Sunday against Toronto and allowed two runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings with nine strikeouts. | Forum

It isnt every 5-year-old who asks for Henry Grays famous anatomy textbook as a Christmas gift. Hurricanes Jerseys From China . But for one who did, that gift was the first step in launching an impressive career in sports medicine that now involves caring for two professional teams.Dr. Robin West, orthopedic surgeon and chairman of Inova Sports Medicine in Fairfax, Virginia, followed her childhood interest in sketches of the knee all the way to her current position as lead team physician for the Washington Nationals and director of sports medicine and head team physician for the Washington Redskins. She is the first woman to hold these positions in the National Football League and Major League Baseball. And while there are a handful of women who serve as team physicians in each league (eight, including West, in the two leagues combined), Wests leadership role is unique.A few minutes in conversation with Wests mentors, colleagues, employers or, perhaps most importantly, patients quickly reveals just how well respected and universally trusted she is.Dr. James Bradley, head team physician for the Pittsburgh Steelers, mentored West during her sports medicine fellowship and knew right away she had the intangibles to be successful in caring for elite athletes. He refers to the collection of those intangibles as the sports medicine gene.Some people have it and some people dont, says Bradley. And you can tell right away with doctors.He describes an example of this as the ability to react calmly in a crisis situation -- something team physicians face when they rush onto the field to tend to an injured athlete. When a crisis hits, they slow down. They calm down and they start thinking.Bradley believes Wests combination of technical skills as a surgeon, combined with her consistently calm, reassuring manner -- no matter what the circumstances -- is what makes her unique.These qualities led to Bradleys hiring West to work alongside him with the Steelers, a position she held for 11 years. During that time, the athletes came to trust her implicitly. According to Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis, who overlapped with West during the running backs tenure with the Steelers, She can kind of smile in a way that is calming -- something he says is critical when an anxious injured athlete looks to the team doctor to determine just how serious the situation could be.The smile Bettis refers to is one of Wests hallmarks, which belies a steely confidence and a competitive edge honed while West was a swimmer in high school, then at Johns Hopkins. Scheduling conflicts forced her to practice with the boys swim and water polo teams, ensuring she would always feel comfortable even in the predominantly male world of orthopedic surgery. She not only survived the path to a career in sports medicine -- she thrived.In the world of professional sports, where injuries can threaten an athletes career longevity, word of a top orthopedic surgeon travels fast. Broncos tackle Russell Okung entered free agency earlier this year, fresh off a shoulder injury that required surgery. Okung knew any chance for him to land a starting spot with another team was dependent on the health of his shoulder. He chose West to operate. Why? I started looking around, Okung said, and her name just kept coming up. People spoke very highly of her and what she did.He noted that West was spot on when setting expectations about his recovery. As Okung began to visit with interested teams, he found out just how well West was known in NFL circles. Some teams I would visit, they didnt even think they needed to do my medical evaluation knowing that she did my surgery.Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo and Redskins president Bruce Allen might be involved in different sports, but they are in agreement about the strength of Wests qualifications, citing her expertise as the reason she was deemed the best person for the job. They each say West has fit in well in their organizations and that the athletes have responded extremely favorably to her presence. For those who would suggest athletes might not feel comfortable sharing their medical concerns with a woman, West thinks the opposite could be true.I actually find that a lot of the players seek me out, West said. I think a lot of them, at least in football, have been raised by their mothers and grandmothers ... so they see them in these authoritative roles or these roles of nurturing.Still, the number of female team physicians in professional sports remains small (again, just eight in a group of nearly 300 team physicians in the NFL and MLB alone) and several challenges remain, including things as simple as access to the necessary facilities.Dr. Kathy Weber, president of the MLB Team Physicians Association and a team physician for the Chicago White Sox, recalls encountering some barriers -- literal ones -- when the White Sox were making their World Series run in 2005. As she tried to enter the training room, shouts