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NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez said Wednesday hes cutting off all non-baseball talk after a wild weekend of accusations and retaliations on and off the field. Playing while he appeals a 211-game suspension for violating baseballs drug agreement and labour contract, the New York Yankees star and his fleet of lawyers and representatives sparred with the Yankees and Major League Baseball over his medical care and evidence in the doping case that stems from MLBs investigation into Biogenesis, the now-closed Florida anti-aging clinic accused of distributing performance-enhancing drugs. "I think thats behind us now. Ive shut everything down," Rodriguez said. "I want everything to be 100 per cent on baseball and thats what I want my guys to focus on." Rodriguez was not in the Yankees lineup Wednesday night, a day after playing both games of a doubleheader against the Toronto Blue Jays. The teams will play a day game Thursday. "I felt I couldnt play him both tonight and tomorrow, its probably too much," manager Joe Girardi said. Rodriguezs change of public-relations strategy comes after a weekend in Boston that turned increasingly intense and bizarre. -- While the Yankees were playing the AL East-leading Red Sox, it was learned Rodriguez paid Florida-based attorney Susy Ribero-Ayala in February to represent Anthony Bosch, head of the Biogenesis of America anti-aging clinic. ESPN first reported the deal. -- Rodriguezs newest lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, accused the Yankees of botching the sluggers medical care last post-season when the three-time MVP was benched and pinch hit for during a pitiful playoff performance. Rodriguez had left hip surgery in January. -- Team president Randy Levine basically dared A-Rod to file a grievance, and the slugger said his lawyers would ask the players union to do so. -- Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told reporters on the field in Boston that he felt "lied to" by Rodriguez regarding his medical care, and that he doesnt feel comfortable talking to one of the teams most important players because they are in "a litigious environment." -- Finally on Monday, MLB wrote to Tacopina, urging him to waive his clients confidentiality under baseballs Joint Drug Agreement so all the evidence relating to the drug case could be released. The letter was given to Tacopina on the "Today" show. Tacopina rejected the offer. "I think thats behind us now," Rodriguez said. "Out of respect to my team and my manager and my coaches we are in the middle of a pennant race. Were playing pretty well right now. We want to keep the focus on the field." Rodriguez wasnt free of controversy on the field, either. In the second inning of Sundays nationally televised game, Bostons Ryan Dempster threw three close pitches at Rodriguez before hitting him with another. Manager Joe Girardi was ejected for his outburst after Dempster was not ejected. The moment appeared to galvanize the team, and the third baseman led the charge with a long home run that kicked off a sixth inning rally. Dempster was suspended Tuesday for five games and fined $2,500. Rodriguez would not comment on the penalty. Rodriguez returned from hip surgery Aug. 5, the day he was suspended by MLB. The Yankees were swept three straight by the lowly Chicago White Sox in his first three games but have been on a tear since. Theyve won nine of 12 to creep back into the AL wild-card race -- 4 1/2 games back of the second spot. Rodriguez is batting .296 with two homers and six RBIs in 15 games. "I think if we keep doing what weve been doing the last two weeks -- I think were playing with a lot of energy, a lot of confidence, (getting) a lot of contributions from a lot of people," Rodriguez said. "I think we have an opportunity thats special and we want to put the focus on the field." Air Max Sale Cheap . The 10-horse field of 3-year-old pacers will leave the starting gate at approximately 10:14pm et. Co-owned and trained by David Menary, Hes Watching will be driven by Tim Tetrick and is the 5-1 fourth selection in the field. Cheap Air Max Shoes Online . Granlund scored 2:04 into the first period. Max Reinhart, on his first NHL shift of the season, neatly stripped the puck from Zack Smith at the Senators blue-line. As he moved in, his attempted shot deflected into the slot where Granlund buried a shot past Craig Anderson. http://www.airmaxsalecheap.com/ . It took five games, but the Celtics finally helped Stevens earn his first NBA victory. "Im going to celebrate for a whole 12 minutes, and then Im going to start watching Orlando and trying to figure them out," the first-year Celtics coach said after Boston beat the Utah Jazz, one of the leagues other winless teams, 97-87 on Wednesday night. Air Max Clearance Online .com) - Rick Nash scored twice and Derek Stepan chipped in a goal with one assist as the New York Rangers claimed a 5-2 decision over Calgary at the Saddledome. Air Max For Sale Cheap . Szabados joined the Southern Professional Hockey League team last week. The 27-year-old goaltender from Edmonton backstopped the Canadian womens hockey team to Olympic gold Feb.TORONTO -- On a day when Julio Cesar essentially said farewell to Toronto FC, fellow goalie Joe Bendik opted not to talk to the media. Perhaps he was ceding the day to the Brazilian No. 1, one reporter surmised. A day later, Bendik came clean. Chatting with journalists had conflicted