Dodgers' De La Rosa exits with forearm cramp

DENVER -- Rubby De La Rosa, the Los Angeles Dodgers' highly touted rookie right-hander, left Sunday's game with the Colorado Rockies because of what later was diagnosed as a cramp in his right forearm after throwing one pitch in the bottom of the fifth inning.

For more news, notes and analysis of the Dodgers, check out Dodger Thoughts from Jon Weisman. Blog

"It was right in here," De La Rosa said, pointing at an area on the underside of his right arm, just above his wrist. De La Rosa went on to say, with Kenji Nimura interpreting, that his right index finger curled up against his palm and he was unable to straighten it.

De La Rosa said he was told by the team's medical staff that the condition resulted from dehydration and that he should drink more water when he pitches. He is expected to make his next scheduled start on Saturday night against the Houston Astros.

De La Rosa had thrown 83 pitches to that point in his second major league start, and all three of the runs he had allowed had come on a home run by Rockies right fielder Seth Smith with two outs in the first inning. Since then, De La Rosa had given up just one hit and struck out six batters.

Tony Jackson covers the Dodgers for ESPNLosAngeles.com.

 

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Buckeyes' Gee: Football troubles are temporary

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee told the institution's largest graduating class that a scandal in its celebrated football program is "but a temporary condition."

As Gee opened commencement festivities Sunday for a record 9,700 graduates and about 40,000 family and friends inside Ohio Stadium, he made a veiled reference to the controversy.

"Let me acknowledge on this day of celebration, in this cathedral of triumph and hope, that many Buckeye hearts are heavy," Gee said. "On rare occasion, this great grand building has been home to disappointment and tumult. That is but a temporary condition."

Commencement speaker John Boehner, the speaker of the U.S. House, did not mention the issue.

The university is grappling with the departure of football coach Jim Tressel and star quarterback Terrelle Pryor amid an NCAA investigation into players' trading of signed equipment, championship rings and other memorabilia to a tattoo-parlor owner for cash and discounted tattoos.

Gee assured tens of thousands of alumni and supporters of the university, as well as its new graduates, that things will improve. Evoking the memories of great Ohio State athletes of the past, including football's Archie Griffin and track Olympian Jesse Owens, he said: "Let no one harbor any doubt that the history of this place is enduring and sustaining. Ohio Stadium stands today as it will ever more."

The crowd roared and tooted horns.

Tressel's 10-year Ohio State coaching career ended in disgrace in May when he stepped down for breaking NCAA rules.

He knew players received cash and tattoos for autographs, championship rings and equipment and did not tell anyone at Ohio State or the NCAA for more than nine months. NCAA rules -- and Tressel's contract -- specify that he must disclose any and all information about possible violations.

Pryor announced Tuesday he would give up his senior season with the Buckeyes in the midst of the probe, which had already led to a five-game suspension for him.

Fans and alumni have criticized Gee's handling of the scandal since the memorabilia sales first came to light in December. His office received emails questioning the decision to suspend five players, including Pryor, for five games but allow them to play in the Sugar Bowl.

At a March 8 news conference, Gee was asked whether he'd considered firing Tressel. He responded: "No, are you kidding? Let me just be very clear: I'm just hopeful the coach doesn't dismiss me."

Gee was joined on the stage Sunday by the university's board of trustees, which has ultimate hiring and firing power over him and athletics director Gene Smith.

He appeared chipper as the university celebrated its biggest academic moment of the year, posing for photographs and shaking students' hands.

 

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U.S. loses in Gold Cup group stage for first time

TAMPA, Fla. -- A slow start doomed the United States against Panama, slowing the Americans' usual march to the quarterfinals of the Gold Cup.

Instead, the surprising Panamanians guaranteed themselves a spot in the next round of the tournament with a 2-1 victory over the favored U.S. on Saturday night.

"Sometimes you just come out flat for whatever reason. At this level, and against a good team, you can't do that," U.S. star Landon Donovan said, reflecting on the Americans falling behind by two goals in the opening half. "Some nights you come out flat and you don't get punished, but other nights you do. We learned a valuable lesson."

