spun David Reutimann for the race's first crash, proved to be a huge break for Earnhardt, who got the "free pass" for being the first car one lap down. Once back on the lead lap, Earnhardt stayed there and finished 16th. He came 传奇私服 into the race ninth in points, but widened his gap on his closest pursuers as Tony Stewart (28th) and Clint Bowyer (26th) endured a miserable Saturday night. Earnhardt is 39 points ahead of 11th-place Keselowski, meaning it would take a huge collapse for him to miss the Chase for the Cup playoff. And Stewart, despite finishing three laps down, held on to his 10th-place points spot. Kyle Busch, who had won four of the last five Cup races at Bristol and won 传奇私服 Friday's Nationwide Series race, suffered a blown tire to trigger the last caution and was 14th. With their performances, Johnson, Kenseth and Edwards clinched spots in the Chase field that will be set after two more races. Busch clinched his spot last week at Michigan International Speedway.

posted by: zada1 at 04:00 | link | comments |

Answers and Outs in Short Supply

Before Friday night’s game against NFL Jerseys Baltimore, the Yankees expressed their dismay at the Orioles’ contingency planning for Hurricane Irene, with outfielder Curtis Granderson saying the Yankees were perplexed by their decisions. Far more perplexing, though, is the riddle of A. J. Burnett, the Yankees’ starting pitcher who appears to have lost the ability to pitch effectively, and with that, may have also lost his spot in the starting rotation. ¶ For the second consecutive start and the third time in his last five, NHL Jerseys Burnett was nothing short of terrible as the Orioles pounded the Yankees, 12-5, in front of a crowd of 32,762 at Camden Yards. ¶ Once again, it did not take long for Burnett (9-11) to crumble. In his last start, Aug. 20 against the Twins, he allowed seven runs in one and two-thirds innings and was removed under disputed circumstances. ¶ This time, he made it out of the second, but not before allowing six runs as he gave up a solo home run to Mark Reynolds, followed by four consecutive doubles and a two-run home run to J. J. Hardy as the Orioles put together what seemed like a loop tape of extra-base hits. But unlike his quick hook in Minneapolis, Girardi would not take Burnett out of this game right away, instead leaving him to clean up his own mess for another three innings. ¶ Girardi, concerned about the inbound hurricane and what ramifications 传奇私服 it might have on his pitching staff if the team had been forced to play multiple doubleheaders during this series, did not even have a reliever warming up until the fifth inning. ¶ Burnett, who may or may not have yelled at Girardi for taking him out of his previous start so early, this time got his chance to stay in the game, whether he wanted to or not. He then allowed three more runs before being removed before the start of the bottom of the sixth, meaning there was no meeting on the mound again between him and Girardi. ¶ The Yankees had steadfastly supported Burnett, who is in the third year of a 传奇私服 five-year, $82.5 million contract. But his two most recent outings are sure to prompt more serious discussion among the Yankees’ decision makers about whether to remove him from the rotation. ¶ But Girardi noted that, with the Yankees facing a doubleheader Sunday, as well as in the coming weeks, he may not be able to trim his rotation from six starters to five. He acknowledged that he needed Burnett to start pitching better, not just to protect his spot in the rotation but because Girardi may continue to need all six starters. ¶ “I think it’s really important, I do,” he said before the game. 传奇私服 “I was asked earlier today about six-man going to a five-man. We might have doubleheaders the rest of the year, so may not be able to go to a five-man at the rate we’re going. ¶ “But it’s important that he gets on track.” ¶ Before the game, with a state of emergency already declared here because of Hurricane Irene, the Orioles rejected a proposal by the Yankees to play their scheduled doubleheader Friday instead of Saturday, leaving the Yankees frustrated by what they saw as the Orioles’ intransigence. ¶ “I don’t understand why we didn’t play two today,” Girardi said. “Other teams moved games. The Orioles didn’t want to do it.” ¶ Girardi was referring to the Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies, who postponed games in advance of the hurricane. ¶ During the game, the Orioles announced that Saturday’s scheduled doubleheader had been postponed because of the storm. One game would be made up, they hoped, Sunday night as part of a split doubleheader at 1:05 p.m. and 7:05 p.m. The other game would be made up here Sept. 8 on one of the Yankees’ two remaining days off. ¶ Granderson, who was involved in talks regarding the possible rescheduling of games, said in a statement released before the game that he could not understand why the Orioles were being uncooperative. ¶ “Given the advance notice and the fact that other teams have adjusted their schedules ahead of time, we are perplexed at the current options we are being presented with in regards to making up any games postponed due to Hurricane Irene,” the statement, which was released by the Yankees, said. ¶ “The proposition to take away our only full off day in the final month of the season is not an option, even though the Orioles’ front office and the commissioner’s office think this is an adequate solution. It’s a shame that the decision has now come down to possibly having to play four games in two days or having to come back to Baltimore for another makeup game.” ¶ INSIDE PITCH ¶Alex Rodriguez met with representatives from Major League Baseball for almost two hours Friday at the team hotel to discuss his suspected involvement in illegal poker games. Rodriguez was questioned and provided answers, he said, but he would not discuss the details. “I answered all their questions until they were tired,” he said. “But it went well.” During the game, Rodriguez hit his first home runs since June 11. ... The Orioles honored the former player, executive and broadcaster Mike Flanagan, who died Wednesday.

