nkful to the fans that I played in front of for so many years.Gasol also got a pregame visit from Kobe

TORONTO - Forgive Max Pentecost if his attentions divided this weekend. Cheap Eagles Jerseys . The Blue Jays second pick in the first round (11th overall) is competing in this weekends NCAA super regional for his school, Kennesaw State, against the Louisville Cardinals. All the while, he could be days or weeks away from signing a multi-million dollar contract to turn professional and enter Torontos organization. Pentecosts Owls were down a game in a best-of-three heading into action on Saturday night. Hes got business to take care of first but with a draft slot value at just under $2.9-million, the potential is there to strike it rich. Still, when you hear him speak in his southern drawl, its a reminder that the 21-year-old, like everyone his age, is in many ways still a kid. "I cant wait to get out there and go play," said Pentecost. "Theres going to be one day where Im going to have to clean out my locker and putter around home just because my parents had to move me out of my apartment while we were coming to the super regionals." Selected in the seventh round of the 2011 draft by the Texas Rangers, Pentecost chose not to sign when the Rangers included a 90-day clause in the contract offer, a shield against a recurring injury he suffered in high school. In Pentecosts sophomore year at Winder-Barrow High School near Atlanta, he suffered a stress fracture of his olecranon, which is the bony point of the elbow. He was prescribed rest and rehabilitation. It didnt work and the injury recurred during his junior year. Another season of rest and rehab didnt work and Pentecost suffered the injury a third time in his senior year. He had surgery, two screws were implanted, and there hasnt been an issue since. "I looked at it as I can go to college, work on a degree and if anything I can show them I can play three or four years without the injury recurring," said Pentecost. "I can play healthy and thankfully I was blessed enough to have a good career and improve my stock." His faith in himself has been rewarded. Pentecost has improved as a hitter in each of his three years at Kennesaw State, working a slash line of .423/.483/.631 this season. "I feel that Im more of a hit for average, Im more of a gap to gap, line drive kind of guy," said Pentecost. "I have power but Im not known as a power hitter. You know, it just kind of happens. I feel like I have pretty decent speed for baserunning, for stealing bags. I usually have a pretty good approach, hit offspeed well."Growing up in Georgia, Pentecost admitted he doesnt know much about the city of Toronto. He joked about his time in the Cape Cod League, the collegiate summer circuit in Massachusetts, where he picked up French-language radio stations beaming out of Quebec. It was his time in "The Cape," as its known, when he hit .346/.424/.538 with seven home runs for the Bourne Braves, that Pentecost feels he made his name. "I think thats the only reason I am where I am today," said Pentecost. "Going up there, nobody really knew who I was or had never even heard of Kennesaw State. So going up there I felt like I was really going to have to prove myself and prove my game just to prove who I am. I made a lot of changes to my game, really played hard, enjoyed it. The overall experience was, I mean, it was just a blast." Pentecost cites Jason Kendall and, more recently, Buster Posey as players hes looked up to. He considers himself a versatile athlete; if the catching thing doesnt work out, he could play a corner infield position or in the outfield. First things first, Pentecosts got a game to win on Saturday night. Hell worry about becoming a millionaire later, although getting the draft out of the way will help him relax. "Its a huge weight off my shoulders," he said. SANTOS UPDATE Sergio Santos will throw a bullpen session in Toronto on Sunday. If all goes well, hell report to Single-A Dunedin on Monday. The plan, Santos says, is to throw an inning each on Tuesday and Thursday. Hes hopeful of being activated off the disabled list late next week and of meeting the team in Baltimore. Cheap Eagles Jerseys Authentic . Selected by the Titans in the 2007 NFL Draft, Johnson rejoined the club last season after a five-year stint with Indianapolis. Wholesale Eagles Jerseys . -- A 25-year-old freelance journalist from British Columbia was formally charged on Thursday with a felony, five days after she was arrested in the United States over allegations she threatened to kill her hockey player boyfriend. http://www.cheapeaglesjerseyselite.com/ . Joining him in this years class were Switzerlands Patrick Huerlimann and Norways Eigil Ramsfjell. The announcement was made at the world mens curling championship at Capital Indoor Stadium in China.LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Pau Gasol was only back in town for two days and one emotional game at Staples Center. He still cherished the chance to reconnect with Los Angeles, where he won two