Angels move Pineiro to bullpen; Weaver expected to drop appeal

Struggling right-hander Joel Pineiro was removed from the rotation and demoted to the bullpen before Thursday night's game against the Minnesota Twins, but Manager Mike Scioscia said he won't name a replacement until early next week.

Because of Monday's off day, the Angels won't need a fifth starter until Wednesday night in Yankee Stadium. Among the in-house candidates are reliever Hisanori Takahashi, triple-A right-hander Trevor Bell and double-A right-hander Garrett Richards, the organization's top pitching prospect.

The team's rotation for the remainder of this homestand is Dan Haren on Thursday night, Jered Weaver on Friday night, Tyler Chatwood on Saturday night and Ervin Santana on Sunday.

Weaver is expected to drop his appeal of a six-game suspension for throwing at the head of Detroit catcher Alex Avila after Friday night's game and begin serving it Saturday. That would put the right-hander in line to pitch next Saturday, Aug. 13, in Toronto.

Under that scenario, Haren would pitch Tuesday night in New York, the new fifth starter would pitch Wednesday night, Chatwood would start next Thursday in New York, and Santana would start the opener of a three-game series in Toronto on Aug. 12.

Pineiro is 0-3 with a 14.85 earned-run average in his last four starts, having given up 22 earned runs and 29 hits, walking six and striking out two in 13 1/3 innings. The 32-year-old will probably be relegated to a mop-up role, which will make it difficult to retain the form that made the sinker-ball specialist an effective starter for much of the last two seasons.

"Going to the bullpen, he'll certainly take a step back and exhale," Scioscia said of Pineiro. "As far as getting functional work, it's going to be hit or miss. But the bottom line is that where J.P. is right now and where he can be, that divide was widening. We need that gap to close."

The Angels lineup: DH Maicer Izturis, 3B Alberto Callaspo, RF Torii Hunter, LF Vernon Wells, 2B Howie Kendrick, 1B Mark Trumbo, SS Erick Aybar, CF Peter Bourjos, C Jeff Mathis, P Dan Haren.

The Twins lineup: CF Denard Span, 1B Joe Mauer, 2B Michael Cuddyer, RF Jason Kubel, DH Jim Thome, 3B Danny Valencia, LF Delmon Young, SS Tsuyoshi Nishioka, C Drew Butera, P Francisco Liriano.

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--Mike DiGiovanna

Photo: Angels pitcher Joel Pineiro during a start in May. Credit: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times

Cotchery Is Released by the Jets

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Not long before Jerricho Cotchery’s tenure with the Jets came to an end with his release on Thursday, his thoughts drifted to an August afternoon in 2008. With Brett Favre en route to his introductory news conference in Cleveland as the Jets’ new quarterback, Chad Pennington stood before the Jets’ offense and, in one of his final acts as their starting quarterback, gave a heartfelt and emotional speech.

“It was a tough deal for a lot of people,” Cotchery said. “He was a great leader for this team, and he got released.”

Almost three years later, Cotchery  found himself in a position similar to Pennington’s, with teammates sharing memories and offering  tributes to him. A scheduled visit to Jets headquarters Thursday by the 37-year-old free-agent Derrick Mason foretold bad news for Cotchery, one of the team’s most dependable receivers and respected players.

Mason, familiar with Ryan from their time with the Baltimore Ravens, is expected to supplant Cotchery, 29, as the Jets’ No. 3 receiver.

Later, Coach Rex Ryan said that the Jets had wanted to keep Cotchery, but that he had asked to be traded or released.

“He means the world to the team and the organization — I mean, from my eyes,” cornerback Darrelle Revis said.

Revis  added: “He’s done a lot for this organization. He has a clean record. He’s not out here getting in trouble. He’s representing himself the right way. You’ve got to try to at least reward a guy, keep him on the team as long as you can because those guys, you want to try to replace them, but you really can’t.”

Quarterback Mark Sanchez said he was surprised earlier this week when he heard that Cotchery might leave the team.

In seven seasons with the Jets, Cotchery evolved from special teamer to standout receiver, catching 358 passes for 4,514 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Perhaps his most memorable reception occurred last Nov. 14 in Cleveland, when he tore a muscle in his left groin early in a play but hopped nine times on his right foot to get open and made a crucial diving catch.

