Post by jenny123 on Jan 22, 2014 22:22:01 GMT -5
BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Orioles and centre-fielder Adam Jones have agreed to a US$6.15-million, one-year contract, avoiding arbitration. The club announced the agreement on Tuesday night. Jones made $3.25 million last season, when he hit .280 and set career highs in games (151), doubles (26), homers (25) and RBIs (83). The 26-year-old also stole 12 bases and was voted Most Valuable Oriole by members of the media. Jones was seeking $7.4 million and the Orioles were offering $5 million, but the sides managed to avoid an arbitration hearing scheduled for Friday. Jones can earn performance bonuses of $25,000 each for 620 and 635 plate appearances. If he reaches both totals, he would get to the arbitration midpoint of $6.2 million. Anthony McCoy Super Bowl Jersey . -- Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor broke his left thumb in the first quarter of their 16-7 exhibition loss to the Washington Redskins on Friday night. Walter Thurmond Super Bowl Jersey . Suhs illegal low block in Detroits game on Sunday against Minnesota will be reviewed for potential discipline, NFL spokesman Randall Liu confirmed Monday in an email to The Associated Press. www.authenticseahawksjerseysnfl.com/Seattle-Seahawks_Marshawn-Lynch-Super-Bowl-Jersey/ . Kansas City has been one of the more pleasant surprises in the league this season thanks in part to their play at home, where they are 15-8. However, the road has been a different story, as it owns a major-league worst 3-8 mark and was 0-6 on its last trip that included stops in Cleveland and Texas. Shaun Alexander Jersey . "Im really excited to be back in Toronto," said Sanderson. "The goal is to win a championship and I want to do that for the best organization in the league. Luke Willson Super Bowl Jersey . -- A judge handed New England Patriots cornerback Alfonzo Dennard another year of probation and 30 additional days in jail Thursday as a result of a drinking-and-driving incident in Nebraska last summer.TORONTO -- Defensive tackle Stefan Charles was very good Saturday at the CFL combine. A little too good, actually. The six-foot-five, 324-pound Regina Rams star posted an impressive 37-inch vertical leap before representatives of all nine CFL teams -- including Ottawa, which returns to league next year. But Charles and Calgary Dinos defensive lineman Linden Gaydosh were forced to have their reaches re-measured when some scouts questioned the accuracy of their jumps. Both results were ultimately confirmed as the six-foot-four, 290-pound Gaydosh posted a 33.5-inch leap. This was after posting a personal-best 36 reps in the bench press, second-best among the 55 participants. However those results werent accidental. Both players spent months training specifically to perform well in the combine and impress CFL officials leading up to the leagues draft May 6. "Many years ago no one trained for the combines, they just showed up and tested," said Mike Gough, who put Charles and Gaydosh through their paces this off-season at his facility, Athletic Edge Sports in Brandenton, Fla. "Now, weeks and months go into preparing these athletes for the CFL and NFL combines. "This is just the final product of their preparation and development. Its not fun at all." Athletes typically spend anywhere from six-to-10 weeks at Goughs facility, participating in twice-daily workouts. They work on combine-specific events but also perform drills under the watchful eye of position consultants in addition to receiving interview preparation and mentoring. "For many of them, their first couple of weeks are very rough in terms of what their bodies go through," said Gough, a Toronto native. "But in the end they see the results theyre looking for and as they perform in combines like this they see all their hard work and weeks of preparation pay off. "We do a lot of speed and movement work, we teach them how to run. Many of these kids have never been taught properly how to run efficiently and maximize their speed potential. We put a lot of emphasis on that." Gough also takes a morbid glee in pushing players to their limits. A former football player at Concordia, Gough routinely posts pictures online of athletes on their knees or hunched over, vomiting. "I really push the athletes hard, I really expect a lot from them," Gough said. "I often say to the athletes if they cant handle this theyre never going to handle the pro ranks. "Its a good barometer of where theyre at mentally and makes them mentally tough for pro football." Gaydosh admits his early acclamation to Goughs training methods was difficult. "My first day there I threw up three times doing an upper-body lift," Gaydosh said with a chuckle. "He got me out of my comfort zone pretty quickly. "He doesnt do it to be mean or malicious, he does it because its what he does and he knows its going to get you better. I knew coming in that was probably going to happen and I accepted it and prepared to move on as quickly as poossible.dddddddddddd" Charles, though, refused to give Gough the satisfaction of seeing him lose his lunch. "I wasnt one of those guys," he said proudly. "I mightve crawled a bit after the leg workouts but I didnt vomit." But Gough said his training methods are radically different from those traditionally implemented by football players. "A lot of training at school is strength-based and we do a lot of strength work as well but we also train a lot of movement," he said. "We help these guys get faster and more explosive. "The biggest difference is the training were doing is very intense, its mandatory and they have to do it and were pushing them all the time." Gaydosh, for one, willingly accepted Goughs approach. "I had to change it and do what (Mike) asked because hes the expert," Gaydosh said. "Im always looking for a way to improve my training . . . because it can get stagnant sometimes and you can stop seeing the growth. "Youve got to change it and keep shocking your body with something different and keep it guessing." For Charles, his toughest adjustment was Goughs approach to lower-body workouts. "Those leg days, man," Charles sighed. "We had legs three times a week and he had us doing some crazy things. "Hed run us into the ground . . . a lot of reps." But both said the approach worked. On Saturday, Gaydoshs 36 reps in the bench press beat his previous best of 31. "(Gough) worked on my breathing for the bench press, a proper jumping technique for the broad jump, getting your knees up and tucking through," Gaydosh said. "For the vertical, jumping up and looking at where youre jumping. "Your foot position, whether your hips are opening up for the shuttles. I instantly saw an improvement so it gave me encouragement to keep going." Added Charles: "My 40 time has improved as have all my jumps. Overall, it was a good experience." Gough has operated Athletic Edge Sports for 13 years and also served as a strength coach with NBAs Toronto Raptors and major league baseballs Cleveland Indians. He has trained baseball, hockey, soccer and NCAA football players but admits he has a soft spot for Canadian-born football players. "I really enjoy helping the Canadian athletes improve because I find their training has been limited and they have a huge window for improvement," he said. "I have a huge passion for helping these Canadian kids." Concordia defensive back Kristopher Robertson was the top performer in testing Saturday, posting best efforts in the vertical (43 inches) and standing broad jump (10 feet 5.5 inches). Bishops defensive lineman Elie Ngoyi topped the bench press with 40 reps, tying him with Laurier running back Mike Montoya for the second-most in event history. In 2011, Laurier offensive lineman Mike Knill hit 47 reps. The combine continues Sunday with the 40-yard dash being the marquee individual event before players don pads for one-on-one drills. ' ' '