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MIAMI -- LeBron James looked groggy, battled the sniffles as he spoke and wore a large bandage Saturday over the bridge of his swollen, broken nose. Alex Green Womens Jersey . None of which stopped James Miami Heat teammates from ribbing him about the injury, which could keep him out of Sundays game against Chicago. "Funny guys on this team, Ill tell you," James said, managing a chuckle. "We got a couple of big-nose jokes in there," teammate Chris Bosh said. James sat out practice Saturday, although he shot some baskets and free throws on the side. He said he wouldnt have played if there had been a game, but added he has felt better each day since breaking his nose during Thursdays victory at Oklahoma City. He hopes to improve enough to play against the Bulls, and his availability will be a game-time decision. When asked how his nose felt, James said, "It has been better. Its a little bit of everything -- pain, headaches, whatever. I have to get past it and hopefully get better in the next day. Im definitely not going to rush it." James was to be fitted for a protective mask and will likely wear it if he plays against the Bulls. "Its nothing you want to make long-term," James said. "Its very uncomfortable." James knows from experience. He wore a mask for a few weeks 10 years ago, after he broke his cheekbone hours before his 20th birthday in a game for Cleveland against Houston. James said he doesnt recall missing significant playing time then. "That was a 19-year-old recovering, compared with a 29-year-old recovering," he said with a laugh. "It takes a little bit longer than when I was 19." James was hurt in the fourth quarter of Thursdays game when he was struck inadvertently by defender Serge Ibaka on a drive to the basket. He missed the final six minutes, but even with his nose still bleeding afterward, he took teasing for how he looked. Coach Erik Spoelstra said a doctor fixed James nose Friday to "make it look prettier." "You cant be sensitive in this locker room," Bosh said. "Hes still a good-looking guy. Hes still married. I dont think his wife is going anywhere." James sat out one game earlier this season with a groin injury, and the Heat won at Portland despite the absence of their leading scorer. "We want to continue with the theme of no excuses, even without him," Spoelstra said. "Guys are willing, ready and able to step up. We have guys who are clawing to get some playing time." Any absence is unusual for James, who has never missed more than seven games in a season during his 11-year career. "Hes Iron Man," Bosh said. "But sometimes when you have a broken nose, you have to rest a little bit. Hell have to rub some dirt on it and come back healthy." After facing Chicago, the Heat are off until Thursday, when they play host to the New York Knicks. Sundays home game will the first in 20 days for the Heat, who went 5-1 on a trip that spanned the All-Star break. Miami trails Eastern Conference leader Indiana by 1 1/2 games. "Were not really concerned about that," Dwyane Wade said. "This team just wants to continue to play well. Everything else will take care of itself." Leger Douzable Womens Jersey . Ekblad led all defencemen with 23 goals and finished tied for fifth in scoring among blue-liners with 53 points in 58. Shaq Evans Youth Jersey . All that matters to the son of a high school coaching legend is that hes the one they selected. "Its been my life-long dream to be an NFL head coach," Pettine said Thursday, "and however that opportunity presents itself, its fine with me.NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez was dealt the most severe punishment in the history of baseballs drug agreement when an arbitrator ruled the New York Yankees third baseman is suspended for the entire 2014 season as a result of a drug investigation by Major League Baseball. The decision by arbitrator Fredric Horowitz on Saturday cut the suspension issued Aug. 5 by baseball Commissioner Bud Selig from 211 games to this years entire 162-game regular-season schedule plus any post-season games. The three-time American League Most Valuable Player will lose just over $22 million of his $25 million salary. Rodriguez vowed to continue his fight in federal court to reverse the decision. "Its virtually impossible. The arbitration will stand. I think its almost inconceivable that a federal court would overturn it," said former baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent, a graduate of Yale Law School. "The arbitration is itself an appeal from the commissioners judgment. How many appeals do you go?" Rodriguez is the most high-profile player ensnared by baseballs drug rules, which were first agreed to in 2002 as management and union attempted to combat the use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. In sustaining more than three-quarters of Seligs initial penalty, Horowitzs decision will be widely viewed as a victory for the 79-year-old Selig, who has ruled baseball since 1992 and says he intends to retire in January 2015. A 14-time All-Star, Rodriguez has been baseballs highest-paid player under a $275 million, 10-year contract. He has spent parts of the last six seasons on the disabled list and will be 39 years old when he is eligible to return to the field in 2015. He is signed with the Yankees through the 2017 season. Rodriguez admitted five years ago he used performance-enhancing drugs while with Texas from 2001-03 but has denied using them since. He already sued MLB