Star baseball pitcher turned TV analyst Curt Schilling announces he has cancer

Former star pitcher turned television analyst Curt Schilling announced on Wednesday that he is battling cancer.

The 47-year-old Schilling, who spent 20 years in the major leagues before retiring in 2009, divulged the news in a statement released through his employer, Bristol-based ESPN. It did not indicate what type of cancer Schilling has, when he was diagnosed or what his prognosis might be.

'With my incredibly talented medical team I'm ready to try and win another big game,' he said. 'I've been so very blessed and I feel grateful for what God has allowed my family to have and experience, and I'll embrace this fight just like the rest of them, with resolute faith and head on.'

ESPN spokesman Mike Soltys said Schilling is taking a leave of absence. He recently signed a multi-year contract extension with the network and was to be part of the 'Sunday Night Baseball' broadcast team, as well as contribute to the network's studio coverage, including its spring training coverage, Soltys said.

'Our thoughts are with Curt and his family during this challenging time,' the Bristol-based network said in a statement. 'His ESPN teammates wish him continued strength in his cancer fight and we look forward to welcoming him back to our baseball coverage whenever he's ready.'

Schilling played for five teams during his Major League career. He won three world championships, with the Arizona Diamondbacks (2001) and Boston Red Sox (2004, 2007), sharing the World Series MVP award with teammate Randy Johnson in 2001.

He won 216 games and struck out 3,116 batters during his career, but is perhaps best known for pitching in the 2004 ALCS and World Series after having stitches to mend an ankle injury. His bloody sock was later put on display in Cooperstown.

Schilling has been in the news recently after the failure of 38 Studios, a video game company he owned in Rhode Island, with the help of a $75 million state loan. The company went bankrupt last year, leaving Rhode Island taxpayers on the hook to pay back tens of millions of dollars.

Schilling said he invested and lost as much as $50 million.

This is not the first time he and his family have battled health issues.

Schilling recently revealed he suffered a heart attack in November 2011. His wife, Shonda, successfully battled melanoma in 2001.

Schilling was a starting pitcher for the Boston Red Sox

Schilling also was the starting pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies

Copyright : dailymail.co.uk

Bud Selig: Retirement '100 percent'

By Jayson Stark | ESPN.com

AP Photo/Al Behrman

Bud Selig is preparing for his final season as commissioner of Major League Baseball.

PHOENIX -- Though many people in his sport are still skeptical, baseball commissioner Bud Selig ESPN.comtold  he is "100 percent" committed to retiring in a year, and he even hopes to visit all 30 parks in his final season.

On the eve of baseball's quarterly owners meetings, as he begins what he says will be his final year in office, Selig, who turns 80 years old in July, was adamant that, despite previous instances where he said he'd retire but stayed on, this time there is no turning back.

"It's 100 percent," the commissioner told ESPN.com. "This is definitely it. I'm more comfortable today than I was when I [announced] it in October, if that's possible. Jan. 24, 2015 is it. And I'm very comfortable with that. I'm done."

In fact, Selig said, he would like to spend his last year as commissioner on a Mariano Rivera-type tour of all 30 major-league parks, speaking not with baseball dignitaries but with fans and people who work in his sport behind the scenes.

"I want to talk to season-ticket holders and fans," he said. "I've got a lot of people to thank."

That idea came about, he said, in part because several clubs reached out to him after his announcement and asked to honor him, but also because Rivera's farewell tour got Selig to thinking about ways to connect with people who love baseball.

"I like that," Selig said. "I like talking to people. And ....  that's what I want to do: [speak to] season-ticket holders, people who work at ballparks. I just like to walk around and talk to people. I love that. I did that when I ran the Brewers. And I enjoyed it. I miss that. Many people ask me, 'Is there anything you miss [about owning a team]?' And that's it. I really miss all that. I knew every vendor. And you knew what they were thinking, too, because they'll tell you, especially if your team is losing."

Not so long ago, Selig conceded, there would have been a time when he was so unpopular, he couldn't have done anything like this.

"It would have been an ugly experience," he admitted. "If I'd done it in the '90s, I would have needed nine security people, to make sure that I made it out of there."

