Calvin Pace on Reggie Bush: 'We had to put him on out'

Following the New York Jets dramatic 23-20 overtime victory over the Miami Dolphins Sunday, Jets' linebacker Calvin Pace had this to say about Reggie Bush after the running back injured his knee right before the second half: "I guess he was doing his thing for a quarter or two.  We had to put him on out.  We didn't see him again."

On Monday, Pace's quote now asks the question of whether the Jets sought to injure the Dolphins' rusher — especially after Rex Ryan joked that the Jets might have to "put some hot sauce" on Bush, in the days leading up to the Week 3 Game.

"Obviously, we have to do a great job of getting a lot of guys to him and getting him on the ground," Ryan joked last Wednesday.  "Put some hot sauce on him, if you will."

The implication of Pace's quote, some may feel, is that the Jets defense intentionally sought to injure Bush.

Bush suffered the left knee injury trying to run out the clock before the half.  He did come out of the locker room in full uniform, ready to play in the third quarter.  He had already gained 61 yards on 10 carries but did not take the field in the second half.

The Dolphins running back was coming off a 172-yard performance in Week 2 but did not handle the ball in the second half or overtime.

Replays of the play that knocked Bush out of the game didn't reveal any cheap shots or illegal plays by the Jets.  He could play again by Sunday against Arizona, according to ESPN, and the injury is not considered season-ending.

Still, in Roger Goodell's NFL, players have to watch what they say.

Yankees rookies dress up as 'Star Wars' characters

The New York Yankees rookies prepared for the final road trip of the season by dressing up as some of the best-known characters from the "Star Wars" films after Sunday's 5-4 loss to the Oakland A's.

This year's hazing of first year players may be a tongue-in-cheek attempt at humor because the team is universally known as "The Evil Empire."

Last year's rookies had to dress up as pop stars.

There were no booming strains of "The Imperial March" when the players posed for cameras but there was Adam Warren as Hans Solo, David Phelps as Princess Leia, Cody Eppley as Luke Skywalker and Melky Mesa as Darth Vader.  Mesa probably wishes he had that mask and helmet to hide his face after missing third base Saturday but that episode seems like it's in a galaxy far away right now.

New assistant trainer Mark Littlefield and Hiroki Kuroda's translator, Kenji Nimura, dressed up as the smallest Chewbacca and biggest Yoda ever, respectively.

New York is battling Baltimore for the top spot in the AL East, so Yankees fans are hoping the Force, or at least some power in the middle of the lineup, is with them.

Dolphins 'icing' timeout backfires against the Jets

Hopefully Miami Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin's decision to "ice" the kicker at the last second will be a lesson to all coaches who plan on using a spare timeout to make an opposing kicker "think" about making a game-winning kick right before the snap.  But, after yesterday's strategy backfired, I still don't think it will stop anyone from using the annoying bush-league tactic.

Philbin tried it yesterday to devastating results when the New York Jets kicker Nick Folk was staring at a 33-yarder in overtime.  Philbin waited, then waited some more before calling the timeout — about a half-second before the Jets snapped the ball.  Too bad it was a second before the Dolphins' Randy Starks busted through the line and blocked the kick — which officially was not a play since Philbin had already formed a "T" with his hands — nullifying the play.

Folk's second attempt sailed through the uprights and gave the Jets an ugly 23-20 win with 6:04 left in OT.

Even if you aren't a Jets fan, you had to like the karma of the whole thing.

"I thought it was the right call," said Philbin, the rookie head coach. "I was planning it all along to call timeout right before he kicked the ball.  I really had no reaction whatsoever on that.  I knew that was the plan, that was the thing to do, and we did it."

The Jets themselves called an icing timeout five minutes earlier when Miami's kicker Dan Carpenter lined up for a game-winning 47-yarder and he missed.

The Dolphins looked dazed after they had — and blew — two chances to win the game in overtime.

"You never see that happen," said Miami quarterback Ryan Tannehill.  "I've never even heard of that happening before.  It wasn't meant to be."

Hard Knocks continues for the Dolphins.

Nets dancers unveil new black leather look

If you thought the new plain black uniforms of the Brooklyn Nets were intimidating wait until you get a look at the Brooklynette dancers' outfits.

The dancers' pompoms and and colorful pleated skirts have been replaced by studded fingerless gloves and black faux-leather shorts.  The sexy, but scary, outfits look like they could have been designed by Gemma from the "Sons of Anarchy."  The only thing missing is gang colors on the back.

If the Nets get beat, maybe the other team better watch their own when they leave the Barclays Center.

"The uniforms are feminine and strong," said the costumes' designer, David Dalrymple, who has worked with fashion icon Patricia Field, collaborating on outfits for "Sex and the City and "The Devil Wears Prada."

"This isn't palm trees and sunshine.  It's New York City, and it's Brooklyn.  It's a different sensibility.  We go hard," he said.

Dalrymple designed the more traditional red and blue costumes of the Nets when they were in New Jersey.

The Brooklynettes collection consists of seven full costumes.

"They have a jumpsuit, a neoprene scuba blazer, with sequin leggings, a little cropped warm-up jacket and painted sequin leggings," said Dalrymple.

It sounds like the Nets are trying to lure that "50 Shades of Grey" crowd — and a few Olivia "Let's Get Physical" Newton-John fans —  over to Brooklyn.

