Help Me - ich bin zu langsam » Dominican father and Puerto Rican mother

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Jonathan Diaz is easy to spot in the Blue Jays clubhouse. Just look for a big smile atop a compact five-foot-nine, 155-pound body. The 28-year-old Florida native is also hard to miss on the field -- an elegant, mobile shortstop with a slick glove. A career .230 hitter in the minors, Diaz is not likely to stick with a major league club that already has a superstar at shortstop in Jose Reyes, the versatile Ryan Goins at second base and Maicer Izturis as a utility infielder. But his skills are appreciated and have been on display again in the Blue Jays organization after a one-year stint with the Boston Red Sox and former Jays manager John Farrell. "Id heard about them," Toronto manager John Gibbons said of Diazs fielding talents. "Everybodys always said youre not going to find a better shortstop or defender, period. You can put him anywhere out there and hes definitely shown that this spring." Diaz has appeared in the infield and outfield this spring, often as a late inning replacement. He has turned heads with a nifty double play and scored the 10th-inning game-winner on some aggressive base-running in a 4-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles last Sunday. As of Wednesday, he was hitting .077 with one hit in 13 at-bats this spring. He knows defence is his ticket in baseball. "Ive always love to be out there making plays and doing acrobatic things," he said. "Luckily thats kept me in the game for as long as it has." He was given No. 1 to wear by the Jays, the same number as former great Tony Fernandez. "Its a honour to be wearing that number," he said. "He was an unbelievable shortstop." A 12th-round pick -- 360th overall -- by the Jays in the 2006 draft out of North Carolina State, Diaz is happy to be back in the Toronto fold after his year away. "It feels like I never left," he said. "It feels like home. I was here for seven years and then I took a little hiatus with the Red Sox for a year." Boston had its moments, however. He was called up to the majors for the first time, "which was amazing," he said. He saw action in five games, with four at-bats. He had no hits but scored two runs. "I was there for a week ... Fortunately Im going to get a World Series ring and all that so Im really excited about that. It was a good time," he said. Coincidentally, Diazs debut in the majors came against Toronto and he threw out Reyes from third in Torontos first at-bat. He also scored the winning run against the Jays. These days his locker is just down the row from Reyes in a largely Spanish-speaking neighbourhood of the clubhouse. With a Dominican father and Puerto Rican mother, he grew up with Spanish as his first language. "This is my corner. These are my people," he said with a grin. Diaz says he tries not to think of where he might end up. The goal is the big leagues and the plan is to play as well as possible. After that, que sera sera. "Make sure youre healthy and just try to be ready when the time comes," Diaz said by way of summary. "Im just out there trying to show I can help the team in any way possible." Away from the field, Diaz is married with three daughters -- 10, eight and 16 months. The family makes its home in Dunedin with his wife and daughters joining Diaz "wherever Im at," when school breaks for the summer. "By now, theyre used to it ... Its a crazy fun life," he said. But it has not always been fun for Diaz. In 2011, he was one of the final cuts out of the Jays major league camp. He went to double-A ball and then triple-A in Las Vegas. "I was doing really well," he said. "I went to have dinner, took a cab and woke up in a hospital." There was an accident and Diaz suffered a concussion, lost some hearing and his two front teeth, among other injuries. His wife, then his fiancee, was on the side of the cab that got hit and took the brunt of the impact. She suffered broken ribs, a torn spleen, separated shoulder and cuts. "It was pretty ugly," he said. "But luckily were healthy now." The injuries also took a toll on his playing career. "That took me out of it for a couple of months," he said. "That window, I felt like, was a good chance of being called up at the time." Two false front teeth have not impacted Diazs smile. He seems to savour every baseball moment. Stitched Lakers Jerseys . - PGA Tour rookie Tony Finau shot a 9-under 63 at Del Monte and had a two-stroke lead over Billy Andrade and Lee Janzen of the Champions Tour after Thursdays opening round of the Callaway Pebble Beach Invitational. Los Angeles Lakers Pro Shop . The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive. https://www.lakersjerseycheap.com/ . The