Cotchery missed two games with that injury and was also hampered by a herniated disk in his back, which required off-season surgery and landed him on the physically unable to perform list.

He said he expected to play soon, but for another team, not the Jets, the only organization he knows.

“Everyone wants that dream scenario where they want to play their entire career with one team,” Cotchery said. “But it doesn’t happen that often.”

Rafer Johnson returns to UCLA as special assistant

Olympic gold medalist Rafer Johnson is returning to UCLA as special assistant to Athletic Director Dan Guerrero. Johnson will work part time reaching out to alumni and in the area of student-athlete development.

“Rafer represents all that is great about UCLA athletics,” Guerrero said. “ … He is an Olympic champion and has spent most of his adult life in the service of others, as illustrated by his commitment to the Special Olympics. It is a thrill to have Rafer on our staff.”

Johnson, the gold-medal winner in the 1960 Olympic decathlon, has spent years working to help kids with disabilities. He is chairman for the board of directors of the Southern California Special Olympics and will continue to serve in that capacity.

In the 1970s, he was a member of the President's Commission on Olympic Sports. He was the final torchbearer for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, lighting the torch at the Coliseum.

-- Chris Foster

NFL players ratify CBA: First pro league with HGH testing

 

NFL players on Thursday ratified a new 10-year collective bargaining agreement, marking the official end of the labor fight and opening the door for more thorough league-wide drug testing.

The NFL will become the first major sports league that tests blood for human growth hormone, according to an individual familiar with the language of the deal. The prior CBA only allowed for urine testing, which is not a reliable way to detect HGH.

Pending final approval by the players union, the league will be able to test each player annually for HGH.

“The goal is to begin testing for HGH the first week of the regular season,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said. “Over the next several weeks, we will discuss and develop with the union the specific arrangements for the test.”

The players have 30 days to review and agree to the new drug-testing policy. If they do not approve it, the system reverts to the 2010 rules, which do not allow for an independent arbitrator to hear any appeal.

“We have to see if we agree with the test,” Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Rashean Mathis told reporters. “If we agree with the test, then it's legit. If not, they have to come up with another one.”

There has been widespread conjecture over the years that some players have used performance-enhancing drugs that have gone undetected because of the limitations of testing methods. Adding fuel to that fire is the dramatic spike in players who weigh 300 pounds or more.

Anthony Butch, director of the UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory, said blood testing “is a good thing because it will determine whether everybody’s speculation is right that players are doping with HGH. If no one tests positive, that speculation will begin to go away.”

However, Butch said, the current blood testing for HGH has a detection window that lasts only 36 to 48 hours.

“But there are other tests that hopefully will be approved soon that will have a longer detection window,” he said. “A couple of weeks would be nice. The longer the better.”

The final approval of the CBA allowed for the “league year” to begin and had an impact on all 32 training camps. Players who had signed contracts July 26 or after were finally able to join their teammates in drills.

“To be able to come up with a 10-year agreement in today’s sports world is really both unprecedented and great for all of us, all the fans,” Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said. “None of us wants to go through this kind of stuff every three or four years....

“The other thing is the formula the NFL has that’s really the envy of all sports leagues around the world.”

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Albert Haynesworth wants to 'restore' his name with New England Patriots

-- Sam Farmer

Photo: Arizona Cardinals' Ryan Williams signs autographs at training camp on Aug. 1. Credit: Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press.

Comcast Files Suit Against DirecTV

Comcast filed suit on Thursday against DirecTV in federal court in Illinois accusing the giant satellite operator of falsely advertising that its popular NFL Sunday Ticket service is available free this season.

Sunday Ticket provides subscribers with all out-of-market games on Sunday afternoons.

“As none of the ads disclose,” the lawsuit said, “the offer is not for free NFL Sunday Ticket service — the offer requires a two-year contract with hefty termination for early cancellation with the NFL Sunday Ticket service automatically renewing in the second year at full price.”