After losing 4-0 to Spain last week and being deservedly beat 2-1 by Panama, it's difficult to imagine how much lower the U.S. can sink, writes Jeff Carlisle. Report card

Luis Tejada scored in the 19th minute and Gabriel Gomez converted a penalty kick later in the first half for Panama, which won for the first time in nine meetings with the Americans, who had never lost a match in the group stage of any Gold Cup.

"First of all, give Panama a lot of credit. They started the game well. They put us on our heels at times," Donovan said. "It took us a while to get into the game. Our second half was very good, but when you dig yourself a hole that huge, sometimes you can't get out."

Despite the loss, the U.S. can clinch a spot in the quarterfinals of the tournament that determines the champion for North and Central America and the Caribbean by beating Guadaloupe in its final Group C stage match Tuesday night in Kansas City.

Tejada finished a sequence that began with Nelson Barahona's free kick, tapping in a rebound after U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard lunged to get on a hand on Armando Cooper's header from left of the net. American Tim Ream's foul set up Gomez's penalty kick, which the Panamanian lifted over the diving Howard for a 2-0 lead in the 36th minute.

Clarence Goodson gave the U.S. hope for a dramatic comeback, scoring in the 68th minute. The Americans had a couple of opportunities pull even, but Chris Wondolowski missed a wide-open net in the 80th minute and Jaime Penedo made two of his six saves in injury time to help Panama hang on before a crowd of 27,731.

"In the first half as the game was developing, we had the ball a lot but we weren't able to take advantage of some situations," U.S. coach Bob Bradley said.

[+] Enlarge Douglas Jones/US PresswirePanama frustrated U.S. forward Jozy Altidore and handed the Americans their first loss in the Gold Cup group stage.

"What you don't want to do in that situation is go down a goal. You just want to keep doing a good job controlling the ball, controlling the game with the idea that opportunities will come. You put yourself behind, you make it much more difficult."

The loss was just the second for the Americans in their past 21 Gold Cup games. They had been 6-0-2 against Panama, with all the meetings coming in Gold Cup or World Cup qualifying.

Despite defeating Panama in the past three Gold Cups, the Americans stressed they could not overlook the Panamanians because each of those games had been close.

The teams played to a scoreless draw in the 2005 final, with the U.S. winning a penalty shootout to take the championship. They met in the quarterfinals in 2007 and 2009, with Panama losing 2-1 each time.

Panama coach Julio Dely Valdes said through a translator that the victory was especially gratifying because of the effort that went into finally getting over the hump against the Americans.

"We worked very hard for it," the coach said. "I'm absolutely happy because we made history."

The U.S. began the tourney with a 2-0 win over Canada, but wasn't near as sharp in falling behind the aggressive Panamanians, who used their quickness and athletic ability to create numerous opportunities.

Panama opened with a 3-2 victory over Guadeloupe and beating the Americans gave it consecutive Gold Cup wins for the first time.

Donovan said it was just a matter of time before a team as talented as Panama had some success against the U.S.

"CONCACAF teams are getting better and better. It's a pretty good team we played against," Donovan said. "It's disappointing, but the reality is it's over now. ... We've got to win Tuesday, see what else happens and see where we end up. We're still fine."

Game notes
There were 35 fouls -- 18 on the U.S., 17 on Panama. ... The U.S. is 24-1-2 all-time in Gold Cup group play. ... Panama improved to 1-3-1 against the Americans in Gold Cup. ... Freddy Adu was among five players who were not active for the U.S. The midfielder also was inactive for the tournament opener against Canada. ... Canada won the first game of the doubleheader at Raymond James Stadium, defeating Guadeloupe 1-0. The Canadians face Panama in Kansas City on Tuesday.

