ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Hot Button is a 'round-the-clock feature that covers anything across the scope of sports. We're here to bring you everything hot: News items, highlights, takes — everything but hot meals — whether local, national or international. Better yet, it’s interactive. Share your thoughts in comments, and even post your own links to interesting, safe-for-work sports stories.
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MARINERS STAFF MEMBER TESTS POSITIVE,
TEAM WORRIED ABOUT VIRUS SPREAD
Friday, May 21: The Mariners reported an unidentified member of their traveling party has tested positive for COVID-19 and is quarantining for 10 days. Close contacts are being identified, and they will have to isolate for seven days, even if they test negative. The team is concerned because most of the players are not vaccinated, unlike many other teams which have reached the 85-percent vaccination threshold for looser protocol restrictions.
Any Mariners — or Major League Baseball — player who is vaccinated will not have to isolate if they are determined to be a close contact, but there are few Mariners in that category. No reason was given as to why the team is further behind others in vaccinations. The league does not mandate them but highly recommends them, incentivizing the players with the the ability to play as a close contact and allowing them to not wear masks in most circumstances.
My take: Well, worrying isn't facts. Until the number of player contacts are determined and the number of them who are vaccinated is known, we won't know if this will affect the schedule. Seattle is set to begin an interleague series Friday nght with the Padres, in San Diego.
TAVARES OUT INDEFINITELY
AFTER HIT TO HEAD
Friday, May 21: Maple Leafs captain John Tavares was released from a Toronto hospital and returned home under medical supervision for a concussion, according to a team statement Friday, following and ugly and unfortunate incident Thursday night when he was stretchered off the ice in the first period after taking an inadvertent knee to the head from Canadiens forward Corey Perry right after Tavares had been checked to the ice.
Here is the video (WARNING: Not for the squeamish).
My take: Good to know he's been released, it could have been so much worse though a long recovery still might be in the offing. Here's hoping nothing but the best for Tavares. — Bob
GAFFNEY RETURNS TO NFL
AFTER SECOND STINT IN MINORS
Thursday,, May 20: Former Pirates minor-leaguer and NFL running back Tyler Gaffney has agreed to a contract with the Patriots, the type of contract and terms were not disclosed. Gaffney has never appeared in an NFL game and has not practiced with an NFL team since 2017.
Gaffney, 30, was a 26th round pick of the Pirates in 2012 and he spent that year with the short-season State College Spikes, where he was teammates with fellow rookie Jacob Stallings. Gaffeny slashed .297/.483/.441 in 38 games before deciding to return to Stanford for his senior year of football.
Gaffney was drafted by the Panthers in the sixth round in 2014, but was waived/injured after suffering a knee injury in training camp. The Patriots signed him and placed him on injured reserve, but he was again waived/injured in 2015 and waived outright in 2016, but was signed to the Patriots practice squad in 2016, where he remained for the full season.
In 2018, at age 27, he signed a minor-league contract with the Pirates, playing for the then High-A Bradenton Marauders for 38 games and the Double-A Altoona Curve for 58 games. He slashed a combined .244/.353/.388 with 6 home runs, 36 RBIs and 14 stolen bases that summer. He officially retired from professional baseball before spring training in 2019.
My take: Gaffney blew a good chance at an MLB career, likely as a utility bench-player. He had good speed and some gap power that could have developed into more had he stayed with baseball instead of leaving for the NFL. His slash numbers in 2018 are excellent considering he hadn't played in six years. Quite an athlete, really. — Bob
DAVIDSON RETURNS TO JACKETS
TO RUN HOCKEY OPERATIONS
Thursday, May 20: The Blue Jackets hired former team president John Davidson, as their new president og hockey operations Thursday, agreeing to a five-year contract. Terms were not disclosed. Davidson was president for seven seasons in Columbus before resigning to take the same position with the Rangers, for whom he had played the majority of his 10-season National Hockey League career as a goaltender. Davidson was fired by the Rangers along with general manager Jeff Gorton and head coach David Quinn after the team failed to make the playoffs this season.
Davidson hired current Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen inhis previous stint with the team and now the two will collaborate on hiring a new head coach after John Tortorella was not re-signed after failing to make the playoffs this season. Davidson did state that Quinn would be considered for the position.
