Sports

Bieber emotional discussing season-ending injury

Published

1 year ago

April 9, 2024

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Associated Press

Apr 8, 2024, 03:23 PM ET

CLEVELAND — Shane Bieber held it together Monday for as long as he could.

The Cleveland Guardians ace has spent the past few days trying to process his new reality: Tommy John surgery and not pitching again this season.

It has been harder than he imagined.

His voice choked with emotion, Bieber paused while speaking to reporters for the first time since deciding to have the surgery, a procedure that will end his 2024 season.

Bieber, who missed more than two months last season with elbow issues, somehow gutted out two starts — 12 scoreless innings and 20 strikeouts against Oakland and Seattle — before succumbing to pain.

He’s now suffering in a different way, and Bieber is still struggling to accept that he has to move forward.

“Baseball will be there,” the 2020 Cy Young winner said, speaking softly. “I will be here. It’s easy to keep things in perspective. It’s just an injury that I’ll get past. I’m not the first person, won’t be the last. One of the things that is a bit more difficult for me is that throughout the offseason and in spring training, I did figure some things out and my performance was getting back to the place that I knew I was capable of.

“I was falling back in love with pitching, and I was having a lot of fun.”

Bieber hasn’t yet scheduled the surgery, but he intends to have it done as soon as possible so he can begin a lengthy rehab and recovery.

Bieber, 28, who is in his final year under contract, said he initially felt soreness in his Opening Day start against the Athletics. He chalked it up to being his first outing but sensed it was something more.

He took the mound against the Mariners last week knowing he would have to push his elbow to the limit.

“It was either it goes away or it’s surgery,” he said.

In that start, Bieber said the elbow bothered him from “warmup one to pitch 83, so it was an emotional time.”

In the days after, he consulted with team doctors, received outside opinions from orthopedists Dr. Keith Meister and Dr. Neal ElAttrache and decided to have the surgery. At this point, he has no other choice.

Bieber is just one of several big-name pitchers who have been diagnosed with elbow injuries. Atlanta’s Spencer Strider, the New York Yankees’ Jonathan Loáisiga, Miami’s Eury Pérez and Oakland’s Trevor Gott are others.

Over the weekend, MLBPA executive director Tony Clark blamed the spike in elbow injuries on the pitch clock, which was introduced last season to mixed reviews. While it speeds up games, it’s also possible it has contributed to pitchers working too fast and potentially risking injury.

“I’m not ready to say that that’s the reason that it happened,” Bieber said. “From a conditioning and cardiovascular standpoint, that hasn’t affected pitchers, I don’t think. So it’s hard to say what’s going on in the inner workings of the elbow and the arm. We’ll see what’s to come of it.”

Bieber’s future in Cleveland is cloudier than ever.

The Guardians previously offered him a long-term contract, but Bieber had been reluctant to sign, in hopes of cashing in as a free agent. The team considered trading him before his elbow flared up last season, and that seemed to be a possible scenario this year.

Now, nothing is certain.

“It’s a very real elephant in the room, so to speak,” Bieber said of his contract situation. “It’s unfortunate the timing of everything, but as athletes, you can’t control some of these things. So we do what we can. We stay positive.

“I’ve got an amazing support system with my family, with my teammates, with everybody around here, and I’m excited to keep my head down, move forward, and it’s easy to keep things in perspective. Things could be a lot worse, I’ll put it that way.”

Sports

Panthers handle Leafs, seal 3rd ECF trip in row

Published

11 hours ago

May 19, 2025

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Panthers handle Leafs, seal 3rd ECF trip in row

ESPN News Services

May 18, 2025, 10:22 PM ET

TORONTO — A three-goal second period broke open a tight game, quieted a raucous crowd at Scotiabank Arena, and powered the Florida Panthers past the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-1 in Game 7 of this Eastern Conference semifinal series on Sunday night.

