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What you're saying: Folks are generally upbeat on Larranaga

We've been asking readers today to tell us if Jim Larranaga would be a good choice for the PC Friars' head coaching vacancy. As I write this, there have been 103 votes, with 65 (or 63 percent) saying that Larranaga is a good choice.

Here's what one Larranaga supporter said: "Jim is a consummate professional, an outstanding recruiter, coach and teacher. He practices what he preaches and what he preaches leads to exemplary student athletes and successful basketball teams. He had success at Bowling Green, but his greatest success came at GMU because the University supported his vision and goals. With the same support from the PC administration, he will return Providence to the top of the Big East and the NCAAs."

The hits on Larranaga generally concern his age, and his lack of big-time head coaching experience. Here's one reader's quote: "Not a good choice at this time. Need someone who is younger with a great resume. Must be able to RECRUIT Big East caliber talent!!"

Interestingly, when we asked readers earlier this month if Brown's Craig Robinson would be a good choice for the job, about the same majority -- 62 percent -- said that Robinson would be a good fit.

Click here to vote in the Larranaga survey.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:10 PM to PC basketball | Permalink | Comments 0

Today's high school postponements -- updated

Not a great start to the high school baseball season. Reschedule date is in parentheses if we know it:

Baseball
Pilgrim at Hendricken (canceled)
St. Raphael at Woonsocket
Middletown at East Providence
Cumberland at North Providence (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Lincoln at La Salle (tomorrrow, 4 p.m.)
Barrington at Portsmouth (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
Tiverton at Moses Brown (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
Central at Classical (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
Warwick Vets at Cranston East (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
Coventry at Cranston West (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
North Kingstown at Chariho (Thursday, 3:45 p.m.)

Girls lacrosse
Bay View at Cumberland

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 2:46 PM to High School | Permalink | Comments 0

Blue Jays-Yankees postponed

NEW YORK (AP) - The beginning of the end will have to wait.

The final opening day at Yankee Stadium was postponed because of rain Monday, pushing back New York's game against the Toronto Blue Jays.

The game was rescheduled for 7:05 p.m. on Tuesday, previously an off day in the series. Chien-Ming Wang had been slated to pitch for the Yankees on his 28th birthday against Toronto ace Roy Halladay.

New York owner George Steinbrenner showed up around noon for the 84th opening day at Yankee Stadium, but history was put on hold by a steady rain that washed away batting practice and the planned festivities.

The tarp remained on the field until the game was called at about 2:30 p.m. after a delay of approximately 85 minutes. Players never were introduced.

Next year, the Bronx Bombers will move into a $1.3 billion new Yankee Stadium, under construction just across 161st Street.

"You see the new stadium, but it still seems like that's years away, even though it's only one," Derek Jeter said. "Just 100 yards away? That's not too far for the ghosts to go."

The rain also delayed Joe Girardi's debut as Yankees manager. Girardi is taking over this season from his mentor, Joe Torre, who spent the past 12 years in charge.

Torre guided New York to the playoffs every season from 1996-2007 and won four World Series rings in his first five years. He walked away in the offseason when the club offered him just a one-year contract with a pay cut, then quickly was hired to manage the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Yankees have won 10 consecutive home openers, the best run in franchise history and the longest active streak in the majors, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

"There's so many memories here that go beyond baseball," Jeter said.

The rainout means there still has never been a regular-season game in March at Yankee Stadium, christened by Babe Ruth's homer before 74,200 fans on opening day in 1923. The Yankees played at Shea Stadium, home of the Mets, from 1974-75 while Yankee Stadium was being remodeled.

Notes: Shannon Stewart was penciled in to start in left field for Toronto instead of Matt Stairs, who has a left hip flexor. Stairs was supposed to be available off the bench, and the Blue Jays said they don't plan to put him on the disabled list. "He feels really well right now so we'll see how he feels after he takes batting practice in the cage," general manager J.P. Ricciardi said. "Just go day to day right now." Stairs, who tested his sore hip during the team's workout Sunday, also had a hip problem last season. "This one might be a little bit more intense than the one last year," he said Sunday. "I just want to get that little clicking out of there that's catching when I run sometimes. It doesn't bother me on any swing, just running and lifting that leg up. You get a pinch once in a while." ... The Yankees have won 15 of their past 16 home openers and 21 of 24.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 2:33 PM to Red Sox | Permalink | Comments 0

World Series trophies coming to Rhode Island on Sunday

Both the 2004 and 2007 Red Sox World Series trophies will make a Rhode Island appearance on Sunday.

They will be at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket before and during the Pawtucket Red Sox game scheduled that day for 1:05 p.m., Governor Carcieri's office announced today. The PawSox will host the Indianapolis Indians.

Gates open at 11 a.m. and Pawtucket Red Sox ticket holders can have photos taken with the two most famous pieces of hardware in Red Sox lore. The photos will later be available at pawsox.com, where they can be downloaded.

"As Rhode Island is the heart of Red Sox Nation, it is truly an honor to have the first presentation of both World Series Trophies here at McCoy Stadium," Carcieri said in a statement. "The Pawtucket Red Sox organization provided the foundation for both the 2004 and 2007 World Series teams and all Rhode Islanders are proud to share in their accomplishments. It is fitting that we kick off the 2008 season with the good fortunes of the past."

The first 4,000 fans coming into McCoy Stadium Sunday will get a commemorative Red Sox World Series pennant.

The PawSox' season opener is this Thursday at 7:05 p.m. at McCoy.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 1:31 PM to Red Sox | Permalink | Comments 0

Our newest high school coach blogger

Clement Soscia, track coach at Toll Gate High School, will be helping us provide coverage of track on HSGametime.com. You can find his work on the High School Coaches Blog; today he has an entry about the Knights of Columbus relay, coming this weekend to Mount Pleasant High School.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 12:29 PM to High School | Permalink | Comments 0

Download today's sports cover

On today's sports cover, Robert Lee has coverage of the Celtics' blowout victory over the lowly Miami Heat, Sean McAdam describes the tough early road ahead of the Red Sox, and Kevin McNamara has the first story of what could be a very interesting week in Providence College's head coach search.

Click here to download the file in pdf format.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 9:32 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

URI spring practice starts Saturday

University of Rhode Island football coach Darren Rizzi will get his first look at his team on the field when the Rams kick off spring practice Saturday. The Rams will have 14 practice sessions leading to the annual spring game on April 26.

Brown is also about to start spring practice and will play its spring game April 26.

Bryant has been practicing for a week. Its spring game is set for April 12.

Posted by Mike Szostak  at 6:29 PM to College Sports | Permalink | Comments 0

Rays put Baldelli on 60-day DL

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays placed outfielder Rocco Baldelli on the 60-day disabled list Friday and filled his roster spot by claiming outfielder Nathan Haynes off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels.

Baldelli, who missed most of last season because of lingering hamstring problems, is sidelined indefinitely with mitochondrial disorder, a condition he says leaves him feeling extremely fatigued after short workouts.

The Rays were hoping the 26-year-old could share the right-field job with Jonny Gomes and Cliff Floyd. Baldelli has appeared in just 127 of 486 games the past three seasons because of an assortment of injuries.

Haynes, 28, made his major league debut with the Angels last season and hit .267 in 40 games.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Pettitte throws bullpen session for Yankees

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Yankees left-hander Andy Pettitte threw 25 pitches off a bullpen mound Friday and remained scheduled to pitch in a minor league game Sunday.

Originally slated to start the Yankees' second game of the regular season, Pettitte has been slowed by back spasms. He could make his first start Friday or Saturday.

"As far as during my bullpen and stuff like that, I feel great," Pettitte said. "It loosened up good. Do I still feel it walking around? Yeah. Sunday is a good day. I need to get some good work in. That's all I'm looking for now."

Pettitte hasn't pitched in a game since March 17.

