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All-Star closer Francisco Rodriguez returned to New York Mets camp on Monday after being hampered by conjunctivitis for more than two weeks.

Rodriguez had been told to stay away from the team until the pink eye cleared, but the contagious infection took longer than expected to improve. He was sick when he reported to New York’s spring facility, but it went undiagnosed until just before full-squad workouts began Feb. 25.

The right-hander said he went to the doctor on Friday and was cleared to return Monday, although he still is infected. He continues to take eye drops and isn’t allowed to wear contacts yet.

“It feels much better,” Rodriguez said. “It’s still a little uncomfortable, but it’s good to be around. I was cleared to be around the guys, so it’s fine.”

While away from the team, Rodriguez was limited to playing catch with his brother, Edward, in the driveway of the closer’s home. But Rodriguez is not worried about his progress. He said he probably only needs one bullpen session before pitching in a game, and is looking forward to getting back into a regular routine.

Rodriguez last stepped on a mound about a week ago when he emerged from hiding for a light bullpen session.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

Alex Rodriguez says he is “at ease, no matter what” with his relationship with a Canadian sports doctor embroiled in a cross-border drug smuggling investigation involving human growth hormone and another drug.

Rodriguez told reporters Tuesday at the Yankees spring training complex that he still does not know when he will be interviewed by federal authorities. The slugger said last week he was “aware” of the investigation and plans to cooperate with the government.

When asked if he is choosing not to talk or has been told not to speak, Rodriguez laughed and says he “thinks the latter.”

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

It was either an itchy trigger finger or some newly discovered Canadian mean streak that caused highlights of Canada’s Olympic glory – culminating, of course, in Sidney Crosby’s overtime goal against the United States – to be displayed during “The Star-Spangled Banner” in this rink Tuesday night.

Something less than a gracious welcome. But then, Ryan Callahan wasn’t the most polite guest, either.

Fresh off his first Olympic Games and the stinging loss to Canada that he called “the best game I’ve ever played in,” Callahan played one of his finest games this season, scoring twice in a four-goal second period that carried the Blueshirts to a 4-1 season-reopening victory over the Senators. The game was the Rangers’ first in 16 days, but technically it was their third straight win and fourth in five games – a mini-surge that, who knows, might tempt cap-strapped Glen Sather into purchase mode ahead of today’s 3 p.m. trade deadline.

If things are going to break right for the Rangers in the final six weeks of the regular season, there were omens good and bad last night. The good was their 60-minute effort following the long layoff, and their second-period outburst that started with Callahan’s highlight-reel tally 22 seconds in and including scores from Brandon Dubinsky and Sean Avery.

Click here to read the full article – By New York Daily News

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Want to sum up the last few years for Rick DiPietro and the Islanders?

The goalie entered the NHL’s two-week Olympic break with his surgically repaired knee in good shape and not having missed a practice due to injury since returning on Jan. 6. And now, on the eve of the team’s return to the ice tonight against Chicago at the Coliseum, he’s out indefinitely with swelling in the knee.

Still, the 28-year-old was not terribly discouraged by the news, saying tests showed yesterday that everything is fine structurally with the knee.

“It’s precautionary,” DiPietro said after returning to the team’s practice facility after practice, where he worked out. “After seven or eight days off, to kick it back into full gear might have irritated it a little bit. There’s nothing major to report, just the stuff that goes along with the territory of coming back from a serious injury.”

DiPietro reported he had no problems after Sunday’s practice, which he participated in fully, but that his knee stiffened late Sunday and yesterday morning.

Click here to read the full article – By New York Post

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Martin Brodeur noted that the Olympic gold medal he picked up in Vancouver on Sunday is larger and heavier than the one he won with Canada in 2002.

That’s because he sat on the bench as the backup to Roberto Luongo for the last four games, including Sunday’s 3-2 overtime win over the U.S. in the gold-medal game.

“It’s hard,” Brodeur said Monday after rejoining his Devils’ teammates in San Jose to prepare for tonight’s season reopener against the Sharks. “When you don’t play, you don’t feel as much a part of the team. I really embraced it as much as I could because I think this was the right thing to do.”

It might be difficult for some to come back from the emotional experience of the Olympics, but Brodeur doesn’t believe that will be a problem for him.

“It’s been over for a week for me, so I’m not in an Olympic mode, that’s for sure,” he said. “I’m excited to get back. This is our family. This is what we do.”

