Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 827 of 1503)

      Hanley Ramirez to play through pain

      June 2, 2009 /

      According to a report by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez is playing hurt right now, but but doesn’t plan on missing any time.

      “I don’t want to sit on the bench,” said Ramirez, who went 3 for 5 and scored his 400th career run. “I want to be out there trying to help my team win. I talked to [manager Fredi Gonzalez] and told him let’s see how it is every day. I want to play and I’ll be out there tomorrow, too.”

      Give Ramirez credit for realizing he’s better at 70 or 80 percent than anyone the Marlins could replace him with at 100 percent. Whether to play hurt is always a tough call for an athlete. Ramirez may not be stealing any bases for a while, but he sees the standings and knows the Marlins can’t afford to drop much further below the .500 mark and stay in the National League East mix.

      This might not be a significant story to some, but don’t forget about a month ago that some within the Marlins organization were upset with Ramirez’s hustle (or lack thereof). Him playing through pain shows his dedication to his team and speaks volumes for his mental toughness.

      Fantasy spin: If Ramirez is playing hurt, it certainly hasn’t showed in his stats line. He went 3 for 5 on Monday, driving in a run and scoring twice. He has now had back-to-back three-hit games and has eight hits in his last three contests.

      Fantasy Baseball, MLB

      Does Vince Young want out of Tennessee?

      June 2, 2009 /

      On Monday, Titans quarterback Vince Young told WMAR-TV in Baltimore that he wants a chance to play or he wants out of Tennessee.

      From Rotoworld:

      Young lost his starting job to Kerry Collins last year when he struggled horribly in new coordinator Mike Heimerdinger’s offense, then sprained his MCL in Week 1. “If them guys don’t want me to be in there, it’s time for me to make a career change,” he said. “I’m ready to play ball. If they’re not ready for me to play ball, then somebody is.” The Titans say V.Y. will compete in camp, but he’d have to outplay Collins by a huge margin to regain the position.

      As a football fan, I can’t respect that. I can’t respect an athlete saying, ‘If my team doesn’t want me, then I’ll find someone else who will.’

      How about competing for once? How about going out on the field and proving that you’re better than the guy you’re competing against?

      See, that’s the trouble with athletes these days – they get everything handed to them. From the moment their talents are recognized as youths, everything is given to them and they rarely have to earn playing time. It’s no wonder we as a society like hearing about stories of players who were always told they weren’t good enough. It’s because those players had to work for everything they got and they never stop working, even when they’ve “made it.”

      Young was a god at Texas, so when he got to the NFL he must have figured that everything would continue to be taken care of for him. And when shit hit the fan, what happened? He hid behind his fragile emotions instead of fighting to stay on the field.

      The Titans want somebody who’ll fight for a win every week, which is why Kerry Collins will remain the starter. If Young wants his job back, he has to earn it and just based on his comments from the TV interview, I’m not sure he’s willing to work for it. He’d rather have the job handed back to him and be coddled for the rest of his career.

      Granted, I didn’t see the interview so maybe I’m taking what he said out of context. But based on the quotes from him above, Young needs to grow a pair and challenge Collins for the right to play on Sundays instead of whining about how Tennessee might not want him. They gave him $58 million to be the starter – they want him to play. He just has to want it for himself.

      NFL

      Doctor blown away by Brady’s recovery

      June 2, 2009 /

      After watching him perform in a Southern California park, Dr. Neal ElAttrache was incredibly impressed by Tom Brady’s recovery from knee surgery.

      Speaking publicly for the first time about the NFL star’s surgery and physical rehabilitation, ElAttrache told The Times that Brady “even exceeded what I thought he was going to be able to do, and I was expecting big things from him.”

      With Brady’s permission, ElAttrache spoke about the knee reconstruction, treatment of a subsequent infection, and the patient’s unwavering focus to recuperate in time to play this season.

      “With regard to his recovery of strength, I’ve never seen anything quite like it,” said ElAttrache, who serves as team physician for the Dodgers and worked with the L.A. Rams. “With an average person, it would have taken probably twice as long to get range of motion and strength back.”

      As the article mentions, Brady received some flack when he chose ElAttrache over one of the team’s doctors. At first, it seemed like a viable criticism. After all, if the team was going to sink millions of dollars into Brady’s athletic abilities, then they should have the right to know who’s working on their star quarterback’s knee.

      But Brady had it right all along. It’s his knee and therefore he had the right to pick the doctor he wanted. As it turns out, his recovery has been fantastic and unless he suffers a setback, he should be ready to go Week 1 of the season.

      He still has a long way to go and I’m sure they’re going to remain overly cautious with him, but the Patriots must obviously be ecstatic by this news.

      NFL

      Drew Rosenhaus makes me laugh

      June 1, 2009 /

      Agent Drew Rosenhaus wrote this on his Twitter page today:

      Chad OchoCinco is really on a mission. He has truly dedicated himself this offseason. He will be tougher then ever to cover this year.

      Dedicated himself to what? It certainly hasn’t been his team that he’s dedicated himself to as he continues to skip Bengals’ OTA sessions.

      Rosenhaus’ comments come on the heels of former Bengal and current Chief Eric Giaciuc telling Kansas City’s official website that there were certain personalities in Cincinnati that caused a distraction for the rest of the team. He didn’t mention Ochocinco by name, but he didn’t have to either.

      Rosenhaus has to paint a rosy picture for his client, but the fact remains that nobody knows what Ochocinco is up to these days because he won’t report to any of the Bengals’ camps. If he were truly “on a mission” and “dedicating himself” this offseason, then why wouldn’t he do so while working out with his teammates? There are several athletes that choose to workout away from the team, but usually the team knows where they’re at and what they’re doing. By the looks of things, the Bengals have no idea when Ochocinco is going to show up.

      NFL

      Cutler already alienating fans in Chicago?

      June 1, 2009 /

      David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune had this interesting tidbit about Jay Cutler in his latest column:

      I know Cutler already has alienated enough small pockets of fans at various appearances in Chicago to produce a flurry of furious e-mails, such as the one from a guy at Wrigley Field last week who criticized the quarterback for waving off autograph seekers. “His lack of appreciation for fans will be his undoing in Chicago,” Glen. R. wrote me.

      We’ll see, but if Cutler experiences an undoing in Chicago it will have more to do with the people on the field than in the stands. Generally speaking, the same folks complaining about Cutler’s insouciant behavior will be cheering him on his first 350-yard Sunday.

      Sure, Cutler could do himself some favors by exuding more charm or suffering the occasional fool with a little less outward disdain. But those who have been Bears fans for two decades, or two generations, need to remember Cutler has been here for two months. There will be — and has been — a degree of culture shock. Denver isn’t Chicago. Eventually, Cutler will adjust because he will learn life is easier that way in this tradition-rich football city. If he doesn’t, then he will get what he deserves.

      But it’s too early in his tenure to predict that.

      Cutler isn’t the first athlete who shunned autograph seekers and he won’t be the last. Unless it’s obvious they’re being outright pricks to fans, I try not to let it bother me when athletes don’t sign because we have no idea what kind of schedule they’re on. For all we know they’re running late as it is. Sure, it would be nice if they signed autographs until the last person is gone, but that’s not reality.

      As far as Cutler is concerned, Chicago fans are going to embrace him if he performs well. And actually, they’ve already embraced him because they’ve been dying for a quarterback for decades. As long as he performs, it’s going to take a lot for him to ruin his image in Chicago. He’s safe for now – I don’t care what a handful of people say.

      NFL

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