Saturday Blogdome: OH NOS! A-Rod drilled by ball during batting practice!

UPDATE: Alex Rodriguez diagnosed with leg contusion. 1:49 PM: Uh-oh. According to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, Alex Rodriguez just limped off the field after being struck in the left leg by a line drive during batting practice. According to several beat writers on the scene, it appears that Rodriguez was hit in the shin by a ball off the bat of Lance Berkman. What can you say, the guy continues to make plenty of new friends in New York. [Hardball Talk]
LeBron Finally Says Thanks to Cleveland. LeBron James made his first public appearance in Ohio since “The Decision” at his annual charity bike-a-thon Saturday in Akron. He thanked the fans in Cleveland although I’m sure they consider his words to be too little and way too late. This video shows the King thanking his hometown and letting them know they’ll always come first. Funny to see LeBron’s mom Gloria sounding the horn to send her son riding off… [You Been Blinded]

Torii Hunter Ejected After Flipping Out. Just a few days after praising Torii Hunter for doing something very few star athletes would do, we’re talking about him for a bad reason. Hunter continued his hot hitting by bashing a two-run home run to center in the first against the Tigers. In the 8th however, Hunter lost it. Torii didn’t like the called strike on the first pitch of his at-bat against Ryan Perry and let home plate umpire Ron Kulpa know about it. Hunter proceeded to take called strikes on the next two pitches and was punched out on a fastball low in the zone. He began arguing with Kulpa and got ejected after his helmet touched Kulpa’s face. [Larry Brown Sports]
Getting closer to the action than you’d expect at the 3M Championship. The PGA Tour does a great job of keeping their players protected, and I certainly can’t blame them for that; they are valuable assets. The Champions Tour, however, realizes that their fan base is a critical component to the survival of this tour. As such, players will often walk through galleries on their way to the next tee, or stop and chat for a few seconds with some patrons that are crossing their path on the their way across the fairway. [Devil Ball Golf]

[H/T The Big Lead]