Though it wasn’t the typical marquee names you see on the Florida scoresheet, Seth Jones, Anton Lundell and Jonah Gadjovich combined for those tallies, giving the Stanley Cup-champion Panthers a 3-0 lead headed into the third period. It was plenty of room for Florida to shut the door in the third period and seal a berth in the Eastern Conference finals for the third consecutive season. Florida will take on the Carolina Hurricanes in Round 3 beginning Tuesday.

The Maple Leafs, 2-0 winners in Game 6 Friday night in Sunrise, Florida, could not find enough time and space to operate in the Panthers’ zone. With 10 minutes left in regulation, Toronto had just 14 shots on net, with its season on the line, as boos rained down from the capacity crowd.

Eetu Luostarinen and Sam Reinhart chipped in with third-period goals for Florida, giving the champions a 5-1 lead after Toronto’s Max Domi scored at 2:07 of the final frame to briefly give the home team hope. Florida’s Brad Marchand added an empty-net goal to conclude the scoring.

“We’re excited about the opportunity,” Marchand said during the game broadcast on SportsNet. “We’re having fun, enjoying the moment, that’s all you can do. You don’t get a second chance at these opportunities. You just have to embrace and enjoy it.”

Goaltender Joseph Woll, who authored the shutout in Sunrise on Friday, struggled at home, looking out of position on several Florida goals. Anthony Stolarz, Toronto’s regular starter who had been sidelined since Game 1 with an undisclosed injury, was active and on the bench as Toronto’s backup for Game 7, but he was not called upon.

Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was much sharper on the other end of the ice, allowing only Domi’s goal off a wrist shot on a clean entry into the zone. Bobrovsky, who has started every postseason game for the Panthers this season, was playing in his first Game 7 since he led the Panthers to the Stanley Cup last June with a victory over the Edmonton Oilers in the series’ last game.

Jones, in his first season with Florida and seeking his first shot at the Stanley Cup, opened the scoring with his third goal of the postseason.

“I’m just happy with the situation I’m in,” Jones said on TNT’s postgame show. “Hopefully, my game can grow, and I’m just trying to bring what I can to the table with this team. I’m playing with a lot of great players, and these guys know what it takes to win.”

The game was delayed in the second period, just before Florida’s goal-scoring spree, after referee Chris Rooney, widely considered to be one of the top officials in the NHL, was bloodied and had to leave. The longtime referee was hit by an inadvertent stick to the face.

The play happened 13 seconds into the second period, when Florida’s Niko Mikkola was jousting for the puck and his stick went into Rooney’s face. Rooney skated off with some assistance and with a towel covering much of his face as he was brought to the locker room area for further evaluation and treatment.

The NHL has stand-by officials at playoff games, and Garrett Rank took over as one of the two referees following Rooney’s injury, joining a crew that also included referee Jean Hebert and linespersons Devin Berg and Jonny Murray.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Sports

Referee Rooney leaves Game 7 after stick to face

Published

11 hours ago

May 19, 2025

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Referee Rooney leaves Game 7 after stick to face

Associated Press

May 18, 2025, 09:12 PM ET

TORONTO — Referee Chris Rooney, widely considered to be one of the top officials in the NHL, was bloodied and had to leave Game 7 of the Florida Panthers–Toronto Maple Leafs playoff matchup Sunday night after taking an inadvertent stick above one of his eyes.

The play happened 13 seconds into the second period of the Panthers’ 6-1 win when Florida’s Niko Mikkola was jousting for the puck and his stick hit Rooney’s face.

The game was stopped for several minutes and a stretcher was brought onto the ice, but Rooney skated off with some assistance and with a towel covering much of his face as he was brought to the locker room area for further evaluation and treatment.

Rooney got stitches and was ruled out for the remainder of the game.

The NHL has standby officials at playoff games, and Garrett Rank took over as one of the two referees following Rooney’s injury, joining a crew that also included referee Jean Hebert and linesmen Devin Berg and Jonny Murray.