Selig has served as commissioner since 1992, the first six of those years as an "interim" commissioner. His 22 years in office rank second among all commissioners, only to the 24-year term of Kenesaw "Mountain" Landis from 1920-1944. Selig has been talked, by owners, into staying on after the expiration of several previous contracts, but he dismissed any talk that that will happen again this time.

"I've done this now for a long time, 22 years," the commissioner said. "It will be 23 by that time. Other than Landis, nobody has ever done this job longer. I'm going to be 80 years old next July 30. And I really do want to teach ... and I want to write a book, and I want to do it while, God willing, my health is good and my mind is still reasonably active, although many would disagree with that."

His decision, he said, was not hastened by the Alex Rodriguez controversy, and he decline to answer any questions that pertained to Rodriguez, because of A-Rod's latest lawsuit against Major League Baseball and the Players Association.

60 Minutes' A-Rod piece incites MLB, union fight

Jorge L. Ortiz, USA TODAY Sports

MLB COO Rob Manfred talks with 60 Minutes reporter Steve Pelley in a sequence that aired Sunday.

Major League Baseball and the players association, which previously had maintained a tone of respect and cooperation through the messy Alex Rodriguez ordeal, appear ready to get down into the muck with him

Both organizations issued critical statements about each other today regarding an appearance by MLB Chief Operating Officer Rob Manfred and by Biogenesis founder Tony Bosch in the news program "60 Minutes.''

In the show, Bosch details the extent of A-Rod's involvement with performance-enhancing drugs and says he shot the New York Yankees third baseman with steroids and instructed him on how to avoid detection.

In a statement released after the arbitrator's ruling was announced, Rodriguez called the evidence against him "false and unreliable.''

Manfred appears on "60 Minutes'' defending the steps MLB took to punish Rodriguez for his involvement with Biogenesis, the since-shuttered clinic accused of dispensing PEDs to players. Those steps included buying Biogenesis documents.

NIGHTENGALE: A-Rod's spotlight has dimmed for good

On Saturday, arbitrator Fredric Horowitz upheld most of MLB's suspension of Rodriguez, reducing it from 211 games to 162, meaning he'll be banned for the 2014 season and postseason. Rodriguez has vowed to take his case to federal court.

The players union, which on Saturday said it disagreed with Horowitz's decision but recognized it as final and binding, was incensed that Manfred and Bosch would take their case to the news media. Other juicy bits to come out in the two-part "60 Minutes'' segment include Manfred's belief that Rodriguez's camp threatened Bosch, and Bosch saying A-Rod would take testosterone lozenges just before games.

"It is unfortunate that Major League Baseball apparently lacks faith in the integrity and finality of the arbitrator's decision and our Joint Drug Agreement, such that it could not resist the temptation to publicly pile-on against Alex Rodriguez,'' the MLBPA statement said. "It is equally troubling that the MLB-appointed Panel Arbitrator will himself be appearing in the "60 Minutes" segment, and that Tony Bosch, MLB's principal witness, is appearing on the program with MLB's blessing.

"MLB's post-decision rush to the media is inconsistent with our collectively-bargained arbitration process, in general, as well as the confidentiality and credibility of the Joint Drug Agreement, in particular. After learning of tonight's "60 Minutes" segment, Players have expressed anger over, among other things, MLB's inability to let the result of yesterday's decision speak for itself. As a result, the Players Association is considering all legal options available to remedy any breaches committed by MLB.''

A little over an hour later, MLB fired off its own PR shot.

"We have notified the Major League Baseball Players Association on numerous occasions that we intended to respond to all of the attacks on the integrity of our Joint Drug Program,'' baseball's statement said. "Those attacks continued yet again yesterday with Mr. Rodriguez's statement. Out of respect to the grievance process and at the request of the MLBPA, we waited until a decision was rendered to make our response.

"It is ironic that the MLBPA is complaining about MLB's participation in this program given that Mr. Rodriguez's lawyer is also participating in the show.

"As to Mr. Bosch's appearance, he is not controlled by us and is entitled to speak however he chooses about his interactions with Mr. Rodriguez."

In one of the more compelling exchanges, Manfred tells reporter Steve Pelley that Bosch feared for his life because of threats made by an associate of Rodriguez's.

"The individual that was of greatest concern to Mr. Bosch,' Manfred said, "was a known associate of Mr. Rodriguez. ... I don't know what Mr. Rodriguez knew. I know that the individual involved has been an associate of Mr. Rodriguez for some time."

