Ichiro gets a hit when ball goes down pitcher's shirt

Ichiro Suzuki has been on a tear lately but even the streaking Yankees outfielder couldn't foresee himself getting a hit this way —  a routine come-backer to the mound going down the opposing  pitcher's shirt.

Oakland A's righthander Jarrod Parker was the unlucky recipient of Ichiro's third-inning grounder and, when he couldn't get the ball out of his shirt, the Yankees hitter had his 10th hit in his last 13 at-bats.

It looked like Parker was trying to unbutton his uniform to get at the ball and, under the rules if he was quick enough, Parker could have run over to first base and touched the bag for the out.

Ichiro's bizarre hit kept his average at around .330 since he came over to the Yankees.

The home plate umpire confiscated the ball after the play.

Bruce Springsteen's daughter, Jessica, buys medal-winning show horse

Bruce Springsteen's daughter has bought a gold medal-winning horse from the London Olympics with hopes of her own glory days by competing for the United States in showjumping at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.

And baby, this horse was born to run and jump.

Olympic gold medallist Peter Charles' horse Murka's Vindicat W has been sold to 20-year old Jessica, the daughter of the rock star for an undisclosed price.  Charles rode the horse in a jump-off to clinch the Olympic team title for Britain last month.

The 10-year old gelding,  who also goes by the Jersey-sounding nickname "Vinnie," probably won't be sprung from cages out on highway 9 or graze anywhere near the swamps of Jersey though.

On his Facebook page, Charles posted, " I wish Jessica the best of luck with him and I'm sure he will make her proud."

Springsteen, an American international showjumper, started riding at age 5 and missed the cut for the U.S. equestrian team for London.

She represented the U.S. on the Young Rider Tour of Europe last summer.

It's no surprise that Jessica and her famous dad are part of the horsey set.  After all, the Boss did get his start at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park.

Bart Scott nearly comes to blows with reporter in locker room

The strained relationship Bart Scott has with the media took a bizarre turn for the worst Friday.

The New York Jets linebacker reportedly was prepared to lay out New York Post reporter Dan Leberfeld after he angered Scott by taking a photo of him with his cell phone.

Right before the near-scuffle, Scott was reportedly talking to an ESPN reporter and Leberfeld took the snapshot to mockingly "document" the moment, according to Bart Hubbuch, who provided the nearly blow-by-blow account  via Twitter.

Scott then told Leberfeld "to get a life."  Tensions escalated and Scott threatened to punch Leberfeld, who responded by saying, "Yeah, I'll sue you!"

According to Hubbuch, Scott said, "I don't care," but Jets PR rep Bruce Speight stepped in and used two hands to restrain Scott while calling for help from other Jets staffers.

Scott has long feuded with the media, blaming it for the circus-like atmosphere that seems to follow the team around.  Scott holds reporters in such disdain, he declared a "media mutiny" after the Jets win over the Buffalo Bills in Week 1.  What he really meant to call it was a media boycott, but they got the point until this episode.

It sounds like this heated exchange was already a pot ready to boil over and, if Leberfeld was trying to get a rise out of Scott, he got it.

Leberfeld reportedly took a photo of Scott without a shirt Wednesday which got the surly linebacker yelling profanities at the reporter from across the locker room.  The next day media members complained that Scott blasted his music so loud they couldn't interview other players.

Looks like the circus is back in town.

Shamed Cam Newton won't give Giants credit for Panthers loss

Cam Newton faced the media — after Thursday night's 36-7 blowout of his Carolina Panthers by the New York Giants — and, with closed eyes and bowed head, he apologized to the Carolina fans for the his team's lousy performance.

At the same time, Newton didn't exactly give the Giants defense much credit for the rout.

The second-year quarterback finished the game with three interceptions and completed only 16-of-30 passes.  Yet, he still thinks it had to do more with the Panthers than the Giants preparation and execution.

"It was nothing they did; it was all on us," said Newton.  "Of course, they have elite defensive linemen and elite players on their defense, but it wasn't so much what they did as what we didn't do."

Huh?

Whatever the reason Newton thinks the Panthers were beaten like a Grand Canyon mule, he admitted it was embarrassing.

"Who wants to support something that puts on a performance of embarrassment?  If I was a fan of the Carolina Panthers, I would be holding my head down in shame of the product that was out there today."

Panthers head coach Ron Rivera wasn't as gloomy as his quarterback — nor as uncomplimentary.  He conceded that the Giants outperformed his team from top to bottom.

"They were the better  football team.  That's then truth of the matter," said Rivera.  "They out-coached us and out-played us.  That's the bottom line.  We came out, we didn't execute well.  Then we self-destructed in a couple of different ways.  You can't do that against a very good football team.  That's who we played — a very good football team."

Exonerated football player gets signed by UFL team

It's been a long road that Brian Banks has been following in his quest to become an NFL player.  Banks — who went from high school football standout to falsely-accused suspect to prison inmate — has now signed a pro football contract with the Las Vegas Locos of the United Football League.  The team announced the move with a beaming Banks at a press conference Wednesday.