In other news, left-hander Sean Henn, who will start the season on the 15-day disabled list with tendinitis in his throwing shoulder, struck out one and walked one in a minor league game.

Humberto Sanchez, coming back from elbow ligament replacement surgery, will throw off a half-mound for the first time Tuesday.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 4:14 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Knee surgery for UConn's A.J. Price

FARMINGTON, Conn. (AP) - University of Connecticut guard A.J. Price had knee surgery Friday, a week after getting injured in the NCAA tournament.

The surgery on Price's left knee took about 80 minutes. Price's rehabilitation is scheduled to start Saturday and continue through the summer.

He was injured March 21 in the first half of UConn's overtime loss to San Diego in the first round of the tournament.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 2:25 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

SOCCER: 'In a sport that generally defies the American love for statistics, this year’s FA Cup semifinals are rife with them'

EDITOR'S NOTE: Colin McCullough writes a weekly soccer column and is an occasional contributor to ESPN. He submitted this column about the unusual matchups in next weekend's English FA Cup semifinals.

BY COLIN McCULLOUGH
Special to projo.com

On April 5 in San Antonio, four teams will fight for a spot in the NCAA men’s basketball final. Coincidentally, on the same day in London, the first semifinal will take place in the English FA Cup, the oldest soccer competition in the world.

So imagine for a moment that the Final Four lines up like this: Georgetown versus Coppin State and Austin Peay versus Mississippi Valley State. An unlikely scenario to be sure, but a similar one will be played out when Portsmouth face West Bromwich Albion and Barnsley meet Cardiff City for a place in the showpiece FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium.

Although games are not arranged on a regional basis, this year’s competition, which began with a record 731 teams, has spat out four semifinalists from four distinct parts of the UK. Portsmouth is a naval town on the south coast of England. West Bromwich Albion are from the Midlands, while Barnsley is located in the industrial north. Cardiff is the capital of Wales and its team, Cardiff City, is one of only three Welsh clubs that compete in the English league.

In a sport that generally defies the American love for statistics, this year’s FA Cup semifinals are rife with them. Three of the four teams ply their trade in the Championship, England’s second division, with Portsmouth being the only representative from the Premier League, the first tier of English soccer. The last time this stage of the competition featured only one team from the top flight was exactly one hundred years ago. For the first time in almost half a century, the semi-finals do not involve a team from London, Liverpool or Manchester, the traditional soccer powerhouses. (The top four teams in the English Premier League standings at the moment are Manchester United, Liverpool and – from London – Chelsea and Arsenal.) In fact, it’s necessary to go back to 1973 for an FA Cup Final that didn’t feature a club from one of these cities, when Sunderland beat Leeds United in a famously dramatic encounter.

Portsmouth will be the clear favorites to lift the FA Cup. In addition to being the sole Premier League team left in the competition, they boast a squad that includes a talented group of international players, including the national team’s first choice goalkeeper, David James. Portsmouth have also appeared in three finals, winning the most recent of those – a relative term, since the victory dates from 1939.

Their semifinal opponents, West Bromwich Albion, are pushing hard for promotion to the Premier League. West Brom, as they are known, were one of the founding members of the world’s first soccer league in 1888. They boast a superior FA Cup pedigree to Portsmouth, having won the trophy on five occasions, including once in the modern era, a mere forty years ago. By contrast, the first two of their five victories occurred in the nineteenth century.

Cardiff City have won the trophy just once, in 1927. If they mange to repeat that lone success, they will have engineered an interesting predicament. A considerable side benefit of winning the FA Cup is that the victorious team is admitted to the following season’s UEFA Cup – a knock-out competition for clubs throughout Europe that has been won by the likes of Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Bayern Munich. Participation in this tournament – especially if they progress through one or two rounds – would generate much-need revenue for Cardiff City, but there is a problem. As the rules stand, a Welsh team can only qualify through a Welsh – not English – competition. The issue is under review by the English Football Association, but no doubt soccer’s mandarins hope that the semi-final result will render it a non-issue.

So will the fans of Cardiff’s opponents, Barnsley, along with many neutrals. The romantic money will undoubtedly be on this deeply unfashionable club from a town whose fortunes were tied to coalmines, all of which are now closed. It’s a shame that those bets were not placed in January, when the odds on the team winning the Cup were listed at 500-1.

Barnsley have spent most of their history in the second tier of English soccer. They enjoyed a single season in the top division a decade ago and currently have the lowest league placing of the four teams. Yet they too have won the FA Cup once, their sole triumph being somewhat overshadowed as a news item by the sinking of the Titanic ten days earlier.

Barnsley are, however, this year’s giant killers, knocking out Liverpool in the last sixteen and eliminating 2007 Cup winners Chelsea in the quarter-finals. A club that struggles to get 10,000 fans for their home matches are one game away from an FA Cup Final appearance in front of ten times that number. Their path to the semifinal suggests that there is nothing – and no-one – left for them to fear.

Posted by Art Martone  at 1:46 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Sports quotes of the week, from the AP

Compiled by MARK WIEDENHEFT
By The Associated Press

"The timing's not right. Let's see how Alex reacts. Let's see if they all call me a liar again. How's that for you? Let's see if all of a sudden they're going to call me a liar again." - Jose Canseco, according to excerpts released by ABC, on producing evidence to back his claim that he introduced Alex Rodriguez to a steroids dealer named "Max."

"It's over as far as I'm concerned. No further comment on the matter. I'm just excited to be playing baseball." - Alex Rodriguez, refusing to address allegations by Jose Canseco, who claims he introduced the three-time MVP to a steroids dealer.

"When we told him about a month ago, in the past he would have resisted it, we told him it was something the city wanted to do, and he got very emotional." - Hank Steinbrenner, on Legends Field being renamed George M. Steinbrenner Field in honor of his father.

"Coffee and breakfast instead of beer, kind of unusual." - Baseball fan Tony Massarotti, on bars around Fenway Park and elsewhere catering to big breakfast crowds as the season officially started in Japan at about 6:05 a.m. Eastern time Tuesday.

"I've been riding for 22 years and have never been a part of anything like this. This is something special, a once-in-a-career type of thing." - G.R. Carter, jockey for Got Country Grip, before his 5-year-old paint horse matched the modern North American all-breeds record of 16 straight wins.

"It's fun to score goals, especially when you break some records." - Alexander Ovechkin, after breaking Washington's mark with his league-leading 61st of the season in Tuesday night's 3-2 shootout win at Carolina.

"I know that when you hit something like that, you really think about all the good things that happen to you. I have been really fortunate to have three different teams that are very, very good and that's why you get wins like that." - Rick Adelman, who became the 13th coach in NBA history to reach 800 wins when Houston beat Sacramento 108-100 Monday.

"WWE has the right machine, and we proved I'm the hottest thing on the market right now. If you can't sell nothing else, you can sell Floyd Mayweather." - Floyd Mayweather Jr., the 39-0 welterweight champion, who will wrestle in the "Big Show" at WWE's WrestleMania 24 at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando on Sunday.

"As you're coming in your agents tell you what you can do after you play out your first contract. So getting to this day is a dream come true. It kind of just seems like everything is working out like a storybook in my life. I played ball here. I grew up here. I got to play college ball here, NFL ball here. I'm getting married in Seattle. Things just all come together." - Marcus Trufant, when asked if the anticipation of signing a new contract motivated him last season. The Pro Bowl cornerback and his hometown Seahawks agreed to a $50.2 million, six-year contract.

"Now it's one voice; it's mine. Pressure is pressure. I've dealt with it in the past, and I'm looking forward to it." - Hall of Famer Larry Bird, after Donnie Walsh announced his 24th year with the Pacers would be his last. Walsh, the team's CEO and president since 1988, hired Bird as coach in 1997 and groomed him as his eventual successor.

