d. . Right-handed reliever Luke Gregerson (left oblique strain) was scheduled to throw off a mound,

LOS ANGELES -- He took the field wearing generic baseball clothes -- white pants, navy shirt, navy cap -- looking like a guy in a commercial for a product that is not an official sponsor of Major League Baseball. He ran fast, especially for a 255-pound man with, as the press information helpfully included, 7.3 percent body fat. He threw the ball from the outfield about like an above-average high school player, and he caught fly balls with two hands, as you no doubt expected he would.This is Tim Tebow, in front of talent evaluators from 28 major league teams, standing alone on the USC baseball field with the sun beating down on him, trying to do something it would be all too easy to ridicule.The event was suffused with an unearned air of seriousness. More than 200 people -- scouts, media, helpers -- strode onto the outfield grass to watch him run a 60-yard dash. They stood in center field and down the left-field line while he fought his own feet and muscled his way through a series of throws from right field. They wrote stuff down. They thought about it. They said things like, Hes clearly very athletic, even though that wasnt ever the question.And afterward, his coach Chad Moeller testified to Tebows determination and commitment, as coaches have been doing for more than a decade, and marveled at the effort it takes to get the bat out of his hands when he has had enough for the day. At one point, to demonstrate his commitment to the cause, Tebow opened his hands to allow doubters to gaze upon his bat-callused palms.?Its probably best to leave that symbolism alone.The one thing everybody wanted to know can be condensed into one word: Why? Why would a 29-year-old football icon who hasnt played baseball since his junior year in high school put himself through this? Why would he enter the public forum and subject himself to the snide and withering comments of people who know how hard it is to play this game for money?In some form or another, he was asked those questions. As you might expect, he issued a passionate and fierce rendition of, Why not?The goal would be to have a career in the big leagues, he said. The pursuit of it is to give it all you can, be the best you can, be someone to pursue what I feel passionate about. People will say, What if you fail? What if you dont make it? Guess what? I dont have to live with regret. I did everything I could. I pushed it. I would rather be someone who can live with peace and no regret rather than being so scared I didnt make the effort.Once he got rolling, even the most skeptical among us was at least glancing at the cage, wondering if we should grab a bat and give it a try. Asked about the skeptics, those who question his motivation or suggest a thirst for publicity, those who decry the fact that 28 teams sent people to watch a 29-year-old guy who hasnt played since his junior year in high school when players with real talent cant get a look, Tebow said, Im thankful they dont get to make the choices for my life.He kept going. Its what he does. He didnt have to either, because he could have mouthed a few platitudes and it probably wouldnt have affected the decision of some team to put him in a minor league uniform for a few months, if only to sell a few million dollars worth of T-shirts.With Tebow, youre encouraged to distrust your eyes. Yeah, he looked like a tight end in the outfield, falling down at one point picking up a ball off the warning track. He couldnt pull a pitch from former big leaguers Chad Smith and David Aardsma. He two-hopped a throw from medium right to third base, and it was up the line, too.But then the man starts talking, and you wonder if maybe you were wrong. Maybe you were being too harsh. After all, he did hit a few batting-practice fastballs high into the trees beyond right field. Maybe this, this mixed bag of results at the end of several months of work, is just the first step toward this man proving everyone wrong. You come away thinking, Damn, does this guy ever try. And does he ever care. He is the most overtly trying-est and caring-est dude of his generation.If you fail, if you fall on your face, thats OK, he said. When did that become such a bad thing? When did pursuing what you love become a bad thing, regardless of the result?In January, Tebow was working out on the USC practice football field, next to the baseball field. After he finished his workouts with quarterback coach Tom House, Tebow would wander over to the baseball field, where a group of major and minor league players were getting ready for spring training.Ryan Rowland-Smith, a former Seattle Mariners reliever, was one of the players working out. They werent really interested in Tebow; they were there to get ready for spring training. It was serious business. But Tebow kept hanging around, picking up bats and wondering if he could take a few swings.I could tell he wanted to have a hit, Rowland-Smith said. He kept asking. You know, guys are trying to get their work in. They want to face good hitters to get ready. He just kept talking about the itch.Its impossible to know what was going on over on the football field with Tebow and House going through drills to improve Tebows delivery for roughly the millionth time. Quick release, elbow up -- whatever it was, you have to figure, in the quiet of January, those drills pushed Tebow closer to the realization that he would never again play quarterback in the NFL. And so he drifted over to the baseball field, with nothing more than high school credentials to his name, asking