Kuyt shows off nasty shiner after collision with teammate De Guzman

From the looks of this photo you would think Dirk Kuyt got the worst of accidental head-butt (video at bottom) from Dutch teammate Jonathan DeGuzman but, you'd be wrong in a You should see the other guy sense.

Kuyt, the former Liverpool winger, took to his Twitter page to show off the result of the incident, which left him with an extremely nasty black eye and stitches. 

The pair collided in Holland's training session while on international play this week, leaving De Guzman in need of hospital treatment, and out of their Premier League opener against Manchester United.

De Guzman certainly came off worse in his clash of heads with Kuyt, after he was carted off the pitch in need of hospital treatment, and out of their Premier League opener against Manchester United.

Before paramedics got to De Guzman,  United striker and international team-mate Robin van Persie rushed to his floored teammate's  aid. 

With his head bandaged, a groggy De Guzman was lifted onto a stretcher before being wheeled into an ambulance. 

He was taken to hospital for tests and the initial diagnosis is a mild concussion, which usually means a two-week lay-off. De Guzman had been named among the starters for Holland.

Innovative beer 'Robo-Vendor' impresses Nationals Park baseball crowd (VIDEO)

This is one baseball stadium beer vendor who knows time is money — especially when the cutoff for serving suds usually comes before the seventh-inning stretch — and has done something to increase his profits.

A couple of fans videotaped this Nationals Park beer jockey with a home-made gizmo attached to his left hand that cuts the top off not just one but TWO cans of beer simultaneously making it easier and — more importantly — faster to pour the refreshing brews to thirsty fans who can't wait for it to dribble out of the standard sipping hole a single can at a time.

The impressed fans even came up with a name for the human can-opener and start chanting "Robo-Vendor Robo-Vendor" as he drains a couple of beers for them.

Coming soon to stadium near you —Robo-Vendors ... patent pending.

MLB's bat invasion continued at Target Field on Friday (VIDEO)

For the third time in 10 days, a bat has been spotted at a MLB stadium during a game — and not the Louisville Slugger variety. First, one of the flying mammals swooped down in Pittsburgh, another was carried off the field in Atlanta and one got up close and personal with Twins infielder Doug Bernier at Target Field in Minneapolis Friday night.

This little guy flitted around the infield for a while before heading back to its cave. No harm done during his short visit.

Why the sudden invasion of flying bug-eaters? Who knows — but let's remember they devour the even more pesky mosquito.

 Pretty soon Major League team's batboys (and girls) will need a degree in chiropterology.

Cameraman snags foul ball, gets adulation from crowd (VIDEO)

A television cameraman — with an uncanny resemblance to movie director Kevin Smith — made a terrific barehanded catch of a foul ball at Citizens Bank Park during the Dodgers-Phillies game Friday night. After rolling the ball over the Dodgers dugout into the stands, Andy — as the announcers called him —soaked in the adulation from the crowd with a nifty little bow.

Maybe it was Smith. Philly is only a three-exit, Jersey Turnpike drive away from Silent Bob's usual stomping grounds.

Either way, Behind the Scenes Andy, you earned the applause.

John Lackey has 'a problem' with A-Rod playing during appeal

A Yankees-Red Sox series usually doesn't need any sub-plots to ramp up the drama but — with all of controversy surrounding Alex Rodriguez's doping charges and his subsequent suspension and appeal — one player just couldn't ignore spouting off about A-Rod's visit to Fenway Park this weekend.

Red Sox starter John Lackey doesn’t think Rodriguez should be playing while he appeals a lengthy suspension related to Major League Baseball’s investigation into Biogenesis and performance-enhancing drugs.

Interestingly enough, Lackey is scheduled to start Saturday’s game against A-Rod and the Yankees in Boston.

“I’ve got a problem with it. You bet I do,” Lackey told the Boston Globe on Thursday. “How is he still playing? He obviously did something and he’s playing. I’m not sure that’s right. … It’s pretty evident he’s been doing stuff for a lot of years I’ve been facing him.”

While 13 other players accepted lesser bans, Rodriguez is appealing his 211-game suspension. Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria has also voiced his displeasure with A-Rod being on the field during baseball’s playoff push.