Comcast, the nation’s largest cable operator, said that DirecTV’s radio advertising omits mentioning the actual costs, while its television and Internet ads “employ a carefully crafted scheme of purported disclaimers that were intentionally designed to deceive as many consumers as possible.”

Comcast also accused DirecTV of “falsely disparaging cable television service generally — and by clear implication, Comcast’s cable services specifically.” It called DirecTV a “serial offender” in false advertising.

In a statement, DirecTV said: “We think it’s deplorable that Comcast is trying to compete in the courtroom rather than in the marketplace. New customers who sign up for DirecTV can indeed get NFL Sunday Ticket at no extra charge for one year and there is no requirement to subscribe to NFL Sunday Ticket the following year. The last thing we want to do is mislead new customers.”

NFL lockout: Players ratify deal, which includes HGH testing

 

As expected, NFL players ratified the new, 10-year collective bargaining agreement agreed upon last month, and two people familiar with the negotiations told the Associated Press that the deal allows the NFL to become the first major U.S. professional sports league to use blood testing for human growth hormone.

The NFL will be allowed to check each player annually for HGH, but still to be determined is the way testing and appeals will work.

In other details, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will retain power to mete out discipline under the personal conduct policy, league sources told ESPN.com's Adam Schefter.

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Mike Patterson has brain condition that caused seizure

Tim Tebow is the talk of Twitter ...  especially for Merril Hoge

Albert Haynesworth wants to 'restore' his name with New England Patriots

--Houston Mitchell

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Photo: Members of the Chicago Bears head to the field on the first day of training camp. Credit: Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press.

 

Doug DeCinces, accused of insider trading, pays $2.5-million fine

Former Angels baseball player Doug DeCinces has agreed to pay $2.5 million in penalties and interest to settle allegations that he used inside information to make more than $1.2 million in profits trading the stock of Santa Ana-based Advanced Medical Optics Inc. in 2009.

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the settlement the same day that it filed a civil lawsuit detailing allegations that DeCinces, acting on an inside tip, bought more than 83,000 shares of Advanced Medical Optics in the weeks leading to its 2009 acquisition by Abbott Laboratories Inc.

DeCinces hit 237 home runs during his career in the major leagues. He played with the Angels from 1982 to 1986.

You can read more about the story on our Money and Company blog.

--Houston Mitchell

Photo: Doug DeCinces, left, and Tommy John during the 1982 ALCS. Credit: Associated Press.

 

 

With Mason in the Wings, Cotchery Senses His Time Has Passed

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Resigned to his fate that he would be cut, Jerricho Cotchery’s thoughts Thursday drifted to an August afternoon in 2008. With Brett Favre en route to his introductory news conference in Cleveland as the Jets’ new quarterback, Chad Pennington stood before the Jets’ offense and, in one of his final acts as their starting quarterback, gave a heartfelt and emotional speech.

“It was a tough deal for a lot of people,” Cotchery said. “He was a great leader for this team, and he got released.”

Almost three years later exactly, his teammates were offering similar tributes to Cotchery. A scheduled visit to Jets headquarters Thursday by the free agent Derrick Mason foretold bad news for Cotchery, one of the team’s most dependable receivers and respected players.

Cotchery, 29, was bracing for his release, waiting only for Mason, 37, to pass his physical exam. Mason, familiar with Coach Rex Ryan from their time with the Baltimore Ravens, would supplant Cotchery as the Jets’ No. 3 receiver.

“He means the world to the team and the organization — I mean, from my eyes,” cornerback Darrelle Revis said.

Revis added: “He’s done a lot for this organization. He has a clean record. He’s not out here getting in trouble. He’s representing himself the right way. You’ve got to try to at least reward a guy, keep him on the team as long as you can because those guys, you want to try to replace them, but you really can’t.”
In seven seasons with the Jets, Cotchery evolved from special teamer to standout receiver, catching 358 passes for 4,514 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Perhaps his most memorable reception occurred last Nov. 14 in Cleveland, when he tore a muscle in his left groin early in a play but hopped nine times on his right foot to get open and made a crucial diving catch.
Cotchery missed two games with that injury and was also hampered by a herniated disd in his back, which required off-season surgery and landed him on the physically unable to perform list.