Falsely accused of rape at age 16, the high school linebacker spent five years in prison and another five years on probation before he was exonerated in May after his accuser recanted her story.

Banks, who lost 50 pounds and almost all hope for a pro football career while he sat in a prison cell, received interest from  several pro teams when he was released — including Pete Carroll who received a verbal commitment from Banks 10 years earlier when he was the coach at USC.  Carroll invited his old prospect up to his Seattle Seahawks camp to workout.  Other NFL teams interested in giving Banks his shot were the Kansas City Chiefs, San Diego Chargers and Washington Redskins.

The 27-year old rookie attended some summer minicamps and the list of suitors was impressive — but 10 years of hardship had taken its toll.  Banks went back to Los Angeles and kept working out and waited.

The consensus among Carroll's people was that Banks exceeded all expectations considering the circumstances.

"Size-wise, strength-wise, and all that kind of stuff, he's in the right kind of profile," said Carroll.

Banks went away without an NFL contract but signing with the UFL is a step in the right direction. There is talk in Seattle of Banks hooking up with an NFL practice squad in midseason.

"Does he look like a ballplayer? Yes. Does he move well? Yes. Is there a chance? Absolutely," said Seahawks linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr.. "I liked the first impression he left."

It's impossible to root against this guy.

Urban Meyer: Ohio St. QB more talented than Tebow

Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller has some pretty big shoes to fill — and they're not even from his own school.

Miller is only a sophomore, but he is already being compared to head coach Urban Meyer's best collegiate player from Florida — Tim Tebow.

 Meyer compared Miller,  his current quarterback, favorably to Tebow — the three-time Heisman finalist — from his days coaching the Florida Gators.

Meyer said Miller actually has "more talent" than the New York Jets backup who won two national championships under Meyer at Florida.

"Very similar guys," Meyer said on his 97.1 The Fan call-in radio show.

"They're both competitive human beings.  They're both very talented people.  Braxton has more talent.  Tim is probably more of a grinder."

Miller is keeping pace with Tebow's sophomore campaign.  The Ohio State QB has 988 combined rushing and passing yards with 12 touchdowns through three games this season and has put himself right in the thick of the Heisman race.  Tebow compiled 1,037 all-around yards with 13 TDs during the same span of his sophomore year.  Ohio State is 3-0 after a win over Cal.

Tebow's winning ways carried over to the NFL where he led the Denver Broncos into the playoffs in his second season.  He was traded  to the Jets in the offseason in a backup role for Mark Sanchez when he's not running the Wildcat offense.

Maybe it's about time Miller started working on his own Tebowing pose.

Derek Jeter says he could leave Yankees for another team

Imagine Derek Jeter wearing the blue and orange of the Mets or — gasp — a Red Sox "B" on his cap instead of pinstripes in 2014.

It's not out of the question if you believe the baseball-as-a-business theory of the Bronx Bomber's captain and presumed Yankee-for-life.

Jeter sat down with ESPN's Rick Reilly and said playing with another team is always a possibility when it comes down to the bottom line.

As part of a 15-minute interview last Friday, Reilly asked Jeter: "Peyton Manning changed teams this season after 14 seasons with one team.  Could you see yourself doing it?"

"Well, if I wanted to keep playing, yes, Jeter replied.  It's a business.  People forget that."

Although Jeter is in the midst of a resurgence this season, fans should remember that players spending their entire careers with one team is almost unheard of these days and it was only a couple of years ago that Jeter was in a war of words with Yankees' brass during contract talks.  Remember the "Where's he gonna go, Cincinnati?" comment.

After those contentious negotiations, Jeter signed a three-year, $51 million contract through the 2013 season.  It includes an $8 million option for 2014.

A lot of people had already written Jeter off before he inked that deal — signed right before spring training camp — and, after the talks became public, Jeter said he was "angry how some of this went."

Before anyone gets the idea that the 38-year old is already shopping himself around, get over it.  Jeter was asked a logical question and gave an honest answer. He's been around the Yankees too long to know that sentimentality won't get in the way of business.  Yankees Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon were let go after great postseasons and 2009 World Series Championship rings and even the popular Bernie Williams' stellar resume couldn't keep the outfielder and his guitar in the Bronx.

Jeter is having a great season and — even though the Yankees have blown the 10-game lead they held in July — are in the driver's seat for another playoff run.  Jeter's .322 average and eighth 200-hit season are a big reason the Yankees are still in the race.

 Still, Jeter will be staring at the Big Four-O when his contract is up.

Yankee general manager Brian Cashman would not comment on the Jeter-Reilly interview, saying in an email to the New York Daily News, "No comment necessary."

The Yankees shortstop is the cornerstone of the organization and the thought of him chasing 4,000 hits in anything but a Yankees uniform would be a public relations nightmare for the Yankees and have fans screaming for Cashman's head.

Bottom line. Both men are businessmen in different types of pinstriped suits.