"He wanted to go to a contender and we sent him there. We sent him to Utopia and we're left here with the carnage and I don't know why he's not happy." - Heat coach Pat Riley, responding to disparaging remarks Shaquille O'Neal made about some of his old teammates and trainers in a Boston Globe story. Riley dealt O'Neal to Phoenix before the trade deadline, allowing the 36-year-old center the chance to compete for another title.

"I was happy to start the game, but it was more about getting on the pitch, getting that 100th cap." - David Beckham, after playing in his 100th international game for England. Beckham was taken off in the 62nd minute of his team's 1-0 loss at France.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Former Yankee official seeks leniency, says he's not as bad as the players

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - Former New York Yankees traveling secretary David Szen asked to be spared prison time for failing to report tips he received from players and coaches.

Szen, who was fired last December, said in court documents that his conduct pales compared to what high-profile players have done. He asked for probation when he is sentenced next week in federal court in New Haven.

Szen pleaded guilty in December to filing a false tax return and admitted he failed to report more than $50,000 in tips from players and coaches.

He was the Yankees' media relations director in 1982, later worked for the Seattle Mariners and returned to the Yankees in the 1990s as traveling secretary, arranging charter flights, buses and hotel rooms for the team.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Multimedia: Projo SoxTalk with Sean McAdam, from Los Angeles

Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. He discusses the rocky first outings by Daisuke Matsuzaka and Jon Lester in Japan, Manny Ramirez's new attitude, and Saturday night's freak-show exhibition game at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 12:18 PM to Red Sox | Permalink | Comments 0

Patriots' Watson has ankle surgery, may miss start of camp

In news first reported by the Boston Herald, tight end Benjamin Watson recently underwent left ankle surgery and may not be ready come training camp in late July.

The surgery reportedly revealed cartilage damage and scar tissue; when asked about the surgery, Watson declined. The Patriots refused to comment.

Watson first injured the ankle in Week 6 against Dallas, when he was dragged down from behind by Cowboys' safety Roy Williams, who is so notorious for taking players down that way that the NFL instituted a rule against using a "horse collar" tackle because of a high incidence of injury with the move.

Though Williams was fined three times for such a tackle last season -- including a one-game suspension late in the season after a takedown of the Eagles' Donovan McNabb -- he was not cited for the Watson tackle.

Watson played in 12 games last season. The Patriots cut veteran tight end Kyle Brady on Feb. 29, apparently before the extent of Watson's injury was known. David Thomas, who missed most of last season, and Stephen Spach, are the team's other players at the position.

-SHALISE MANZA YOUNG

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 11:17 AM to Patriots | Permalink | Comments 0

UNH's Kevin Regan named top college hockey player in New England

BOSTON (AP) - New Hampshire goalie Kevin Regan has been named winner of the Walter Brown Award as the top U.S.-born Division 1 college hockey player in New England.

Regan had a .933 save percentage and a 2.12 goals against average as the Wildcats posted a 25-9-3 record and won Hockey East's regular-season title.

The native of Boston is the program's all-time leader in saves with 3,208, save percentage with .929, games played with 111 and wins with 70.

The award, handed out by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston, will be presented at the New England Hockey Writers dinner on April 16.

The Wildcats open the NCAA tournament on Friday night against Notre Dame in Colorado Springs.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Columnists opine on baseball's opening day, Jose Canseco and A-Rod

KEVIN SHERRINGTON, The Dallas Morning News, on BASEBALL RENEWAL:
Hard as it may be to believe, I have it on good authority that baseball season already has begun in Japan. Not Japanese baseball, which already was in session. The American version. The one with all the best Japanese players.

Conclusion: Bud Selig continues his quest to find a country where the term "performance enhancing drugs" doesn't translate.

Oakland and Boston apparently played two games in Tokyo to mixed reviews. By all accounts, the opener was gangbusters. A Boston rookie, Brandon Moss, hit a game-tying home run off Huston Street in the ninth, forcing extra innings and sending the locals into convulsions of sushi-infused euphoria.

A Japanese baseball culture primer: Extra innings are a rare delicacy in Japan, where games are called after 12 innings, and not for a lack of relievers, either. They simply believe it's all the baseball anyone should have to endure in one sitting. This is, of course, a departure from American baseball, where everyone goes home after last call.

Anyway, the teams split and will resume the series next week on American soil, unless Bud gets a better offer from another country.

On a personal note, the start of baseball season has always sparked something hopeful that even the Rangers couldn't beat out of me.

Maybe it's just the promise of spring. A sense of renewal. The affirmation of life.

But I have to tell you, confirmation that baseball snuck in a couple of games a week ahead of time - at 3 in the morning Oakland time, at that - throws a wet blanket over my reawakening.
Never mind that this makes three times in eight years that Japan has hosted our opener. In case you didn't notice, baseball had a bad winter, and spring hasn't been so hot, either.

Coming next week is another Jose Canseco tell-all. In his sequel, he reportedly reveals that he introduced a steroids dealer to Alex Rodriguez, who repaid the favor by hitting on Canseco's wife.

Frankly, I gave Canseco the benefit of the doubt three years ago with his first book. Everyone laughed off his numbers then. At least he raised the dialogue about baseball's not-so-secret problem.

Still, enough is enough. If he had something on A-Rod besides his wife's perfume, he would have told us the first time.

Here's how you know the evidence is thin: Don Yaeger turned down an offer to co-author the book, calling the goods shaky. This is the same Don Yaeger who took the word of a couple of strippers in the case against Mike Price.

Now I know what you're thinking: I'd take the word of a stripper over Canseco, too.

How much bad news can you handle going into a season anyway? Let's count the ways:
Roger Clemens' congressional testimony became ripe political fodder when a top Republican released a report Tuesday blasting the Democratic majority's conclusion. The president of the Baseball Hall of Fame was forced to resign Tuesday for failing to "exercise proper fiduciary responsibility."

Edinson Volquez has a 2.79 ERA this spring and is the talk of the Reds' camp.

The Rangers renew their annual search for a rotation. Prediction: The FBI will find Jimmy Hoffa first.

If you think I'm not taking these sordid stories well, consider the case of Tim Kurkjian.

Twice in the last year I've heard the former Dallas Morning News staffer spin the funny tales from his book, Is This a Great Game, or What?

Both times he was beaten down afterward with questions about steroids and cheating.
If you've never met Kurkjian or caught his work on ESPN, seeing him grilled in person is like watching an angry mob string up one of Santa's elves.

I don't blame Bud Selig for all of these problems. A lot of people are responsible for baseball's malaise.

But it's probably not too much to ask that we hold on to traditions like opening day and quit selling out in the interests of international marketing. From what I can tell, the best to come out of the latest venture was a line from the Boston Globe's Dan Shaughnessy, who wrote that Brandon Moss' homer kept the Sox from being "Sadaharu Oh-for-Japan."

And the young hero? Moss struck out three times in Game 2 and lost his spot on the club. Here's hoping they explained he still had a seat on the plane.

WALLACE MATTHEWS, Newsday, on JOSE CANSECO:
In his first literary endeavor, the No. 1 bestseller "Juiced," Jose Canseco was able to accomplish something he never would have been capable of in his chosen field. As a ballplayer, Canseco averaged 114 strikeouts a season but as a first-time author, he took five big swings and connected on four of them.

That's a pretty good rate of success in any field. It is also the only reason anyone is paying the slightest bit of attention to his follow-up effort, the title of which will not be repeated here for fear, however remote, that it might actually help him sell a copy or two.

It is bad enough that a man who in his life has probably never read anything that didn't have a centerfold can somehow have "written" a book that lived for eight solid weeks on The New York Times bestseller list.

That one, at least, had names - Mark McGwire, Jason Giambi, Rafael Palmeiro, Juan Gonzalez and Pudge Rodriguez, to name the biggest - and a semblance of truth, since four of them, minus Pudge, either admitted to, were caught in the act of, or ran away from the accusations Canseco pinned on them.