"For these costumes, we needed things that these women can dance and move in, but we wanted to bring in street elements," he added.  "We needed to find that bridge of street fashion that can actually work on the court."

As an added bonus, the women won't even have to change if they decide to catch an Oakland Raiders game.

Yankees pinch-runner misses third base and almost loses game in major league debut

In a 14-inning game that lasted nearly six hours, Joe Girardi put everything in the hands — more specifically the feet — of a rookie pinch-runner who, on what should have been a game-winning hit,  missed third base and almost cost the New York Yankees a win in the craziest game of the season.

Melky Mesa's base-running fail almost cost the Yankees a game that could have turned an improbable comeback against the Oakland A's into an ugly loss — all in his major league debut.

Mesa, stood at second base with the score tied at 9-9 when Alex Rodriguez slapped what looked like the game-winning hit through the infield.  Mesa went to round third but missed the bag by about a foot but the rookie had the sense to turn back and get back to the base.

After his Yankee teammates leaped out of the dugout with their arms raised in victory and A-Rod clapping his hands thinking he had the game-winning hit, Mesa sheepishly stood at third base when they all realized the game wasn't over because of his flub.  That 12 inches probably felt like a mile to the kid.

Luckily, for the Yankee, Girardi can file this base running gaffe under "W" for We can laugh about it now thanks to the generosity of the A's defense.  Mesa was thrown out in a force at home plate in the next at bat, but A's first baseman Brandon Moss failed to handle Eduardo Nunez's two-out grounder allowing Ichiro Suzuki to score for the Yankees 10-9 win.

It was the wildest game of a normally eventful New York Yankees campaign.  The fans who toughed out the marathon contest were treated to everything from missed calls at first, collisions at home plate, comebacks by both teams and finally the dramatic moment that could have defined the 25-year old Mesa's Yankee career.

Luckily for the embarrassed rookie, the Yankees won and Mesa even got the ultimate form of Yankees absolution — a hug from Derek Jeter.

After the game, Girardi smoothed things over by praising Mesa for having the sense to get back to third base and not getting tagged out.

"That would have been a tough one for the kid to swallow," Girardi said of Mesa.  "A lot of the guys gave him hugs.  We told him keep your head up.

"It just happened in his debut.  He won't forget it."

Justin Tuck leads Roll Call with Bleacher Creatures

It looked like Justin Tuck was still celebrating Thursday night's big win over the Carolina Panthers and brought some of that cheer out to the bleachers in Yankee Stadium Friday night.

The New York Giants defensive end  is a big Yankees fan and had a little time to kill before the Giants next game against the Philadelphia Eagles.  Tuck was spotted hanging out with Bald Vinny and the rest of the Bleacher Creatures in section 203 before the game against the Oakland A's.

Tuck, wearing pinstripes,  even got to lead the Creatures in calling out the pre-game Yankees Roll Call.

"It's something I think every Yankee fan should experience, and I had a lot of fun doing it," said Tuck.

The All-Pro Tuck got to see the Yankees own version of a victory formation.  Russell Martin's walk-off solo home run in the 10th inning gave the home team a 2-1 win.

Jeter calls talk of leaving Yankees 'comical'

Derek Jeter isn't going anywhere — that is unless the New York Yankees organization isn't prepared to whip out its wallet and pay the Yankee-for-life.

Last night Jeter clarified comments he made about leaving the Yankees a day after stories surfaced about that possibility when his contract expires after the 2013 season.

In an interview with ESPN's Rick Reilly, Jeter was asked, "Peyton Manning changed teams this season after 14 seasons with one team.  Could you see yourself doing that?"

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

The Captain's simple answer set off a maelstrom of panic in the Yankee Universe.  What did he mean by that?  Is he leaving?  Is he retiring?

Jeter set the record straight Friday night before playing the Oakland A's at Yankee Stadium and put his fans at ease.

"I'll tell you what went down. I was asked about Peyton Manning, going from Indianapolis to Denver," Jeter told reporters.  "The question was in reference to if the organization doesn't want you around anymore, do you still want to play?  You have no choice but to go to another team, I think it's common sense.  I'm glad you guys had fun with it.  It was about Peyton Manning.

"I think it's comical that we're talking about it after I told you guys time and time again, I can't picture myself playing anywhere else, have fun with it.  It's a business; there are two sides to a business, that's what the reference was.

"I've been asked this question 100 times and I told you guys the same thing."

Asked again if he wants to finish his career wearing pinstripes Jeter said," That's what I told you my whole focus has been since Day 1 so why are we even talking about it?  I think its comical after I've been pretty vocal every time [I've been] asked the same question.  It's eve more amusing that we're talking about it now."

Are the contentious negotiations with the Yankees before the 2011 season still a sore spot with Jeter?

"Come on now," said Jeter.  "There was joking around the whole interview.  It's not really a big deal.  Have fun with it as much as you like.  I understand I was on the front page, back page.  Then you guys wonder why I don't tell you anything.  I don't answer any questions because something like this happens."

The 38-year old Jeter, who extended his hitting streak to 15 last night, is swinging the bat like he was a decade ago.  By the end of this season, he should only be about 700 hits short of his quest for 4,000.

Don't expect Jeter to pass anymore milestones wearing anything but pinstripes.