THE HIT HEARD 'ROUND THE WORLD

** A-Rod, A-Rod, A-Rod. He's been the big story for the last two weeks. Can he still play? Can he still hit? What will the Yanks do with him? Where will he play? Will he just DH? But mostly, can he still hit? So he singled in his first at bat since September of 2013. It started out being described as a line drive, but I've seen enough replays to know it was really just a soft, hump-backed liner to left field. I know, it's still early, but will someone please tell the media?

** Speaking of hitting, one of the Yanks' pick-ups from last year, outfielder Chris Young, struck out in an intra-squad game yesterday - against a pitching machine. When asked about it, Young replied, "Well, they do throw kinda hard."  He did ask for the umpire to check for excess lubricating oil.

** Another one bites the dust. The Texas Ranger's Yu Darvish may soon be undergoing Tommy John surgery. (So many pitchers are having this surgery, the media now just calls it "TJ surgery" or just "TJ.")  I think Mr. Tommy John should ask for royalties.

** According to reports out of  Port St Lucie, the Met's ace, Matt Harvey was lights out in his first efforts after having "TJ" surgery (there, I said it) last year. Supposedly, his velocity reached 99 mph. You can't always trust those training camp radar guns. Annie-O registered an 86 last year and she's had two knee replacements.

** The Syracuse Orange didn't look too good yesterday, fading badly in the second half after staying with NC State for the first 20 minutes. Coach Boeheim didn't look good at all by skipping the post-game interviews and tossing assistant Mike Hopkins out there instead. The media is calling for his resignation or firing over the misdeeds of the past. I agree -- if he can take John Calipari with him. Calipari ruined two other basketball programs and left both in the lurch to suffer sanctions while he went merrily on his way to Kentucky, free as a bird. His recruiting violations at UMass and Memphis resulted in sanctions that he never had to deal with, simply by leaving for another job. 

Not to lessen the violations made at Syracuse, but here's a link to some of the worst violators:
http://www.totalprosports.com/2012/04/03/9-dirty-college-basketball-coaches/

** Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh coached first base for the Oakland A's during a spring training game yesterday. Apparently, he's preparing a second career while we wait for his expected departure from the Wolverine program when he finally irritates the Michigan University officials. Smart move, Jim. We all know how secure baseball coaching jobs are. 

I haven't blogged in a while, but other people have been busy -- very busy.
***THEY SAID IT*** 
"Tickets for the Oakland A’s third game of the season start at $4. This is affordable to most everybody except Oakland A’s players."  -- Brad Dickson
"Saturday night we turned our clocks forward an hour. Knicks fans are just hoping they could turn the clock forward to the end of the season."  -- Janice Hough
"The Cleveland Browns unveiled their new helmet that’s a more vivid orange. Now, if only they could make Johnny Manziel brighter."  -- Ian Hamilton
"Ex-NHLer Eric Lindros, in a defamation suit against former referee Paul Stewart, claimed Stewart called him “unfriendly, hostile, rude, insulting, vindictive, cruel, uncharitable and generally a despicable person”: Which I’m figuring is about 5 for 8."  -- Steve Simmons

"MMA champ Ronda Rousey needed just 14 seconds to win on Saturday night. As for her next bout, it’ll be between pitches at a Yankees-Red Sox game."  -- Dwight Perry

" The NE Patriots have decided  not to pick up Vince Wilfork’s two year option, which will free $8M in their salary cap hit. They will further save $2.5M in food costs which they will transfer to the Red Sox so they can afford to feed Pablo Sandoval and Big Papi."  -- TC Chong

"At UFC 184, Ronda Rousey submitted Cat Zingano in 14 seconds. I’d make a joke here, but I’m pretty sure if I fought Rousey, I’d submit during the pre-fight weigh-in"  -- Brad Dickson
"Tennessee released tackle Michael Oher, the inspiration for “The Blind Side”: “Michael took the news fine, but Sandra Bullock had to be escorted off Titans property."  -- Bill Littlejohn
 "Patriots decline to pick up the option on Vince Wilfork, thus creating two open roster spots."  -- Fark.com

"The NCAA brought the hammer down on the Syracuse basketball program and Orange coach Jim Boeheim, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. Legal experts say they’d never seen five lawyers come out in a zone defense before."  -- Dwight Perry

" Two Tennessee high school girls basketball teams got banned from the post-season for intentionally trying to lose a game to avoid facing the top seed. The first thing that gave them away? They came out in tank tops."  -- RJ Currie

"The ex-manager of the Lincoln Race Course claims he was fired after reporting that cashiers gave cash to people who didn’t even bet. Of all the ideas I’ve heard to revive the popularity of horse racing, this one’s probably the best."  -- Brad Dickson 
"In a most bizarre game between the Leaf and the Panthers, both Florida goalies were injured. Starter Roberto Luongo left the game after the 1^st period, was replaced by Al Montoya and was in his street clothes when Montoya had to leave the game. Luongo supposedly returned at the 9:08 mark of the third and stopped all three shots he faced. The Leafs never even noticed that the “replacement Luongo” was a cardboard cutout."  -- TC Chong
"Recently-married Joey Logano called his Daytona 500 winner’s ring harder to replace than his wedding ring. If marriage were racing, his first lap started in a ten-car pileup."  -- TJ Currie

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