Top Ad
I DIG Radio
www.idigradio.com
Listen live to the best music from around the world!
I DIG Style
www.idigstyle.com
Learn about the latest fashion styles and more...
I Dig Sports

I Dig Sports

Yankees' Paxton expected to return Wednesday

Published in Baseball
Monday, 27 May 2019 10:45

NEW YORK -- Left-hander James Paxton is likely to rejoin the New York Yankees' rotation Wednesday against San Diego, followed by CC Sabathia this weekend against Boston.

On a day of updates for many of the Yankees' 15 players on the injured list, reliever Dellin Betances threw his first bullpen session Monday and ace Luis Severino said he planned to throw on flat ground Tuesday.

Paxton has not pitched for the Yankees since May 3 because of left knee inflammation that required a cortisone shot May 4. He felt sore after a 55-pitch, four-inning outing Friday at extended spring training, then threw a bullpen session Sunday.

"It felt the best that it's felt since going on the IL,'' Paxton said.

He said the pain was similar to that of a bruise. Paxton, 3-2 with a 3.11 ERA in seven starts, is waiting for clearance from head team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad. Paxton estimated he would be able to throw about 75 pitches against the Padres.

"As long as it's not going to be a thing where I can make this thing worse by pitching on it, I feel like I'm ready to go,'' Paxton said. "I just don't want to go out there and put myself in jeopardy of tearing something and then I'm out for three months."

Sabathia, 3-1 with a 3.48 ERA in eight starts, went on the injured list Thursday and needed to have fluid drained from his surgically repaired right knee, He planned to throw a bullpen session Tuesday.

"He'll possibly then be in place Sunday to end the homestand,'' manager Aaron Boone said.

Betances has been out since March because of a right shoulder impingement that caused a velocity drop. He threw 20 pitches, all fastballs, and plans to mix in other pitches in his next bullpen Thursday. Betances had not pitched off a mound since March 17, in his fourth and final spring training appearance.

Severino has been sidelined since spring training with right rotator cuff inflammation and a strained right latissimus dorsi muscle in his back. He got hurt warming up before his first scheduled spring training start March 5 and has not thrown on flat ground since April 6.

"Good that he's point at the point where he feels ready to move forward,'' Boone said.

Eighteen Yankees have made a total of 20 stints on the IL, close to last year's total of 20 players making 23 trips to the list.

D-backs' Weaver goes to IL with forearm injury

Published in Baseball
Monday, 27 May 2019 12:29

The Arizona Diamondbacks placed pitcher Luke Weaver on the 10-day injured list one day after the right-hander left his start because of forearm tightness.

Weaver will undergo an MRI Monday in Phoenix to determine the full extent of the injury.

The Diamondbacks announced the roster move before Monday afternoon's game against the Colorado Rockies. Right-hander Jimmie Sherfy was recalled from Triple-A Reno in a corresponding move.

Weaver left Sunday's game against the Giants in the sixth inning after pitching five-plus innings of six-hit ball. He struck out six and walked two.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said Sunday that the severity of Weaver's injury wasn't immediately known.

Rockies place Blackmon on IL with calf strain

Published in Baseball
Monday, 27 May 2019 10:47

The Colorado Rockies have placed outfielder Charlie Blackmon on the 10-day injured list with a right calf strain.

Blackmon missed Colorado's last three games because of the injury, meaning he is eligible to be activated June 4.

Blackmon, 32, is batting .300 with 10 home runs and 31 RBIs in 46 games this season. The three-time All-Star also leads the National League with five triples.

The Rockies placed Blackmon on the IL amid a series of roster moves before Monday afternoon's home game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Outfielder Yonathan Daza was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque and will start in center field against the Diamondbacks.

Colorado also activated outfielder Noel Cuevas from the IL and optioned him to Albuquerque.

Red Sox 2B Pedroia 'not sure' if he'll play again

Published in Baseball
Monday, 27 May 2019 12:09

Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia said he is "not sure" whether he will play baseball again because of his chronically injured left knee.

Pedroia, 35, discussed his injury at Fenway Park on Monday, shortly after the Red Sox transferred him to the 60-day injured list.

Flanked by manager Alex Cora and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, Pedroia said he will shut down his recovery indefinitely in order to ponder his future.

"(I am) at a point right now where I need some time," he said. "That's what my status is. ... Right now I know I need a break from the everyday stresses I've been dealing with."

Dombrowski referred to Pedroia as a "Boston legend" and said there is no timetable associated with his return.

