Mets pitcher sees Jeter as role model
Count New York Mets ace Matt Harvey, the National League’s starting pitcher in Tuesday night’s All-Star game, as a fan of crosstown rival Derek Jeter. And not just because of Jeter’s on-field credentials.
Harvey, 7-2, 2.35 ERA in his first full season with the Mets, recently did an interview with Men’s Journal and discussed his admiration for the longtime shortstop of the New York Yankees.
Harvey mentioned Jeter’s play, which includes five World Series championships, 13 All-Star selections and almost certain invitation into the Hall of Fame when he retires.
But another reason is the company Jeter keeps.
“That guy is the model. I mean, first off, let’s just look at the women he’s dated,” Harvey told the magazine. “Obviously, he goes out - he’s meeting these girls somewhere - but you never hear about it. That’s where I want to be.”
Harvey dates supermodel Anne V. Jeter has been linked to Minka Kelly, Jessica Biel, Mariah Carey and others during his time in New York.
Some other topics broached by Harvey:
On his “48-hour-rule:” “No drinking two days before a start.
But those other days? Yes, I’m going to go out. If I was locked up in my house all week, I don’t know what I’d be like on the baseball field.”
On buying a New York home: “No matter what, New York is now my home. I could buy a place now, but I’ve got to wait for that $200 million contract. If I’m going to go buy an apartment, it has to be the best apartment in the city.”
Friendly rivalries
Fantasy football leagues are a big deal between buddies.
Sometimes, they’re a big deal to actual football players, too.
Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew has relayed stories about how NFL players deal with fantasy football during the season.
Jones-Drew told a Sirius XM radio host that he suspected a former teammate, Greg Jones, didn’t block for him because the two were facing each other in a fantasy game that week.
“We got to the 1-yard-line, and they were like, ‘We better call this run play.’ I’m like, ‘Greg don’t do it.’ And he looked at me and winked,” Jones-Drew told the radio host. “And I was like, ‘Greg, it’s not time to play. This is bigger than [winning in fantasy]. Let’s not do this.’ ”
Jones-Drew didn’t mention how the play turned out.
You better not
Brian Urlacher said he has no feelings of regret after his May retirement announcement. But he did say that he’ll be a bit upset if the Chicago Bears do something he never did.
Urlacher, who played 13 seasons with the Bears, told the Dave Dameshek Football Program that he’d be upset if the Bears won the Super Bowl.
Urlacher played in the Bears’ Super Bowl XLI loss to the Indianapolis Colts in 2007, but never won a championship.
“I’m going for them,” he said.
“A lot of my friends are still on the team. A lot of my good friends - guys I played with for 10, 11 years - so I’m still rooting for them.
I hope they do well. [But] they better not win the championship without me, because then I’ll be really pissed.”
Quote of the day
“Sometimes I feel like I’m walking around out there, and I’m unconscious.” Rory McIlroy, after shooting a 79 in the first round of the British Open
Sports, Pages 18 on 07/19/2013