This one has names, too, but little else. The sequel is never as good as the original, but this is so bad it's ridiculous. Jose Canseco says he introduced Alex Rodriguez to "a known supplier of steroids" - italics by the author - and that means, of course, that Canseco has the goods on A-Rod. Which means, of course, that you should buy this book (italics by the columnist).

Not.

No wonder Don Yaeger, Canseco's collaborator on "Juiced," ran away from the sequel the way McGwire ran away from the original. No wonder they had to resort to using the guy who ghostwrote O.J.'s "fictional" confession to the murder of his ex-wife. No wonder no legitimate publishing house would touch this mess with one of Canseco's alcohol swabs.

To claim that because a ballplayer once met a steroids dealer - and in the current environment, I defy you to show me one who hasn't - proves that said athlete is, like Canseco, a steroid abuser, a felon and a cheat, is ludicrous and probably libelous. For instance, at a boxing match some years ago, a promoter introduced me to a well-known, now deceased, Queens-based mob boss. Does that make me a capo?

What it does, is put A-Rod's name in play, the same way he put McGwire's and Giambi's and Palmeiro's and the rest of them. Canseco may be the boy who cried wolf but last time around, there really was a wolf at the door. That's why, as slimy as this messenger is, we have no choice but to take a look at the message. And considering all we have learned during the past three years from "Game of Shadows," a legitimate book by legitimate authors, the Mitchell Report, the Congressional hearings and the testimony of Brian McNamee and Kirk Radomski, one would have to be naive or foolish to swear that anyone in professional sports is absolutely clean.

This is less the fault of Canseco than of Bud Selig and Donald Fehr, who in their greed and amorality encouraged and abetted the flourishing of the steroid culture, compromised their game's integrity, tarnished the legacies of its greatest retired stars and cast suspicion on each and every one of their current stars. Perhaps worst of all, they created the monstrous figure of Jose Canseco, Best-Selling Author.

Without the help of Selig and Fehr, there is no "Juiced". And without "Juiced," there is no follow-up, a tirade motivated not by altruism or even greed so much as Canseco's hatred for Rodriguez, whom he alleges lusted after his second wife, Jessica - a woman, incidentally, Canseco was later arrested for smacking around and subsequently divorced.

No matter. At the time, the two were lovey-dovey, fresh off their romantic meeting at Hooters - no joke! - and Canseco's wound is still so raw he admits in the book that he "hates - - guts." In fact, he repeats the sentiment, in various forms, no less than six times in 10 pages.

So much for being a whistle-blower. So much for wanting to do the right thing. So much for not having an agenda or a vendetta. So much for the offering your reading public the plain, unvarnished, unadulterated truth.

Sadly, it may turn out that someday, A-Rod will wind up on the Shame Brigade with so many others, especially since baseball continues to drag its feet on HGH testing. Right now, the only consequence for a ballplayer using HGH is that he might wind up in Jose Canseco's next book.
If there is any justice in the world, the title of that book will be "Incarcerated: My View From the Lower Bunk." At the very least, Jose Canseco is guilty of criminal impersonation of a writer.

BOB KLAPISCH, The Record (Hackensack N.J.), on ALEX RODRIGUEZ:

To those who thought the final 10 years of Alex Rodriguez's career would be spent in a quiet, Spartan pursuit of Barry Bonds' home run record, we offer a much different crystal ball. Think of the last 24 hours as a sneak preview.

In just one day, A-Rod foolishly confessed to a long-running regret that he didn't end up with the Mets in 2000, then fended off Jose Canseco's implied accusation of steroid use. It was a busy news cycle for the Yankees' slugger, but then again, aren't they all?

Turns out Canseco had little to show for all the huffing and puffing about bringing down A-Rod; in his soon-to-be-released book, the only "evidence" of Rodriguez's cheating was Canseco's statement that he introduced him to a known steroids peddler. A-Rod emerges crime-free, but that's not to say the Yankees can count on him to keep his mouth shut, not even after signing that historic $275 million deal during the winter.

Put it this way: Imagine how the Yankees feel today knowing the cornerstone of the franchise, to whom they've committed $275 million, has been pining for the Mets all along.

That's what A-Rod told the New York Daily News on Tuesday, that he wishes he hadn't allowed himself to be steered toward the Rangers and their record-setting $252 million deal eight years ago. Rodriguez actually was bashing agent Scott Boras, but in doing so, expressed a retroactive admiration for the Mets that can't possibly sit well with the Bombers.

Even if Rodriguez is telling the truth - and his recollection is faulty; the Mets turned him down, not the other way around - he should know better than to be kissing up to the Yankees' cross-town rivals. The slugger can't have it both ways: he can't sell himself as an old-school, to-the-bone Yankee and then admit he could've (and should've) been playing at Shea.

Of course, the Yankees will never react to this in an official capacity. Not now, not after anointing A-Rod as their caretaker for the next decade. This is officially his team now, not Derek Jeter's, which means the front office is going to pretend A-Rod's comments never appeared in the newspaper.

But it tells you something about how A-Rod will be spending the next few years. He will be loose, open, telling us more than we need to know. And, apparently, Rodriguez won't be afraid to lay it on thick. Last week, he told The Boston Globe, "When all is said and done, Manny (Ramirez) will be the greatest right-handed hitter ever. I'm very biased because he's one of my best friends. I just love Manny."

Rodriguez's praise is nothing if not disingenuous: he's going to finish his career with more home runs, RBI and total bases than Ramirez, so why would he promote a concept he knows is statistically false? Because he thinks the fans at Fenway will be nicer to him next month?

If so, Rodriguez isn't just vain, he's terribly naive. But that's the surcharge the Yankees are paying for the third baseman's greatness. A-Rod is an amiable guy, but on a scale of one-to-tone deaf, he's off the charts.

Of course, the genetic coding for saying the wrong thing won't stop Rodriguez from hitting home runs in a steady blur. He's got a couple of more MVP awards in him, too, probably in 2008, as well. But the idea of A-Rod as a baseball warrior remains as alien as ever.

It's no coincidence that soon after re-signing with the Yankees, Rodriguez hired Guy Oseary, who's managed the careers of Madonna and Lenny Kravitz, to act as his new front man. When he was retained last December, Oseary told Variety magazine, "This is to help (Rodriguez) have more control of his image and brand."

To which Yankee fans must be thinking: If only A-Rod had similar control of his October slugging percentage.

Obviously, Rodriguez is the game's greatest five-tool player - ever - and the Yankees would've never made it to the postseason in any of the past four years without him. But does A-Rod really have to prattle on about the Mets, the Red Sox and whatever topic comes to him in the next soul-baring, Oprah-like moment?

It's not too much for the Yankees to ask A-Rod to do what he does best - hit fastballs to the planets. The rest can wait for Rodriguez's memoirs, which undoubtedly will have a chapter devoted to Canseco.

NEWS ITEM: Orlando Hernandez's fastball in decline.

The Mets are lucky Pedro Martinez is having a good spring, and that John Maine looks even better than that. If not, there'd be plenty of concern about El Duque's fastball, or to be more specific, its rapid evaporation.

At age 42, there's every reason to wonder if Hernandez's career is taking its final breath. He's revamped his delivery to take pressure off a chronic bunion on his right foot, without any success. Clocked at a mere 84-mph against the Cardinals last weekend, Hernandez is all but naked on the mound; he has no weapons to defeat major league-caliber hitters.

This would be a perfect opening for Mike Pelfrey, whom everyone in the organization keeps waiting to blossom. Sooner or later, the Mets reckon, their former No. 1 draft pick will have his breakthrough moment, but instead of progressing, Pelfrey looks more and more hittable, unable to command his slider in the strike zone.

Pelfrey will be handed the No. 5 rotation spot by default, but that still doesn't address the Mets' concerns about Hernandez (and the $6.5 million he's got coming to him).

