Problem: Pelini 'optimistic' injured OL Ryne Reeves can return to Husker football practice

LINCOLN, Neb. – Nebraska coach Bo Pelini says he is optimistic that offensive lineman Ryne Reeves will be able to return to practice after receiving treatment for a neck injury.

Pelini said Thursday that Reeves was evaluated as a precaution after he went down during practice on Wednesday.

Reeves was removed from the field on a stretcher, but reported full sensation and movement in all of his extremities. Further evaluation showed nothing abnormal, and the pain is being treated as a cervical strain injury.

Pelini says Reeves will likely be able to return to practice sometime after Nebraska's spring break.

Reeves played in nine games as a sophomore, seeing more and more time as injuries increased on the line.

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Summary: Nebraska coach Bo Pelini says he is optimistic that offensive lineman Ryne Reeves will be able to return to practice after receiving treatment for a neck injury.


Problem: The Yankees Deal Sheffield to the Tigers

Gary Sheffields new enemy is his old team. The Yankees traded Sheffield to the Detroit Tigers for three minor league pitchers yesterday, assuring that they have now become the most hated team in Sheffields universe.

Barton Silverman/The New York Times

Garry Sheffield averaged 35 homers and 122 runs batted in for his first two seasons with the Yankees, but was limited to 39 games last season.

Whatever cuddly feelings Sheffield had for the team he played for the past three years and where he had hoped to finish his career vanished when the Yankees traded him. Sheffield has said that he targets the teams that have unloaded him, which means that he will see bulls-eyes, not pinstripes.

Despite Sheffields recent venom toward the Yankees, he seemed excited about joining the Tigers and reuniting with Jim Leyland, who managed him with the 1997 World Series champion Florida Marlins. Sheffield, who will earn $13 million in 2007, was also ecstatic about signing a two-year, $28 million contract extension.

I know this is meant for a reason, Sheffield said.

Sheffield already knew that the Tigers and the Yankees had agreed on the players for the trade Wednesday, when he criticized the Yankees and said he was a better player than Bobby Abreu, his replacement in right field. The agreement happened Tuesday. Detroit was then given 72 hours to speak with Sheffield about an extension, which was completed late Thursday night.

Because Sheffield acts as his own agent, he said that he had to say things and do things that you might not really want to do. Sheffield, who did not have a no-trade clause, may have helped engineer a move to the type of team that he preferred by moving his mouth. He threatened to retire if the Yankees traded him somewhere he did not want to be.

A lot of people might not agree with the way I go about it, Sheffield said. But if youre your own agent, you have to get it done by any means necessary. And I think I accomplished that.

Rufus Williams, who is Sheffields representative, said: People might not understand the whats and whens and whys of Gary speaking out. But he speaks from the heart.

Leyland called Sheffield one of the ultimate bats in baseball and one of the ultimate people in baseball.

Sheffield, who turns 38 next week, has a .297 average and 455 home runs in his 19-year career. The Tigers, the reigning American League champions, praised Sheffield as a person almost as much as a hitter during a 30-minute conference call.

Its almost unbelievable, Leyland said. Its hard for me to believe that we landed Gary Sheffield.

Yankees Manager Joe Torre said he was surprised to learn Sheffield maligned Abreu because Sheffield had been a loyal teammate. Now Torre will see Sheffield in the middle of the lineup for the team that defeated the Yankees in the division series.

Im happy it didnt drag out, Torre said. It looked like it was getting uncomfortable for both sides.

Sheffield, who was personally signed by George Steinbrenner, the principal owner, averaged 35 home runs and 122 runs batted in during his first two years with the Yankees. He finished second in the voting for the A.L. Most Valuable Player award in 2004 and eighth in 2005. But Sheffield sustained a wrist injury in a collision at first base in May and was limited to 39 games.

In Sheffields absence, the Yankees obtained Abreu from the Philadelphia Phillies in July, and Sheffields situation became much murkier. Sheffield returned to play first base in late September and in the playoffs, but it was not a smooth transition. The Yankees did not envision Sheffield as an everyday first baseman for next season. He will be a designated hitter with the Tigers.

Earlier this week, the Yankees exercised Sheffields option for 2007, but they did it with the intention of trading him. General Manager Brian Cashman had serious talks with three teams and moved rapidly because he liked the package Detroit offered.

In exchange for Sheffield, the Yankees acquired three right-handers: Humberto Sanchez, Kevin Whelan and Anthony Claggett. Cashman said the Yankees were real excited about the upside of the three pitchers, but also said they had to prove they were prospects, not suspects.

Sanchez, 23, who was a combined 10-6 with a 2.53 earned run average at Class AAA Toledo and Class AA Erie, is the closest to being ready for the major leagues. He is 6 feet 6 inches and is from the Bronx. Whelan, 22, was 4-1 with a 2.67 E.R.A. and 27 saves at Class A Lakeland. Claggett, 22, was 7-2 with a 0.91 E.R.A. and 14 saves for Class A West Michigan.

We gave up a lot, said Dave Dombrowski, the Tigers general manager. I winced.

Leyland said that he scribbled new lineups around 1 a.m. yesterday and found a place for Sheffield in each one.

Sheffield was the hitter many opposing pitchers feared more than anyone else with the Yankees. But Sheffields time in New York is over. He is a Tiger now.

I dont have any regrets there, Sheffield said. I thank them more than anything for allowing me have this opportunity to go out the way I want to go out.

Write a one or two sentence summary.

Summary:
The Yankees traded Garry Sheffield to the Detroit Tigers for three minor league pitchers Friday, assuring that they have now become the most hated team in Sheffield’s universe.