e war of words, at least temporarily, took

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HOUSTON -- Highly touted prospect George Springer is making his major league debut on Wednesday night, batting second and playing right field for the Houston Astros. Hes the first of a group of top prospects expected to help the Astros back to respectability after three straight 100-loss seasons. But hes trying not to put too much pressure on himself. "I have to understand who I am as a player and I understand what I can do, and just go out there and treat this like its any other game ... and try to help the Houston Astros win," he said. The 24-year-old outfielder had 37 homers and 108 RBIs with 45 stolen bases combined in Double-A and Triple-A last year. He was off to a strong start in Triple-A this season, too, hitting .353 with three homers and nine RBIs. There was a buzz around the ballpark on Wednesday with Springers arrival. The hashtag SpringerDay was trending on Twitter in Houston and fans were excitedly tweeting all day about his debut. General manager Jeff Luhnow was a little giddy about Springers call-up, too. "We dont want to rest all our hopes on one player, but hes a pretty good player and theres more behind him," Luhnow said. "If he does well, I think it will lift our team (which) is now struggling a little bit and lift our citys spirits and give us hope that theres more like him coming. Thats exciting. Thats what weve been working for." Springer was selected 11th overall by the Astros out of UConn in the 2011 amateur draft. Manager Bo Porter said he will be Houstons everyday right fielder. "When you look at ... the production in which hes been putting up and if you look at the woes weve had offensively and trying to get our offence going and having a guy of his calibre that we can plug into our offence, he can definitely help," Porter said. Springer knows people are looking for big things from him, but is careful not to get caught up in the hype. "The goal at the end of the day isnt about the future, it isnt about me, it isnt about anybody else, its about the Houston Astros and thats to go out and win," he said. His parents flew in from Connecticut to be at Wednesdays game and his father raved about his namesake. "Youre going to see some pretty special things out on the field ... his whole approach to the game," the elder George Springer said. "And he has a smile thats as infectious as it is contagious, and Im looking forward to seeing it myself because Im a baseball fan, too." Davon House Jersey .J. Barea during a three-game shooting slump that was getting him booed off his home court with regularity. Ahmad Brooks Jersey . Seriously. Seven years of losing has brought many different faces, players and management, to the annual pre-season get-to-know-the-team round up. http://www.packersshopfootball.com/pack ... ue-jersey/. He spent the rest of the game making up for lost playing time. Green scored a career-high 36 points, including eight in overtime, and the Phoenix Suns beat Denver 112-107 on Tuesday night to hand the Nuggets their fifth consecutive loss. Bryan Bulaga Jersey . Thaddeus Young scored seven of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, Evan Turner added 22 points, and the 76ers hung on for their first road win since Nov. 1, beating the depleted Los Angeles Lakers 111-104 on Sunday night. Reggie White Jersey . The game was the first of two international friendlies that Canada is playing during the international break, with the second game against Slovenia set for Tuesday in Celje. Canada looked uncomfortable defensively throughout the game, and every free kick that came into Canadas penalty box looked like ending up in the back of the net. LAS VEGAS -- The fight isnt until Saturday night but the gloves came off Wednesday in the buildup to UFC 167. "I cant wait to freaking deck the crap out of him," challenger Johny (Bigg Rigg) Hendricks said of UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. "I want his eyes to roll back in his head. Thats my goal." Hendricks, who has said in the past that he has nothing against the Canadian champion, tried to take the edge off those words by saying he approached every bout that way. But the two fighters bickering over drug-testing has been bubbling for some months now and the debate boiled over Wednesday when Hendricks, apparently irate at a comment GSP made in a TV interview minutes earlier, essentially accused St-Pierre of using performance enhancing-drugs. "Have you seen him in the last two months," Hendricks asked. "Hes shrunk a little bit hasnt he?" Hendricks (15-1) also pointed to St-Pierres buff body in the cage after rehydrating following the weigh-in the day before fights. "Check out my pictures, Im fat ... You dont gain 15, 20 pounds and still get that form. Everybody bloats a little bit. You dont put 20 pounds of water in your system without ballooning." Hendricks will weigh in Friday at 170 and then enter the cage Saturday night at around 195-200. The two fighters have been at odds over drug testing with St-Pierre asking Hendricks to sign up for the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association, a Nevada-based non-profit outfit that runs drug-screening programs for athletes, in addition to the normal tests conducted by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. The Hendricks camp eventually declined, explained that they would be at disadvantage because St-Pierre had a relationship with VADA that included being featured on their website. And that the Nevada commission told him not to go with VADA. Hendricks and St-Pierre have been bickering ever since, with St-Pierre even tweeting the results of his test from the WADA-accredited (World Anti-Doping Association) UCLA Olympic Analytical Lab. Hendricks, normally happy and gregarious, adding confrontational to his mood menu Wednesday after hearing second-hand reports that St-Pierre told a TV interviewer to read between the lines, that he was doing additional testing and the challenger wasnt. That quickly mushroomed as Hendricks met the media on the stage of the Hollywood Theatre at the MGM Grand, where magician David Coppefield was to go on stage hours later. "What I dont have respect for is him saying Im on steroids when he knows nothing aboout me," Hendricks said of the champion.dddddddddddd. "Has anybody accused me of steroids? has anybody accused me of being on growth (human growth hormone)? "Hell no. ... Ive been clean my whole entire life. And all of a sudden some dude (who) doesnt know me, hes been accused the last six years of being on something, he picks me and says I must be on something because I dont want to follow the pony train to VADA. Get out of here." While saying he had no proof about St-Pierre, who has also had to endure similar cheating jibes from B.J. Penn and Nick Diaz in the past, Hendricks kept pointing a fuzzy finger. "Who cares. If you want to be on it, be on it. If you dont, who cares. Dont try to drag my name through the mud because the last six years youre too scared to do it." Hendricks also said he just wants to fight the best GSP there is. "If thats on something, thats on something, if its not, its not. Im not sweating." Hendricks did say if he wins Saturday, he will sign up for WADAs rigorous out-of-competition testing with WADA on his own dime. "I win the belt, I have the money, Ill piss. Because like I said I can afford it." The challenger accused St-Pierre of trying to play mind games with him on the eve of the fight. "It gives me a lot of motivation ... The only thing is its going to make me hit him that much harder." The war of words, at least temporarily, took a shine off a long-awaited fight between the champion and No. 1 contender, whose wrestling skills and punching power are seen as a real threat for the title. Hendricks irritation followed a positively serene session with St-Pierre, who was revelling in being able to roll with UFC Hall of Famer Royce Gracie during the public workouts. "He is my idol," St-Pierre said in French after. St-Pierre (24-2) can make history against Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 on Saturday night, becoming the first fighter to record 19 wins in the UFC. The Canadian champion is currently tied with UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes, whom he first beat for the title, at 18 victories. GSP is also tied with former middleweight champion Anderson Silva for most wins in UFC title bouts at 11. And if the Hendricks fight lasts 40 seconds or longer, St-Pierre will surpass B.J. Penns record of five hours three minutes and 51 seconds for career fight time in the UFC The fight card also marks the 20th anniversary of the UFC, which kicked off Nov. 12, 1993, with UFC 1 in Denver. St-Pierre made his UFC debut at UFC 46 in January 2004. Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys 2019 NFL Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale Jerseys 2019 Cheap Jerseys Store Cheap Jerseys Store Cheap Jerseys 2020 ' ' '