with his tee time Tuesday. The 25-year-old American keeper, who shot a round of 79, comes with a certain amount of swagger. That ego took a jolt when, after winning Torontos No. 1 job in 2013, Bendik lost his starting role in pre-season to Cesar. "A hit to my pride today but luckily Ive got tons of it! Going to take in everything I can from a top shelf gk (goalkeeper) to better my abilities," Bendik tweeted, with a colourful adjective before tons, when Cesars signing was announced in February. Three months later, Bendik is back as Torontos No. 1. Cesar has left the club for the World Cup and is not expected back, with Englands Queens Park Rangers looking to cut short the loan agreement with MLS. Bendik says he is a better goalie for having spent time with the 34-year-old Cesar. "He did things for my career that I couldnt do over 20 years, probably," said Bendik, his post-practice calendar apparently a littler clearer Wednesday. "Just to see him play, see his professionalism was amazing. "Now I have to step in and start to play some games and continue what I did last year. And continue what Ive done the last three games." Cesar gave way to Bendik for both legs of the Amway Canadian Championship semifinal against the Vancouver Whitecaps. Bendik also played in Saturdays 2-0 league win over the New York Red Bulls when Cesar was laid low by the flu. Bendik came to Toronto in a December 2012 trade with Portland. The Timbers got forward Ryan Johnson and goalie Milos Kocic in exchange for Bendik, the third overall pick in the 2013 SuperDraft and allocation money. At the time, the goalie component of the deal seemed like a swap of backups with Bendik taking over for Kocic -- who believed he should have been No. 1 in Toronto -- behind the oft-injured Stefan Frei. But when Frei was injured in the first pre-season game in Florida in 2013, Bendik took over and started 33 games for Toronto. Frei was traded to Seattle at the end of the season and Bendik was rewarded with a new contract. When he heard Cesar was coming to Toronto, Bendik said he knew it could go "either amazing or terrible. Luckily its amazing." It helped that inside the team, word was that Cesar was likely going after the World Cup. Rather than being left out in the cold, Bendik knew in essence that he was having an extended training camp -- while having the opportunity to learn from one of the best goalies in the world. It was no coincidence that Nelsen, praising Bendik after he helped Toronto win a penalty shootout in the Amway Canadian Championship, said he would not be surprised to see his young keeper earn a call-up to the U.S. national team after the World Cup..dddddddddddd Cesar was moving on. Bendik was back. For Nelsen, the Cesar acquisition was always a marriage of convenience with a short timeline. Cesar needed a place to play ahead of the World Cup and QPR wanted some salary relief. Toronto got a world-class goalie, a tutor for Bendik and the invaluable publicity of seeing Toronto FC by the name of Brazils goalkeeper at the World Cup. Having Cesar around would also help settle fellow Brazilians Gilberto and Jackson. Plus the short-term nature of the relationship means that the club will have some salary cap space come the summer. It was win-win. "Its benefited the league, its benefited the club and its benefited every single player here at Toronto," Nelsen said. It helped that Cesar, like Englands Jermain Defoe and American Michael Bradley, was a good citizen with an ego seemingly in check. They may be stars, but they dont act like it. Cesar met the media only periodically in Toronto. But he was always relaxed when he did, his arm invariably around translator Daniel Correia. "Thats Nellie," Bendik said, referring to Nelsen. "I think his No. 1 prerequisite is you have to be a good guy. You have to be a character in the locker-room. If youre not, he doesnt really care for it." Cesars relaxed way was infectious. Bendik, for one, says the Brazilians message was to let mistakes go, to look ahead rather than behind. When that advice comes from a Serie A goalkeeper of the year and Champions League winner, you tend to listen. "When he came, right away he took me under his arm and he wanted the best for me right from the start," Bendik said. "That helped me a lot to embrace the moment." Its help that Bendik says he will pay forward -- if he finds himself playing in his mid-30s with a young goalie. "I hope Im half the way he is," he said of Cesar. "Its been fantastic," said backup goalie Chris Konopka. "Working side by side with Julio, with the Brazil No. 1, hes as focused as he will ever be because hes preparing himself to be on the world stage, for basically the No. 1 team in the world," he added. "All eyes are going to be on him. It was definitely a unique and great experience working side by side with him." The goalies arent the only ones to praise Cesar. Captain Steven Caldwell says playing with Cesar has been one of the highlights of his career. "The impact hes had on me and everybody else at this football club is huge," said the Scottish defender. "In such a short space of time, for everybody to have the pleasure to see what its like to be a top, top professional and an outstanding goalkeeper is a real pleasure." "An outstanding human being," added Caldwell. The whole team plans to stay in touch with the Brazilian, by means of a chat group during the World Cup. No one will cheer louder than the Toronto FC dressing room if Cesar gets to hoist the World Cup. ' ' '