Hilfe & Support » r Jason Dufner in PGA Grand Slam of Golf. NEW YOR

More than a quarter of the 2013 Major League Baseball season is in the books, so Scott Cullen digs into the numbers to make his picks for MLB awards to this point of the season, along with Gold Gloves, All-Surprise and All-Disappointing teams. AL MVP Miguel Cabrera, 3B, Detroit (12 HR, 49 RBI, .384 AVG, 1.122 OPS) Runners Up: Evan Longoria, 3B, Tampa Bay (9 HR, 29 RBI, .335 AVG, .981 OPS) Mike Trout, LF, L.A. Angels (9 HR, 34 RBI, 9 SB, .293 AVG, .931 OPS) Apparently the hot corner rules in the American League, as a healthy Evan Longoria moves up as the primary challenger to Miguel Cabrera, who continues to hit like no one else on the planet. Last years runner-up, Trout, is heating up, so we could get to re-live the Cabrera-Trout debate from 2012. Baltimores Chris Davis and Manny Machado, Bostons Dustin Pedroia and the Yankees Robinson Cano are also off to impressive starts this season. NL MVP Shin-Soo Choo, CF, Cincinnati (9 HR, 19 RBI, 5 SB, .303 AVG, .994 OPS) Runners-up: Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, Arizona (12 HR, 36 RBI, .323 AVG, 1.019 OPS) Joey Votto, 1B, Cincinnati (6 HR, 20 RBI, .353 AVG, 1.003 OPS) It wont be easy for one of the Reds on-base machines to distinguish from the other, but Choo gets the edge on Votto for now. Goldschmidt has become a beast at the plate for the Diamondbacks and is ahead of recent contenders like Mets 3B David Wright and Rockies SS Troy Tulowitzki, as well as up-and-coming Brewers SS Jean Segura and Braves LF Justin Upton. AL CY YOUNG Clay Buchholz, Boston (6-0, 1.78 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 69 K, 65 2/3 IP) Runners Up: James Shields, Kansas City (2-4, 2.45 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 62 K, 66 IP) Chris Sale, Chicago White Sox (5-2, 2.53 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 61 K, 64 IP) A close race, that could also include Clevelands Justin Masterson as well as the Seattle duo of Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma, is currently led by Buchholz, though not by much over Shields and Sale. Traditionalists would go off the deep end regarding Shields 2-4 record but, at this point, we know how little to value pitcher wins. NL CY YOUNG Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles (5-2, 1.35 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 72 K, 73 1/3 IP) Runners-up: Matt Harvey, N.Y. Mets (5-0, 1.55 ERA, 0.72 WHIP, 68 K, 63 2/3 IP) Patrick Corbin, Arizona (7-0, 1.44 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 52 K, 62 1/3 IP) Its preposterous that there is only one Cy Young for the National League, given the calibre of these pitching performances. Through the first quarter of the season, its hard to imagine pitching better than Harvey, but then theres Kershaw, who goes nearly an extra inning per game. Both are amazing. Cardinals rookie Shelby Miller and Cubs southpaw Travis Wood are early contenders too. AL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR Conor Gillaspie, 3B, Chicago White Sox (3 HR, 8 RBI, .283 AVG, .783 OPS) Runners Up: Brandon Barnes, OF, Houston (2 HR, 9 RBI, .317 AVG, .872 OPS) Nick Tepesch, SP, Texas (3-4, 3.98 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 31 K, 43 IP) Lots of time for others to get involved in this race, since the American League list is wholly unimpressive. Gillaspie and Barnes have been okay, in limited time, and Tepesch has been decent; even add Clevelands Yan Gomes or Tepeschs teammate Justin Grimm, into the mix, but none of the American Leaguers are huge standouts right now. NL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR Shelby Miller, SP, St. Louis (5-3, 1.74 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 62 K, 57 IP) Runners-up: Jedd Gyorko, 2B, San Diego (4 HR, 15 RBI, .278 AVG, .777 OPS) Didi Gregorius, SS, Arizona (3 HR, 8 RBI, .348 AVG, .964 OPS) While the AL race isnt particularly inspiring, Shelby Miller is a Cy Young candidate, showing the ace-calibre stuff that made him such a top prospect (and somehow went missing during a disappointing 2012 in Triple-A). Gyorko has been a solid contributor, only recently starting to show the power that was expected while Gregorius has been an offensive revelation, compiling a .694 OPS in six minor league seasons before raking this year. Its the kind of surge that is awfully difficult to maintain. The NL race is more interesting, though, because it could also include Braves C Evan Gattis, Marlins SP Jose Fernandez, Dodgers LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu or Diamondbacks OF A.J. Pollock. GOLD GLOVES C - Russell Martin, Pittsburgh Runners-up: A.J. Ellis, Los Angeles; Wilin Rosario, Colorado All three of those named are in the top five among percentage of baserunners caught stealing and Martin is the far-and-away leader in assists for catchers, with 37, 10 more than any other (Ellis is tied for second, Rosario is fifth). Baltimores Matt Wieters, Houstons Jason Castro and the Cubs Welington Castillo are also strong behind the dish. 1B - Brandon Belt, San Francisco Runners-up: Eric Hosmer, Kansas City; Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona A couple of young players still working on their offensive production, Belt and Hosmer, rank first and fourth in Ultimate Zone Rating, (as well as second and fifth, respectively, in Defensive Runs Saved) and Goldschmidt is merely the well-rounded one, an MVP candidate who leads all first basemen in Defensive Runs Saved. 