Cubs and Boston in a 12-year career with seven teams. | Forum
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Dec 13 '17
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. Jarell Martin Jersey . -- Kobe Bryant feels great, would welcome Byron Scott as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, would love to play alongside free agent Carmelo Anthony and is pleased with the moves of the teams front office so far. At least thats how the All-Star guard presented things at UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday, where Bryant is hosting his annual youth basketball camp. But for anybody hoping for definitive answers, Bryant had nothing to offer. "Obviously its a hot topic of conversation in terms where everybody is going to go," he said. "Everybody is here to read tea leaves. I dont have much to tell you. I dont have any information you guys dont already know." Bryant addressed a throng of reporters during a wide-ranging conversation delayed by about an hour as he watched the end of the World Cup semifinal match between Argentina and the Netherlands elsewhere. He teased reporters asking him for his thoughts on the game. "I missed it," he deadpanned. "I was trying to rush over here to get to you fine folk. I didnt get a chance to catch the end. Who won?" His joke fooled nobody, as he had moments earlier tweeted his excitement for an Argentina-Germany final, followed shortly after by another tweet that expressed his boredom at a by-now all-too-familiar line of questions. The tweet included the hashtags "diffwritersamequestion" and "yawn." Mostly, Bryant stressed patience in waiting to see who signs where. "Its a little hard now because I think everyone is playing the waiting game to a certain extent, at least we are," he said. "You kind of want to see where the dominoes fall and then operate from there. You wind up operating in somewhat of a window. You start seeing other players going other places, players that you can use to fill out the roster, right? So you see these things happening and youre behind a bit, but its worth the wait." The 18-year NBA veteran didnt hide his sentiments about the possibility of playing alongside Anthony, the Knicks free agent and his two-time Olympic teammate. "I would love to play with him," Bryant said. "Weve really clicked since 2008. I would love to see that." Bryant said he would also welcome his former teammate, Scott, as his next coach. "He was my rookie mentor when I first came in the league, so I had to do things like get him doughnuts and run errands for him, things like that," he said. "Weve had a tremendously close relationship throughout the years." In terms of grading the performance of the Lakers front office this off-season, Bryant suggested that he was pleased, but that he would not be happy with another rebuilding year. "Ive never had patience; Im not going to start now," he said. "But you do what you have to do as an organization. God forbid we end up with absolutely nothing, its not for a lack of effort. Thats something I would be extremely proud of. We put forth the effort and gave it our best shot. What can you do? You just go from there and do your best and try to win." Bryant said he believed signing Anthony would go a long way to retaining unrestricted free agent Pau Gasol. "My biggest message to (Gasol) was, Make sure you enjoy this process," Bryant said. "The ball is in your court. This is your decision to make, dont feel like the weight is on your shoulders. Im sure if we got Carmelo that would help him make his decision." Bryant said he feels as though his body is in midseason form. "Physically, I feel great," he said. "I dont think about my knee when Im training, I dont think about my Achilles when Im training. I feel sharp and crisp and well just add on from there." Allen Iverson Jersey . He wants to seize that opportunity. The trouble is, Firus has had more bumps on the road to Sochi than most. Last year, Firus had the skate of a lifetime in the short program at the Canadian championships when he landed his first triple Axel in competition and finished third in a stacked field. Memphis Grizzlies Jerseys . Rinne had surgery on his left hip May 9 and recovered in time to start the season. He then had arthroscopic surgery on Oct. 24 because of a bacterial infection in his hip. ORLANDO, Fla. -- Marlon Byrd cashed in on his comeback season. Byrd and the Philadelphia Phillies agreed Tuesday to a $16 million, two-year contract, a deal that came less than a year after he was playing in Mexicos winter league. The 36-year-old outfielder hit a career-high 24 homers last season for the New York Mets and Pittsburgh, which acquired him on Aug. 27. He batted .364 with one homer and five RBIs in six playoff games after hitting .291 during the season with 88 RBIs, one short of his career best. "Marlon adds a significant upgrade both offensively and defensively to our outfield," Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said in a statement. "He has been particularly productive against left-handed pitching, which was a serious challenge for us this past season." Byrd was drafted by the Phillies and began his big league career in Philadelphia. His agreement calls for $8 million in each of the next two seasons and includes an $8 million team option for 2016, The option would become guaranteed if he has 1,100 at-bats in the next two seasons, including at least 550 in 2015, or 600 at-bats in 2015. "If you dont want to give up your first-round pick, Marlon Byrd is arguably the best available outfield bat," Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said. "We feared he was out of our price range immediately. We stayed engaged in the process, and Marlon and his agents talked about wanting to come back to Pittsburgh. He loved his time there. The environment and playing for a winner and playing in front of that fan base was something that really intrigued him." A career .280 hitter with 106 homers and 533 RBIs, Byrd was released by Boston in June 2012, then given a 50-game suspension 11 days later following a positive test for Tamoxifen, which can reduce side effects of steroid use and increase testosterone. At the time, Byrd said he mistakenly used the medication for a recurrence of a condition that earlier required surgery. He says he did not use it for performance enhancement. He played winter ball for the Tomateros de Culiacan (Culiacan Tomato Growers) and signed a minor league contract with the Mets on Feb. 1. He wound up on their big league roster for a base salary off $700,000 and earned another $100,000 in performance bonuses based on plate appearances. Mario Chalmers Jersey. Both the dollars and the years offered by the Phillies were at a level the Pirates were unprepared to match in talks with agents Sam and Seth Levinson. "The timing really bit us, and Ruben did a great job of going out and getting his guy early -- what we did with Russ Martin a year ago," Huntington said. "We werent in a position to be able to move this quickly." Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said the deal was an indication of inflation in free-agent prices. "Had you asked me the question three or four months ago, I might have been surprised, but not in the light of whats happened since the end of the season," he said. "There havent been that many signings, but this one is consistent with the others." Philadelphia had sought a right-handed hitting outfielder with power since Jayson Werth left for Washington following the 2010 season. Ben Francisco, John Mayberry Jr. and Delmon Young werent solutions; Hunter Pence was acquired in July 2011 and traded a year later. Darin Ruf hit 14 homers in 251 at-bats last season while starting 27 games in right field, 15 in left and 28 at first base. But Ruf, a converted first baseman, is hardly the defensive player Byrd is and is viewed as a role player. Philadelphias outfielders hit .259 with 57 homers and a .407 slugging percentage this year. Byrd could be a major upgrade. "He is an experienced middle-of-the-order hitter who creates some balance to our lineup," Amaro said. "With his talent and clubhouse presence, we believe Marlon will be a solid addition to our club as we address our needs and plan to contend in 2014 and beyond." Byrd was once a prized prospect in the Phillies minor league system. He finished fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2003 after hitting .303, but struggled the next two seasons and was traded to Washington. Byrd has also played for Texas, the Chicago Cubs and Boston in a 12-year career with seven teams. He was an NL All-Star with the Cubs in 2010 and his best season before last year came with the Rangers in 2009 when he batted .283 with 20 homers and 89 RBIs. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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