As preseason camp for the Oregon football team gets under way on Monday, there are still some unanswered questions. Many of them have to do with positions battles with spotlights on running back and inside linebacker. The Ducks lost tailback Kenjon Barner, as well as linebackers Michael Clay and Kiko Alonso (all seniors in 2012) this offseason, and haven’t found clear-cut replacements for them yet. However, the big struggle for coach Mark Helfrich and his staff appears to be choosing from groups of players who are all deserving of playing time. A big question at running back, for example, is whether or not De’Anthony Thomas will be the primary running back or if he maintains his role from the past two seasons as an all-purpose threat.
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On Sunday, Ducks junior outfielder Scott Heineman pulled off one of the rarest feats a baseball player can achieve: playing all nine positions in one game. Heineman started the game at catcher for the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod League, who went up against the Harwich Firebirds on Sunday. He proceeded to play every infield position, then every outfield position, ending up in right field in the bottom of the eighth inning. With two outs in the inning, Heineman was summoned to pitch, completing his nomadic journey around the field. His versatility couldn’t lift the Whitcaps to victory as they lost 5-1.
According to Baseball Almanac, Heimeman’s accomplishment has been matched in the major leagues four times in the history of the sport.
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Major League Baseball officially suspended thirteen players on Monday for violating the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Twelve of those players will be suspended for 50 games, and all of them have accepted their punishments. The thirteenth violator is the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez, who was given a 211-game suspension that will force him out of baseball until the end of the 2014 regular season. Unlike the other twelve players, however, Rodriguez will appeal his suspension, which goes into effect on Thursday, August 8. The 38-year-old third baseman will be eligible to play until the appeals process is over.
The other twelve suspended players: Nelson Cruz, Jhonny Peralta, Everth Cabrera, Antonio Bastardo, Jesus Montero, Francisco Cervelli, Jordany Valdespin, Fautino De Los Santos, Jordan Norberto, Cesar Puello, Fernando Martinez, and Sergio Escalona. All thirteen players were reportedly given banned substances by Tony Bosch, who ran the now-closed Biogenesis anti-aging clinic in Miami.