Raptors (15-15) posted six road victories last month and have won seven of their last nine games overall. Toronto visits the Washington Wizards on Friday night. Lakers Jerseys China . While the pair of Spain internationals return, midfielder Xavi Hernandez will not be included in the squad after failing to recover from a muscle strain to his left leg. Los Angeles Lakers Gear . A 19-game winner with the New York Yankees in both 2006 and 2007, Wang spent most of this year at Triple-A for the Yankees and Blue Jays. The 33-year-old right-hander was 1-2 with a 7. LINCOLN, Neb. -- Tim Miles is tired of hearing about the old Nebraska program that made a habit of bumbling and stumbling its way through the past two decades. His players must be tired of it, too. Shavon Shields and Terran Petteway scored 26 points apiece, and the Cornhuskers beat No. 9 Wisconsin 77-68 on Sunday night to strengthen the schools chance for its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1998. The Huskers (19-11, 11-7) won for the 10th time in 12 games to clinch fourth place in the Big Ten for their highest conference finish since 1997-98. The Badgers (25-6, 12-6) had their longest conference win streak since 1940-41 end at eight games. "Thats what we want Husker basketball to be about and thats what we want it to continue to be about," Miles said. "Weve had a good run, a really good run. But were only halfway through the journey." Miles, in his second year at Nebraska, said the hard times the previous two coaches endured dont exist in his mind. "This is my program. We dont carry any baggage," he said. "Everywhere weve been, Ive been surrounded by great people and we win, and were going to keep doing it. So all that cursed crap, all of the hexing and vexing and all that (stuff) that goes with it is exactly that." The whole season has seemed like a new era for the program, and never more than Sunday night. The game was billed as "No-Sit Sunday," with Miles imploring fans to stay on their feet the whole game. The amped-up sellout crowd of 15,998 at Pinnacle Bank Arena lived up to the occasion, helping the Huskers beat Wisconsin for the first time in five meetings since they joined the Big Ten three years ago. Nebraska picked up a second win against a top-10 team for the first time since 1993-94. The other one was at then-No. 9 Michigan State on Feb. 16. The Huskers won 11 conference games for the first time since 1965-66. "We have to keep it going and not let our heads get big and just stay modest and keep humble," Shields said. "Keep our underdog thing going." Shields made a couple free throws, Ray Galleggos hit a 3 and Shields dunked in transition to start a 12-1 run that turned a 52-48 deficit into a 60-53 lead with 5 minutes left.dddddddddddd "Win the game, get in the tournament," Shields said, describing the Huskers mindset coming into the day. When the buzzer sounded, Nebraskas student section rushed the court and bounced to the music. Now the Huskers go to Indianapolis for the Big Ten tournament, where theyll play Ohio State or Purdue on Friday. Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan wasnt interested in discussing his teams NCAA seeding possibilities. "I dont even know what youre talking about," he said. "You guys dont know me. No. 1 seed for what? Were the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten tournament. Thats the only thing I know." The Badgers were runners-up to Michigan in the regular season and will open the Big Ten tournament on Friday against Minnesota or Penn State. Frank Kaminsky led Wisconsin with 14 points. Nigel Hayes added 12, Josh Gasser had 11 and Ben Brust finished with 10. On top of a Nebraska defence that held Wisconsin to 43-per cent shooting, the Badgers struggled at the free-throw line, making just 11 of 21. "We just didnt do the things necessary to win the basketball game. Thats what it boils down to," Kaminsky said. "We had a scouting report and we let them get away with some things." Kaminskys 3-pointer gave Wisconsin its last lead before the Huskers went on their decisive run. "Once we got the lead, we werent going to give it back," Petteway said. The stage was set early on for a big night at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Gallegos and fellow senior Mike Peltz were honoured, with Peltz taking the festivities to the next level when he got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend at centre court with his teammates jumping around behind him. She said yes. Miles narrated a video tribute to the fans and, for the first time, the team ran onto the court through a fog machine. A card section was set up in the south end zone, with students raising a giant red "N" against a white backdrop before tipoff. ' ' '