He said he expected to play soon, but for another team, not the Jets, the only organization he knows.

“Everyone wants that dream scenario where they want to play their entire career with one team,” Cotchery said. “But it doesn’t happen that often.”

Alex Rodriguez: What punishment if gambling allegations are true? [Updated]

Alex Rodriguez is being investigated by Major League Baseball in connection with allegations of his involvement in high-stakes gambling, and writers from around Tribune Co. are discussing the controversial New York Yankees star. Check back throughout the day for more responses and weigh in with a comment of your own.

Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times

A-Rod's passion for high-stakes card games has long been an open secret in South Florida. But the latest reports, if true, suggest that he's upped the stakes. So although there's nothing wrong with a little poker game, if drugs and thugs are involved -- as Star magazine reported -- that's a different story.

It would be unfair to Rodriguez for anyone jump to conclusions before the investigation has run its course. But if the allegations are true and if baseball's best-paid player on its marquee franchise is hanging around with underworld figures, the integrity of the sport has been put at risk and a lengthy unpaid suspension may be warranted. Sure, that would break new ground -- and it could cost A-Rod his shot at Barry Bonds' all-time home-run record.

Amgen Tour of California keeps going, but HTC team will disband

On the same day that Amgen announced it would remain for two more years as sponsor of the Amgen Tour of California, the country's largest stage cycling race, Riverside native and telecommunications millionaire Bob Stapleton took part in an emotional conference call in which he announced that his cycling team, HTC, would disband at the end of this season.

HTC has finished as the top-ranked team in the world the last five seasons while producing the charismatic and world's best sprinter, Mark Cavendish, as well as the 2010 Amgen Tour of Caiifornia winner, Mick Rogers, and Edvald Boasson Hagen, who won a Tour de France stage this year, and one of the most promising young American cyclists, Teejay van Garderen.

Stapleton, whose team was based in San Luis Obispo, is one of the most respected men in the sport. He was prominent in developing a women's team that was also best in the world and was outspoken in his belief that cycling could be cleansed of the doping scandals that has plagued it over the last decade.

Stapleton had been chief executive of a company called VoiceStream Wireless and eventually held a seat on the board of T-Mobile, which owned a German cycling team that was home to perennial runnerup to Armstrong, Jan Ullrich. The T-Mobile team eventually disbanded because of a number of doping issues with the team and Stapleton started his U.S.-based team in 2007 with the very public ideal of running a clean operation. Stapleton originally called the team High Road Sports to emphasize what direction he was taking. Stapleton funded the team himself at first, but soon attracted major sponsors such as Columbia, the sports outfitting company, and HTC, the mobile phone company.

As the Tour de France started last month, Stapleton said that if he didn't attract new sponsorship money during the Tour the team would probably be finished.

"We went public with our sponsorship search just befor the Tour," Stapleton said. "We were frustrated by the indecision of our present title sponsor, HTC, who, after many months of assurances, had not come forward with a commitment to the team. That indecision remains a mystery to me," Stapleton said on the conference call.

Even as recently as last weekend, Stapleton said, he thought he had a new sponsor, but negotiations ended.

“We thought we had a partner that would have given us the necessary budget to operate the team on the same level as the past four years, but that deal collapsed Sunday night," Stapleton said. "We proceeded with other options.”

Among the problems in going on, Stapleton cited, was what he called the emergence of "super teams," teams with budgets of more than $20 million a year. Specifically he referred to the Russian-based Katusha team and the British-based Team Sky, which it has been rumored for over a year that Cavendish, also British, would land.

“We produced heavyweight results with a middleweight budget," Stapleton said. "We were very average in our budget. You can do that against people whose [budgets] are 50% bigger than yours, but when it’s 100% more, with such a narrow talent pool, it becomes very difficult. If we couldn’t be close enough with the financial power, and if we couldn’t be in a leadership position of the sport, we wouldn’t be in position to drive change. And if we couldn’t succeed on that, it was best to let people go on to pursue their own interests.”

Stapleton's team won 484 races overall and 54 stages during the three grand tours -- the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Spanish Vuelta.

That Stapleton couldn't attract enough sponsor money to continue competing in a wnning way and driving the sport away from the doping culture is a loss for cycling.