of, You cant go in there were repeatedly directed her way. Weber noted there has been increasing acceptance in the majors as athletes become more familiar with the presence of female physicians, but at the end of the day, its the skill set that is most important, and not just those of the technical variety. Weber said she believes intangibles such as flexibility, work ethic and good communication skills are paramount to success.West must be doing something right because she seems to be enjoying her roles, especially now that both seasons are in full swing. When asked whether she sees herself as a role model for little girls, West is quick to say she hopes her example shows what is possible for all young minds.I hope boys can realize that girls can do this, and girls can realize that they can do anything they want to do.Bettis reinforces the notion that the team physician role should be open to whomever is the best fit, regardless of gender.The role is exactly that. Its a role, Bettis said. It doesnt have a male or female face attached to it. It has qualifications... and [Dr. West] checks all the boxes. If I was running an organization, shed be my pick. Cheap Hurricanes Jerseys . After the whistle, Thornton skated the length of the ice, pulled Orpik to the ice from behind and punched him in the face several times. Discount Hurricanes Jerseys . -- Ryan Blaney provided more evidence that Penske Racings No. http://www.cheaphurricanesjerseyschina.com/ ., and Rudi Swiegers of Kipling, Sask., took sixth spot on Saturday in pairs at the NHK Trophy ISU Grand Prix figure skating competition. NEW YORK -- In the last month, Masahiro Tanaka has been a sure thing on the mound for the New York Yankees.Tanaka takes a five-game winning streak to the mound Saturday afternoon when the Yankees continue their playoff pursuit in the third contest of a four-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium.Tanaka is 12-4 with a 3.11 ERA. He is fourth in the American League in ERA, sixth with a 1.08 WHP, third in walks per nine innings (1.56) and fourth in strikeouts to walk ratio (4.84).The right-hander also has allowed two runs or fewer in 19-of-28 starts this season, tied for the most in the American League. He is seventh in innings at 179 1/3 and during his last 39, Tanaka is 5-0 with a 2.08 ERA.Tanakas last loss was at the New York Mets on Aug. 2, when the Yankees were 53-53, 7 1/2 games out of first place and 5 1/2 back in the wild-card race.The next day, Gary Sanchez was promoted, Alex Rodriguez played his last game the following week and since Tanakas last loss, the Yankees (75-65) are 22-12 while one game out of the second wild-card spot and four out of first.Were trying to get in, Yankees closer Dellin Betances said. Thats our goal.Tanaka allowed two runs and seven innings in 6 1/3 innings of a 5-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday. Although this year is similar to his rookie season of 2014, Tanaka said he feels more in control even if his high standards are not quite good enough.Im not overly satisfied with the overall way of pitching, how Im pitching this year, Tanaka said. ... But this year I feel like Im more in control of myself compared to the first year. In that sense, I feel sort of a sense of maybe satisfaction compared to the first year.Tanaka will be pitching after Sanchez hit his 12th home run and Mark Teixeira belted aa grand slam in Fridays 7-4 victory that was slowed by three rain delays totaling 94 minutes. Wholesale Hurricanes Jerseys. The Rays have dropped five of six since getting the first two from Toronto last weekend and clinched a non-winning season at 59-81. They increased their home run total to 190 after Logan Morrison and Steven Souza Jr. hit back-to-back homers off Michael Pineda.Were playing at Yankee Stadium, were playing Toronto, were playing in Baltimore, were going to Texas, those games are going to be packed with atmosphere, packed with people, Rays manager Kevin Cash said of the rest of the season.Tampa Bay received a laborous 2 2/3-inning outing from Blake Snell on Friday and hopes Chris Archer can continue pitching decently and give them some distance.Archer is 8-17 with a 4.06 ERA. His next loss will tie the team record set by Tanyon Sturtze, who was 4-18 in 2002.Archer has taken losses despite leading the league with 211 strikeouts.You take away the win-loss record, which is obviously not ideal, you look at the other numbers and theyre pretty good, Rays manager Kevin Cash said.Archer is 4-5 with a 3.03 ERA in his 10 starts since the All-Star break and his ERA is the lowest since it was 3.60 following his first start of the season. Archer last pitched Sunday against Toronto and allowed two runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings with nine strikeouts.Archer is 5-4 with a 2.52 ERA in 12 career starts against the Yankees. He is 0-4 with a 3.15 ERA in his last six starts against the Yankees and last faced them Aug. 12 in New York, when he allowed Alex Rodriguezs RBI double in his final game and gave up five runs and seven hits in six innings. 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