Sports Garth McLennan supergarth@ hotmail.com Garth McLennan sr New York Yankees have resigned all-star catcher Jorge Posada to a four- year, $52-million deal, which averages out to $13-million per season. Posada, 36, is now the highest paid catcher in baseball. In 12 major league considered to vis the Yankees, as well as six American League titles. He has also won the Silver Slugger award five times. Posada also holds the “He is widely distinction of being the only catcher in history to seasons the switch- be the greatest have batted at hitting Posada, who has played his entire career with the Yankees, has played in six MLB all-star games and has been a five-time all-star. He is widely considered to be one of, if not the, greatest catchers in Yankee history. He has won four World Series championships with least .330 with catcher 40 doubles, 20 in Yankee history.” home runs, and 85 RBI’s, a feat he accomplished last season. Since 2000, he has had more RBI’s than any other catcher in baseball with 603. nn Yankees Re-sign mu Posada for $52M Rodriguez Does About-Face By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor Dickiteei third baseman Alex Rodriguez has switched from his previous position and has reportedly signed a monster new contract with the New York Yankees. Rodriguez had previously opted out of the final three years of his old deal, and had forfeited $91-million. This new pact with the Yankees comes in the wake of Rodriguez’s negotiations with New York without his agent, Scott Boras. Boras originally advised Rodriguez to terminate the final years of his old deal. Boras does not get along with Yankee management, and has been blacklisted by the organization. Rodriguez is coming off a career year with the Yankees, as he became the youngest player in history to hit 500 home runs and is the front runner in the race to win the AL MVP. He was voted the American League’s most outstanding player by other players, and captured the 2007 Silver Slugger award. He has won the AL MVP award twice before, and is now a nine time recipient of the Silver Slugger award. Rodriguez’s new contract is for a staggering $270-275-million over ten years, which will pay baseball’s best player an average of $27.5-million per season. There is also significant bonus money available for Rodriguez if he is able to break Barry Bond’s home run record as a New York Yankee. PGA Tour to Institute Drug Policy By Garth McLennon E. July 2008, the PGA tour will establish its first ever drug policy, the tour announced recently. Along with other reputable golf associations such as the European tour, the LPGA, the USGA, and Augusta National Golf Club, the PGA Tour has issued a list of banned substances that includes all forms of anabolic steroids and similar enhancements, stimulants, beta blockers, diuretics, narcotics, and hormones. The penalties for violating the tour’s substance abuse program are stiff, a first time infringement will warrant a one- year suspension from tour play, up to a five-year ban for a second contravention, and a lifetime barring for violations beyond that. Players can be tested at any time without prior notification, and there is nO Maximum or minimum number of times a player will be tested each year, says PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem. “The Tour’s primary objective is to have a credible program that will aggressively deter the use of any prohibited substance,” said Finchem. Treatment programs for players with marijuana, cocaine, or similar problems will begin in December 2007. The world’s greatest golfer strongly supports a drug program in golf. Tiger Woods has already volunteered to be the first person tested when the PGA brings in drug testing.