2B - Dustin Pedroia, Boston Runners-up: Jose Altuve, Houston; Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Surehanded Pedroia has yet to commit and error and leads in Defensive Runs Saved as well as Defensive WAR, while Altuve leads in double plays, is tied for second in DRS and ranks third in Ultimate Zone Rating, ranking just behind Phillips. 3B - Manny Machado, Baltimore Runners-up: Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay; Chase Headley, San Diego A former shortstop, Machado is the class of the position this season, leading in UZR and DRS. Headley might be ahead of Longoria with more games played, though if were playing that game, Rockies rookie Nolan Arrenado would be a challenger to Machado if he had played more than 21 games. SS - Andrelton Simmons, Atlanta Runners-up: Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado; Evlis Andrus, Texas Simmons is the clear leader at the position, but these three, along with Stephen Drew, are the top four in UZR, while Drew is just outside the top four in DRS. LF - Andy Dirks, Detroit Runners-up: Juan Pierre, Miami; Starling Marte, Pittsburgh This trio is ahead of the rest in DRS, but Dirks also leads left fielders in UZR, so thats enough to give him the nod. Notable that Vernon Wells has been pretty solid for the Yankees too. CF - Carlos Gomez, Milwaukee Runners-up: A.J. Pollock, Arizona; Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston Gomez has always been a very good fielder while Pollock is making the most of an opportunity presented by Adam Eatons injury. They are clearly the top two, with Ellsbury just edging out Texas Craig Gentry and Atlantas B.J. Upton. RF - Shane Victorino, Boston Runners-up: Gerardo Parra, Arizona; Norichika Aoki, Milwaukee Victorino must be getting to everything and then some; his UZR is best in baseball across all positions. Aoki leads in DRS and Parra is tops in Defensive WAR. (I realize there are Gold Gloves awarded in both leagues. Im just trying to recognize the best fielders at each position.) ALL-SURPRISE TEAM C - John Buck, N.Y. Mets (10 HR, 31 RBI, .224 AVG, .746 OPS) 1B - Chris Davis, Baltimore (13 HR, 41 RBI, .312 AVG, 1.070 OPS) 2B - Omar Infante, Detroit (3 HR, 14 RBI, .318 AVG, .794 OPS) SS - Jean Segura, Milwaukee (7 HR, 20 RBI, 14 SB, .353 AVG, .964 OPS) 3B - Josh Donaldson, Oakland (6 HR, 28 RBI, .315 AVG, .920 OPS) LF - Vernon Wells, N.Y. Yankees (10 HR, 24 RBI, .288 AVG, .855 OPS) CF - Carlos Gomez, Milwaukee (6 HR, 20 RBI, 9 SB, .327 AVG, .924 OPS) RF - Nate Schierholtz, Chicago Cubs (5 HR, 19 RBI, .285 AVG, .841 OPS) SP - Patrick Corbin, Arizona (7-0, 1.44 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 52 K, 62 1/3 IP) SP - Travis Wood, Chicago Cubs (4-2, 2.24 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 39 K, 60 1/3 IP) SP - Kyle Kendrick, Philadelphia (4-2, 2.82 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 41 K, 60 2/3 IP) SP - Alex Cobb, Tampa Bay (5-2, 2.73 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 54 K, 59 1/3 IP) SP - Justin Masterson, Cleveland (7-2, 2.83 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 71 K, 70 IP) RP - Edward Mujica, St. Louis (13 SV, 1.42 ERA, 0.53 WHIP, 18 K, 19 IP) ALL-DISAPPOINTING TEAM C - Miguel Montero, Arizona (3 HR, 14 RBI, .189 AVG, .547 OPS) 1B - Paul Konerko, Chicago White Sox (4 HR, 17 RBI, .217 AVG, .613 OPS) 2B - Rickie Weeks, Milwaukee (3 HR, 10 RBI, .167 AVG, .548 OPS) SS - Zack Cozart, Cincinnati (5 HR, 20 RBI, .206 AVG, .565 OPS) 3B - David Freese, St. Louis (1 HR, 9 RBI, .223 AVG, .574 OPS) LF - David Murphy, Texas (5 HR, 16 RBI, .218 AVG, .653 OPS) CF - B.J. Upton, Atlanta (3 HR, 6 RBI, .153 AVG, .488 OPS) RF - Josh Hamilton, L.A. Angels (6 HR, 14 RBI, .222 AVG, .655 OPS) SP - Roy Halladay, Philadelphia (2-4, 8.65 ERA, 1.46 WHIP) SP - Ryan Vogelsong, San Francisco (2-4, 7.19 ERA, 1.73 WHIP) SP - Josh Johnson, Toronto (0-1, 6.86 ERA, 1.88 WHIP) SP - Brett Anderson, Oakland (1-4, 6.21 ERA, 1.62 WHIP) RP - Joel Hanrahan, Boston (4 SV, 9.82 ERA, 2.18 WHIP) Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Ryan McDonagh Lightning Jersey . Their experience showed Tuesday as the No. 10 Badgers blunted a Saint Louis surge to win 63-57 and advance to face West Virginia in Wednesdays finals of the Cancun Challenge. Andrei Vasilevskiy Lightning Jersey .com) - The Montreal Canadiens embark on their first road trip of the season as they head out west to battle the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. http://www.lightninghockeystore.us/Steven-Stamkos-Jersey/ .25 million option on reliever Jose Veras. Nikita Kucherov Lightning Jersey . That gave fans outside Joe Louis Arena another chance to ask for autographs from the 19-year-old whose stardom in the NHL has arrived earlier than most expected. Braydon Coburn Lightning Jersey .S. Open champion Justin Rose birdied the first hole with a blind shot he hit to a foot of the pin, and he stayed in front Tuesday until he completed a 4-under 67 for a two-shot lead over Jason Dufner in PGA Grand Slam of Golf. NEW YORK -- After Russias widespread violations at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, new World Anti-Doping Agency director general Olivier Niggli says an expanding investigations staff will be on the lookout for state-sponsored cheating in other nations.It has happened in one country. I think it would be naive to think its the only country, he said Thursday during an interview at The Associated Press. We have to have our eyes really open and also make sure we act on intelligence and information we might get.A report commissioned for WADA found state-directed manipulation of drug-testing results at the Moscow anti-doping lab from at least 2011 through the summer of 2013 and said Russias Ministry of Sport advised the laboratory which findings to cover up.More than 100 Russian athletes, including all but one member of the track and field team, were banned from this years Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Niggli, a 46-year-old Swiss lawyer who replaced David Howman on July 1, said WADA will have conversations with FIFA about testing at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.Its still sufficiently far away to hope that things will have changed and improved in Russia, Niggli said. Its very important that we be able to work with the Russians to try to set up a system that is called compliant and that will provide some safeguards so that everybody regains confidence in what is going on there.Since the manipulation of Russian drug tests became public, the sample bottle used to collect urine has been improved. The IOC also has proposed that WADA take responsibility for drug testing across sports or establish an affiliate agency to do so.Niggli rejected a suggestion by Russian Vladimir Putin that athletes with therapeutic use exemptions be excluded from major competitions.I dont think its meaningful. I think every human being has a right of being treated for medical conditions, he said.Niggli was hired as WADAs legal director in 2002, added the title of finance directtor two years later, then left for a law firm in 2011.dddddddddddd He returned to WADA two years ago as chief operating officer.He said WADA accepts the Court of Arbitration for Sports decision to cut the suspension of Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova from two years to 15 months. A winner of all four Grand Slam tournaments, Sharapova tested positive for the heart drug meldonium, added to the banned list this year.It was slightly surprising that at that level she wouldnt get warned properly by her entourage, he said.WADA was set up by the IOC in 1999 and has a $30 million budget for next year. It already has doubled the size of its unit that scrutinizes possible violations, hiring former Interpol agent Guenter Younger as its new director of intelligence and investigations. Four additional employees likely will be added to the unit by next year.Whistle-blower is another obviously important thing, Niggli said. Even if we have an investigation department, were not the police, were not law enforcement. We have no legal means of compelling people to talk to us. Its only if people want to bring us information that I will get it.WADA believes maintaining biological passports for all athletes subject to testing will increase obstacles to doping. The passports establish baseline levels for each athlete, used for comparing with testing results.Makes it a lot more complicated for a chemist to get an edge, Niggli said. You would see variations which would be totally abnormal there and would trigger some reaction.He praised Major League Baseball, the NFL and the NHL for their anti-doping programs, which are subject to labor laws and negotiated with their unions. Among the major U.S. professional leagues, there is one WADA is not working with.We dont have too much relationship at the moment with the NBA, he said. ' ' '