OMAHA, Neb. -- Virginia pitcher Josh Sborz slips a pinch of chewing tobacco between his cheek and gum every now and then, even though the NCAA banned the substance 20 years ago, "I enjoy the taste. Its not like Im addicted to it," Sborz said. "I just enjoy it, definitely. I do it maybe once a month or every other week." Sborz said this weeks death of Hall of Fame baseball player Tony Gwynn might give college players some pause. Gwynn died at 54 of oral cancer believed to be connected to his long use of chewing tobacco. "It should have an impact when such a star-studded players life was ended by the addiction he had. Its sad," Sborz said. Whether Gwynns death has any real impact is an open question and it comes amid some concerns: Baseball players acknowledging using spit tobacco at least once in the previous month rose from 42.5 per cent in 2005 to 52.3 per cent in 2009, according to the NCAAs quadrennial survey substance use trends among its athletes. Results of the 2013 survey have not yet been released, though preliminary results suggest a drop since 2009. About 15 per cent of teams in each NCAA sport are asked to participate in the anonymous survey, with a total sample size of about 20,000 athletes. Among all male athletes, 16 per cent acknowledged using tobacco in 2005 and 17 per cent in 2009. Sborz said he thinks the survey is "skewed" when it comes to ball players. "All those people dont do it every day," he said. "If people do it every day, thats where it becomes a problem. If they do it once every week, I dont see any issue with it." Minor-league baseball banned tobacco in 1993, a year before the NCAA. Tobacco is not banned in the major leagues. Though tins of tobacco arent visible in college dugouts like they were before 1994, that doesnt mean players arent dipping when theyre away from the ballpark. "Its 100 per cent part of baseball culture," said Virginia second baseman Branden Cogswell, who estimated half his teammates chew tobacco at least occasionally. "Its kind of a habit for people, kind of a comfort thing. Ive never been a part of that group, but so many guys do it. People take those risks. Its their choice." Dave Keilitz, executive director of the American Baseball Coaches Association, said he was surprised to find out so many baseball players were using tobacco. "I think most of our coaches, if not all of our coaches, are very aware of the danger and also dont want their players using it," Keilitz said. "In my 20 years of doing this, I havent seen any evidence of that taking place in dugouts, in games. I hope the same holds true in practice sessions." Keilitz said his organization adamantly opposes the use of smokeless tobacco and participated in the making of a video that illustrates the dangers. Virginia coach Brian OConnor said he chewed during his playing days in the late 1980s and early 90s. Like Keilitz, he was surprised so many players acknowledge using tobacco. "If kids are doing it, theyre doing a heck of a job of hiding it," he said. The NCAA said the ban was put in place as part of its charge to protect the safety and welfare of athletes. The penalty for violating the ban was left to the committee that oversees each sport. The Baseball Rules Committee instructed umpires to eject any player or coach who is using tobacco or who has tobacco in his possession. Enforcement was spotty until the committee made it a point of emphasis in 2003. In spite of the warnings the players receive, Texas coach Augie Garrido said he knows some members of his team chew tobacco. "Theres a lot more of it in Texas," he said, "because its not only about the baseball. Its about hunting, its about fishing, its about being a man." As for Sborz, he started chewing for a simple reason. "I saw an older kid do it, so I thought Id try to do it," he said. . The Canadian Luge Association officially named seven athletes to the 2014 Olympic team Tuesday. Edney, will lead teenagers John Fennell and Mitchel Malyk into their first Games in mens singles. Tristan Walker and Justin Snith will represent Canada in doubles, while Gough, will be joined by Kimberley McRae in womens singles. . Or how his team has defended Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Or just about anything that has happened on the court in the first-round playoff series. Instead, Rivers and his players spent Saturday talking about how they would respond to an audio recording of a man identified as Clippers owner Donald Sterling telling his girlfriend not to bring black people to games.