-- Diane Pucin

Alex Rodriguez: What punishment if gambling allegations are true?

Alex Rodriguez is being investigated by Major League Baseball in connection with allegations of his involvement in high-stakes gambling, and writers from around Tribune Co. are discussing the controversial New York Yankees star. Check back throughout the day for more responses and weigh in with a comment of your own.

Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times

A-Rod's passion for high-stakes card games has long been an open secret in South Florida. But the latest reports, if true, suggest that he's upped the stakes. So although there's nothing wrong with a little poker game, if drugs and thugs are involved -- as Star magazine reported -- that's a different story.

It would be unfair to Rodriguez for anyone jump to conclusions before the investigation has run its course. But if the allegations are true and if baseball's best-paid player on its marquee franchise is hanging around with underworld figures, the integrity of the sport has been put at risk and a lengthy unpaid suspension may be warranted. Sure, that would break new ground -- and it could cost A-Rod his shot at Barry Bonds' all-time home-run record.

Mike Patterson has brain condition that caused seizure

Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Mike Patterson has a brain condition that caused his seizure during Wednesday's training camp practice, trainer Rick Burkholder said Thursday morning.

Burkholder said the former USC player is on medication to prevent further seizures and could be released from the Lehigh Valley Hospital in Pennsylvania on Thursday after more tests.

As for long-term treatment of the condition -- arteriovenous malformation, the tangling of blood vessels near the skull -- Burkholder said surgery is one of many options.

“In medicine today, there's tons of options,” Burkholder said. “Everybody wants to jump right into surgery and I'm not saying for this particular case, I'm saying with everything, but there's so many other avenues out there. It would be foolish to speculate what's going to happen to Mike.”

Tim Tebow is the talk of Twitter ... especially for Merril Hoge

Tim Tebow versus Kyle Orton. For most NFL fans it's a fun debate about who should be the Denver Broncos' starting quarterback. Of course it's a more serious issue for Broncos fans -- and apparently Merril Hoge.

The ESPN NFL analyst sent out a barrage of tweets Wednesday (five total) so critical of Tebow's playing ability that NBA superstar LeBron James of all people jumped to the former Florida quarterback's defense, also via Twitter.

Hoge returned to Twitter on Thursday with four tweets directed at Tebow, explaining that the views he expressed the previous day were about "football only."

It all started Wednesday with this post from Hoge: "Sitting watching tape off bronco offense from last year! Orton or Tebow? It's embarrassing to think the broncos could win with tebow!!"

Oklahoma No. 1 in first USA Today poll

Oklahoma, which returns star quarterback Landry Jones and receiver Ryan Broyles, has been voted preseason No. 1 in the first  USA Today college football coaches' poll.

The Sooners received 42 first-place votes from the coaches. Alabama is second, followed by Oregon, Louisiana State, Florida State, Stanford, Boise State, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Wisconsin.

The Southeastern Conference, which has won the last five Bowl Championship Series titles, leads all leagues with eight teams in the top 25. Auburn, the defending national champion, debuts at No. 19.

Oklahoma, which won the BCS title in 2000, has flirted with several other championships, losing the title games of 2003 and 2004. The Sooners' win over Connecticut in the Fiesta Bowl last season snapped a five-game losing streak in BCS bowls. 

The new Pac-12 has only two teams in the poll, both in the top 10. USC, because it is on NCAA probation, is prohibited from appearing in the coaches' poll. The Associated Press poll, which will be released later this month, can include USC.

The USA Today poll is a component of the BCS standings formula that determines which teams will participate in the BCS title game, which will be played this year in New Orleans.

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Fill out the calendar and dust off the couch for college football

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-- Chris Dufresne

Photo: Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones. Credit: Jackson Laizure / Getty Images

Remembering Bubba Smith, the Football Player

A few thoughts about Bubba Smith, who died yesterday at 66. He may be best remembered today as an actor and television pitchman. But he made his name on the football field, first at Michigan State, then as a Baltimore Colt. Andy Barall writes about pro football history for The Fifth Down.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, there wasn’t a more imposing sight in football than Charles Aaron Smith, better known as Bubba. Before a terrible knee injury in 1972, Smith was one of the N.F.L.’s best all-around 4-3 defensive ends. When he wanted to, he could dominate.

