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he hell with Timmy, the hell with Manu, yo
GLENDALE, Ariz. Rashad Fenton Jersey . -- It wouldnt bother Zack Greinke if he didnt have to travel for the Los Angeles Dodgers opener against Arizona in Australia. "I would say there is absolutely zero excitement about it," Greinke was quoted as saying in a story by ESPNLosAngeles.com last weekend. "There just isnt any excitement to it. I cant think of one reason to be excited for it." The Sydney Morning Herald reported that organizers of the series at the Sydney Cricket Ground on March 22-23 demanded an explanation from the Dodgers and Major League Baseball. Officials from the club and MLB assured them Monday that Greinke was speaking for only himself and not the entire team, according to the newspaper. Greinke hasnt talked to other media about the comments. He told ESPNLosAngeles he understood the reason for the trip. "Its a baseball thing," he was quoted as saying. "Its an ownership thing, spreading stuff around. Thats what its for, and its for the greater good of baseball." Dodgers President Stan Kasten said Greinkes comments were rooted in his detailed approach to spring training and his meticulous adherence to routine. Both habits, Kasten said, make him a good pitcher and great teammate. Greinkes teammates say they are looking forward to the trip. "Itll be fun to see what Sydney has to offer," first baseman Adrian Gonzalez said. The trip is scheduled to start with a flight of about 16 hours from Phoenix after an exhibition against Colorado on March 16. The Dodgers are scheduled to return to Los Angeles on March 23 and play three exhibition games against the Los Angeles Angels before playing in MLBs North American opener at San Diego on March 30. "Its a long trip for us," said projected starter Dan Haren, who has a dressing stall next to Greinkes in the Dodgers spring training clubhouse. "But we have to think of the game. The actual trip will be a lot to handle, especially for the starting pitchers." Arizona and the Dodgers opened their training camps about a week before the other 28 big league clubs. "This is not a normal spring for us," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said Tuesday. Because of the trip, the Dodgers are scheduled for about half of their usual total of spring training games. And they may alter their rotation. While two-time NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw and Greinke are their top two starters, Mattingly might not want them to get that many innings early with starts in both Australia and San Diego. Kershaw in theory could line up to start the season opener, the North American opener and the Dodgers home opener against San Francisco on April 4. Mattingly said he wont start Kershaw in all three. "Ill pitch when they tell me to," said Kershaw, who is scheduled to start Wednesdays exhibition opener against Arizona in Scottsdale. Mattingly said 10 days ago he will monitor the workload of Kershaw, who agreed last month to a $215 million, seven-year contract, the largest deal for a pitcher. Kershaw pitched a career-high 259 1-3 innings last season, including the playoffs Mattingly does say Josh Beckett wont make the trip. Beckett is fighting to re-claim his spot in the starting rotation after surgery in July to alleviate a nerve problem that affected his right hand. He had a rib and muscle tissue removed. "Im hoping were going to feel a sense of urgency, make sure our minds are right," Mattingly said. "Its not like were starting tomorrow and we have 37 spring games to play. "Weve got 19 games and then a game that counts." Ben Niemann Jersey .C. -- Tony Stewart will not race Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, the third Sprint Cup race hes skipped since his car struck and killed Kevin Ward Jr. Charvarius Ward Jersey .Bacca took advantage of Cristian Alvarezs hesitation to head a lobbed pass over the goalkeeper and then used his feet to roll the ball into an empty net in the eighth minute. The Colombia strikers 10th goal pulled him level with Lionel Messi as the leagues third-leading scorers, far behind Cristiano Ronaldos runaway tally of 23 goals.SAN ANTONIO -- Kawhi Leonard could have been devastated by losing last seasons NBA Finals. Instead, he vowed to get better. Just think -- the San Antonio Spurs youngest star is only getting started. Hes a champion now, with the Spurs beating the Miami Heat 104-87 on Sunday night in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, finishing off a 4-1 triumph. And after watching the Heat celebrate last season, Leonard was the pick as MVP of the series, accepting his award from 11-time champion Bill Russell. "Everybody is just living in the moment right now," Leonard said. "Really dont know whats going on." Hell figure it out quick. After all, the Spurs know titles -- this one being their fifth since 1999. When Commissioner Adam Silver announced Leonard as the MVP, he was mobbed by his teammates and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich roared with laughter, knowing Leonard would have to do what he hates most -- talk about himself. "Right now, its just surreal to me," Leonard said. "I have a great group of guys behind me." Leonard had 22 points and 10 rebounds, his third straight big game in the series. He fouled out in the fourth quarter, which was barely noticed after the job he did helping keep LeBron James in some sort of check over the final three quarters. When it was over -- actually, a few seconds before it was over -- James led a group of Heat players down to the Spurs bench foor the first round of congratulatory hugs. Frank Clark Jersey. The first one he gave, and rightly so, was to Leonard. It was James taking the trophy from Russell in each of the last two seasons, after Miamis titles. This time, the night belonged to Leonard, a 22-year-old who the Spurs have long thought was the heir apparent to the Big 3 of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. "The first two games, he didnt play so well," James said about Leonard. "I thought he attacked more in the last three games, shot the ball extremely well." Added Heat guard Dwyane Wade: "Its like he just played free. ... Hes the future of this team." The Big 3 in San Antonio is still championship-good. But their key guy now might be Leonard, who just took over this series. "Hes a great learner and hes super competitive, has a drive to be the best thats really uncommon in our league," Popovich said. "He walks the walk. I mean, hes there early, hes there late. He wants more. He wants me and the coaches to push him. So I just talked to him about not being in that defer sort of stage. The hell with Tony, the hell with Timmy, the hell with Manu, you play the game. You are the man." In this series, he absolutely was. Leonard averaged 17.8 points on 61 per cent shooting. And he became the youngest Finals MVP since Duncan won it for the Spurs in 1999. ' ' '
- Created: Mar 26 '20
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