and Selig in October, claiming they are engaged in a "witch hunt" against him. "The number of games sadly comes as no surprise, as the deck has been stacked against me from day one," Rodriguez said in a statement. "This is one mans decision, that was not put before a fair and impartial jury, does not involve me having failed a single drug test, is at odds with the facts and is inconsistent with the terms of the Joint Drug Agreement and the Basic Agreement, and relies on testimony and documents that would never have been allowed in any court in the United States because they are false and wholly unreliable." The Major League Baseball Players Association had filed a grievance last summer saying the discipline was without "just cause." The 65-year-old Horowitz, a California-based lawyer who became the sports independent arbitrator in 2012, heard the case over 12 sessions from Sept. 30 until Nov. 21. Technically, he chaired a three-man arbitration panel that included MLB Chief Operating Officer Rob Manfred and union General Counsel Dave Prouty. The written opinion was not made public. In Rodriguezs only partial victory, Horowitz ruled he is entitled to 21-183rds, or about 11.5 per cent, of his salary this year, a person familiar with the decision said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the decision was not made public. That comes to $2,868,852.46. Baseballs drug agreement says the amount of lost pay shall match the number of regular-season games suspended, regardless of days over the season, which is 183 days this year. Despite the ban, baseballs drug rules allow Rodriguez to participate in spring training and play in exhibition games, although the Yankees may try to tell him not to report. New York figures to be happy with the decision, which eliminates uncertainty and gives the Yankees additional money to sign Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka or other free agents while remaining under the $189 million luxury tax threshold. Clyde Gates Jersey. MLB was largely pleased. "While we believe the original 211-game suspension was appropriate, we respect the decision rendered by the panel and will focus on our continuing efforts on eliminating performance-enhancing substances from our game," MLB said in a statement. The union said it "strongly disagrees" with the ruling but added "we recognize that a final and binding decision has been reached." "We respect the collectively-bargained arbitration process which led to the decision," the unions statement added. Biogenesis founder Anthony Bosch testified in the hearing after reaching an agreement with MLB to provide evidence. "Tony Bosch doesnt take joy in seeing Alex Rodriguez suspended from baseball, but he believes the arbitrators decision was appropriate," his spokeswoman, Joyce Fitzpatrick, said in a statement. Bosch is to appear Sunday on "60 Minutes" along with MLB Chief Operating Officer Rob Manfred. In an interview with "CBS Evening News on Saturday," Scott Pelley of "60 Minutes" said Bosch told him he administered six banned substances to Rodriguez, including testosterone and human growth hormone. Picked first in the 1993 amateur draft, Rodriguez reached the majors at age 18 with Seattle and was an All-Star by 20. He seemed destined to become one of the greatest players in the history of the game, and appeared in line to break the career home run record -- he ranks fifth with 654. "This injustice is MLBs first step toward abolishing guaranteed contracts in the 2016 bargaining round, instituting lifetime bans for single violations of drug policy, and further insulating its corrupt investigative program from any variety of defence by accused players, or any variety of objective review," Rodriguez said. "I have been clear that I did not use performance-enhancing substances as alleged in the notice of discipline, or violate the Basic Agreement or the Joint Drug Agreement in any manner, and in order to prove it I will take this fight to federal court. I am confident that when a federal judge reviews the entirety of the record, the hearsay testimony of a criminal whose own records demonstrate that he dealt drugs to minors, and the lack of credible evidence put forth by MLB, that the judge will find that the panel blatantly disregarded the law and facts, and will overturn the suspension." Rodriguez has claimed Selig was on a vendetta to smear him as a way of burnishing the commissioners image following the Steroids Era. Both sides have admitted paying for evidence as they prepared for the hearing. Fourteen players were penalized following the Biogenesis probe, and they all accepted penalties. Milwaukee outfielder Ryan Braun sat out the final 65 games of the season, the other players were given 50-game suspensions. A-Rods drug penalty was for "his use and possession of numerous forms of prohibited performance-enhancing substances, including testosterone and human growth hormone over the course of multiple years," MLB said last summer. His punishment under the labour contract was "for attempting to cover up his violations of the program by engaging in a course of conduct intended to obstruct and frustrate the office of the commissioners investigation." Rodriguezs penalty was more than double the previous high for a PED suspension, a 100-game ban given last year to San Francisco pitcher Guillermo Mota for a second offence. Kansas City infielder Miguel Tejada was given a 105-game ban last summer following a third positive test for amphetamines. jersyes nfl wholesale ' ' ' |