Bosch described a scene in which he drew vials of blood from Rodriguez in the bathroom stall of a Miami nightclub after Rodriguez missed an appointment to have his blood tested before going on Bosch's doping plan.

He also cited text messages Rodriguez sent before games asking which substances to take, both for maximum performance and also to avert detection should he be faced with a postgame drug test.

Rodriguez declined to appear on the show, though he was represented by one of his attorneys, Joseph Tacopina.

The jousting both on air and via press release runs counter to the current air of cooperation between MLB and its players' association.

It once was a strained relationship led to eight work stoppages between the early 1970s and mid-1990s, including the 1994 strike that forced the cancellation of the World Series.

But the parties established a much better rapport in recent years, especially after Michael Weiner succeeded Donald Fehr as executive director late in 2009. Weiner died of brain cancer in November and was replaced by former player Tony Clark.

The union's new leadership is now facing its first big challenge with the Rodriguez case, and it has the potential to become a wedge between the players and MLB. The current collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1, 2016.

Alex Rodriguez suspended for 2014 season

Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY Sports

New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez will be suspended for the entire 2014 season, as an independent arbitrator upheld the majority of a 211-game suspension Major League Baseball assessed him in August.

The Satruday ruling by Fredric Horowitz will cost Rodriguez $25 million in salary, and cast considerable doubt over the All-Star's career. Rodriguez will turn 40 during the 2015 season.

Rodriguez, who struck a defiant tone during the year-long saga of the Biogenesis scandal, was upset in a statement released Saturday morning, and indicated he will pursue appealing the ruling in federal court.

"The number of games sadly comes as no surprise, as the deck has been stacked against me from day one," he said. "This is one man's 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. This injustice is MLB's 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 defense by accused players, or any variety of objective review.

"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. No player should have to go through what I have been dealing with, and I am exhausting all options to ensure not only that I get justice, but that players' contracts and rights are protected through the next round of bargaining, and that the MLB investigation and arbitration process cannot be used against others in the future the way it is currently being used to unjustly punish me.

"I will continue to work hard to get back on the field and help the Yankees achieve the ultimate goal of winning another championship. I want to sincerely thank my family, all of my friends, and of course the fans and many of my fellow MLB players for the incredible support I received throughout this entire ordeal."

Horowitz's ruling came after he presided over a dozen sessions involving MLB, Rodriguez and the slugger's legal team. The ruling concludes a saga that lasted a calendar year, beginning in January 2012 when Rodriguez's name emerged with a dozen others in a Miami New Times report on Biogenesis, at that point an obscure wellness clinic in a Coral Gables, Fla. strip mall.

In all, the Biogenesis scandal netted 13 suspensions, the most notable being Rodriguez's year-long ban and the 65-game, season-ending suspension accepted by Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun, like Rodriguez a former MVP.

A dozen

Rodriguez denied any involvement with the clinic or its director, Anthony Bosch, releasing a statement that claimed "Rodriguez was not Mr. Bosch's patient, he was never treated by him and he was never advised by him. The purported documents referenced in the story — at least as they relate to Alex Rodriguez — are not legitimate."

But as documents connected to the clinic continued to surface in news media - one tying 2011 National League MVP Ryan Braun to Bosch - Major League Baseball made it increasingly clear that its investigation of implicated players would be thorough.

So began a saga in which MLB's investigative team and Rodriguez - with the financial might of a $275 million contract - engaged in cloak-and-dagger tactics to glean information on the other and, perhaps most important, obtain potentially incriminating documents.

In October, Rodriguez and his legal team filed suit against Selig and baseball, alleging "tortious interference" and claiming that its lead investigator, Dan Mullin, paid witnesses $150,000 for documents and "engaged in an inappropriate sexual relationship with a witness whom he himself interviewed about the Biogenesis matter."

By then, Rodriguez's 2012 season was over; that he played at all was testament to his willingness to fight, wielding the legal might that a player of his stature has at his disposal.

Hip surgery in January - two weeks before the first Miami New Times Biogenesis report - sidelined Rodriguez through the All-Star break. A quadriceps injury he suffered during a late-July rehab assignment ensured that his game readiness would coincide just as MLB was ready to levy penalties against the 13 players who remained in the Biogenesis crosshairs.

