May 06, 2008 08:39 pm Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling tested his ailing shoulder by playing catch on flat ground but isn't ready to begin throwing off a mound. "He did good. He looked good," manager Terry Francona said. "It's a good step for him. But he's not ready yet." The 41-year-old right-hander threw 25 balls from 60 feet away. He'll repeat the exercise tomorrow before the Red Sox complete a four-game series against the Tigers. "Well that day is here, finally. Today I'll be 'allowed' to play catch for the first time since January," Schilling wrote on his Web site before the session. "A lot has happened and there is probably even more left to do, but it's a step." Schilling preferred to have surgery on the shoulder but after being examined by three doctors, he agreed to rest and rehabilitation. Schilling has a tendon injury and possibly a damaged rotator cuff, depending on the diagnosis. "I think we are all very happy with where I have come and how much improvement I've made, but at the end of the day we really are at the bottom of the mountain at this point," Schilling wrote. "Throwing, bullpens, long toss, rehab games, those will start the clock ticking on the health of my shoulder and where it is at. The last few weeks I've been pushed extremely hard, and in my mind if there were significant injury issues, the fallout would have been pain, enough pain to notice and hinder our work. That hasn't happened and that is obviously a great sign. "Having said that it still comes down to how the arm bounces back once we start putting a heavier load on the shoulder. We won't be able to get there for a few weeks of throwing at least. If we can get through that part, long toss and into bullpens, and the feel remains the same, then I think I'll start getting excited about what might be." Pro basketball: Lakers star Bryant wins first MVP award Kobe Bryant has won his first MVP award after leading the Los Angeles Lakers to the best record in the Western Conference. He will receive the trophy tonight from commissioner David Stern before the Lakers face Utah in Game 2 of their conference semifinal. Bryant was followed in the voting by Chris Paul, Kevin Garnett and LeBron James. Bryant entered the season as the league's two-time defending scoring champion but had finished only as high as third in MVP voting. He averaged 28.3 points while playing all 82 games despite tearing a pinkie ligament in February. More pro basketball: Billups' shot should not have counted The NBA admitted Chauncey Billups' 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter of Monday's Detroit-Orlando playoff game should not have counted, but said referees weren't allowed to review instant replay to determine that. League president Joel Litvin also said the disputed shot, which gave Detroit a 78-76 lead in its 100-93 victory, could not have been replayed after the clock malfunction was discovered. "After reviewing the video of last night's Pistons-Magic game, we determined that the play that concluded with Chauncey Billups' 3-point field goal at the end of the third quarter took approximately 5.7 seconds," Litvin said in a statement. "Because there were only 5.1 seconds remaining in the quarter when the play began, the shot would not have counted had the clock continued to run." The league said the timekeeper who worked the game was from a "neutral" city, standard procedure for all games. After the game, Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said the referees indicated it took 4.6 seconds to complete the play. Lead official Steve Javie declined a postgame interview by a pool reporter. Pro baseball: Judge allows Clemens to keep attorney in defamation suit A federal judge ruled that Roger Clemens can keep his lawyer in the defamation lawsuit against his former trainer, who accused the pitcher of using performance-enhancing drugs. Lawyers for Clemens' former trainer, Brian McNamee, filed a motion for attorney Rusty Hardin to be removed from the case because Hardin represented both Clemens and pitcher Andy Pettitte for several days before the release of the Mitchell Report in December. More pro baseball: Zito returns to starting rotation against Pirates Barry Zito, demoted to the San Francisco Giants bullpen last week, is returning to the starting rotation without having made any relief appearances. Giants manager Bruce Bochy said that Zito will start tonight's game at the Pittsburgh Pirates. Zito, who a year ago signed a $126 million, seven-year contract, was sent to the bullpen last week after a terrible start. The left-hander lost his first six starts and had a 7.53 ERA. Zito was San Francisco's opening-day starter this season and is only the third pitcher since 1956 to go 0-6 before May, joining Texas' Dave Stewart (1984) and Detroit's Mike Maroth (2003). The 2002 AL Cy Young Award winner with Oakland is a three-time All-Star. More pro baseball: Union express concern over lack of offers to Bonds The players' association has expressed concern to the baseball commissioner's office over the lack of offers to Barry Bonds, asking for additional information about the offseason's free-agent market. The union did not go as far as to file a grievance on behalf of the 43-year-old outfielder, who remains unsigned and hasn't received any offers since the San Francisco Giants decided not to re-sign him last year and he became a free agent. "We've raised both general concerns and some player specific concerns," Michael Weiner, the union's general counsel, said. Weiner said the only player the union specifically brought up in its discussions with the commissioner's office was Bonds, who repeatedly has said he wants to play a 23rd major league season. Pro hockey: Sabres sign BC forward Gerbe to 3-year deal Forward Nathan Gerbe signed a three-year deal potentially worth $2.55 million with the Buffalo Sabres, electing to forgo his senior season at Boston College. A fifth-round pick in the 2005 NHL draft, the 5-foot-5 Gerbe overcame questions about his lack of size by leading the nation with 68 points (35 goals and 33 assists) in 43 games for the national champion Eagles last season. Gerbe, from Oxford, Mich., will make an NHL rookie maximum $850,000 per season if he plays all three seasons with the Sabres. "I couldn't thank Boston College enough, but this opportunity came up and I didn't want to turn it down," said Gerbe, who finished his college career with 133 points (71 goals, 62 assists) in 123 games. "I'm very excited to take this step and very proud." Horse racing: Trainer states Eight Belles was not on steroids The trainer of euthanized filly Eight Belles has ordered drug testing to be part of the autopsy on the Kentucky Derby runner-up. Larry Jones wants to dispel rumors the horse may have been on steroids. He guarantees the tests will come back negative. Jones spoke at a news conference at Delaware Park, the site of the filly's first win. Eight Belles was put down after breaking both front ankles Saturday. Jones says People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is wrong to criticize jockey Gabriel Saez. The animal-rights group says Saez should have known the horse was in trouble and the rider went to the whip too often. College: NCAA academic report shows some teams may be hit hard College teams that consistently underperform in the classroom are now getting hit harder by the NCAA. Nearly 150 college teams face possible scholarship losses next season and 26 others are in danger of being banned from postseason play if they don't improve next year. The NCAA's annual academic progress report was released yesterday. It showed more than 700 teams fell short of the mandated cut score. Olympics: Polish Olympian dies in N.Y. One of Poland's greatest Olympic athletes has died in New York at age 68. Witold Woyda, a fencer who won medals in three consecutive Olympics, died Monday at his Bronxville home. His wife, Margot Woyda, says he battled lung cancer for two years. Woyda won two gold medals for Poland, in team and individual foil, in the 1972 Games in Munich. He won the silver medal for team foil in 1964 and the bronze in 1968. ... China acknowledged for the first time that it is tightening its visa policies ahead of the Olympics. "We have made some arrangements according to usual international practice. That is, in the approval process we are more strict and more serious with the procedure," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said. He did not directly link the changes to the Aug. 8-24 Beijing Olympics, but said the policies would "be maintained for a period of time."
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