 

 

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Dodgers get rehab updates on Kuo, two others

Updated: June 12, 2011, 2:58 PM ETBy Tony Jackson
ESPNLosAngeles.com
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DENVER -- At the end of the weekend in which the unreliability of the Los Angeles Dodgers' injury-depleted bullpen has been underscored repeatedly, there was good news before Sunday's game against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, as relievers Hong-Chih Kuo, Jonathan Broxton and Kenley Jansen all took major steps in their efforts to return from the disabled list.

For more news, notes and analysis of the Dodgers, check out Dodger Thoughts from Jon Weisman. Blog

First, setup man Kuo appeared to take a major step forward on Saturday night in his effort to come back from his latest bout with the yips, pitching a perfect eighth inning for advanced Class A Rancho Cucamonga against Visalia. Kuo had hoped to test himself by coming into the middle of an inning with runners on base, but that didn't work out because highly touted pitching prospect Ethan Martin had pitched a perfect seventh.

Still, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said the reports he got on Kuo's performance were that the once-dominating left-hander looked much more like himself.

"His velocity was up, which was kind of a good sign,'' Mattingly said. "He touched 96 (mph), where before he was at 92. Last night, he was (between) 92-96, so that tells you maybe he was letting it go a little bit more and feeling free about letting it go.''

Mattingly said it will be Kuo's decision what to do next, which has been the case since Kuo abruptly left the team on May 11 feeling that he could no longer command the ball.

Broxton, the Dodgers' erstwhile All-Star closer who has been on the 15-day DL since May 6 with a bone bruise in his right elbow and wasn't especially effective before that, is now tentatively slated to begin a minor league rehabilitation early next week. Broxton will throw off a mound for the third time on Tuesday and then a simulated game on Friday, a plan Mattingly conceded tentatively sets Broxton up to begin rehab assignment next week.

Meanwhile, although Jansen pitched two perfect innings in his second rehab appearance for Double-A Chattanooga on Saturday night, retired all nine batters he has faced in those two appearances and becomes eligible to be activated on Monday, Mattingly said the club might wait until later in the week to bring him back so that Jansen can make another two-inning appearance for the Lookouts.

"We want to get him stretched out and be able to go two (innings),'' Mattingly said. "He went two innings last night, but is one time enough for that? Just talking theoretically, if he could take today and (Monday) off, then go again on Tuesday.''

Mattingly said with the Dodgers having an off-day on Thursday, that could put Jansen on target to return on Friday night against the Houston Astros. However, Mattingly said that could change if the Dodgers have to use several relievers on Sunday against the Rockies, which might necessitate bringing Jansen back on Monday night against the Cincinnati Reds.

Tony Jackson covers the Dodgers for ESPNLosAngeles.com.

 

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Gordon rockets to fifth career victory at Pocono

LONG POND, Pa. -- Jeff Gordon is pushing 40, far removed from the cocky kid who shot to superstardom and helped put NASCAR on the mainstream map.

At any age, Gordon still knows how to win.

Don't put the rocking chair on the front porch quite yet. Not when Gordon still burns out near the finish line, stamps his name alongside the sport's greats in the record book, and believes a fifth Cup championship is a realistic goal.

There was a Wonder Boy sighting at Pocono on Sunday. Jeff Gordon raced like the Jeff Gordon of old -- you know, like a four-time Cup champ -- to remind us all that he can still wheel a race car, writes David Newton. Story

Gordon moved into a tie for third on NASCAR's Sprint Cup career victories list, winning for the 84th time when he took the checkered flag Sunday at Pocono Raceway. His 84 wins tie him with Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip for most in Cup history, and he tied Bill Elliott with five wins on the 2?-mile triangle track.

"There's no doubt, I'm blown away with what I've accomplished," Gordon said.

It's a career for the ages -- and the aged.

Gordon won in February at Phoenix International Raceway and has multiple victories in a season for the first time since 2007. Gordon's victory at Phoenix ended his drought at 66 races without a win. This 11-race winless stretch was just a blip compared to that miserable skid.

Gordon used to not drive more than a month without a win. He reached double-digit victories in three straight seasons (1996-98) and seemed a lock to hit 100 victories by 35 and put himself behind only Richard Petty on the all-time list.