Duque has been as tough and reliable as any New York pitcher in the last decade, but not even this wizard can create magic with a fastball in the low-80s. We may have seen the last of him.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 8:12 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Download today's sports cover

On today's sports cover, Joe McDonald writes why the Red Sox are not too concerned by the early-season struggles of Clay Buchholz and Jacoby Ellsbury, and Kevin McNamara updates the slow-moving search for a new PC basketball coach.

Click here to download the file in pdf format.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 7:50 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Brian McNamee speaks to students in Everett, Mass.

EVERETT, Mass. (AP) - The former personal trainer for Roger Clemens says life can be defined by a single big mistake.

Brian McNamee met with coaches, students and parents at an Everett nutritional supplement store on Thursday and told them they can learn from his mistake, rather than making their own.

The public appearance was McNamee's first since testifying in front of Congress that he injected Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner, with steroids and human growth hormone.

McNamee is a key source for the Mitchell Report that laid bare the prevalence of steroids in baseball.

He didn't talk about steroids or his Congressional testimony during the talk in front of about 25 people.

Instead, he spoke about training regimens and gave advice on workouts.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 4:33 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

What you're saying: Robinson looks good for PC

We've been polling readers today about whether Brown coach Craig Robinson is the man PC should hire to fill its men's basketball vacancy. We've received 71 votes so far, with a majority of 42 (59 percent) saying that yes, Robinson is the right choice.

Here is the comment of one Robinson supporter: "To get stability and pride back to the program he is your man... Don't forget that he wins also."

The main knock on Robinson seems to be his short head coaching experience. Here's what one skeptic had to say: "He has only been a head coach for two years and let's face it, coaching basketball at Brown is a far cry from the Big East and coaching at Providence College or Georgetown University."

Click here to place your vote.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 4:24 PM to PC basketball | Permalink | Comments 0

Q&A with Hal Steinbrenner

By ED PRICE
Newhouse News Service

TAMPA, Fla. - Hank Steinbrenner has supplied the bulk of the quotes from Yankees ownership the past few months, but he has an equal - and not quite silent - partner.

Hal Steinbrenner, the younger of owner George Steinbrenner's two sons, this week agreed to a question-and-answer session.

Steinbrenner, 39 and divorced with three young daughters, graduated from Williams College in 1991 and earned an MBA from the University of Florida. He was the first of the sons to plunge into control of the team after Steve Swindal, George Steinbrenner's designated successor, was divorced from Jennifer Steinbrenner last year.

Hal has been portrayed as media-shy and a more reasoned and cautious counterbalance to the impetuous Hank. But while this week's interview was a rare one, Hal was friendly, showed a sly wit and seemed perfectly comfortable answering questions.

While Hank sports the close-cropped haircut and blue blazer reminiscent of his father, the youthful Hal has wavy hair and dresses casually (with a 1977 World Series ring on his finger) as he sits in his office on the far third-base side of the fourth floor at Legends Field.

Q: With you and Hank involved, how are decisions made now?

A: It all started about a year ago, and it was a work in progress for a while. But it's a family business. It's a lot bigger than it was 10 years ago, with banks and bondholders and a lot of partners. It's just a different deal but we still look at it as a family business. And my brother-in-law's (Felix Lopez, husband of sister Jessica) involved, my sister Jenny's involved as well. So there's really four of us involved.

But I think the way the family wants it, and the partners, is kind of the way it's happened - which is that any major decisions affecting the company in reality affects our family, so Hank and I are going to be on board with it, whether it's a capital expenditure, whether it's increasing debt or raising ticket prices or something with the new stadium. Or whether it's a baseball decision, a significant baseball decision.

So it's worked pretty well. It worked pretty well in the offseason. We got our whole team back, which I think everybody's happy with. So that's pretty much how it is. Now everything gets run past George in the end, of course. That hasn't changed. But he's really given a lot of the responsibility to us, particularly Hank and I, when it comes to major decisions.

Who'd have thought?

Q: Do you have to hash things out with Hank?

A: I don't know if you have brothers, but you're not going to agree on everything. I think it was well-publicized that there was a deal or two we didn't completely see eye-to-eye on (i.e., whether to trade young players for Johan Santana). But overall in the offseason we were right on board with each other, and it worked on well.

Q: Is it as clear-cut as Hank handles baseball decisions and you concentrate on the financial end?

A: We all are focusing on certain areas, but we're all involved with everything. Felix is doing Tampa operations and our Latin operations. My sister Jenny is really involved with the interior design of the new stadium and a few other things. And Hank is very knowledgeable in baseball. He's really concentrated on that. And it's left me to do the other things that need to be done, with the new stadium. Finance is my background, there's no doubt, but we work pretty well together, despite what the public perception is.

Q: After staying pretty much out of the baseball end of the family business, working in the hotel business, how did you come to get back into it?

A: This has been my office for 12 years. Well, it was (former general partner) Joe Molloy's office. I was actually right down next to George for several years. But I've been here, even when I was doing the hotel things. You can't be here four or five days a week and not know what's going on. And I always was.

There's no doubt when Steve (Swindal, who was bought out) left I got considerably more involved, spending more time in New York, really got involved in the stadium project.
That happened about a year ago, and Hank a few months after that. ... He started getting involved over the summer.

Q: What kept you mostly out of the baseball business for such a long time?

A: Right out of Williams, I actually worked at the Stadium for a year, lived in New York in '91. Then I went to Florida for grad school for two years. And then in '94 I started right away (with the hotel business) and the Yankees, doing both.

There were two things. One, I think, was a fear that it would really take away from my time with my kids. ... George was away a lot (when I was) growing up, but 25 years ago, conducting business, you really needed to be where that business was. Now with technology and Blackberries and e-mail on phones, what I've realized the last year is I can conduct business pretty efficiently from anywhere, which is good.

And the other thing was there were certainly times - I know this isn't going to be a shock to you or anybody that reads this - that it was pretty tough working for George. There would be times when I know I, and probably Hank as well, felt like we weren't really needed. George was perfectly capable, as I'm sure you can imagine, of handling everything himself. So that was part of it too, I think.

Q: So is life a lot different for you than a year ago?

A: Yes. But it's been great. I'm very excited about these young pitchers we've got.

Watching the Super Bowl ... the one great thing I really got out of it was watching Eli Manning, who - you know better than I do - struggled a bit when he first got there. And the lesson to be learned, that hopefully our fans have learned, is that if you're patient with young talent, great things can happen. That's all I could think of when I saw him on the field at the end with that trophy.

Having spent a lot of time in New York in the offseason, which I did because of the stadium, every person that came up to me said, "Good job not trading (Phil) Hughes, good job not getting rid of the young kids." So I think they are going to be patient, and hopefully these kids will do as good as we think.

Q: Everyone wants to know: How is George?

A: Look, he's here every day. He's 77. He's definitely slowing down. But overall you see he's here every day. And we don't make many decisions, if any, without running it by him. But what's changed from 5-10 years ago is he's really given us a lot of responsibility to do the due diligence on those decisions and come up with a strong recommendation. That really, I think, paid off. We had a good thing going in the offseason with (GM Brian) Cashman, Hank and I.

Q: With you and Hank so involved, how much power does Cashman have now, after two years of increased authority?

A: Steve was very involved, and so was George. I think they worked as a group, just as we're working as a group now. I don't know that life for "Cash" has changed much.

Q: So it's the same process? Cashman makes recommendations to ownership, and then those are acted on?

A: Exactly the way it should be, in my opinion.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:07 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Pettitte to test back on Sunday

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Yankees left-hander Andy Pettitte is scheduled to pitch in a minor league game Sunday.

Pettitte, originally slated to start the Yankees' second game of the regular season on Wednesday, has been slowed by back spasms. If all goes well, he likely will make his first start of the season Friday or Saturday.

"We're going to see how it feels and try and stretch it out," Pettitte said. "Then figure out what I'm going to do after that game."

Pettitte threw off a bullpen mound Wednesday and will do it again Friday. He hasn't pitched in a game since March 17.