Smith was a two-time all-American for the powerhouse Michigan State teams of the mid-60s. The Baltimore Colts, with a pick acquired in a trade with the expansion New Orleans Saints, made him the first overall selection of the 1967 draft. Three of his college teammates, Clint Jones, George Webster and Gene Washington, were also among the first eight picks that year.

Smith was officially listed at 6-7 and 265 pounds, but he probably played at much closer to 300, especially early in his career. He was an unusual combination of size, speed, power and quickness. Having such long arms didn’t hurt either, particularly when the quarterback tried to throw to his right.

Because offenses usually lined up with the tight end on his side, Smith, at left defensive end, had to play the run first. On passing downs, he wasn’t just a bull rusher. He was fast enough to beat the offensive tackle wide to the outside and had good enough lateral movement to beat him with a quick move to the inside. Once that tackle was slightly off-balance, it was usually all over. The offense frequently had to keep its fullback in to give the tackle help. That allowed the linebackers to get greater depth in pass coverage.

By his second year, 1968, Smith joined end Ordell Braase and tackles Billy Ray Smith and Fred Miller to form one of the N.F.L.’s best defensive lines. That season, Baltimore allowed the fewest points in the league, 144, on the way to a 13-1 finish. In Smith’s five years in Baltimore, the Colts compiled a 53-13-4 regular-season record. He was named first-team All-Pro in 1971 and was elected to the Pro Bowl after the 1970 and 1971 seasons.

In 1972, during a preseason game, Smith was pursuing across the field when he became entangled with the yard markers along the sideline. In those years, when the action got too close, the chain crew would retreat and leave the sticks upright, still affixed to the ground. As a result of Smith’s injury, I believe, the league changed the procedure, requiring the crew, before they backed away, to remove the sticks and to drop them flat onto the ground.

The Colts’ team doctors described Smith’s knee injury as one of the worst they had  seen. He was forced to watch most of that season from the sideline in a wheelchair, and he wasn’t the same player again. During his long rehabilitation, Smith was traded to the Raiders for tight end Raymond Chester. He played two years in Oakland and then  two years in Houston before retiring after the 1976 season.

Smith, like many of his teammates, never got over the Colts’ shocking defeat to the Jets in Super Bowl 3. In 2007 he told NFL Films: “Until this day, they’ll have that game on and I turn away right away.” (America’s Game, 1970 Baltimore Colts)

Even their Super Bowl victory over the Cowboys two years later didn’t provide much in the way of redemption. Linebacker Mike Curtis hides his Super Bowl ring in the jacket pocket of one of his suits. Center Bill Curry recalls the win as bittersweet: “It’s the most mixed sense of achievement I’ve experienced in my career… I didn’t feel like we went down there and took care of business… We turned the ball over 7 times.” (NFL Films: America’s Game, 1970 Baltimore Colts)

Smith remembered it like this:

Now, when he (Jim O’Brien) kicks the (winning) field goal, I got depressed. I knew I was supposed to be feeling good. Finally did it. World Champions. I wasn’t feeling that way. I couldn’t really feel as happy as I wanted to feel because I was supposed to look at my other ring from Super Bowl 3 and say, Well, I got two.’ And I couldn’t do it. (NFL Films: America’s Game, 1970 Baltimore Colts)

Super Bowl 5 was the Colts’ last championship in Baltimore. In 1984, during a late-night snowstorm, they packed up the trucks and moved away. Memorial Stadium fell silent forever. The Baltimore Colts were no more.

Today, the colors are the same and the horseshoe remains on the helmet, but much of the history has been lost. Unitas. Berry. Moore. Mackey. Marchetti. Their team is gone. Bubba Smith is an important part of that heritage. As he told NFL Films in 2007: “I came to grips with it a long time ago that we wouldn’t be remembered as the Baltimore Colts. I even went to Indianapolis and they said ‘you’re the ex-Indianapolis Colt.’ I said, “No, I’m an ex-Baltimore Colt.’ “