Lackey admitted it’s been discussed in the Red Sox clubhouse, adding that some people have “strong feelings” on the topic.

“Sure, we talk about it,” Lackey said. “But talking to the media about it is a little bit different.”

Lackey’s comments should make an important three-game series at Fenway just a little more spectacular— as if it needed any more help. 

“He took me deep the first time I faced him as a rookie, and he admitted to doing stuff back then,” said Lackey, referring A-Rod’s prior admission to using PEDs while playing for the Texas Rangers from 2001-03. “There are a lot of things I want back from him.”

New York is 8.5 games behind first-place Boston in the AL East and six games in the wild card race.

Minor league pitcher saves face — literally — with quick reflexes

Minor league pitcher Daniel Norris of the Lansing Lugnuts (the Single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays) avoided serious injury with his quick reflexes after a pitched ball shot back from the batter and straight at his head. The pitcher was able to catch the ball just inches from it slamming into his face.

Norris had tossed a pitch to the plate in Thursday's game and the ball shot right back at him, like a bullet off the bat of David Gonzalez of the West Michigan Whitecaps. It all happens so fast, but Norris' head looks like it's about to take a straight-on hit, until he snaps his glove in front of his face, catches the ball and falls to the ground. It all happens so quick —  and Gonzalez' frightened reaction and Norris' triumphant opening of his glove to reveal the ball emphasize a story could have ended badly.

But easily the best part is Norris' deep breath and moment of relief as he's laying there on the ground. 

This could have been so much worse.

A-Rod's 'inner circle' outed other players in PED investigation: Report

A blockbuster report from "60 Minutes" claims New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez's inner circle obtained and leaked documents that implicated Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun as well as his own Yankees teammate, catcher Francisco Cervelli, in the doping scandal that has swept over Major League Baseball.

The leak came in February — just days after the weekly newspaper Miami New Times published documents in January detailing Rodriguez's alleged use of performance enhancing drugs.

The "60 Minutes" report says — whether it was a tactical legal maneuver or not — A-Rod's group basically named names and threw a teammate under the bus.

According to "60 Minutes," the handwritten documents of Anthony Bosch —the key witness in Major League Baseball's PED investigation — revealed comprehensive doping regimens that Bosch had engineered for a host of professional athletes. His cooperation with MLB has resulted in the suspension of Rodriguez and 13 other major league players.

Braun and Cervelli's names were redacted in the Miami New Times documents. Members of Rodriguez's camp at the time obtained unredacted versions and leaked them to Yahoo! Sports, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter. The unredacted documents also implicated Baltimore Oriole Danny Valencia, who MLB later investigated and cleared.

In a statement to "60 Minutes," Rodriguez lawyer David Cornwell said, "The allegations are untrue and are another attempt to harm Alex -- this time by driving a wedge between Alex and other players in the game. While Alex focuses on baseball and repeatedly states that he is going to respect the appeal process, the drumbeat of false allegations continues.

The report continued:

The revelation that members of Rodriguez's camp at the time leaked documents implicating other players to the media could present significant problems for Rodriguez's legal team as they enter the arbitration process to appeal his suspension. Baseball officials say they levied a harsher suspension on Rodriguez because of his continued use of PEDs over multiple years as well as his attempt to "obstruct and frustrate" MLB's investigation.

Rodriguez's case is set to be heard by arbitrator Fredric Horowitz in the coming weeks. If MLB were to present evidence that Rodriguez's camp knowingly leaked additional Bosch business records, it might demonstrate that Rodriguez's camp had not only obtained them to keep them out of the hands of investigators, but that he actively sought to interfere with baseball's investigation by releasing other players' names. 

In early April, accusations arose that Rodriguez had purchased at least some of Bosch's business records. Rodriguez's spokesperson at the time flatly denied the reports.

Rodriguez has denied any connection to Bosch and his clinic, and says he was never treated by him, advised by him, and that the Miami New Times documents implicating him are not legitimate.

On July 22, Braun accepted a 65-game suspension for the remainder of the 2013 season for taking performance-enhancing drugs. And on Aug. 5, Cervelli, along with 11 other players, accepted a 50-game ban. MLB has suspended Rodriguez for 211 games. Rodriguez is appealing.

Just when you think A-Rod has hit bottom — he sinks even more.