"I woke up this morning and I can definitely say it felt as good today as it did yesterday, and maybe even a little bit better," Pettitte said. "The bullpen yesterday didn't set me back at all. So that was positive."

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 1:55 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Fantasy baseball tips

Today on our Fantasy Sports Blog, David Ferris has complete position-by-position hitter rankings as well as pitcher rankings, and Michael Salfino compares the relative worth real-life GMs place on players compared with the average joes who run fantasy teams, and wonders who really does a better job evaluating talent.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 9:42 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Download today's sports cover

On today's sports cover, Sean McAdam writes about Red Sox game two, Bill Reynolds reveals the man he thinks is right for the PC basketball job, and Kevin McNamara reports on the Celtics' latest victory.

Click here to download the file in pdf format.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 9:18 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

A's 5, Red Sox 1: One-stop listing of all eight stories by Sean McAdam

A quick list of all Sean McAdam's stories from Wednesday's 5-1 Red Sox loss to the A's:

-- Game story: Rich Harden was the difference as the A's won, earning a split of the two games in Japan.

-- The trip is complete and, all in all, the Red Sox say they enjoyed their time in Japan.

-- Coco Crisp replaced Jacoby Ellsbury in center field for the second game of the series, but Terry Francona says he can't tell Crisp exactly how he'll be used this year because he doesn't yet know himself.

-- J.D. Drew missed his second straight game because of back spasms . . .

-- . . . which means Brandon Moss played again. But after the game, he was shipped to Pawtucket.

-- David Aardsma did his part to avoid joining Moss on the Fenway-to-McCoy shuffle by pitching 1 2/3 scoreless innings Wednesday.

-- Bartolo Colon's scheduled to pitch Friday night in Los Angeles and other notes.

-- And finally, the A's felt like they were treated as the Red Sox' poor cousins during their time in Tokyo.

Posted by Art Martone  at 12:02 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Boys hockey playoff results

Division I
Mount St. Charles 4, Hendricken 3
(Mount St. Charles wins series, 2-0)

Division III
Narragansett 2, South Kingstown 1
(Narragansett wins series, 2-1)

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 9:08 PM to High School | Permalink | Comments 0

Red Sox 6, A's 5: One-stop wrapup

A quick list of all Sean McAdam's stories from Tuesday's 6-5 Red Sox victory over the A's:

-- Manny Ramirez gets off to his quickest start in years with a pair of two-run doubles, including a two-out shot in the 10th that breaks a 4-4 tie, and leads the Red Sox to a season-opening win over the A's.

-- Daisuke Matsuzaka overcomes a rocky start to pitch five solid innings and leaves the game with a 3-2 lead.

-- The red-hot J.D. Drew can't answer the bell, as a bad back forces him to the sidelines.

-- A complete list of postgame notes.

-- Commissioner Bud Selig attends the game and is non-committal on whether or not punishment will be meted out to players named in the Mitchell Report. He also has little to say about the Sox' threatened boycott of the Japanese trip, concluding, "All's well that ends well."

-- Prior to the game, Sean accompanies representatives of the Red Sox and A's to a reception at the home of Thomas Schieffer, the U.S. Ambassador to Japan. "They'll let anyone in here, I guess,'' jokes A's general manager Billy Beane when he spots Sean.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 9:50 AM to Red Sox | Permalink | Comments 0

Download today's Sports cover

Although they're halfway around the world, it's still Opening Day for the Red Sox as they take on Oakland in Japan. Also, Bill Reynolds writes of Hendricken grad Joe Mazulla's basketball dreams; and the Celtics fall to the 76ers at Boston.
Download file

Posted by Rich Lee  at 7:45 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Boys hockey playoff results

Division I
Mount St. Charles 4, Hendricken 2
Mount leads series, 1-0

Division III
Narragansett 8, South Kingstown 2
Series tied, 1-1

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 9:09 PM to High School | Permalink | Comments 0

Federer conqueror coming to Newport

Mardy Fish, the American who upset top-ranked Roger Federer, 6-3, 6-2, in the semifinals of the Masters Series tennis tournament at Indian Wells, Calif., Saturday, has entered the Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport in July. Fish was ranked No. 98 on the men's pro tour last week, but after beating fourth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko, 24th-seeded Lleyton Hewitt, seventh-seeded David Nalbanian and Federer, his ranking improved to No. 40 today. Five years ago, Fish was ranked as high as No. 19.

This will be Fish's seventh appearance in the Hall of Fame tournament. He reached the quarterfinals in 2000, 2002 and 2006. The event is scheduled for July 7-13 at the Newport Casino. Michael Chang. Mark McCormack (posthumously) and Eugene Scott (posthumously) will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 12. For ticket information, check tennisfame.com or call the tournament office at 866-914-FAME.

Posted by Mike Szostak  at 2:59 PM to Tennis | Permalink | Comments 0

Multimedia: Projo SoxTalk with Sean McAdam, Monday, March 24

Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded today from Tokyo. The topics include the Red Sox' decision to bat Dustin Pedroia leadoff, Mike Timlin's health and what it means for the bullpen, and some lasting memories of Japan.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 11:57 AM to Red Sox | Permalink | Comments 0

RIC women's basketball coach dismissed

Rhode Island College is not renewing the contract of women's basketball coach Spencer Manning and has begun a nationawide search for his successor. Manning was 68-65 in his firve years as head coach. The Anchorwomen were 12-13 overall, 5-9 in the Little East Conference, this season. RIC's only post-season appearance under Manning was to the 2007 ECAC New England Division III Tournament.

Posted by Mike Szostak  at 11:22 AM to College Sports | Permalink | Comments 0

Multimedia: Pictures and audio from Red Sox vs. Yomiuri Giants

Click the play button to see photos and audio by Bob Breidenbach from Sunday's Red Sox exhibition against the Yomiuri Giants.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 9:37 AM to Red Sox | Permalink | Comments 0

Download today's Sports cover

Get the latest on the Red Sox in Japan as they begin their World Series title defense against Oakland. Also, check out yesterday's results from the NCAA men's hoop tournament.
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Posted by Rich Lee  at 7:45 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Boys Hockey Championships

Division IA
Burrillville 6, Barrington 2
(Burrillville wins series, 2-0)

Division II
Cumberland 5, St. Raphael 3
(Cumberland wins series, 2-0)

Division III
South Kingstown 6, Narragansett 5
(South Kingstown leads series, 1-0)

Posted by Chris Venditto  at 6:09 PM to High School | Permalink | Comments 0

Mazzulla shines as West Virginia upsets Duke

Johnston's Joe Mazzulla scored 13 points and had 11 rebounds coming off the bench as the West Virginia Mountaineers upset the Duke Blue Devils, 73-67, today in Washington, D.C. Click here to see a live scoreboard with full NCAA Tournament coverage.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 4:47 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Saturday's Red Sox wrapup from Japan

Good morning! And good night to the Red Sox, who are winding down their Saturday in Japan.

As we were sleeping, here's Sean McAdam's overnight report:

-- David Ortiz and J.D. Drew homered, but Clay Buchholz was a little shaky, as the Sox edged the Hanshin Tigers, 6-5, in their exhibition game.

-- A suddenly talkative Manny Ramirez says he plans to play six more years -- all with the Red Sox -- and the sky's the limit as far as what he can accomplish.

-- Bryan Corey knows he's on the bubble as far as making the Red Sox bullpen is concerned, but he's not worried about it.

-- There's a chance both Josh Beckett and Mike Timlin could start the season on the disabled list.

-- McAdam's notebook has items on Jacoby Ellsbury being dropped to eighth in the batting order, Bartolo Colon's next start and more.

Posted by Art Martone  at 9:02 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Red Sox release R.I.'s Barry Hertzler

BY JOE McDONALD
Journal Sports Writer

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The Red Sox released pitcher Barry Hertzler this morning.

