lion behind the third base stands last
lion behind the third base stands last
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Greg Monroe had a clear message for Detroit Pistons fans Monday.This doesnt mean Im leaving, Monroe said at the teams media day.What he didnt say, though, was that he was staying.This summer, Monroe did something almost unheard of for a frontline NBA player a€” he signed a one-year qualifying deal that costs him almost $10 million for this season but makes him an unrestricted free agent next summer.The obvious implication is that he wants a chance to find a better home after spending his first four seasons with one of the leagues more dysfunctional franchises.The Pistons offered me a long-term deal, but after talking it over with the people that are most important a€” my agent, some friends and my family, I decided to turn it down, he said.It isnt that I want to get out of the city of Detroit or this area a€” I have loved it here since I arrived a€” it is strictly a business decision based on my future as a basketball player.The news wasnt a welcome start to Stan Van Gundys career as Detroits president and coach, because he had talked about building the franchise around his two young post players a€” Monroe (24) and Andre Drummond (21).At worst, if Monroe seemed determined to leave, he said he hoped to get significant talent back in a sign-and-trade deal.Now, though, Van Gundy goes into the off-season knowing that theres a very good chance that hell get no return for a player who has averaged a double-double in each of the past three seasons.I know that I have to separate my two roles, and keep the business side of the game off the court, he said.Right now, I know that Greg is 100 per cent committed to helping this team win this season, and I have no concerns that hes going to let the business side of things affect his game. Well deal with next summer when we get there.Drummond acknowledged that he tried to talk Monroe into a long-term deal, but that hes not going to be working as a recruiter during the season.Greg did what he felt was best for himself, and as his friend, Im going to support him 100 per cent, Drummond said. From today forward, were both going to focus on winning basketball games. Thats it.The biggest question mark over Monroe in the short term is his role on the team.Last years experiment of playing he, Drummond and Josh Smith together didnt work, and Van Gundy doesnt plan to repeat it.Greg, Andre and Josh are three of our best players, but it is equally true that when they werent able to effective play together last year, he said.We intend to use Josh mainly at the 4 and Andre is, of course, going to be at the 5, while Greg can play both. Im not worried about which two will start, because I know the important thing is that you develop a rotation that works for 48 minutes, but I also know that starting is important to players.On top of that, there were reports in the off-season that Monroe had demanded that Smith be traded if the Pistons wanted him to sign a long-term contract. Monroe, though, didnt even allow the question to be fully asked before responding.Lies, lies, lies, he said. I dont know where that came from, but dont say there were rumours, because they were strictly lies. Ive told Coach Van Gundy that, and I reached out to Josh to make sure he realized that there was no truth to those stories. I never said anything like that.Monroes versatility will be more important now that the Pistons have lost backup centre Aaron Gray for the awhile. Gray will miss training camp and be out indefinitely after suffering a cardiac episode last month.Grey had the problem, which he didnt discuss in detail, after a voluntary practice session at the Palace, and is still undergoing testing to find out exactly what needs to be done.When you are a pro athlete, your body is how you make your living, so you know when something is wrong, he said Monday. So I knew that this was something that needed to be dealt with, and the Pistons did a great job putting me in touch with the right people to do that.Grey is getting multiple opinions, so there is no timeline on his return.We hope that by the end of October, were going to have a better idea where Aaron is and when he might be back on the floor, Van Gundy said. At this point, were just focused on making sure hes getting the best possible care.Grey was signed during the summer to back up Drummond and Monroe at centre, so Van Gundy has signed Hasheem Thabeet to a non-guaranteed contract to provide depth at the position. Christian Pulisic Jersey . Bjoerndalen, who had failed to win any major race for two years before Sochi, writes in a Facebook entry that he is "full of energy and inspiration" after winning the 10-kilometre sprint and mixed relay at last months Olympics. Lukasz Piszczek Jersey . They were expecting him there all along. The Pacers announced Friday night that George has been cleared "to return to normal basketball activity," a decision made three days after he was concussed in Game 2 of the Indiana-Miami series. http://www.footballdortmundpro.com/Kids ... ze-Jersey/. 