My take: Davidson is a good team executive and a known quantity in Columbus. I'm sure he's excited for the opportunity to work with invested ownership, which was very excited to hire him back. — Bob
ARGENTINA CHARGES SEVEN IN DEATH
OF SOCCER LEGEND MARADONA
Thursday, May 20: Prosecutors in Argentina have indicted seven medical professionals — a neurosurgeon, a doctor, a psychiatrist, a psychologist, two nurses and a nurse coordinator — with "simple homicide with eventual intent" in the death fo soccer legend Diego Maradona in November 25, 2020, from heart failure, He was two weeks removed from a brain surgery at the time of his death at age 60. Official cause of death was later determined by autopsy as pulmonary edema due to congestive heart failure. If convicted, each of the accused would face eight to 25 years in prison. The accused, who all deny the findings and charges will make their first statements to the court on May 31.
A medical board was empaneled to investigate whether gross negligence by Maradona's medical team, rising to the level of homicide, was evident. In April, the appointed board reported Maradona's medical team was negligent in treating the soccer legend, resulting in this death.
My take: I'm still skeptical of these "findings," as it reeks of seeking to place blame for the death of a natural treasure who spent much of his adult life abusing drugs and alcohol. I would also assume that the accused are the best in their fields to be able to work with Maradona. I guess we'll find out in a couple weeks. — Bob
KADRI FACES LENGTHY SUSPENSION
FOR HIT TO HEAD ON FAULK
Thursday, May 20: Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri was given a two-minute minor, a five-minute major and a game misconduct for a hit to the head on Blues defenseman Justin Faulk in the third period of Colorado's 6-3 win over St. Louis Wednesday night.
Nazem Kadri about to get suspended in the first round AGAIN pic.twitter.com/qoBYHiS2X1
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) May 20, 2021
Kadri was suspended for the remainder of the first round of the playoffs in 2019 as a member of the Maple Leafs for a crosscheck to the head of the Bruins' Jacob DeBrusk. Now, by rule, he'll have a hearing to see if he'll get a similar consequence in 2021.
Not to be lost in Kadri's drama, is the hat trick scored by Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon, sealed with an empty-netter in the last minute. He also added an assist and has five goals and two assists — seven points — in the two games of the series.
My take: MacKinnon is a man among boys right now. Just skating at a whole different level. As for Kadri, he'll be done for a few games. For how long would you suspend Kadri? — Bob
Update: Kadri was offered an in-person hearing Thursday — those are given when the league is considering a suspension of six games or more. Kadri is suspended until the hearing date which has yet to be set and which can be done virtually. — Bob
MARTINEZ, FED UP WITH BASELINE
RULE, THROWS BASE AFTER EJECTION
Thursday, May 20: It seems no one knows how to properly enforce the "running out of the baseline rule" after Nationals shortstop Trea Turner was called out after seemingly running straight down the first-base line on a passed-ball third strike against the Cubs. The throw by catcher Willson Contreras, from well behind the plate, hit Turner in the back, but he was called out for interference. Manager Davey Martinez, who postgame said he's had enough of the poor calls being made by umpires on this rule, was ejected for arguing and decided to show his displeasure to home-plate umpire Chris Conroy:
DAVEY MARTINEZ JUST THREW THE BASE OUT.
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) May 20, 2021
WHAT A MOVE
pic.twitter.com/Nuxy4HbcHq
The Nationals won the game 4-3.
My take: Good thing Turner doesn't play for Tony La Russa, right? Martinez has every right to be upset — that was a terrible throw by Contreras — and Turner, by running straight down the actual chalk line gave him a clear throwing lane to first base through foul territory, more than if he had been in the chalked running lane. Just awful umpiring. Martinez didn't go the full Lloyd McClendon, but he should have. — Bob
KLUBER THROWS NO-HITTER FOR
YANKS, SIXTH OF MLB SEASON
Thursday, May 20: Yankees starter Corey Kluber threw a no-hitter Wednesday against the Rangers, a 2-0 win in which he had nine strikeouts one walk, and faced one batter over the minimum. It is the sixth no-hitter of the season in Major League Baseball and fourth in May, tying an MLB record for no-hitters in one month — all four this month have actually occurred in the last fifteen days (May 5 - May 19)
The Rangers were no-hit for the second time this year, victims of Joe Musgrove's no-no on April 9. Oddly, there are six no-hitters, but only three teams have been on the losing end — the Rangers, Mariners, Indians have each been no-hit twice, also an MLB record.
My take: Is it even exciting if it happens every few days? It's sad when a no-hitter is seemingly diminished via ubiquity, but we'll have to wait and see if the trend continues. There is no reason to believe it won't, but let's hope there isn't some ridiculous number of them that cheapens the achievement. Are no-hitters, in your opinion, starting to lose some of their luster? — Bob