The East Providence native was selected by the Red Sox in the 11th round (324th overall) in the 2003 draft and spent five seasons in the minor-league system. The right-hander pitched for the PawSox in 2006 and in 2007.

In 186 minor-league games in the organization, he compiled a 24-15 record with a 4.26 ERA, mostly working out of the bullpen.

Posted by Art Martone  at 4:41 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Bergeron working his way back with Bruins

BOSTON (AP) - At its worst, the pain kept Patrice Bergeron from watching his teammates play. Not from the press box, not from his TV at home.

"I couldn't do anything. The light was bothering me; the noise was bothering me. Everything was," said the Boston Bruins forward, who is recovering from a concussion that has kept him out since October.

"It was giving me headaches, making me dizzy," he said after skating with teammates for the first time last month. "I couldn't do anything to pass the time. I was pretty much trying to go through the day, trying to sleep and rest and feel better."

Bergeron was knocked unconscious in his 10th game of the season when Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Randy Jones hit him from behind and smashed his face into the glass. As Bergeron lay on the ice, doctors cut away his jersey and pads, then carried him off on a stretcher.

He was diagnosed with a concussion and broken nose, and he hasn't played since. Jones was suspended by the NHL for two games.

Bergeron said he hadn't spoken to Jones, but "if I run into him, maybe I'll talk."

"I don't feel like I need to call him or talk to him. I don't have any anger towards him. It's done," Bergeron said. "Obviously, it was a hit from behind. I don't think there's a need for that. As an athlete, when you step on the ice, you have to think about the consequences. You need to be smart."

Now, Bergeron is trying to be smart about his return.

In an interview at the new Boston Garden across the hall from the Bruins locker room, while his teammates filed past on their way to the ice, the 22-year-old player described the progress he has made since the concussion left him so woozy he struggled to leave his condominium.

"I was going outside for fresh air, and I could barely go farther than 20 or 50 feet before I got dizzy and had to stop and sit down," he said. "I had a hard time. Pretty much all day I was laying down, sitting on the couch and just trying to find a position where I was comfortable."
Gradually, Bergeron improved to where he could watch the Bruins play on TV. Then he started coming to the arena to see the games in person. In the last week of February, he began skating before or after practice - no stick, no contact. When the headaches returned, he scaled things back.

In the past two weeks, though, has been participating in noncontact drills with his team. He said Thursday he hoped he would be able to travel with the team to Montreal this weekend - his first road trip since the injury.

"It's a great feeling to be around the guys again, be around the locker room, have a chance to skate with the guys. I waited 41/2 months to have a chance to do that," Bergeron said. "It's a great sport, and you don't appreciate it as much; you don't say thanks enough.

"Now that I've been away from it, I get a chance to realize it's my passion. I'm thankful for every second, every minute that I'm on the ice."

And the Bruins are thankful to have him back.

Defenseman Aaron Ward said that when Bergeron first started coming around again, he was pale and gaunt. "He looked like he was in a haze," Ward said.

Now?

"His hands are back. He looks like a hockey player, not a guy who's trying to come back from an injury," Ward said. "All you hope for is progress."

Bergeron said this week he would like to put on another 10 pounds of muscle to get back to his playing weight of about 195 pounds. He also needs to recapture the timing that helped make him one of the NHL's most promising young players.

Whether he can pull that all together in time for the playoffs, the Bruins aren't willing to guess.
"We're not going to gamble with this guy," said coach Claude Julien, whose team is one of four fighting for the last four spots in the Eastern Conference. "There's no chances to be taking. When he comes back it will be because he's totally cleared and he's 100 percent and there's no risk involved."

In hockey, though, there's always risk.

Bergeron has spoken to former MVP Eric Lindros and Hall of Famer Michel Goulet, both forced into retirement by concussions, and ex-Bruins great Cam Neely, his career curtailed by a knee injury.

"That's the risk you take when you step out on the ice," Bergeron said, insisting he was never concerned the injury could be career-ending. "It never crossed my mind. I know I'll be back. I'll be back as soon as I can. Whatever happens, it's going to be the best for me, and I hope it will be this year."

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 4:01 PM to Bruins | Permalink | Comments 0

Multimedia: Sean McAdam's projo SoxTalk from Japan

Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded today from Tokyo.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 12:07 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Download today's sports cover

On today's sports cover, Sean McAdam writes about his long flight from Florida to Japan, and we have the story on the Celtics completing a three-game sweep of the "Texas Triangle."

Click here to download the file in pdf format.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 8:41 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Boys hockey playoff results

Division I-A Finals
Burrillville 2, Barrington 1
(Burrillville leads series, 1-0)

Division II Finals
Cumberland 8, St. Raphael 2
(Cumberland leads series, 1-0)

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 7:40 PM to High School | Permalink | Comments 0

CCRI women fall to No. 1 Kirkwood in national tournament

Defending national champion Kirkwood Community College got a game-high 27 points from Allie Lindemann as the Eagles ended CCRI's run at the NJCAA Division II national tournament with a 69-58 win at Illinois Central College at East Peoria, Illinois.

CCRI will play Carl Sandberg College today at 1 p.m. in the consolation round.

CCRI was led by Denise Scott's 14 points, 6 rebounds, 6 steals and 3 assists. Exeter's Lauren Harrington added 13 points.

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 5:27 PM to College Sports | Permalink | Comments 0

Sean McAdam discovers Japan with the Red Sox

BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer

TOKYO -- The Red Sox charter landed about two hours ago in Tokyo and I thought I would catch you up a bit on the team's long day's journey into night . . . day . . . then night again.

Some highlights from the journey, which took about 18 hours from departure in Fort Myers to arrival here.

-- A police motorcade escorted the Red Sox through Fort Myers, with traffic stopped at intersections to allow the four busloads of personnel and equipment through. It was astounding to see the ease with which the team got from City of Palms Park to Southwest Florida International Airport.

Ordinarily, most beat writers -- myself included -- make our own travel arrangements and fly commercially, dealing with the same airport, traffic and security issues that everyone else experiences. This was a completely different -- and more convenient -- way of travel.

Traffic actually came to a standstill on Interstate 75 as the Sox' motorcade got on the highway, creating a snarl of backed-up cars.

At the airport, the buses went directly onto the tarmac, where we exited the buses, went through an ad hoc security checkpoint and boarded the plane.

-- The charter plane the Red Sox used was a 747 with an upstairs cabin.

Players, team officials and support staff -- and some family members -- had use of the main cabin, which featured an expanded first-class section, many business-class seats and a mostly empty coach section.

Upstairs sat the media -- print, radio and TV people -- along with Red Sox public-relations officials.

During the course of the flight, a few curious members of the Sox traveling party came upstairs to inspect our accomodations. Wandering through were Jason Varitek, Alex Cora, Terry Francona and principal owner John Henry.

-- By his own recollection, Henry has been to Japan "about four or five times" previous to this trip, mostly for business purposes.

Standing in the aisle, Henry gave his view of the current recession, how long it might last and what might happen as a result. Naturally, much of this was completely over my head, but I listened politely.

-- The Japan Air Lines staff couldn't have been more helpful or solicitious. Throughout the flight, they offered refreshments and a seemingly endless array of food choices -- some Japanese and some Westernized choices.

We had a brief stayover in Chicago as the plane changed crew and spent an hour in a hospitality lounge at O'Hare, where still more food was offered and everyone got a chance to walk around.

It seemed incredible that, as we re-boarded shortly after 9 p.m Central time, we still had another 13 or so hours of travel time before arriving in Tokyo.

-- As the night wore on, some in the traveling party took brief naps. Red Sox staff internist Larry Ronan had advised players and team personnel to sleep as little as possible to help with the jet lag and to ease the adjustment to Tokyo time when we landed.

I slept a little more than three hours, which seemed like the right amount -- enough to rest, but no so much that I threw my body clock out of whack.

Dr. Ronan also passed out special socks which are designed to help circulation. The key, he added, was to drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration; I lost track of the number of bottled waters I went through.

