A-Rod placed on 15-day DL
NEW YORK (AP) — Alex Rodriguez was placed on the disabled list with a strained left calf on Saturday, taking one of the most potent bats out of the New York Yankees’ lineup just as the AL East pennant race really starts to heat up.
Rodriguez returned to the lineup for Friday night’s series opener against the Seattle Mariners after missing three games with the calf injury. The slugger aggravated it again in his first at-bat, then watched the rest of the game from the dugout.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi said before Saturday’s game that he hoped A-Rod would avoid a stint on the DL. General manager Brian Cashman met with team doctors and trainers later in the day, and they decided that it was best to be cautious.
“He’s not any worse than he was before, we’re just going to play it safe and know we’ll have a player in 15 days,” Girardi said. “We just all felt, you know what? It’s in the best interest to put him on the DL.”
Falcons lose KU product Meier for season
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons have lost a key backup receiver to a season-ending knee injury for the second straight season.
Falcons head coach Mike Smith says the team doesn’t need to look for help.
Rookie Kerry Meier, a fifth-round pick from Kansas, injured his right knee in Thursday night’s 28-10 preseason loss to the New England Patriots. No details of the injury were immediately available. He was placed on injured reserve.
The injury came one year after Harry Douglas, who had been projected as the No. 3 receiver, missed the 2009 season following a knee injury in training camp. The team reacted to the loss of Douglas by signing veterans Marty Booker and Robert Ferguson.
Meier (6-3, 220) was drafted to give the team another big target for quarterback Matt Ryan.
“It’s very tough for Kerry and for our football team,” Smith said. “Kerry had a very solid training camp and was on track to be a contributor this year in a number of areas, not only as a wide receiver but as a special teams player. It’s very unfortunate that we lost him for the season.”
Columnist Mariotti arrested
LOS ANGELES (AP) — ESPN personality and AOL sports columnist Jay Mariotti has been arrested on a felony charge in Los Angeles.
Officer Norma Eisenman says the 51-year-old Mariotti was arrested early Saturday in the police department’s Pacific Division following a “domestic incident.” Eisenman declined to provide further details.
The Sheriff’s Department website confirms Mariotti was booked on an undisclosed felony charge at 5:45 a.m. He was released on $50,000 bail just after noon Saturday.
Mariotti lives in Los Angeles. He is a panelist on the ESPN show “Around the Horn” and writes a regular column for the sports website Fanhouse.com, which is owned by AOL He was a longtime columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times.
ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz declined comment. Calls to AOL were not immediately returned.