Petty leads with 200 wins and David Pearson is second with 105.

Gordon's won races with a mustache and a mullet, and his hair tinged with a touch of gray. He won them as the most feared driver on the planet in the '90s, then sporadically in recent years. He celebrated as a "Rainbow Warrior" and a family man.

[+] Enlarge John Harrelson/Getty ImagesJeff Gordon celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 5-Hour Energy 500 at Pocono Raceway. It was Gordon's fifth career victory at the Pennsylvania track.

This victory was a bit more special for Gordon, who turns 40 in August. His first order of business once he hopped out of the car was a kiss from his daughter, Ella.

Gordon's wife and two children are his greatest gift.

But the pairing he needed most was with Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Alan Gustafson. Team owner Rick Hendrick's offseason decision to shake up his organization has proved an overall success for the organization -- he also placed Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the top-six at Pocono. Gordon and Gustafson have the No. 24 Chevrolet in fantastic shape for a spot in the Chase for the championship.

Gordon is known in the sport as "Four-Time" because of the Cup titles he won in 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2001. Wins have been harder to get for Gordon as his career stretches into its 20th season. He posted winless seasons in 2008 and 2010 and, even in the years he qualified for the Chase, was never a true threat to bring home the title.

"We were living at the peak of the mountain there for a number of years," Gordon said. "It was awesome. When you're there, you know you're going to get knocked off eventually. You can't always stay on top."

Johnson, once his protege and late-night running buddy, surpassed Gordon and has won the last five championships.

The race on the mountaintop belonged to Gordon.

Gordon entered the race having led a record 918 laps at Pocono Raceway. He added 39 to the total Sunday.

"When you see what he's done in his career, not just this decade, not just in the 2000's, but all the way back to the '90s, he's a true legend in this sport," Kurt Busch said.

Busch, the polesitter, was second and Kyle Busch third.

Kyle's Busch fun was short-lived. NASCAR announced his No. 18 Toytota failed postrace inspection because the left-front end was too low. His car will be taken to NASCAR's research and development center.

Jeff Gordon led most of the final 40 laps to win his fifth career race at Pocono Raceway on Sunday.

Complete results

Johnson and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top five. Earnhardt continued his rebirth with a sixth-place finish. It capped a great day for Hendrick Motorsports -- first, fourth and sixth.

Gordon first won at Pocono in 1996. He won again in 1997 and 1998, then a rain-shortened race in 2007.

He was helped Sunday once some of the early contenders fell off. Denny Hamlin, who led early and has four wins here, ran into tire woes and dropped back to 19th. Carl Edwards lost his grip on the points lead -- his 40-point lead was sliced to six -- when a bad engine knocked him out early. He finished 37th.

Once those two were out of contention, the 500-mile race belonged to Gordon. The Busch brothers tried to catch him, but just didn't have enough in the end.

"I'm giving it all I've got and I just can't close the gap," Kurt Busch said.

Gordon hit a rough patch after his Phoenix victory -- including a 36th at Las Vegas and a 39th at Richmond -- but a change in the Chase format this year put an added emphasis on wins. That stamps Gordon as a contender for that fifth title.

He's in great shape thanks to regular workouts after a creaky back a few years ago made him consider retirement. Gordon still has the fire to compete and poked fun at all the questions that made it seem like the end was near.

When all the pieces are in place, Gordon feels, "I'm as good as I've ever been."

"The things that we've talked about and believe in are starting to come true," Gordon said.

Gordon was behind the wheel this week for the 2-hour drive from his New York City apartment to the Poconos.

He said he loves it any time he can get himself to the track.

No doubt, he loves it even more when he can park in Victory Lane.

 

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Cuban defers praise in accepting Mavs' title

MIAMI -- Mark Cuban zipped his lips and won a championship.

And when it was time for his old nemesis David Stern to hand him the shiny gold trophy, this was his big chance to say anything he wanted, with everyone watching.

So, what did he do?

