ekansekans's blog: "df"

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers arent ready to part ways with Hines Ward just yet. Terrell Suggs Youth Jersey . General manager Kevin Colbert said Monday the team has had "internal discussions" on what to do with the franchises all-time leading receiver, but no decision has been made. NFL.com reported last week the Steelers were planning to release the 35-year-old Ward, who took on a diminished role last season behind Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders. Ward posted on his Facebook page Saturday that hes willing to restructure his contract in hopes of finishing his career with Pittsburgh. Ward has two years remaining on his current deal at a cost of about US$4 million a season. The 14-year veteran became the eighth player in NFL history to reach 1,000 career receptions last season. Terrell Suggs Jersey . Among the topics discussed were a potential deal for Carey Price and the frontrunner for Roberto Luongo. Jonathan Quick gets a lucrative 10-year contract so is it now Carey Prices turn? Bob McKenzie: I dont think theres any question that Carey Price is next up on the tee. Joe Flacco Jersey . The win put a damper on the celebration of Ryan Brauns NL MVP and Silver Slugger awards. The Brewers slugger received his trophies in a pregame ceremony. Guthrie (2-1) got the better of Yovani Gallardo in a matchup of opening-day starters, surrendering one run and three hits in seven innings. http://www.shopthebaltimoreravens.com/ed-reed-jerseys . Handzus scored the only goal of the shootout Monday night as the San Jose Sharks erased some bad memories with a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks. Ray Rice Youth Jersey . Leyland was named the 36th manager in team history back in October, 2005, and has engineered a turnaround for the franchise, which infamously lost 119 games in 2003. Now in his fourth season on the bench, Leyland has compiled a 292-260 mark, with an appearance in the 2006 World Series. Ray Rice Elite Jersey .C. Lions have invited Vancouver Island Raiders quarterback Jordan Yantz to rookie camp, which starts on May 31. HOUSTON -- The shortest player in the majors is a big reason the Houston Astros are finding some success early in the season. Jose Altuve, all of five-foot-five entered Thursday ranked fourth in the National League with a .358 batting average. He was first in the NL with 13 multihit games and third with 34 hits. Altuve has the best batting average and most hits for a second baseman in either league, and his .404 on-base percentage is also tops at his position. Hes already gained a fan in Craig Biggio, who spent most of his two decades with the Astros manning second base before retiring in 2007. Biggio currently works for the Astros as a special assistant to the general manager. "He doesnt let his size get in the way, and thats what I love about him the most," Biggio said. "He plays like hes 6-4. He plays the game the right way, and hes pretty good at it." Quiet and modest, the Venezuelan still seems to be getting used to the fact that hes not only in the majors, but is one of the leading hitters in the NL. The baby-faced Altuves eyes light up when hes asked about keeping pace with some of the stars of the game so far this season. "When we go to other fields and they have the top hitters in the National League on the board and I see guys like Matt Kemp and David Wright and those guys are like superstar guys that I used to watch on TV, and now Im with them and I think thats really good," he said. The 21-year-old Altuve is also the youngest player on a team filled with young players, and one of the youngest in all of baseball. "Weve always felt he was mature beyond his years," Houston manager Brad Mills said. "But when youre in a situation where youre seeing him make adjustments from at-bat to at-bat, from pitcher to pitcher, thats been really impressive." Altuve never played in Triple-A and all of his 35 games in Double-A came last season before he joined the Astros in July. Despite his batting .361 with five homers, 25 RBIs and 52 hits in Double-A, many doubted that he could succeed in the majors because of his size. "Everywhere I go, I know people are going to talk about my height, but that just encourages me to keep playing hard and prove to everybody thatt short guys can play too," Altuve said. Ray Rice Jersey. It didnt take long for Altuve to quell some of the doubt. He hit .359 through his first 11 games last season and entered September with a .305 average. He slowed down a bit in the last month of the season, hitting just .209. It was that tough month that taught him a lesson he believes has propelled him to this seasons hot start. "When I came here last year in the beginning everything was good, but like half of the season they started throwing pitches that I didnt want and I kept swinging," he said. "When I went back home I started thinking about adjustments. Theyve made that adjustment and now its time for me to do it." Altuve never looks big on the field, but he looked especially tiny on Tuesday night when he faced Mets reliever Jon Rauch, who at 6-11 is the tallest player in major league history. Tim Collins, a 5-7 pitcher for the Royals, is the only other player on an active roster listed below 5-8, and there are only a handful of players that size, notably Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia and Phillies star Jimmy Rollins. Mills, who was the bench coach for the Red Sox before joining the Astros, said Altuves play and attitude remind him a lot of Pedroia. "Dustin really took care of his body because he was (smaller) than everyone else," Mills said. "The bigger guys can dive head first and tear their bodies up and they can take it, but the little guys cant." Altuve leads a core of young talent the Astros are hoping to build their team around. At 11-14, the Astros arent off to a great start, but the solid play of Altuve, Jordan Schafer and J.D. Martinez has Houston optimistic that the team is much better than last season when it finished a franchise-worst 56-106. "Theres so many young guys that are working together right now to help the team win, and I think thats real exciting and I feel real good about that," Altuve said. "When you see the roster, you see a lot of young guys that are trying to prove themselves and show that they belong here. So its really fun right now." Houston was off Thursday and takes a three-game winning streak into Fridays game against St. Louis. ' ' '