Pedroia acknowledged that "walking is tough" for him on some days but said he does not plan to undergo another knee surgery.

Pedroia said "time will give me the right answer if my knee can do this."

The 2008 AL MVP had surgery on Oct. 25, 2017, and played in just three games last season. This year, he's played in only six games, getting two singles in 20 at-bats.

Pedroia re-aggravated his left knee in a game at Yankee Stadium on April 17 and was put on the 10-day IL with left knee irritation.

He has started and stopped rehab assignments a few times before he removed himself from a game at Double-A Portland last Friday due to soreness.

Indians manager Terry Francona, who was with the Red Sox from 2004-11 and won a World Series titles with Pedroia in 2007, talked with the second baseman earlier Monday. Cleveland is in Boston for a three-game series.

"He came over this morning for about a half hour," Francona said. "I think he's in a pretty good place. I think, I don't want to speak for him, but I think he knows he emptied his tank. He didn't leave any stone unturned. He probably gave more than he should, and his body is feeling it now. I don't think he has any regrets -- nor should he."

Pedroia said the time away will help him think about his future.

"I'm going to go home for a little bit to be with my family, kind of get away for a little bit and then we'll figure it out from there," he said.

He did say he'd be there when the team needs him -- via video chat.

"You can always FaceTime," Cora said, smiling.

"I FaceTime a lot," Pedroia said. "In our hitters' meetings when I was away last year."

Pedroia's knee troubles began in April 2017, when then-Orioles star Manny Machado took out Pedroia with a hard slide at second base.

Pedroia has a $15 million salary this year and is owed $13 million in 2020 and $12 million in 2021, with $2.5 million a year deferred without interest.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Bill Buckner dies at 69 after battling dementia

Published in Baseball
Monday, 27 May 2019 11:54

Bill Buckner, the longtime major leaguer whose error in the 1986 World Series for years lived in Red Sox infamy, died Monday. He was 69.

"After battling the disease of Lewy Body Dementia, Bill Buckner passed away early the morning of May 27th surrounded by his family," his family said in a statement. "Bill fought with courage and grit as he did all things in life. Our hearts are broken but we are at peace knowing he is in the arms of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

Buckner played 22 seasons in the majors, was an All-Star once and won a batting title in 1980. But it was a ball that went through his legs at Shea Stadium on a cool Oct. 25 night in 1986 that made for one of baseball's most shocking moments.

Boston, looking for its first World Series title since 1918, carried a 5-3 lead into the bottom of the 10th inning of Game 6 against the Mets. New York tied it with two runs, then brought Mookie Wilson to the plate.

Wilson worked a 3-2 count off reliever Bob Stanley, and then, with a runner on second base, bounced a slow roller up the first-base line on the 10th pitch of the at-bat. Buckner ranged to his left, went down to snag the ball behind the bag and watched it roll through his legs and into right field. Ray Knight scored to give the Mets a 6-5 can-you-believe-it win. They took Game 7, too, a gut punch to a Red Sox team a strike away from a long-awaited title just 48 hours earlier.

"We had developed a friendship that lasted well over 30 years. I felt badly for some of the things he went through. Bill was a great, great baseball player whose legacy should not be defined by one play," Wilson said Monday in a statement released by the Mets.

Buckner's Red Sox teammates said he wasn't to blame, noting Boston wouldn't even have been in the World Series without his efforts that season.

"No one played harder than Bill. No one prepared themselves as well as Bill Buckner did, and no one wanted to win as much as Bill Buckner," right fielder Dwight Evans later said.

But many in Red Sox Nation didn't see it that way.

"When that ball went through Bill Buckner's legs, hundreds of thousands of people did not just view that as an error, they viewed that as something he had done to them personally," longtime Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan once said.

That single moment ended up defining Buckner's career, and even followed him after it.

When he retired in 1990, he and his family remained in Massachusetts. But the taunts and criticism from fans and media remained, forcing them to move to Idaho, where Buckner, an avid outdoorsman, bought a ranch.

When the Red Sox invited him to take part in a ceremony at Fenway Park honoring the 20-year anniversary of the 1986 team, Buckner declined.

But time heals most wounds, and though it took years, the relationship between Buckner and Boston fans eventually warmed.

The first step came in 2004, when the Red Sox finally ended the "Curse of the Bambino" by sweeping the Cardinals in the World Series. For fans, it was a chance to forget about the past and celebrate the present.

The next step came four years later in the Red Sox's 2008 home opener. That previous October, the team had won its second World Series title in four years, and on that April day, they were celebrating it with past and present Boston sports greats. One of them there: Bill Buckner.