Click here to read the full article – By Bergen Record

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If you’re looking for that glimmer of playoff hope, beyond two wins in a row, as the Rangers’ players and coaches go their separate ways for the two-week Olympic break, it is this:

One of their chief rivals in the race — the Tampa Bay Lightning — shared the Garden ice with the Rangers on Sunday, and let’s just say that both teams showed how typical they are of the bottom two-thirds of the East. Inconsistent. At times lousy. Sometimes putrid.

The Rangers got down by two goals, skating at about three-quarters speed and were booed off the ice after the first period of a game that the NHL should be thankful wasn’t on network TV.

“We stunk,” coach John Tortorella said. “We got booed off the ice, and we deserved to be booed off the ice.”

The Rangers then scored four in a row in the second, including a highlight Sean Avery penalty shot, for a 5-2 victory, their third in four games.

Click here to read the full article – By Rick Carpinello of The Journal News

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The Islanders wanted to finish strong before the Olympic break.

After taking a 3-1 lead into the third, the Isles failed to convert a minute-long 5-on-3 to start the final period and then allowed three straight goals to fall to Ottawa, 4-3, yesterday at the Coliseum.

“It’s frustrating,” said Blake Comeau, who saw the first two-goal game of his career go to waste. “The playoff race is tight from 12th all the way to sixth. These were two points we definitely needed. It’s going to be a big stretch when we get back.”

The Isles, six points out of the final playoff spot, have 20 games after the two-week break, which Scott Gordon and Mark Streit will spend at least part of in Vancouver. Gordon — who was a backup goalie on the 1992 US team that lost the bronze medal game to Czechoslovakia — is an assistant to Ron Wilson on the US staff and Streit is the Swiss captain.

Click here to read the full article – By New York Post

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The Devils will return a different team than the one that skidded into the Olympic break. Whether they’ll be better depends on whether coach Jacques Lemaire can restrain himself and un-burn them out.

They’ll be better just for the returns from fractures of Paul Martin and David Clarkson, better for the further acclimation of Ilya Kovalchuk, and better for the trade that sources told The Post general manager Lou Lamoriello is still pursuing for another center.

Lamoriello, sources say, was in the hunt for Matt Cullen, who went to Ottawa from Carolina, and has made inquiries about Matt Stajan, who left Toronto for Calgary. His interest in a center is a certainty.

Another forward, Alexei Ponikarovsky, who plays like a center, is likely to be moved out of Toronto, and he may be the best they had. There has been speculation, idle or not, from NHL team officials that he could be Jersey-bound.

Click here to read the full article – By New York Post

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Would-be starters Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson are out of the NBA All-Star Game.

Jason Kidd of the hometown Dallas Mavericks has been chosen to replace Bryant. New York’s David Lee is replacing Iverson.

An ankle injury has prevented Bryant from playing in the Los Angeles Lakers’ past three games. Iverson has missed Philadelphia’s last five games because one of his young children is ill.

Both informed the league on Thursday that they needed to withdraw from Sunday’s game, sources said.

NBA commissioner David Stern, who makes all selections on All-Star injury replacements, then chose Kidd to make his 10th All-Star appearance. Kidd — who ranks fifth in the league in assists (9.3 per game) — had already left Dallas to begin an All-Star break vacation in the Phoenix area and is expected to fly back to Dallas on Friday.

Click here to read the full article – By Marc Stein of ESPN.com

Marian Gaborik missed his third game of the season when the Rangers hosted the Predators on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

“He’s day to day,” coach John Tortorella said. “In talking to Rammer [trainer Jim Ramsey] last night, it wasn’t a good chance because it just swelled up. It’s a pretty nasty gash. We’re fortunate it wasn’t more serious than it was. I think, after a couple of days, it’ll calm down, the swelling. So, hopefully, he’ll be ready to play in Pittsburgh.”

The Rangers face the Penguins on Friday night as two games remain before the Olympic break.

Tortorella said deciding to rest Gaborik – a key player for Slovakia in the Olympics – for these last two games is not a consideration.

“Not a chance,” Tortorella said. “If he can play, he’ll play. He’s our best player.”

Gaborik has 35 goals and 34 assists and is on a five-game point streak with six goals and two assists in that span.

He was injured during a shootout drill when Lundqvist came out of the crease to poke the puck. Gaborik attempted to jump over the sliding goalie but Lundqvist’s skate caught Gaborik’s right leg. Gaborik lay on the ice for about a half a minute before skating gingerly to the bench.

“We didn’t know if he was joking with Hank or not,” said center Erik Christensen, who had Chris Drury on his right wing instead of Gaborik against the Predators.

Click here to read the full article – By Bergen Record

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