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PHOENIX -- The Arizona Diamondbacks took on the big boys of Major League Baseball in the competition to land Japanese pitching sensation Masahiro Tanaka only to see him sign, hardly to anyones surprise, with the New York Yankees. Diamondbacks general manager Kevin Towers, speaking to a handful of reporters in a conference call on Wednesday, thanked the teams ownership for allowing him, for what he said was the first time, to "sit at the table in a high stakes poker game for one of the elite free agents." Towers said the Diamondbacks made "a very competitive offer." But not competitive enough. The 25-year-old right-handers deal with the Yankees pays him $155 million over seven years, in addition to the $20 million due as a posting fee to his Japanese club. Now Towers moves on in search, via free agency or a trade, of help for the Diamondbacks rotation, seeking either a No. 1 starter or a strong No. 2. And, he said, those are hard to find. The Diamondbacks contingent of managing partner Ken Kendrick, Towers, manager Kirk Gibson and star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt met with Tanaka and his entourage about three weeks ago. "All you can do is put your best foot forward, which is what we did," Towers said. The Diamondbacks emphasized their family atmosphere, the weather, the fact that the team trains in Arizona. Tanaka would have been the unquestioned No. 1 pitcher on the staff. That and what undoubtedly was a substantial money offer, certainly by Diamondbacks standards, wasnt enough. There is no large Japanese community in Phoenix. Towers said international players often are lured by the "Yankee pinstripes." He noted the Yankees have two veteran Japanese pitchers who can ease Tanaka into his new life. The Diamondbacks will continue to see what the possibilities are for landing a pitcher. "It doesnt stop just because we didnt get Tanaka," Towers said. But the Diamondbacks dont want to sign any pitcher to a contract longer than three years, Tanaka being an obvious exception. Unsigned free agent starters include Ervin Santana, Matt Garza and Ubaldo Jimenez. Towers insisted that if Arizona does not acquire another starter, hes comfortable with the returning staff, specifically mentioning the possibility of talented young flame-thrower Archie Bradley competing for a spot in the rotation this spring. Because of their early-season trip to Australia to face the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Diamondbacks will be the first team to gather for spring training. Pitchers and catchers report Feb. 6 with the full squad due on Feb. 11. Ulogujte se da bi ste vidjeli ovaj Link... . Seventh-seeded Marion Bartoli of France also cruised into the second round of the indoor clay tournament, beating qualifier Iveta Benesova of Czech Republic 6-3, 6-2. Ulogujte se da bi ste vidjeli ovaj Link... . -- The first full day at the Masters turned out to be a short one Monday. Ulogujte se da bi ste vidjeli ovaj Link... . NBA officials ruled the court unplayable in the Bucks final exhibition game on Oct. 25 because players were slipping, and the game was cancelled midway through the first period. Ulogujte se da bi ste vidjeli ovaj Link... .C. - Wendell Scott earned a second NASCAR first on Wednesday: He became the first African-American driver to be elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Ulogujte se da bi ste vidjeli ovaj Link... . The visitors failed to create any chances of note until Nuri Sahin tested Braunschweig keeper Daniel Davari with a well-placed free kick in the 28th minute. Aubameyang opened the scoring three minutes later, when Robert Lewandowski played a one-two with Marco Reus and lifted the ball over the outrushing goalkeeper for him to head into the unguarded net.LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Blake Griffin wont be playing in Portland, regardless of whether his 16th technical of the season is rescinded. Griffin will stay home to rest, along with J.J. Redick, while the rest of the Los Angeles Clippers close out the regular season against the Trail Blazers. They recorded their franchise-record 57th victory with a 117-105 win over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night, when Griffin scored 24 points. "Im very happy that were doing this stuff, but its not what we want," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. Chris Paul had 21 points and 10 assists, and Redick added 18 points in the Clippers finale at home, where they went 34-7 for another franchise mark. DeAndre Jordan had 13 points and 16 rebounds. "Its all good and well," Paul said about the franchise records, "but its all about the post-season." The win kept the Clippers in the hunt for the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. They would need to win at Portland and Oklahoma City would need to lose to Detroit on Wednesday night for the Clippers to claim the second spot. Otherwise, they will remain the third seed. Griffins 16th tech triggered a league-mandated one-game suspension. But he said he thinks the league might rescind it. "I honestly do," he said. "It was one of those ones that was kind of a continuation. If I make a play on the ball and I hit the ball first, and he gives me a tech for that, Im not sure if thats going to stand up." Griffin was assessed the tech with 3:23 left in the second quarter. He swung his right arm around to try to get the ball from Timofey Mozgov and hit him in the head. Griffin pleaded his case with the referees to no avail. Teammate Jared Dudley saw the play and was confident the call would be rescinded. "He did hit ball, but he did follow through and hit his face," Dudley said. &qquot;If it wasnt an offensive foul, the ref said that he wouldnt have called the technical; it would have been more of a flagrant.dddddddddddd" Kenneth Faried led the Nuggets with 21 points and Aaron Brooks added 19. Mozgov had 18 points and 11 rebounds as Denvers three-game winning streak ended. "Every time, its tough to play against the big guys like them," Mozgov said about Griffin and Jordan. "They work under the basket so hard." The Clippers scored the games first 13 points and never looked back. Paul hit two 3-pointers and Matt Barnes added another before the Nuggets called timeout to regroup. Redick scored 10 unanswered points by himself, including two 3-pointers that extended the Clippers lead to 18 points. Griffin had three one-handed highlight dunks in the first. "We were rattled at the beginning of the game," Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said. "We couldnt settle down and they jumped out to that big lead, and it was just too much for us." Mozgov helped the Nuggets close within single-digits after trailing by 23 with a three-point play that left them down 88-80 to end the third. Denver twice got within five in the fourth, when all of the Clippers starters except Barnes and Jordan rested. But Los Angeles pulled away down the stretch for the easy win. "I wanted them to figure it out," Rivers said of the reserves. "Thats a confidence booster for them to close it out." NOTES: Redick wont play the regular-season finale Wednesday at Portland to avoid a back-to-back situation. ... Clippers F Danny Granger could practice Thursday or Friday. He missed his eighth straight game because of a strained left hamstring. ... Denver finished 14-27 on the road and 7-19 against the West away from home. ... The Nuggets host playoff-bound Golden State on Wednesday in their final game of the season. Ulogujte se da bi ste vidjeli ovaj Link... Ulogujte se da bi ste vidjeli ovaj Link... Ulogujte se da bi ste vidjeli ovaj Link... Ulogujte se da bi ste vidjeli ovaj Link... Ulogujte se da bi ste vidjeli ovaj Link... Ulogujte se da bi ste vidjeli ovaj Link... Ulogujte se da bi ste vidjeli ovaj Link... Ulogujte se da bi ste vidjeli ovaj Link... ' ' '
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