He stood behind a 78-year-old man and let him take center stage, a reward for Donald Carter having founded the team 31 long years ago. He brought his wife and three kids on the podium to enjoy the moment. He even realized how corny he was being when he told his toddler son, "This could be yours."

[+] Enlarge Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty ImagesMark Cuban has owned the Mavs since buying the team in 2000.

Then, out came the Mark Cuban most sports fans remember.

He swore in multiple TV interviews to emphasize how proud he was of his fans. He walked into a postgame news conference talking on the phone, hung up and hollered, "Did anybody inform you guys, we're the world champions?!" On his way out, he took the trophy with him and declared it was spending the night in his room.

Meet Mark Cuban 2.0 -- an NBA champion who can be humble one moment, back to his raucous roots the next.

"You know, I probably won't even shower for six months," Cuban said, laughing. "My biggest fear is that I can't remember every little part of it, every emotion, every feeling that I went through as the clock was winding down. ... I was just hoping I could just do an emotional videotape of myself and just keep it. So that's my biggest hope and fear that I'll be able to feel this forever."

Cuban hadn't spoken publicly since winning the Western Conference championship, when he proclaimed "We ain't done yet!"

On Sunday night, he spoke into the microphone with a voice scratchy from screaming and choked with emotion. He talked about being happy for his players, complimenting them for having "so much heart, so much determination and so much more than that."

"I love every one of them," he said.

A pivotal moment in getting to this point came last summer, at Cuban's house. Dirk Nowitzki was a free agent and he wanted Cuban's vow that if he re-signed, the owner would keep the core of the team intact and do all he could to find the pieces needed to make them champions.

“

You know, I probably won't even shower for six months. My biggest fear is that I can't remember every little part of it, every emotion, every feeling that I went through as the clock was winding down. ... I was just hoping I could just do an emotional videotape of myself and just keep it. So that's my biggest hope and fear that I'll be able to feel this forever.

” -- Mavs owner Mark Cuban

He did, and they did.

"I give Mark a lot of credit," Nowitzki said. "He stuck with me through thick and thin. He brought all the right players always in, always trying to spend money and make this organization better and this team better. So Mark is the best."

Nowitzki was among those who appreciated Cuban censoring himself the past six weeks. It started after the Mavs won their first-round series against Portland.

Cuban held his tongue throughout a sweep of the Lakers, which had to be tough considering his past verbal jabs with Phil Jackson and Ron Artest. He remained silent again through the conference finals against Oklahoma City, even refusing to answer questions about why he'd stopped doing interviews.

He kept it up during the Finals, all the more remarkable considering he was front and center during Dallas' 2006 trip to the Finals against Miami, causing such a ruckus he was fined $250,000 -- part of a tab that's well over $1 million.

Sitting next to the Larry O'Brien Trophy, wearing his favorite new hat, he finally explained why his silence.

"The big mystery, huh?" he said. "It didn't make any sense to say anything," he said, reciting the litany of questions he knew would surround each series. "The quieter I got, the more we won. I didn't want to break the karma."

Not that he thought there was a correlation between his silence and the team's success.

"Do you really think these guys are going to play any harder or less hard because of what I say?" he said. "That's disrespectful. They put it on the line. They didn't care if I was naked at every game. They were going to go out there and play as hard as they could."

In a corner of the jubilant locker room Sunday night, coach Rick Carlisle acknowledged that he helped convince Cuban to let the players and their performance on the court do all the talking.

"We kind of mutually talked about it," Carlisle said. "He was great about it. He understood and he knew it was the right thing. ... Mark's a much more humble person than a lot of people want to believe. His heart is always in the right place. It gives us the tools to succeed. He was extremely disciplined during this run and it helped us."

During the trophy presentation, and again at the start of his postgame interview, Carlisle used the line, "Our owner is now available for interviews." It was his way of saying the muzzle was off.

"Look, he's a smart guy," Carlisle said. "He understands that certain things are sacred."

