Baseball Tonight Minute VIDEO PLAYLIST Baseball Tonight Minute Baseball Tonight Minute Buster Blog: Time To Protect Catchers Buster Blog: Time To Protect Catchers BBTN: Buster Posey Injury BBTN: Buster Posey Injury Oakland general manager Billy Beane became the first MLB executive to issue a directive to a catcher on his team in the aftermath of the home-plate collision that ended the season of Giants catcher Buster Posey. Beane told A’s catcher Kurt Suzuki he wanted him to avoid putting himself in harm’s way. Posey Suzuki “I said to him, ‘I don’t want you planting yourself in front of the plate waiting to get creamed. You’re an Athletic catcher — be athletic,’ ” Beane told ESPN. “I don’t subscribe to the theory you should be a crash-test dummy,” Beane said he told Suzuki. “I don’t want to lose you for six

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NEW YORK — Doctors treating Gary Carter have confirmed that he has glioblastoma, a form of cancer which affects the brain and central nervous system. Doctors say surgery “is not a good option given the location of the tumor.” Instead of surgery, the doctors have discussed an “aggressive” treatment plan, including chemotherapy and radiation. Carter will return home to Florida to begin the next phase of treatment. The Kid’s Great 8 Amid the sad news on Gary Carter, we look back at happier times at the Hall of Famer’s top Mets moments. Great 8 “Mr. Carter’s youth, strong physical condition and fighting spirit will be to his advantage as his treatment commences,” Dr. Allan H. Friedman and Dr. Henry S. Friedman, co-deputy directors of the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke said in a statement Tuesday. The 57-year-old

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BOSTON — As expected, Boston Red Sox reliever Bobby Jenks was activated from the disabled list Tuesday and Michael Bowden was optioned back to Pawtucket to make room on the roster for the right-hander. More On The Red Sox Gordon Edes and the rest of the ESPNBoston.com team have the Red Sox covered for you. Blog Jenks, who had been placed on the disabled list on May 5 because of right biceps tendinitis, worked in a pair of games for Pawtucket last weekend and pronounced himself ready to pitch in for Boston, hoping to thrive in his setup role now that he is healthy. Jenks will make his return against his former team, the Chicago White Sox, bringing back into the open the angry give-and-take war of words he had with White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen this past spring after

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BOSTON — As expected, Boston Red Sox reliever Bobby Jenks was activated from the disabled list Tuesday and Michael Bowden was optioned back to Pawtucket to make room on the roster for the right-hander. More On The Red Sox Gordon Edes and the rest of the ESPNBoston.com team have the Red Sox covered for you. Blog Jenks, who had been placed on the disabled list on May 5 because of right biceps tendinitis, worked in a pair of games for Pawtucket last weekend and pronounced himself ready to pitch in for Boston, hoping to thrive in his setup role now that he is healthy. Jenks will make his return against his former team, the Chicago White Sox, bringing back into the open the angry give-and-take war of words he had with White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen this past spring after

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The NBA Finals X-Factor VIDEO PLAYLIST The NBA Finals X-Factor The NBA Finals X-Factor TrueHoop TV: First Cup Edition TrueHoop TV: First Cup Edition NBA 411: May 31 NBA 411: May 31 Dirk Hungry For Title Dirk Hungry For Title MIAMI — With the Indiana Pacers and the Boston Celtics out of the playoffs, Pacers president Larry Bird does not deny that he’s pulling for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals. That’s mostly because of his longtime friendship with Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle, but also because Bird is an unabashed fan of Mavs star Dirk Nowitzki. “I’ve always admired the guy,” Bird said. NBA Finals on ESPN.com The Mavericks and Heat face off for the NBA championship. Follow the matchup on ESPN.com: • Finals page | Finals schedule • Mavs Center | Blog | ESPN Dallas • Heat Index | TrueHoop |

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EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Phil Jackson is retired, the triangle offense is out, and Mike Brown is in. And the Los Angeles Lakers are still Kobe Bryant‘s team. More on the Lakers For more news, notes and analysis of the Lakers, check out the Land O’ Lakers blog from the Kamenetzky Brothers. Blog Brown made it clear Tuesday during his introduction as Jackson’s successor that Bryant’s role won’t change under his regime. He said his first meeting with the superstar who owns five NBA championships “went very well.” “This is still his team. We’ll make sure that he’ll have the ball in the sweet spots that he likes,” Brown said. “He has a great understanding of my vision and he’s onboard.” Bryant, Derek Fisher and Andrew Bynum had publicly supported longtime Lakers assistant Brian Shaw in his bid to replace

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Perhaps no team is in need of offseason practices more than the NFL-worst Carolina Panthers. After falling behind their division rivals, the Panthers finally gathered Tuesday for their first player-organized workout since the lockout began. They also did their best to make sure no one saw rookie Cam Newton and company. NFC South blog ESPN.com’s Pat Yasinskas writes about all things NFC South in his division blog. • Blog network: NFL Nation Players hired a police officer to shoo away reporters from the high school where they were working out on the hot, humid morning. Cones blocked another entrance to the field at Charlotte Christian. Guard Geoff Schwartz indicated on Twitter that more than 50 players attended. “Great morning of team activities,” he wrote. Left tackle Jordan Gross, who organized the two weeks of practices with left guard

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Big 12 blog ESPN.com’s David Ubben writes about all things Big 12 in the conference blog. • Blog network: College Football Nation Article source: SwaggerDap.com

More From ESPNLosAngeles.com For more news, notes and analysis of the Dodgers, check out Dodger Thoughts from Jon Weisman. Blog Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt was able to meet the team’s payroll Tuesday with cash advances drawn on the team’s corporate sponsorship deals, according to three people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to speak publicly. Since McCourt has been unable to secure traditional loans to fund the cash-strapped Dodgers, front office executives in charge of revenue were charged with finding more creative ways to help float the troubled franchise for two more weeks. Current team sponsors were contacted and offered discounts on their annual bills and luxury box stadium seats in exchange for cash up front, according to two sources. It is not known which sponsors took the offer, or the depth of discount they were

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MIAMI — Logan Morrison tweets to the amusement of thousands and the dismay of his team’s top executive. The 23-year-old left fielder known as “LoMo” may lead the league in Twitter wisecracks. “It’s amazing how many people take you seriously,” he says. “I don’t take it seriously at all.” “ It takes an entire career to build a reputation, and one tweet to lose it. As long as he understands that, it’s fine. ” – Marlins president David Samson That’s what worries team president David Samson. The Marlins monitor tweets by all of their employees, and Samson says he has warned Morrison that his R-rated material could carry negative repercussions. “I’m not a dinosaur,” Samson says, “but I’m not thrilled. It’s very scary to me. I’ve told Logan, ‘People are waiting for you to make a mistake. They’re going to

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