Termine » t ogling the iconic rock, why not hike it? A guide

You say goodbye, and I say hello. -- Noted A-Rod fan Paul McCartneyWill Friday be the last time we ever see Alex Rodriguez on a baseball field? Uh, dont bet your copy of the Biogenesis client list on it.I spent the last few days polling 24 executives from all across baseball. Heres how they voted:? Hell be back: 9? No, he wont: 13? Hell be in some teams camp next spring: 2Of all the surveys Ive ever conducted, in my never-ending quest to get hired some day by the people who call you at home in the middle of dinner every night, this might have been the most fun. Heres what Ive learned:In a shocking development, people feel strongly about this guy! Both ways!On the one hand, there were the never-to-be-seen-again voters. The best word to describe them would be vociferous.Done, said one, succinctly.The second you bring him in, another voter said, it means that every day someones asking the manager: Is A-Rod going to pinch-hit tonight? Its a huge distraction.Hes not a good player, another said.OK, OK. We catch your drift. But then we had our hell-yes-hell-be-back voters. What they saw in that press conference Sunday was a man who was lying through his front molars when he said he was at peace with the Yankees carefully crafted exit plan.Hes four home runs away from a club three players in history have joined, said one exec, in reference to the Bonds/Aaron/Ruth 700-Homer Club. You really think hes just going to go home?Somebody will bring him in to get 700, another said.And then you had your hell-at-least-show-up-in-spring-training voters, like the exec who quipped: Anyone, including Garth Brooks and Will Ferrell, can play in a spring training game.But if there was one overriding sentiment emanating from the we-havent-seen-the-last-of-him crowd, it was summed up by this exec:The Miami Marlins will take him, he said. One hundred percent chance.The Miami Marlins will take him? For everyone who has noticed this is a popular theory on talk radio and social media platforms from coast to coast, youll be delighted to learn its just as popular a theory in baseball front offices.Of the nine voters who dont think this is the end, five of them predicted Rodriguez would be a Marlin by next spring at the latest. And even a couple of the thats-a-wrap voters said that if A-Rod winds up anywhere, it would be Miami.So why Miami? Thats like asking Jerry Seinfeld: Why the Mets? Because some things are just meant to be, right?? Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria is a native New Yorker and has had a longtime affection for displaced Yankees icons.? Speaking of which, Lorias manager, Don Mattingly, happens to be -- guess what? -- a displaced Yankees icon. Who knows A-Rod well, by the way.? This was the team that brought in Barry Bonds as hitting coach. So you really think these guys would be afraid of the A-Rod circus? Yeah, sure.? If theres any other place in North America thats not known as New York, where people might actually buy tickets and cheer A-Rod, its Miami. Where he lives. Where he fits right in on the streets of South Beach. Where the University of Miamis baseball stadium bears his name. And where, of course, displaced Yankees fans go to work on their tanning skills.So theres a big difference, said the exec who first advanced this theory, between Alex Rodriguez in Miami and Alex Rodriguez in Texas or Cleveland or anywhere else.Theres also one more reason that maybe isnt so obvious. A-Rods friends say he wants to buy a team. Theres speculation that Loria will look to sell his team in the next few years. So you connect the dots.But now that weve lined up all the reasons this clearly has to happen, its time to look at the other side. Which can be summed up with this question: Have you watched this guy play lately?Hes 3-for-31 since the All-Star break. Hes hitting .108 when he falls behind in the count. Hes batting .149 vs. relief pitchers, .150 against power pitchers and .179 against pitches 94 mph or harder.So if youre a National League team thinking hed be a threat to come off the bench late in a game and hit a long ball, this would seem to be excellent evidence that hes getting totally overmatched by exactly the sort of pitchers he would face late in a game.Hes got to cheat so bad to hit a fastball, its scary, one scout said. And if you dont know that, youre not paying attention. If you just execute a pitch, hes out.My good friend Buster Olney theorized the other day that if the Marlins signed A-Rod, he could spend the winter gearing up to be a part-time first baseman against left-handed pitching. Which makes sense -- except that this fellow has started exactly two games in the field since 2013. And when the Yankees gave him a chance to try his hand at first base last year, that experiment was over within two weeks, by mutual decision.I saw him over there in spring training, and he was really bad, said the same scout. And I was at the one regular-season game (April 11, 2015) he started at first. They could have charged him with three errors. Thats how bad it went. I still remember his comment: This is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.So is there any evidence at all that A-Rod can play first base, even part-time? At age 41? If there is, its based on nostalgia, not on actual real-life facts.Finally, theres one last indication that the most likely outcome here is, to quote the New York Daily News brilliant back-page headline, A-Dios. Other teams say the Yankees called around aggressively a couple of weeks back, trying to convince every club in baseball to take A-Rod off their hands. They were willing to pay all the money except the prorated minimum. They wanted virtually nothing back.From what we can deduce (since hes still in New York), every team in baseball said, No, thanks. From what we also can deduce, the Marlins would have to have been one of those teams. Which means they also must have said, No, thanks.So who does that leave -- the Nippon-Ham Fighters? One AL exec walked us through every team in the American League and laid out all the reasons A-Rod didnt fit with any of them. Then he turned to the jury (namely, yours truly) and rested his case.I dont see it, he said. I actually kind of hope someone signs him. But I just dont see it.Yeah, but amazingly, 46 percent of the voters in our little pool do see it -- as a spring training sideshow if nothing else. So have we witnessed the last of A-Rod? Maybe not.Remember, said one of our voters, nobody grows up dreaming of being in the 3,000-Hit, 696-Home Run Club. Nike Air Max Free Shipping Worldwide . 