Carter started the Mavericks in 1980 after a long, hard fight for an expansion team. He sold the club to Ross Perot Jr. in 1996, and in 2000 he sold it to Cuban. Mr. C, as he's fondly known, has remained a part of the organization and a constant presence in courtside seats directly across from the Mavs bench -- always wearing the white cowboy hat that was part of the club's original logo.

Cuban approached Carter at game's end and asked him to accept the trophy from Stern. It was a classy move and, by Carter's estimation, the continuation of a run of great moves by Cuban this postseason.

"There wasn't a script written for him that I know of, but he played it down exactly on when to say something, when not to," Carter said. "He was everything I would ask an owner to be."

With his voice cracking, Carter added: "I'll just say he has become the owner I've always wanted because of his love of the game. I'd put him up against any of the owners and I've been around for 31 years."

 

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Thomas: Focus on ice, not Luongo comments

BOSTON -- Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas has a message for Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo and it's not in the form of flattery.

Luongo has taken a few digs at his counterpart, and fellow Vezina Trophy finalist, the last couple of days, and when asked to respond after the Bruins' practice Sunday at TD Garden, Thomas took a different route.

"I did hear about what he said, but I don't really want to go into that," Thomas said. "My focus is on what I can do to help my team win going into Game 6. It's obviously a must-win game and I think it's important for our whole team to focus on that game and what we can do on the ice."

The Canucks lead the best-of-seven Stanley Cup final 3-2 with Game 6 Monday night.

"I know we're in the Stanley Cup final and everything is under the microscope and going to get blown out of proportion, obviously my whole comment I don't think was a negative comment, if you take the whole comment," Luongo said Sunday. "But at the end of the day you know what? I'm one win away from winning the Stanley Cup and that's all I really care about right now. All the other stuff is noise to me."

Canucks coach Alain Vigneault backed up his goalie in French.

"If you look at the comment as a whole, what he said was flattering toward Thomas. But you guys (media) took only the part that made it a headline," Vigneault said.

Prior to the Canucks flying to Boston on Saturday, Luongo suggested that he hasn't been getting enough respect from Thomas in this series.

"I have been pumping his tires ever since the series started," Luongo said. "I haven't heard one nice thing he had to say about me. That's the way it is."

After Vancouver's 1-0 victory in Game 5 on Friday, Luongo made it a point to criticize and critique Thomas on the game-winning goal.

"It's not hard if you're playing in the paint," Luongo said. "It's an easy save for me, but if you're wandering out and aggressive like he does, that's going to happen. He might make some saves that I won't, but in a case like that, we want to take advantage of a bounce like that and make sure we're in good position to bury those."

The Canucks' Max Lapierre capitalized on Thomas being out of position early in the third period in Game 5 and snuck in the game-winning goal.

Bruins coach Claude Julien defended his goalie on Saturday.

"I don't think Timmy is going to make much of that comment (by Luongo). I think you guys (reporters) are making more out of it than Timmy will. Either way, his stats, you know, are proof itself. He's given up six goals in five games.

"The guy that made the comment, I'm not quite sure how many he let in. I think you guys have a good idea, so I don't think he (Thomas) is going to lose sleep over that."

Thomas isn't about to get into a war of words at this point of the season.

"I guess I didn't realize it was my job to pump his tires," Thomas said Sunday with a laugh. "I guess I have to apologize for that.

"Nobody on our team talks specifically about guys on the other team in that way. We've done a good job of focusing on the important things, which is what you can do on the ice and I think that's what helped us to get this far.

"There is obviously going to be talk in the media and they're going to talk about a whole bunch of different topics and that's fine. When I watched playoffs in the past, sometimes it's fun to listen to what is said, but when you're playing, I think the best course is to remain focused on what you can control and that's on the ice."

Patrice Bergeron said the trash talk was something he's seen before.

"We've seen it before, even in previous series, sometimes guys are trying to play the head games and you just can't worry about that and it's part of the sport," he said. "You just have to worry about what you can control."

Joe McDonald covers the Bruins for ESPNBoston.com.

 

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