From out under a massive American flag draped over the Green Monster, Buckner was introduced to the crowd and walked slowly to the mound amid a standing ovation that lasted nearly two minutes. With tears in his eyes, the left-hander delivered the ceremonial first pitch, a strike to former teammate Evans as the Fenway faithful roared.

"I really had to forgive, not the fans of Boston, per se, but I would have to say in my heart I had to forgive the media," Buckner said of why he decided to return to Fenway. "For what they put me and my family through. So, you know, I've done that and I'm over that."

Buckner, a baseball and football star growing up in Napa, California, was a second-round draft pick of the Dodgers in 1968, going one round after Los Angeles took Bobby Valentine. Buckner made his major league debut as a 19-year-old in 1969, beginning the first of what turned out to be eight seasons with the Dodgers.

Valentine tweeted that he will miss his former teammate.

The Dodgers tweeted "our thoughts and prayers are with the Buckner family."

Buckner was traded to the Cubs in 1977 and enjoyed some of his best seasons in Chicago. He won the NL batting title in 1980, hitting .324. A year later, he was named to his only All-Star team and finished 10th in NL MVP voting. The Cubs dealt Buckner to the Red Sox in May 1984.

"We are deeply saddened by the passing of Bill Buckner, a great ballplayer and beloved member of the Cubs family," Cubs executive chairman Tom Ricketts said in a statement, adding that "after his playing days, Bill served as a valued member of our player development staff and was a fan favorite during his appearances at our Cubs conventions."

In all, Buckner spent 22 seasons in the big leagues, playing first base or the outfield for five teams, including the Red Sox twice; they signed him as a free agent in 1990, but he struggled at the plate in his second stint there and was released before officially retiring. He finished his career with 2,715 hits, 1,208 RBIs, 1,077 runs scored and 174 home runs.

After his playing career, Buckner remained in baseball as a coach, including a stint as the White Sox hitting coach in 1996 and '97, and a return to Massachusetts in 2011 as manager of the independent league Brockton Rox.

He is survived by his wife, Jody, and three children, Brittany, Christen and Bobby, who played baseball collegiately.

PARIS -- Rafael Nadal made light work of qualifier Yannick Hanfmann on Monday, winning 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 to advance to the second round of the French Open.

The 11-time champion at Roland Garros saved four break points in his first service game on Court Philippe Chatrier but was never troubled again by the 184th-ranked German, who was playing for the first time in the French Open main draw.

Nadal later praised the refurbished showcase court where he won his 11 French titles, calling it "very beautiful.''

Frances Tiafoe, at No. 32 the only American seeded in the men's draw, lost 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 to Filip Krajinovic of Serbia.

After throwing up twice on the court, Tiafoe said he was "very depleted'' for the fifth set. He said he didn't think he had food poisoning because he felt fine before the match.

"Throwing up during the match isn't something that normally happens to me ... I threw up again when I went to the locker room after the third set. The fifth-set result obviously came to that because (I) was obviously very depleted and had nothing really in me. It was tough to end like that," he said.

Tiafoe was coming off his best Grand Slam showing, a quarterfinal run at the Australian Open.

In another instance of an American losing to a Serbian in five sets, Denis Kudla was beaten 6-0, 6-7 (7), 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 by Miomir Kecmanovic.

Also, 12th-seeded Daniil Medvedev wasted a two-set lead in a 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 loss to Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France.

Sixth seed Kvitova withdraws from French Open

Published in Tennis
Monday, 27 May 2019 04:56

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova has withdrawn from the French Open with an arm injury but hopes to be fit for the All England Club.

The Czech sixth seed, 29, was due to face Romanian world number 84 Sorana Cirstea in the first round on Monday.

"I've had pain in my left forearm for a few weeks and last night an MRI confirmed a grade-two tear," she said.

She hopes to play at Wimbledon, which starts on 1 July, and is due to feature in June's Birmingham grass-court event.

"They [doctors] said for now two to three weeks off, which means no tennis of course, because it's my left forearm," she added.

"I'm going to do some fitness and everything I can do to prepare my body for grass.

"Of course I'm staying positive for the grass season."

Kvitova, who won Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014, has been replaced in the Roland Garros draw by lucky loser Kaja Juvan of Slovenia.

"I'm truly sad not to be able to play here this year," the world number six said. "It is a really tough decision to make."

Kvitova retired with a calf injury from this month's Italian Open in the third set against Greek Maria Sakkari.

