Dein erstes Forum » Almost. Sidelined since spring training by a

CLEVELAND -- On his way out to the field for pregame batting practice, Jason Kipnis hung a hard right in the Indians clubhouse to give Jason Giambi a big hug. "Great to see you," Kipnis told Clevelands respected designated hitter. "You, too, little brother," Giambi said. Big G is back with the Indians. Almost. Sidelined since spring training by a fractured rib, Giambi has been cleared to play and is scheduled to be activated from the disabled list Monday, when the Indians open a four-game series with the Kansas City Royals. The 43-year-old recently played in several games in a minor league injury rehabilitation assignment at Double-A Akron, a stop that helped his swing and also brought back memories of his path to the big leagues. "Sometimes you forget the grind," Giambi said. "Its been 20 years since I was a minor leaguer." While he was with the Aeros, Giambi and teammate Michael Bourn, who was with him to rehab a strained hamstring, treated the minor leaguers to several meals and found themselves serving up advice to some of the youngsters in Clevelands system. It comes naturally to Giambi, who is still playing but may one day try his hand at managing. He was a finalist for Colorados opening before signing with the Indians before last season. "Id like to, but the universe will determine that, not me," Giambi said with a laugh at his locker. "I love the nuances of the game and being a part of that. Ive played for some of the greatest managers in the game, Tony La Russa and Joe Torre and Tito (Terry Francona) and Jim Tracy." Giambi said hes ready to play, but the Indians will wait until after the weekend. Giambi took batting practice before Fridays series opener against Toronto and looked to be himself while launching several home runs into the right-field seats. The Indians have opened 7-8 without Giambi, and Francona said his presence has been missed inside the clubhouse, dugout and on the field. "Guys know hes there," Francona said. "Shoot, I know hes there. Because G is never going to back down from anybody and that doesnt mean you have to fight or anything. But its a nice teammates to have around. He can be a settling influence. He can kick somebody in the pants. Hes a great guy to have around. "Believe me, I wouldnt say all these things if they werent true. This is how I feel." Giambi injured his rib during spring training and was placed on the DL on March 30. While he batted just .183 last season, he hit nine homers and drove in 31 runs in 186 at-bats. Giambi also provided perhaps the seasons signature moment, when he belted a pinch-hit homer in the 10th inning to beat Chicago on Sept. 24. The homer helped propel the Indians to their first playoff appearance since 2007. While some fans look only at Giambis statistics and wonder why the Indians would dedicate a roster spot to an aging, situational hitter, Francona says Giambis impact goes way beyond numbers. "G can change the game in the batters box," Francona said. "Hes not here to hit .300, that would be great. But hes here to change the game with one of his swings and he has the ability to do that." Authentic Arizona Cardinals Jerseys . The third-seeded Bouchard, from Westmount, Que., was coming off a semifinal appearance at the French Open. She took the opening set before the unseeded American came back for the 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory. Cheap Arizona Cardinals Gear . The kind he has every so often. The kind he has when Dwyane Wade sits. James scored 43 points -- 25 in a bewildering first-quarter shooting display -- and Chris Bosh added 21, leading the Miami Heat to a 100-96 win Tuesday night over the Cleveland Cavaliers, who played their first game without injured All-Star guard Kyrie Irving. http://www.cardinalscheap.com/ . -- The Minnesota Vikings have signed Jerome Simpson, the former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver recently convicted on a felony drug charge. Cheap Arizona Cardinals Jerseys Online . The Brazil defender was substituted 13 minutes into Wednesdays 2-1 Copa del Rey win at Athletic Bilbao because of a right hamstring problem. Scans revealed a second grade tear which could keep him out for a reported four to six weeks. Arizona Cardinals Jerseys Outlet . Just as the meeting was beginning, Major League Baseball unveiled Rule 7.13, an experimental rule for the 2014 season aimed at eliminating what the league calls “egregious” runner/catcher collisions at home plate.Steve Yzerman and Hockey Canada are getting a little bit of everything with the eight defenceman named to represent Canada at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. The eight defencemen named – Jay Bouwmeester, Drew Doughty, Dan Hamhuis, Duncan Keith, Alex Pietrangelo, P.K. Subban, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Shea Weber – bring a blend of offence, defence, mobility, responsibility and physicality. For Canada, that responsibility may well start at the top with returnees Keith, Weber and Doughty. "To me they have everything you want in a defence pairing," TSN director of scouting Craig Button said of the potential top pairing of Keith and Weber. "They can skate, they can move the puck up the ice or they can join in the attack. They can play against the other teams best players and theyre going to play a lot of minutes." "Mike Babcock will have no hesitance to put those two out there against anybody at any time," Button added. While some of the players selected were academic, especially returnees Doughty, Keith and Weber, others such as P.K. Subban and Dan Hamhuis were believed to be bubble players until the day the roster was unveiled. Representing the oldest membeer of the defence corps and one of the youngest are both new additions to Canadas Olympic squad as 24-year-old Subban and 31-year-old Hamhuis will both be expected to fill Canadas niche needs.dddddddddddd "The bottom pair is exactly what we thought it would be," said NHL on TSN analyst Mike Johnson. "Subban is there for an infusion of offence, a change of pace on special teams and Dan Hamhuis is there for the other end: defence, shot-blocking and penalty-killing depending on the situation." The defence is a perfect balance of right-handed and left-handed shots, which was a conscious effort by Canadas management. That balance may have played in Vlasics favour as he edged teammate and 2010 Canadian Olympian Dan Boyle out of one of the coveted blue line spots. Button praised Vlasics inclusion on the team, complimenting the 26-year-olds composure. "Hes steady, hes consistent and he plays at a high level," Button said. "Its not just skating and competing, his mind is very, very strong. Mistakes are going to be at a minimum in this type of tournament so you want a guy thats comfortable playing in those big minutes and those important times and hes not going to make mistakes." 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