In July, Braun accepted a 65-game, season-ending suspension, an act that seemed to lend credibility to Bosch and the documents MLB obtained. Finally, on Aug. 5, baseball suspended 13 more players - 12 for 50 games, and Rodriguez for 211 games.

In imposing an unprecedented penalty on A-Rod, MLB cited his alleged "use and possession of numerous forms of prohibited performance-enhancing substances, including Testosterone and human Growth Hormone, over the course of multiple years...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 Commissioner's investigation."

As anticipated, Rodriguez appealed the suspension and began his 2013 season. It was an unremarkable campaign - Rodriguez hit .244 with seven home runs in 44 games - that was more notable for Rodriguez's camp sniping at the Yankees and Major League Baseball for their apparent zeal in ensuring he go down.

Eventually, the rancor subsided, and Rodriguez's arbitration hearing was little more than background noise while baseball's October playoff drama unfolded without the Yankees.

Testimony before Horowitz finally concluded Nov. 22, one day after Rodriguez stormed out when the arbitrator ruled Selig did not have to testify.

Rodriguez later called the process "a farce." It finally lurched to a conclusion.

Contributing: Gabe Lacques

Red Sox down Cubs

Sports Network

Chicago, IL —

Fighting back to the majors for the first time since 2010 after a lengthy absence due to shoulder and neck surgeries, 24- year-old Ryan Kalish finally got his opportunity just hours before Boston's interleague series finale against the Cubs.

Fresh off his promotion, Kalish came through with a go-ahead RBI single, which highlighted a three-run top of the seventh inning, as the Red Sox downed Chicago, 7-4, on Sunday.
Kalish was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket prior the contest for Ryan Sweeney, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list with left big toe inflammation.

"That's what baseball's been for years," Kalish said. "People getting hurt and people stepping up."

Making his first start in over two years -- a spot start in place of Josh Beckett -- Franklin Morales fanned nine and surrendered two runs on four hits in five innings. Beckett was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with right shoulder inflammation.

Matt Albers (2-0) picked up the win after allowing a run in the sixth.

David Ortiz smacked two hits, including a solo homer, registered two RBI and a pair of runs scored for the Red Sox, who have won four of their last five games.

Starlin Castro collected three hits and two RBI for the Cubs, who have dropped four of their last five contests.

They fell to 3-15 against left-handed starters.

"Coming into the season, I thought that one of our strong points would be when left-handed pitchers faced our team," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said. "It's not that they're doing horrible, we're just not getting the slugging percentage at all against left-handed pitching, which is holding us back from scoring multiple runs in an inning."

The game was tied 3-3 after six frames, but Boston surged ahead with its three-run seventh.

Darnell McDonald doubled and Jarrod Saltalamacchia -- pinch-hitting for Kelly Shoppach -- singled to put runners on the corners with no outs against Shawn Camp (2-4).

James Russell took over for Camp and was welcomed by Kalish, who lined an RBI single to center. Will Middlebrooks lifted a sacrifice fly to center and Daniel Nava's suicide squeeze gave the Red Sox a 6-3 advantage.

Saltalamacchia's RBI groundout made it 7-3 after eight while David DeJesus's sacrifice fly in the ninth concluded the scoring.

Earlier, an RBI double by Dustin Pedroia and a run-scoring base hit by Ortiz gave Boston a 2-0 lead in the opening frame before Castro's RBI triple in the home half and run-scoring double in the third knotted the game at 2-2.

Boston reclaimed the lead in the fourth when Ortiz belted a solo shot to center, but Chicago, aided by a pair of errors, battled back and squared the contest at 3-3 in the sixth.

Darwin Barney led off and reached base on a fielding error by Kevin Youkilis at third. Later, Barney scampered home from third when Albers' throw to second on a Jeff Baker comebacker to the mound was dropped by shortstop Mike Aviles.

Game Notes

Morales made his last start with Colorado on Apr. 21, 2009 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. All of his 15 career starts prior to tonight's also came with the Rockies. He made 145 straight regular-season appearances out of the bullpen prior to Sunday's game...Boston was 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position while Chicago finished 2-for-12 with RISP.

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