But she was nevertheless among the favourites for the title at Roland Garros as one of this year's in-form players.

She has won two WTA titles in 2019 - at Stuttgart and Sydney - and was also runner-up at January's Australian Open and the Dubai Championships in February.

Former Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki says she "ran out of steam" in a surprise first-round defeat by Russian world number 68 Veronika Kudermetova at the French Open.

The Danish 13th seed lost 0-6 6-3 6-3 despite winning the first seven games and said her opponent had "got lucky".

"It's definitely frustrating," the 28-year-old former world number one said.

"It hasn't been a great year for me so far, so I'm going to work hard and try and turn it around."

Wozniacki, who wore strapping on her left calf, won 62% of the total points in the opening set but crumbled in the second and was broken three times.

She went 3-0 behind in the decider before losing a first-round match in Paris for only the third time since 2007.

"I think she got very lucky at the start of the second set and took advantage of the opportunities she got," Wozniacki added.

"I ran out of steam in the end and made some unforced errors that I don't usually do.

"She had a few net cords and good shots on some of the important points at the start of the second set."

The Dane, a two-time quarter-finalist at Roland Garros, withdrew from her first-round match against American Danielle Collins at the Italian Open earlier this month because of a calf injury.

It was the second successive tournament Wozniacki retired early from after she pulled out of her opening match at the Madrid Open with a back injury.

She had won just four matches on clay before her meeting in Paris with Kudermetova, who was playing in only her second Grand Slam main draw.

"I hadn't really been able to play or practise for some weeks, then played my first points a couple of days ago and went from there basically," Wozniacki said.

"But my calf now feels good, so that's a positive. I have to try and stay positive and obviously it's not as easy to stay positive when things aren't going your way."

Wozniacki's exit comes after Czech sixth seed and Australian Open finalist Petra Kvitova withdrew on Monday with an arm injury, while Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber suffered a shock 6-4 6-2 defeat to world number 81 Anastasia Potapova on Sunday.

Kudermetova will now face Kazakh world number 99 Zarina Diyas or France's Audrey Albie, ranked 289th, in the second round.

Elsewhere, Dutch fourth seed Kiki Bertens comfortably defeated French world number 66 Pauline Parmentier 6-3 6-4 on Suzanne-Lenglen.

And Australian Open quarter-finalist Ashleigh Barty, seeded eighth, beat American world number 72 Jessica Pegula 6-3 6-3.

Konta advances at French Open for first time

Published in Tennis
Monday, 27 May 2019 07:01

British number one Johanna Konta says she stopped herself "overthinking" in the win that sent her into round two of the French Open for the first time.

Konta, seeded 26th, won 6-4 6-4 against German world number 147 Antonia Lottner.

She had lost her four previous first-round matches at Roland Garros.

"Obviously, it's nice to have won a main-draw match here," the 28-year-old said. "But I have never doubted my ability on the surface."

Konta took her first match point when Lottner could not return a thumping backhand, setting up a second-round match against American wildcard Lauren Davis.

The former Wimbledon semi-finalist is the first Briton through at Roland Garros, with men's number one Kyle Edmund meeting France's Jeremy Chardy later on Monday.

Compatriots Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans play their opening matches on Tuesday.

End of Konta's barren run

Konta, who won qualifying matches at Roland Garros in 2013 and 2014, said her barren main-draw run had not been playing on her mind.

Yet the importance of finally getting over the line against Lottner - ranked 121 places below and making her Roland Garros debut - was abundantly clear.

"It is in human nature to have doubts and negative thoughts. There are plenty of stats on that, that we have more negative thoughts than positive ones," she told BBC Sport.

"But I think it was more about me trusting my habits, giving me the space to miss and the space to just play."

On paper, it should have been a formality given the 28-year-old's superb clay-court season leading up to the second Grand Slam of the year.

Konta reached WTA finals at the Morocco Open and the more prestigious Rome Masters, racking up wins against Grand Slam champions Sloane Stephens and Venus Williams, plus world number four Kiki Bertens, on the way.

Rediscovering a potent first serve has been key to her recent success, although it deserted the Briton in a strange opening set where there were seven breaks of serve.

A first-serve percentage down at 62% was hampered further by only winning 56% of these points, although it proved to matter little because of equally erratic serving from the other end.

The second set was completely contrasting.

Apart from Konta being unable to convert two break points for a 3-1 lead, chances were rarely offered as both players regained composure in their service games.

Out of nowhere, Lottner rustled up a pair of break points for a 5-4 lead, only for former world number four Konta to save them with a big first serve followed by a backhand winner.