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RIO DE JANEIRO -- With the Olympics just a few weeks away, Brazil faces a litany of problems: an economy in freefall, the Zika virus and a political crisis with an impeached president. But for those brave -- or foolhardy -- enough to make the trip, Rio de Janeiro is a city rich with potential rewards. Broadcasters have already deemed the citys backdrop for the Summer Games the most telegenic ever. But no matter how good this teeming seaside metropolis -- where the urban jungle and the literal jungle meet -- looks on TV, footage simply cant compare with the experience of actually being here.Heres a Q&A on tips for visiting Rio, from staying safe to samba parties:---Q: Is Rio safe?A: With an estimated 85,000 police and soldiers patrolling the streets during the games -- twice the security contingent in London in 2012 -- Olympic and local officials have insisted Rio will be the safest city on earth during the Aug. 5-21 games. Still, violent crime is a fact of life in this city, starkly divided between haves and have nots, so its best to keep a low profile.For Cariocas, as Rios 6 million residents are called, low-key dressing is de rigueur for both safety and practicality. Havaianas, the Brazilian flip-flop brand, are Rios uncontested footwear of choice. And the citys golden-sand beaches make board shorts and T-shirts, or hot pants and tank tops, a uniform for rich and poor alike. (While Rios Southern Hemisphere winters tend to be mild, thermometers can dip in August into what Cariocas consider the bone-chilling depths of the mid-60s, so pack a sweater or light jacket.)Watches and jewelry not clearly made from plastic are best avoided, as is using cellphones in public or conspicuously carrying camera equipment. Electronics are extremely expensive in Brazil, and a smartphone can cost several months worth of salary for locals, so its best to keep them under wraps.If you do get mugged, dont react or fight. Hand over your possessions calmly and without hesitation. Its only money and/or stuff. And no matter how much of a pain the ensuing nightmare of card cancellations proves, its not worth getting injured.---Q: Do people speak English?A: In a word, no. Outside Olympic venues and high-end hotels and restaurants, most Cariocas only speak Portuguese, though they might know a few words of English or Spanish. On the other hand, most people are eager to help foreigners and will resort even to pantomime to get their point across.---Q: Whats for dinner?A: If you go to one of the myriad churrascaria (shoe-hass-car-EE-ya) all-you-can-eat Brazilian barbeque joints, the answer is meat, meat and more meat. Roving waters brandishing spits stacked with cuts of prime beef, lamb chops, pork sausages and even wizened black chicken hearts will insist on refilling your plate till you verge on bursting.For vegetarians or those recovering from a meat overdose, options are limited. Best bets include corner juice bars offfering a cornucopia of freshly squeezed tropical fruit juices, as well as acai (ah-sa-EE) -- a deep purple Amazonian palm berry thats frozen, blended and served slushy.dddddddddddd---Q: Is there public transportation?A: The citys metro line is being extended to serve the beachfront Leblon neighborhood and reach the far-western Barra da Tijuca neighborhood, where Olympic Park is located. But the project is behind schedule and may not be finished in time for the games. Buses are confusing, packed, dangerous and generally best avoided. Cabs are plentiful and decently reliable -- just make sure your cabby turns headlights on after dark. (Many wont.)---Q: Besides sports, what is there to do in Rio during the games?A: Plenty. And the good news is, the best things in Rio are free.Rio was hard hit by the recession, with the economy shrinking last year by 4 percent, sending unemployment and inflation soaring. The nosedive of the local currency, the real, has made Rio much cheaper for visitors spending dollars or euros. But the cost of hotels and restaurants can still be shocking. Savvy travelers can staunch the bloodletting by taking advantage of the citys many free attractions:-Sugarloaf Mountain: The sheer granite outcropping that presides over the waters of the Guanabara Bay will no doubt prove a breathtaking backdrop for the Olympic sailing races. But rather than just ogling the iconic rock, why not hike it? A guide is necessary to scale the Sugarloaf itself, but its stumpier twin, the Morro da Urca, is doable without help. A mud path winds through tropical vegetation to a summit with peerless views over the citys dense patchwork of towers, hillside favela slums and mist-enshrouded rainforest.-Sunset at Arpoador: Take in the suns spectacular nightly performance as it sinks into the Atlantic from atop the Arpoador rock formation in between Copacabana and Ipanema Beaches. The crowd there raucously applauds the glittering show, night after night.-Pedra do Sal: Experience a roda de samba, or live samba music, at the birthplace of Brazils most famous musical genre. Monday nights bring hordes of aficionados to this former slave market in the Gamboa region of historic downtown for an open-air dance party.-Centro: Rios beaches tend to steal the thunder, but the Centro downtown region, where the city got its start 451 years ago, is a treasure trove of colonial-era churches and historic monuments. Perhaps the most stunning among them is the Mosteiro Sao Bento, a Baroque church and working monastery where monks perform Gregorian chants during Sunday Mass. Get there early to snag a seat. Also in Centro is the Portuguese Royal Reading Room, a 19th century gem of soaring jacaranda hardwood bookshelves and stained glass windows, tucked into the newly rehabilitated Praca Tirdentes. cheap falcons jerseys cheap ravens jerseys cheap bills jerseys cheap bears jerseys cheap bengals jerseys cheap cowboys jerseys cheap lions jerseys cheap texans jerseys cheap colts jerseys cheap jaguars jerseys cheap chiefs jerseys cheap rams jerseys cheap dolphins jerseys cheap vikings jerseys cheap saints jerseys cheap giants jerseys cheap jets jerseys cheap eagles jerseys cheap steelers jerseys cheap 49ers jerseys ' ' '