NBA titles with the Lakers and created a legacy that will endure beyond his basketball career.So many memories. So many battles, Gasol said. So many moments that I have lived and experienced. Itll be nice to play in front of Laker fans and have a great game, and try to focus on it and be thankful for everything that I experienced here.And though he only had one night off in L.A., Gasol also couldnt miss a chance to do some good.Thats why the Chicago Bulls 7-foot star sat on a chair Wednesday night in the cafeteria at Theodore Roosevelt High School in the Boyle Heights neighbourhood of Los Angeles, speaking in Spanish to about 150 students and parents gathered to hear his thoughts on health and nutrition.Although Gasol has moved to the Midwest to pursue another ring, his Gasol Foundation continues to do important community work in this heavily Latino area southeast of downtown Los Angeles. After his speech, he raffled off two books of his photography and a basketball before posing for photos with just about everybody in attendance.My commitment with children and infants and their future, its key — not just for now, but for the rest of our lives, said Gasol, who fronts the foundation along with his All-Star brother, Marc. Were trying to build a foundation that does great work, that benefits children and their families who didnt have the opportunities that we did growing up.Gasol got another warm reception Thursday night before the Bulls faced the Lakers, who handed out gold T-shirts reading Thanks Pau to every fan, with a list of his accomplishments on the back. Gasol, who shook hands with familiar ushers and attendants throughout the building, got a standing ovation in warmups and another long ovation after a pregame tribute video.Gasol walked to centre court and acknowledged the cheers with a wave of his arms.I was just overwhelmed, he said. I didnt know exactly quite what to expect, so it was emotional. You always welcome that kind of appreciation and support and love, so Im thankful to the fans that I played in front of for so many years.Gasol also got a pregame visit from Kobe Bryant, his longtime friend and teammate who just had surgery on his torn right rotator cuff Wednesday. Theyve been in regular contact since Gasol left town.It was an incredible gesture on his part to want to come and say hello so that we could see each other, Gasol said. It was an unexpected gift.The BBulls lost a double-overtime thriller to the lowly Lakers. Eagles Jerseys Outlet. Gasol forced the first overtime with a tip-in basket, leaning over Robert Sacre with 11 seconds left in regulation.Still, the 34-year-old Gasol has been revitalized in Chicago, earning an All-Star berth and playing some of his best basketball in the past half-decade.I thought it was the right move to make at the time, and were in a great situation, Gasol said. Im playing at a high level. Im motivated, Im energized and Im excited about what Im doing again, so its perfect for me.Although he walked away from another deal with the Lakers last summer, he misses Los Angeles weather and culture along with his innumerable friends.He doesnt miss receiving a large part of the blame for the Lakers gradual slide from championship contention to utter ineptitude over the past four years — a burden that meant seeing his name in countless trade rumours and subjecting him to vicious online criticism from the type of entitled fans created by championship success.Obviously, it affected me, said Gasol, who would have been traded to Houston in December 2011 in a deal for Chris Paul before the NBA voided it.I dealt with it the best way I could, Gasol added. I gave everything I had, but obviously you have in the back of your mind that you could be gone at any time. That can happen to anyone, but mine seemed to be in the paper and in the press continuously, multiple times, pretty much the last three years I was here.In Chicago, Gasol can focus on whats important to him — his sport and his off-the-court interests, which range from charity work to photography to the performing arts. He doesnt have to hear from friends about where he might be headed next, or log on to Twitter to find the insult-laden hashtag IdtradeGasolfor.Its a nice, rewarding feeling, Gasol said. Its a factor that people have overlooked as far as my performance is now, and how Ive been playing, and what it has been for the last couple of years, also. Just the fact of just focusing on the game and giving my best.Gasol expects hell always have ties to Los Angeles, and the Barcelona native anticipated that warm reception from Lakers fans when he hit the court. Although some Lakers fans blamed Gasol, many more appreciated his talents and attitude along with his remarkable devotion to his community, wherever it may be.For me, its like coming back home, Gasol said. A lot of memories, a lot of experiences come back to me. Unfortunately its a short visit, but it will be nice to play at Staples. Weird that it will be in a different uniform. 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