http://www.cheaptitansjerseysonline.com/. Anaheim Ducks Reassign D Colby Robak to Norfolk Admirals (AHL). - Team Website D Eric Brewer (foot) removed from injured reserve. . Tampa Bay Buccaneers RB Doug Martin broke the news that hes cleared for full activity moving forward. . Rinehart joins safety Darrell Stuckey and linebacker Donald Butler as potential unrestricted free agents who are remaining with the team.ATLANTA -- Fredi Gonzalez says if you keep putting the ball in play, good things can happen. The good things for Gonzalezs Braves on Monday night were a barrage of Mets errors which handed Atlanta the win. Three errors by New York fueled Atlantas comeback as the Braves scored four runs in the eighth and beat the Mets 5-3 for their fifth straight win. "We were never giving up, never giving any at-bats away," Gonzalez said. "Its the perfect example of putting the ball in play." The error-prone Mets wouldnt let the Braves give up. Errors by reliever Jeurys Familia (1-3), centre fielder Juan Lagares and third baseman Eric Campbell in the eighth helped the Braves rally from a 3-1 deficit. "Weve got to catch the baseball better," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "We didnt catch the baseball tonight." Anthony Varvaro (3-1) pitched one scoreless inning to earn the victory. Craig Kimbrel recorded the final three outs for his 25th save. The Braves announced late in the game that catcher Evan Gattis will be placed on the 15-day disabled list after an MRI revealed a bulging thoracic disk in his back. Curtis Granderson had two hits, including a homer, for the Mets. Trailing 3-1, the Braves loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth against Familia. Following singles by Justin Upton and Jason Heyward, Chris Johnson hit a soft grounder to Familia, who threw low to shortstop Ruben Tejada at second base for an error on what could have been a double play. "I tried to be too quick throwing to the base," Familia said. "It was my fault. Its tough because you work for something and you have a chance to make the double play and you dont make it." Tommy La Stellas single up the middle drove in Upton, and Heyward scored the tying run when Lagares bobbled the ball in centre for another error. With one out, pinch-hitter Ryan Doumits walk loaded the bases again. Campbell, the Mets fill-in third baseman while David Wright sits with a bruised left rotator cuff, bobbled Andrelton Simmons grounder for the third error of the inning, allowing Johnson to score the go-ahead run. Dana Eveland replaced Familia and walked Freddie Freeman, pushing Atlantas lead to two runs. Gattis,, hitting .dddddddddddd.290 with 16 homers and 39 RBIs, missed his fourth straight game on Monday night with what had been called back spasms. He said he was told 95 per cent of similar bulging disks "kind of resolve themselves" without surgery. He said hell have an epidural as early as Tuesday. Rookie Christian Bethancourt, who made his first home start, and veteran Gerald Laird will be Atlantas primary catchers for at least two weeks. New Yorks Zack Wheeler was in position for the win before the Mets eighth-inning collapse. He gave up one run on four hits and five walks in 6 1-3 innings. The Braves were held without a hit until Heyward led off the fourth with a double. The Braves scored one run in the fifth. B.J. Upton, who hit a leadoff single and moved to third on Simmons single, scored on Freemans fly ball to left field. Atlantas Alex Wood allowed three runs on six hits in six innings. He gave up runs in each of the first three innings and then recorded 11 straight outs. Granderson opened the game with his 11th homer. It was his 26th career leadoff homer. Travis dArnauds double drove in Chris Young, who reached on a single, in the second. Youngs flyball drove in Daniel Murphy from third base in the third. Collins successfully challenged a ruling that B.J. Upton stole second base in the third inning. The safe call was overturned following the review, which lasted 1 minute, 15 seconds. Uptons slide easily beat the throw, but the replay showed he was tagged when he bounced off the bag at the end of his pop-up slide. Running from right field, Heyward made a sliding catch in foul territory on Tejadas fly ball to open the fifth. NOTES: Fans with tickets to Tuesday nights game can arrive early, with gates opening at 3:30 p.m., to see the U.S.-Belgium World Cup game on the video board. ... Collins said Wright will avoid the DL, but will remain in New York for rest and treatment during the Braves series. Collins hopes Wright is ready to play Friday when the Mets open a home series against Texas. ... RHP David Carpenter (strained right biceps) is expected to come off the 15-day DL on Wednesday. ... Braves LHP Mike Minor will face Mets RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka in Tuesday nights second game of the series. ' ' '