-- The plane had a special feature on the video screen that enabled us to watch the takeoff and landings, thanks to a camera mounted somewhere on the nose of the plane. If you so chose, you could also watch that on a smaller screen in the seatback directly in front of you.

-- Manny Delcarmen and his wife brought their six-month-old son on the trip. I think a few players were a bit concerned about the being seated near an infant on an 18-hour trip, but by all accounts, the baby was remarkably well-behaved and quiet for most of the flight.

-- Upon arrival in Tokyo, we were herded rather quickly and efficiently through customs, then sent outside to board buses for the trip to the hotel.

Needless to say, it wasn't hard to determine when Daisuke Matsuzaka went through the door. The camera flashes made it seem like high noon when it was actually just after midnight here.

The Japanese media took pictures and filmed the Sox coming out of the airport and boarding the buses and a small group of fans called out for autographs from players.

-- Following a 30-minute bus ride to our downtown hotel, everyone scattered in the hotel lobby and checked in. The hotel was prepared for the arrival, with security and extra help on hand, making the process quick and painless.

-- In the morning, some Sox players will be touring a nearby U.S. military base and doing a meet-and-greet with American soldiers stationed here. Then, it's on to the Tokyo Dome for a press conference and a workout, the details of which we'll bring you.

For now, it's off to sleep.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:29 PM to Red Sox | Permalink | Comments 0

Patriots sign CB Fernando Bryant

According to profootballtalk.com, the Patriots have signed free agent cornerback Fernando Bryant to a one-year deal.

Bryant, a nine-year veteran, apparently also had an offer on the table from Denver but decided to join New England. A Georgia native, he spent the last four seasons with the Lions, after playing for Jacksonville for the first five years of his career. The Jaguars chose Bryant (5-foot-10, 175 pounds) 26th overall out of Alabama in 1999.

Heavily involved in community work, Bryant played in all 16 games last season, with 69 tackles, two interceptions, 13 passes defensed and a forced fumble. However, he played in just 22 games over his first three seasons in Detroit, including just two in 2005.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:28 PM to Patriots | Permalink | Comments 0

Bruins, P-Bruins extend agreement for eight more years

Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli announced today the club has extended its affiliation agreement with the Providence Bruins (AHL) for eight additional seasons.

The Providence Bruins have served as the primary American Hockey League affiliate of the Boston Bruins since their inception in 1992, making the affiliation between Boston and Providence one of the longest standing player-development agreements in either league*s history. The new eight-year extension will see the Providence-to-Boston pipeline continue through the 2015-16 season.

"The partnership between the Boston and Providence organizations has never been stronger and we are excited to extend our affiliation agreement," said Chiarelli. "The close proximity of the two cities makes the relationship mutually beneficial for both teams on the hockey operations and marketing sides of our businesses.

*H. Larue Renfroe and his leadership group have shown true foresight in both their guidance of the Providence Bruins and their implementation of improvements to the Dunkin' Donuts Center. We look forward to expanding our collaboration with this new agreement."

"We're excited to continue our long term partnership with the Boston Bruins," said Providence Bruins owner H. Larue Renfroe. "We take a lot of pride in helping develop the top Boston Bruins prospects and we look forward to continuing that role over the next eight
seasons."

Over their 16 seasons, the P-Bruins have made the playoffs 14 times (including this season) and won the Calder Cup Championship in 1999. Currently, Providence holds the best record in the AHL at 47-15-3-3 (100 points).

Posted by Art Martone  at 10:46 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Download today's sports cover

On today's sports cover, Joe McDonald memorializes yesterday's bizarre events in Fort Myers, Kevin McNamara writes on the PC Friars' recruiting woes, and the Dallas Morning News' David Moore toasts the Celtics for ending Houston's historic winning streak.

Click here to download the file in pdf format.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 8:07 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

P-Bruins blank Admirals, 7-0

NORFOLK, Va. — Tuukka Rask posted his first pro shutout by stopping 27 shots and Providence became the first AHL team to reach 100 points this season as the P-Bruins routed the Norfolk Admirals, 7-0, last night at the Scope.

The P-Bruins got one goal apiece from Byron Bitz, Jeff Hoggan, Nate Thompson, Jeff LoVecchio and Matt Hendricks and two from Chris Collins.

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 10:25 PM to P-Bruins | Permalink | Comments 0

Classical's Watkins named Gatorade boys basketball player of the year

The Gatorade Company, in partnership with RISE Magazine, today announced Ashton Watkins of Classical High School as its 2007-08 Rhode Island Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

The 6-foot-4 junior center averaged 18.2 points and 18.4 rebounds per game this season, leading the Purple (23-1) to the Division 2 state championship, a 71-62 victory against West Warwick. Also the Division II North Player of the Year and an All-Division II selection, Watkins added five blocks and 2.5 steals per contest this winter while shooting 61 percent from the floor. He recorded 27 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks in a 61-54 state semifinal victory against Rogers.

“He was definitely the dominant big man in our league,” said Mike Lunney, head coach at rival Portsmouth High. “He created a matchup problem because of his length. You had to start with him. You had to have a plan for him.”

Watkins will begin his senior year of high school this fall and remains undecided upon a collegiate destination.

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 5:15 PM to High School | Permalink | Comments 0

Chamberlain to start season in Yankees 'pen

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Joba Chamberlain, considered a candidate for the New York Yankees starting rotation, will begin the season in the bullpen.

"We think it's where he fits best right now," manager Joe Girardi said Wednesday.

When asked if Chamberlain would go back to the setup role he thrived in as a rookie, Girardi refused to be specific but said Chamberlain would pitch late in games.

"He's a back-end guy. That's how I'll classify him now," Girardi said.

The 22-year-old had prepared as a starter this spring, but was not surprised by the decision.
"I had another idea if everybody stayed healthy this would happen," he said. "It's best for the team right now."

The Yankees' projected rotation includes Chien Ming-Wang, Mike Mussina, Andy Pettitte, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy.

The team still expects Chamberlain to be a future starter, but Girardi wouldn't commit to saying it would happen this season.

Chamberlain started Saturday against Detroit in a split-squad game and allowed three runs and four hits in three innings. He has a 6.14 ERA in 7 1-3 innings this spring.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:37 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

CCRI advances in tournament

The Community College of Rhode Island defeated Garrett College, of McHenry, Md., 67-66, today in the first round of the NJCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament. The 16th-ranked Knights now advance to play 1st-ranked Kirkwood Community College, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, tomorrow at 3 p.m.

Lauren Harrington, from Exeter/West Greenwich High School, led Knights scorers with 19 points, while Rachel Murray had 14 points and 20 rebounds. Denise Scott added 16 points and 5 rebounds.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:26 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

PC junior Cody Wild to skip senior season, turn pro

Providence College junior defenseman Cody Wild of North Providence has signed an amateur tryout agreement with the Springfield Falcons of the AHL, forgoing his senior year in college. Wild, who finished his college season on Saturday night against Boston College, collected four goals and 18 assists for 22 points and 28 penalty minutes in 32 games this year. A former All-Stater at La Salle, Wild, 20, was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers, Springfield’s parent club, in the fifth round in 2006. Springfield’s next visit to the Dunkin Donuts Center is Friday, March 18.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 1:44 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Red Sox will go to Japan

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- A resolution has been reached between the Red Sox players, Major League Baseball and MLBPA in regards to the compensation for the coaching staff. As a result the team will travel to Japan. Red Sox player rep Kevin Youkilis will address the situation later this afternoon and we'll have more as it becomes available.

-- JOE McDONALD

Posted by Art Martone  at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Red Sox will play today, after all

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- An agreement has apparently been reached between the Red Sox and Major League Baseball; today's spring training game against the Blue Jays will be played about an hour late at 1:10 p.m..

-- JOE McDONALD and SEAN McADAM

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 12:53 PM to Red Sox | Permalink |