a shoulder injury. Zvonareva made her comeback in January in Shenzhen and played in the Australian Open but lost her first matches at both tournaments. [url=http://www.basebal

READING, Pa. - Alex Rodriguez "checked a lot of boxes" Monday during his first rehab appearance with the Double-A Trenton Thunder. He ran the bases, was tested in the field several times and engaged in a lively 12-pitch at-bat with Reading left-hander Austin Wright. And he also did something he hadnt done in a months — he homered. "Its been a long time," said Rodriguez, who couldnt remember the last time he hit a home run. He struggled in the American League playoffs last fall with the New York Yankees, and hadnt done much at the plate during his first eight rehab appearances over the last two weeks following off-season hip surgery. Monday he went 2 for 4 and played seven innings in the first of what could be three games with the Yankees Double-A Eastern League affiliate. The Thunder beat the Reading Fightin Phils 6-5. The 37-year-old, 14-time All-Star was happy with every aspect of his game Monday, but especially so with his 400-foot, two-run homer to left in the fifth inning, in his third at-bat against the 23-year-old Wright. It was his first home run since Sept. 14 last season against Tampa Bay. "To take a mid-90s fastball and hit it that way, I certainly was not able to do that the last two or three months of the season last year," Rodriguez said. "Thats definitely a good check in the box. "Yeah, that one felt really good. It felt pretty awesome. Im very happy with that. The ball is definitely coming off the bat different (than it was last week)." Despite looking so good on that swing, Rodriguez said hell need the entire 20-day rehab period that began July 2 before hes ready to return to the Yankees. "(Im) about six days away," he said. "I think Im par for the course. Its a process, its one step at a time. Tonight was by far the best Ive felt." Before the game, Rodriguez met with about 20 media members and for the first time admitted that he failed to show up for a scheduled rehab game last Friday in Tampa, but said there is no riff between him and the club. "Whatever I do with the organization, I will definitely keep private," he said. "But I will tell you I think over the last several weeks we have had very productive conversations and I think were all aligned to come back on time and healthy." Rodriguez met with investigators from Major League Baseball in Tampa on Friday to face questions about the Biogenesis probe. Team officials expected him to report for a game with Class-A Tampa but he was a no-show. On Monday, he would not address the Biogenesis case or his meeting with MLB officials probing the closed anti-aging clinic. "I cant touch that part," he said. "I appreciate you asking that question, but due to the process were not allowed to talk about that, but will in due time I hope to." Rodriguez has said he used PEDs while with Texas from 2001-03, but has denied using them since. He was linked to Biogenesis in a report in January by Miami New Times. It is unknown whether Rodriguez refused to answer MLBs questions, but he struck an optimistic note when asked about the state of the game given the ongoing investigation. "I think the game is in a great place," he said. "I love the game; Ive been in love with the game since I was born. Ive spent close to 20 years playing professionally. The game is doing well, and hopefully we can focus on all the great things that are going on and keep growing the game."Custom Texas Rangers Jerseys Cheap . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. Custom Miami Marlins Jerseys Cheap .C. -- After a listless first half, the Washington Wizards used a big third quarter run to beat the Charlotte Bobcats Bradley Beal scored 21 points and the Wizards used a 17-0 run in the third quarter to take control of what had been a close game and beat the Bobcats 97-83 on Tuesday night. http://www.baseballjerseyscustom.com/custom-san-diego-padres-jerseys-cheap-546c . The phone hearing is scheduled for 4:30pm et/1:30pm pt. Winchester, who was not penalized for the hit, appeared to make contact with Kellys head early in the first period of Thursdays game in Boston. Custom Baseball Jerseys China . Zvonareva, who won the tournament in 2009 and 10, couldnt handle her opponents big groundstrokes in only her third event back after 17 months out with a shoulder injury. Zvonareva made her comeback in January in Shenzhen and played in the Australian Open but lost her first matches at both tournaments. Custom Cincinnati Reds Jerseys Cheap . Ouellette, from Montreal, already has three Olympic gold medals since joining the team in 1999.THIBODAUX, La. -- Reserves Lafayette Rutledge scored 18 points, DeAndre Harris added 17 and Nicholls State rolled to an 86-55 win over Mississippi College on Thursday.With Rutledge hitting 6-of-12 3-pointers, the Colonels (2-1) were 14 of 34 behind the arc and held Mississippi College to 2 of 15 from long range.Jonathan Bell added 13 points and Liam Thomas had 11 rebounds for Nicholls.Stacey Mack had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Choctaws and Brandon Boston had 16 points. It was an exhibition game for Diivision II Mississippi College, which lost to Southern Mississippi in its opening exhibition game.ddddddddddddNicholls State took the lead for good, 9-8, on Bells 3-point play and a Thomas layup capped an 11-0 run that made it 28-13 at the 4:41 mark. The Colonels were up 40-23 at the break and scored the first 11 points of the second half, leading 51-23 after Harris 3-point play. ' ' '