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Jeter will be leaving the major leagues the way he entered: accessible, yet opaque; approachable, but distant. So why is Jeter retiring? "He just said its time, but he didnt really say," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman concluded after Jeter reported to spring training Wednesday for his 20th and final major league season. One week earlier, the Yankees captain surprised and saddened teammates with his announcement, revealed by posting a 15-paragraph, 644-word statement on his Facebook page, one relatively few people were aware he even had. "You cant do this forever. Id like to, but you cant do it forever," he said to a crowded room filled with Yankees management and players in addition to media. Jeter, who turns 40 in June, was limited to 17 games last season, hitting .190 with one homer and seven RBIs after breaking his left ankle in the 2012 AL championship series opener. While he returned last July, he wound up on the disabled list three more times because of leg ailments caused by a lack of strength after the ankle healed. "It wasnt fun because I wasnt playing. I think it forced me to start thinking about, well, how long do I want to do this? And thats how I came to my decision," he said. "It just became a job last year." He sounded much like Joe DiMaggio, who left the Yankees in December 1951 saying, "when baseball is no longer fun, its no longer a game." Just two years ago, Jeter led the big leagues with 216 hits. And after an off-season of intensive workouts, Jeter is confident he will regain his productivity this year and be an everyday shortstop -- only the fourth in big league history in the season they turned 40. Wearing a navy Yankees pullover and shorts, and a New York cap, he spoke directly and dispassionately, much like during every interview since he first reached the major leagues in 1995. He kept his arms crossed in front of him for much of the time, resting them on a table. He flashed those famous white teeth and smiled, displaying not a trace of melancholy. "Trying to get me to cry?" he said after one question. "I have feelings. Im not emotionally stunted. Theres feelings there, but I think Ive just been pretty good at trying to hide my emotions throughout the years. I try to have the same demeanour each and every day." Hes been clear that he doesnt reveal his deepest thoughts publicly, not in the tabloid, talk-radio and Twitter-driven tumult of the Big Apple. "I know I havent really been as open with some of you guys as you would have liked me to be over the last 20 years, but thats by design," he said. "It doesnt mean I dont have those feelings. Its just thats the way I felt as though Id be able to make it this long in New York." He made the announcement on Facebook to circumvent "cut-and-paste" media, to get out his full message and to draw attenntion to his Turn 2 Foundation -- a pun on middle infielders making double plays and on his uniform No.dddddddddddd2. He is a relic, the last of the single digits to wear a Yankees uniform, the last to be introduced before each at-bat by Bob Sheppard, the Yankee Stadium public address announcer from 1951-07. While Sheppard died in 2010, a recording is played when Jeter walks to home plate. In the second half of his life, Jeter could have a future in business or even baseball management -- hes earned enough to become an owner. Hes been among New Yorks most eligible bachelors. "Theres other things I want to do. I want to have a family. Thats important me," he said, without a hint of what "other things" might entail. Jorge Posada retired after the 2011 season, and Mariano Rivera spoke in the same pavilion behind the third base stands last March and said 2013 would be his final year. Andy Pettitte departed last fall, too, leaving Jeter as the last of the Core Four who helped New York win five World Series titles. Owners Hal and Hank Steinbrenner and Jennifer Steinbrenner Swindal watched Jeter from the front row, manager Joe Girardi and general manager Brian Cashman in the second. Teammates, who said his decision shocked and saddened them, were in the rows after that. Cashman called Jeter "a Secretariat, so to speak, that you can run in as many races as you can and win a lot." "Right now its kind of surreal and its strange to think of the Yankees without him in the lineup. But were not there yet," said Hal Steinbrenner, the teams managing general partner. When he spoke with Jeter hours before the Feb. 12 announcement, he didnt lobby for a reconsideration. "I respect when an individual makes a decision like this because I know how much time and thought they put into it. Its not my place to second guess," he said. Jeter wouldnt put an exact date on when he made up his mind. "I wanted to make this announcement months ago. I really did. But people -- I dont want to say forced, but they advised me to take my time before I said it," he said. He kept getting asked about his future. "Even walking down the street," he said, "people ask because I missed last year: Are you playing this year? How much longer are you going to play? How many years to do you have? You get tired of hearing it." He enters his 20th big league season with a .312 average, 256 homers and 1,261 RBIs. Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson already has Tweeted "for those booking early" the 2020 induction ceremony is scheduled for July 26. For Jeter, the titles mean more than the statistics. And most of all, he treasures getting to wear the pinstripes. "The thing that means the most to me is being remembered as a Yankee, because thats what Ive always wanted to be, was to be a Yankee," Jeter said. "I have to thank the Steinbrenner family thats here today and our late owner, the Boss, because they gave me an opportunity to pretty much live my dream my entire life. And the great thing with being a Yankee is youre always a Yankee. So in that sense it never ends." Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Discount Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Baseball Jerseys Free Shipping Cheapest College Jerseys Sale Cheap Football Jerseys China Nike NFL Jerseys Canada Wholesale NHL Jerseys From China MLB Jerseys Outlet Canada Wholesale NBA Jerseys Canada Store Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' '