for a turn.And one day Rowland-Smith relented. Like a guy letting his little brother have a turn, he told Tebow to get in the batters box. He threw him a few fastballs at about 80 percent, and when Tebow squared one up, Rowland-Smith, a left-hander, broke off a curve.He missed it by three feet, Rowland-Smith said. He was serious, and so was I. I wanted to get my work in, so I threw a breaking ball. Not a great one, not a bad one. When I face hitters, 30 seconds into it I can tell the difference between a pro hitter and someone who isnt.He lets that hang there. Hes not making judgments, just telling a story. If he wasnt Tim Tebow, there wouldnt be people out there to watch him, Rowland-Smith says. But more power to him. People are drawn to him.Tebow might have given up on that curveball, but that doesnt mean he gave up. After all, Tebow never gives up. Thats why he went to camp with the Jets, and camp with the Patriots, and camp with the Eagles. Its why he enlisted Moeller to coach him and the powerhouse agents at CAA to represent him. Its why he didnt work out in private and then sign with an independent league team.Does he refuse to give up because he cant? Because hes addicted to the rush, to the adulation, to the idea that he can do precisely what all those believers believe he can, and all those detractors believe he cant? Thats the part of why even he cant answer, and its exactly why its hard to shake the image of the guy at USC on those January days, sensing on one field the end of something, and on the other the beginning of something else. Scarpe Air Max 90 Scontate . Marincin has played in two NHL games so far this season with two penalty minutes. The 21-year-old has three goals, four assists and a plus-5 rating in 24 games with the American Hockey Leagues Oklahoma City Barons this season. Scarpe Air Max 90 Outlet . LOUIS -- Roman Polak was celebrating even before Alexander Steen scored the winning goal in Saturdays 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. http://www.airmax90scontate.it/ . LOUIS -- Cardinals cleanup hitter Allen Craig says hes recovered from a foot injury and ready to be put on St. Air Max 90 Scontate Uomo . Shot outdoors against the stunning backdrop of Banff, Alta., the networks 30-minute original production airs tonight at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2. The four All-Star teams will play for $100,000 in prize money during TSNs annual skins game, airing live this weekend on TSN from The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre. Air Max 90 Outlet Italia .C. -- Kemba Walker and the Charlotte Bobcats got off to a fast start, and the Sacramento Kings were never quite able to catch up. MINNEAPOLIS -- Tyler Duffey pitched six effective innings and Minnesota took advantage of two misplays by center fielder Carlos Gomez in a three-run fifth that sent the Twins past the Houston Astros 3-1 on Monday night.Gomez, the former Twins outfielder, let Jorge Polancos single skip by him for a two-base error that allowed one run to score. Then he lost a fly ball off Juan Centenos bat, turning it into an RBI triple.Danny Santana followed with a run-scoring single, and Minnesota won for the seventh time in nine games.Duffey (7-8) permitted one run on four hits and struck out eight. Three relievers combined for three hitless innings, and Brandon Kintzler finished for his 10th save in 11 chances.Collin McHugh (7-9) gave up three runs and 10 hits in seven innings, losing his third straight start.Eddie Rosario had three hits for Minnesota, which has come around after a dreadful first half of the season.The Twins entered the year with postseason hopes after a surprising 2015 season but then finished the first half as the worst team in the American League. But since July 2, Minnesota has gone 21-12 and is playing the role of spoiler well.Since July 2, Minnesota leads the majors in runs, hits, doubles and triples.Polanco, called up from the minors when the Twins traded All-Star infielder Eduardo Nunez to San Francisco, has played a big part. Polanco has hit .378 with six RBI in nine games since being recalled.Meanwhile, Minnesota manager Paul Molitor said Rosario will get a look in center field after the team sent BByron Buxton to Triple-A on Sunday.dddddddddddd Rosario has hit .461 with four RBI in six games as the starting center fielder.Houstons playoff push has stalled as the offense has struggled. The Astros have lost 10 of their past 13 games and scored more than three runs just three times during that span.TRAINERS ROOMAstros: 2B Jose Altuve was given the night off, snapping the longest active streak in the majors at 202 consecutive games played. . Right-handed reliever Luke Gregerson (left oblique strain) was scheduled to throw off a mound, and manager A.J. Hinch said Gregerson is progressing nicely. Hinch expects Gregerson to throw a few more times before being activated from the DL and said a rehab assignment likely wont be needed. . INF Luis Valbuena (right hamstring) is back in Houston and Hinch said Valbuena has done some increased running.Twins: Trevor Plouffe returned to the lineup after missing 32 games with a broken rib. Plouffe started at third base and went 1 for 4.UP NEXTHector Santiago (10-5, 4.37 ERA) makes his first home start for the Twins on Tuesday night. The left-hander was acquired from the Los Angeles Angels at the trade deadline and gave up four runs on five hits in five innings in his Minnesota debut at Cleveland. Houston counters with RHP Mike Fiers (7-5, 4.34), who tied a season high with seven strikeouts but took the loss against Toronto in his last appearance. ' ' '