posted by: zada1 at 04:52 | link | comments |

Multiple scenarios loom along with bad weather at The Barclays

Thanks to the looming threat of Hurricane Irene, NFL Jerseys no one knows for sure when The Barclays will end ... other than it likely will not end on schedule. Not if forecasts of tropical storms on Sunday prove accurate. Sergio Garcia thinks he knows when it will finish. "Saturday or Tuesday or Friday next week," he said with a smile. Indeed, there's really no way of knowing exactly how the next few days will play out, not with heavy rain expected that could wipe out a full day and quite possibly prevent Plainfield Country Club -- which was already hit by heavy rain last week -- from recovering the next day. The only thing certain is that it will not end on Saturday. Talk had circulated among the players that a 36-hole finish NHL Jerseys on Saturday to beat the oncoming weather might be a possibility. Ryan Palmer even went so far as to call that solution "genius." But it's not going to happen. Slugger White, vice-president of rules and competition for the PGA TOUR, said there simply was not enough daylight to play two rounds in one day. And, he added, the weather forecast for Saturday afternoon does not look good, with a 40 percent chance of showers and isolated thunderstorms. With Friday expected to be a good weather day, the odds are 传奇私服 good that the first two rounds will be completed, even though a 3 hour, 16-minute weather delay prevented the first round from being completed Thursday. Provided that two rounds are in the books and that Sunday is expected to be wiped out due to Irene, that could mean the possibility of a Monday finish; a Tuesday finish (provided certain provisions in the bylaws are met); or even a 54-hole event. The last option is not one that anybody wants, particularly the players. "We as players want to play," said Harrison Frazar after shooting a 7-under 64, the best completed round of the day. "We want it to be legitimate. We want it to be a full event. The TOUR wants to do that. 传奇私服 So we are going to do everything we can." Added Charley Hoffman after shooting a 5-under 66: "I'm pretty sure 100 percent of us want to play 72 holes out here ... But if this place gets 10 inches of rain two weeks in a row, I don't know how playable this golf course is going to be on Tuesday if we do go to Tuesday. "We gotta do what we gotta do. If it ends up being 36 (holes), 54 (holes) -- who knows." White said there is a scenario that could result in a 54-hole event but only as a last resort. "It could be there, not right now, but it could be there," he said of the 54-hole possibility. The uncertainty of the finish could mean players will take an aggressive approach whenever they do find themselves on the course. "Who knows what's going to happen with the completion of the tournament," 传奇私服 said Matt Kuchar, who was 7 under through 16 holes when play was suspended due to darkness. "So you kind of want to keep going as low as you can as quickly as you can." White is hoping to make a decision by Friday at noon on what to do with Saturday's schedule, since not only players, but volunteers, fans and many other groups will need to make arrangements. "I think by noon tomorrow, we'll know pretty much what Saturday and especially what Sunday is going to bring us," White said. White also said that crews at the tournament will start preparing for the heavy winds that are expected to blow through the course by pulling the mesh from the TV towers and possibly taking the scoreboards down so that they don't become "projectiles out there." Safety is the primary concern. "Years and years ago at The Honda classic at Weston Hills, we had stuff that was just blowing around and it was very, very dangerous," White said. "We are not going to take that chance, I can guarantee you." One other factor to consider: the next event in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, next week's Deutsche Bank Championship, does not start until Friday due to its traditional Labor Day finish. White was asked if that extra day provides The Barclays with any leeway. He said it does -- but with certain provisions that could involve PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem. "The only time we would ever go to Tuesday is if we got half the field finished on Monday," White said. "Now, in order to go to Tuesday, if we didn't get to that, then the Commissioner would have to step in and override the regulation. He's the only one that could do that unilaterally. So I've got him on fast dial right now." The players hope that any extra time will allow them to complete 72 holes. "Maybe we have got an extra day up our sleeve because of the Boston thing starting later," said Adam Scott after completing his round of 66. "But I mean, we can only deal with what we are given. Hopefully tomorrow is great and the weather forecasters are all wrong and then we get a good weekend somehow." But Mother Nature hasn't been kind this week. First, an earthquake during Tuesday's practice round. Now the possibility of a Hurricane. "That's pretty special," White said, cracking a smile. "Welcome to New Jersey."

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