Green sheds light on Kawhi rift, says Spurs doc messed up on him
Danny Green says Kawhi was not the only Spur misdiagnosed by team physicians
While Kawhi Leonard was questioning if the San Antonio Spurs had correctly diagnosed his quadracep, a teammate, Danny Green, was trusting the team’s medical staff’s advice to play through a groin injury he suffered on Dec. 8. “A slight strain,” they called it. But at times he suspected it was worse than that. Green missed 5 games but then returned to the lineup. “Certain days I’d have bad days,” Green told ESPN’s Michael Wright. “Some days would be good.” He said his agent, Joe Branch, told him: “Maybe we should get a second opinion.” But Green would not take the step Leonard did of consulting doctors outside of San Antonio. Leonard’s disenchantment with the Spurs’ medical practices was the beginning of his rift with the team he led to a championship. The Spurs last week traded both Leonard and Green to the Toronto Raptors for DeMar DeRozan and others. Green learned from a postseason MRI that the slight strain was actually a tearing of tissue. Now, seven months later, he’s second-guessing himself for no second opinion. He wonders if his body has been damaged because of the underdiagnosis. “I should of, could of, gotten a second opinion. I see where Kawhi is coming from when he got his second opinion. . . . Not to say the Spurs staff is not up to par, it’s just that not everybody is a specialist in every area. . . . I think it would have been nice to see a specialist.”
Dear Danny: Remains to be seen if you limited your career by soldiering through the second half of last season. Unfortunately you weren’t much of a runner or dribbler BEFORE the injury, and now you’re 31. San Antonio would never give you much love ever since you posted on Twitter a selfie where you looked a little too satisfied in front of the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin.
Syndergaard goes to disabled list with hand- mouth-and-foot disease
New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard will miss at least two starts because of hand, mouth and foot disease, which usually afflicts only children under the age of 5. He suspects he caught it from kids at a summer baseball camp. He developed shortness of breath and blistering on his right hand. But he maintained his sense of humor, tweeting, “Looking forward to traveling with the team this week.” He posted a video of a someone walking down the aisle wearing a contagion-proof hazmat suit.
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Scherzer, Strasburg in heated argument in Nationals dugout
The top two pitchers for the Washington Nationals, Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, were seen on television cameras in a heated argument in their dugout. Strasburg failed to make it through the fifth inning of Friday’s 8-5 loss to Atlanta, and Scherzer offered support – or perhaps it was more tough love. At any rate, Strasburg did not appreciate his input. When questioned by reporters, he said, “Part of a family,” and nothing more. “It was miscommunication,” Scherzer said. “End of story.” Manager Dave Martinez spoke with the pitchers for about 20 minutes after the game and said, “We had a very good conversation, I’ll just say that.”
Between the Lines: Nationals insiders see this spat as a positive development, showing that the players are upset over the team struggling to exceed .500. Since they play the same position and are never on the field together, this is not likely to cause a major chemistry problem.
Ortiz says Royals prospect Matias ‘reminds me of young Sammy Sosa’
David Ortiz, who managed the World team in the Futures All-Star Game, saw vast power potential in Seuly Matias, 19-year-old Dominican outfielder in the Kansas City Royals organization. “The kid reminds me of young Sammy Sosa,” said Ortiz, retired slugger of the Boston Red Sox. “Same body, same wild swing, running into something.” At 6-3, 200 pounds, Seuly is 3 inches taller than the former Chicago Cubs outfielder who hit 609 home runs. Sosa and Ortiz were both born in the Dominican Republic. Matias homered in the Futures Game in Nationals Park, and he leads the minor leagues in home runs, with 26 for Class A Lexington.
Between the Lines: Only drawback is that Matias is hitting .213. But as Ortiz noted: “When you’re 16 and you’re working out for the scouts in the Dominican, they don’t ask you to hit to the opposite field. They just want to know how far you can hit the ball.”
Eddie Pepperell plays British Open with a hangover and shoots final-round 67
Eddie Pepperell, 27-year-old English golfer, shot the best round in the windy final day of the British Open, to finish in a 6th-place tie with Tiger Woods and Kevin Chappell. But Pepperell played with an unusual handicap. “I was a little hung over, I won’t lie,” he told reporters. “I had too much to drink last night.” He was disappointed with his third-round 71 in ideal weather. “Drank some wine with my coach,” he said, referring to Simon Shanks – “great name for a golf coach.” He pointed out that Shanks has an assistant named Matt Hacking. Pepperell said he and Shanks “drowned our sorrows for half an hour and had a good chat with a few people. Today I didn’t feel I was in the golf tournament. As it happens, I shot 67. It’s a funny game.” Pepperell has a habit of revealing surprising things about himself, such as the fact that he did not practice during the week of the Open. “The beauty of having no sponsors,” he said, “is that you can say what you think.”
Dear Eddie: The idea is to win the Claret Jug, not to drink it. What sort of reflection is this on your coach?
UNC coach Fedora says football’s link to brain injury has not been established
Larry Fedora, University of North Carolina football coach, is a concussion denier. Speaking at the Atlantic Coast Conference kickoff media event, Fedora said “I’m not sure” the link between football and traumatic brain disease has been established. Fedora fears that because of rule changes to promote safety, football will be unrecognizable in ten years. “If it does” he said, “our country will go down too.” He said he’s spoken to American soldiers who say much of the country’s military success is due to football players enlisting.
NASCAR considering adding dirt-track race to Monster Energy Cup series
Tony Stewart, 3-time NASCAR Cup champion, wants to add a dirt-track race to the Monster Energy Cup series. No Cup race has occurred on a dirt track since 1970, but Stewart is pushing for the half-mile track he owns, Eldora Speedway, near Rossburg, Ohio. The 2019 NASCAR schedule has been set, for both the premier series, Monster Energy Cup, and the lesser circuit, Xfinity. So a stock-car race at Eldora cannot occur before 2020. Dale Earnhardt Jr. supports Stewart in his quest, and so does Kyle Busch, a master of short-track racing. Joey Logano told USA Today: “Every sport is going to make changes. We have to keep up with the times. . . . If you want to go dirt racing, strap in, let’s go.” But NASCAR driver Kyle Larson Jr., a frequent dirt-track racer, is opposed to adding that element to the Monster Energy Cup. “Xfinity maybe, but I wouldn’t like to see Cup on dirt,” he said. Richard Petty, who won the last dirt-car Cup race, does not want to see another one. “That would be like bringing the Carolina Panthers to play at Randleman High School. We’ve elevated beyond that.” Brad Keselowski said a dirt race is feasible for NASCAR, but that first, better tires must be developed for the dirt surface.
Between the Lines: NASCAR attendance and TV viewership have been declining for two decades, so the sport is looking for something new to add interest.