Lottner saw another chance disappear with an unforced error and that proved vital as Konta - backed by a typically strong British support in Paris - held before breaking for victory in what proved to be the final game.

"I had to trust myself in giving me some opportunities, my opponent was tricky because she didn't give much rhythm," Konta added.

"There was a lot of time to think, or overthink, but I did a good job of not doing that."

Analysis

BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller

However well Johanna Konta has been playing on clay this year, four previous Roland Garros first-round defeats were bound to play on her mind.

She was not at her most fluent on serve, and was broken three times in the opening set.

But when the chips were down, and Konta was facing two break points at 4-4 all in the second set, her resolve strengthened - and she was soon back in the locker room.

A second-round match lies ahead with Lauren Davis, who is currently outside the world's top 100. But the 25-year-old is in the draw because of recent performances on clay, which earned her the wildcard reserved for an American player.

BBC Sport has launched #ChangeTheGame this summer to showcase female athletes in a way they never have been before. Through more live women's sport available to watch across the BBC this summer, complemented by our journalism, we are aiming to turn up the volume on women's sport and alter perceptions. Find out more here.

Defending champion Rafael Nadal beat German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann in straight sets to reach the French Open second round.

The second seed, chasing a record-extending 12th Roland Garros title, beat the world number 180 6-2 6-1 6-3.

After saving four break points in the first game, 17-time Grand Slam winner Nadal dominated throughout.

The 32-year-old won his first title since August at the Italian Open earlier in May.

Nadal will face German qualifier Yannick Maden in the second round.

Despite dominating clay-court tournaments in the build-up to the French Open in previous years, the win in Rome was Nadal's only 2019 final on the red dirt.

But, after a slow start in the opening game, the Spaniard looked increasingly comfortable on his favourite surface as he claimed the first set.

Hanfmann won just one point in the first three games of the second, but recovered to hold his next service game.

Nadal soon got another break to go 5-1 up, though, and quickly wrapped up the second set.

The German 27-year-old showed impressive composure as he saved two break points at 1-1 in the final set, but Nadal was successful on his third attempt.

The two-time Wimbledon champion increased the pressure at 5-3 to break Hanfmann's serve again and close out the match.

Elsewhere, French world number 43 Pierre-Hugues Herbert gave the home crowd something to cheer about when he came from two sets down to beat Russian 12th seed Daniil Medvedev 4-6 4-6 6-3 6-2 7-5.

Soccer

Source: Ex-Bucks owner nearing NC Courage deal

Source: Ex-Bucks owner nearing NC Courage deal

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsFormer Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry is close to a deal to buy a...

Flick: Early red changed game 'totally' for Barca

Flick: Early red changed game 'totally' for Barca

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsBarcelona coach Hansi Flick felt Eric García's early red card was t...

'He's a cat': Raya praised for stunning double save

'He's a cat': Raya praised for stunning double save

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsArsenal goalkeeper David Raya was hailed by his manager Mikel Artet...

2026 FIFA


2028 LOS ANGELES OLYMPIC

UEFA

2024 PARIS OLYMPIC


Basketball

Sources: Pelicans bring in Payton on camp deal

Sources: Pelicans bring in Payton on camp deal

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsThe New Orleans Pelicans are bringing in veteran guard Elfrid Payto...

Melo's son: Cuse is finalist, but dad doesn't push

Melo's son: Cuse is finalist, but dad doesn't push

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsKiyan Anthony knows better than most about his father's legacy at S...

Baseball

Mets plate 10 in 3 straight games for first time

Mets plate 10 in 3 straight games for first time

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsNEW YORK -- The New York Mets scored double-digit runs in three str...

Soto to get X-rays after 'scary' slide into wall

Soto to get X-rays after 'scary' slide into wall

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsOne day after clinching a postseason berth, the New York Yankees re...

Sports Leagues

  • FIFA

    Fédération Internationale de Football Association
  • NBA

    National Basketball Association
  • ATP

    Association of Tennis Professionals
  • MLB

    Major League Baseball
  • ITTF

    International Table Tennis Federation
  • NFL

    Nactional Football Leagues
  • FISB

    Federation Internationale de Speedball

About Us

I Dig® is a leading global brand that makes it more enjoyable to surf the internet, conduct transactions and access, share, and create information.  Today I Dig® attracts millions of users every month.r

 

Phone: (800) 737. 6040
Fax: (800) 825 5558
Website: www.idig.com
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Affiliated