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BOSTON -- Alex Rodriguez thought his final week as a member of the?New York Yankees was going to be on the field, not the bench.Yankees manager Joe Girardi decided otherwise, prioritizing winning over sentimentality.Girardi said Rodriguez will not start Tuesday and Wednesday, but would be in the lineup Thursday against knuckleballer Steven Wright. A-Rod also will start Friday, his final game with the team.Im disappointed, Rodriguez said Tuesday at Fenway Park. When I heard him say I can actually play in all four games, I was really excited to get some at-bats. I dont know what happened.On Sunday, after the Yankees announced the plan for A-Rod to be released Friday and then take a job as a special adviser, Girardi said he would let A-Rod dictate his playing time for his final week in pinstripes.If he wants to play in every game, Ill find a way, Girardi said. ?Girardi said his comments Sunday were made when he got caught up in the moment, so he is choosing the Yankees pursuit of the wild card over A-Rods farewell.Im an emotional guy, Girardi said. My heart can get tugged at. I think I got caught up in the emotions. Im human. There is a human element to me. There is a human element to Alex. Im not saying he wont play these next two days and that he wont be in there. Im managing to try to win the games. Thats what I have to do. This is a very important series for us. This is one of the teams that we are chasing.A-Rod never made it into Tuesdays game, a 5-3 Yankees loss. Fans at Fenway chanted We Want A-Rod late in the game, hoping hed get in the game.?Rodriguez said he came to the park excited Tuesday, hoping to play in all three games at Fenway. The Yankees started Tuesday 4? games back in the wild card with 51 games remaining.Girardi started Brian McCann at designated hitter against right-hander Rick Porcello. Rodriguez is hitting .204 with nine homers and 29 RBIs in 62 games.We started to give the at-bats to other people because of what we saw, Girardi said. Thats hard for me to say, because I believed in Alex. He was a guy that was always so productive for us. I dont know. I dont know if there would be a right situation out there for him. He is going to be 42, and he doesnt really play a position.Rodriguez, who just turned 41, would not totally close the door on Friday being his final game.I dont know that answer right now, Rodriguez said. Im content with how this week has gone down.For now, A-Rod is still a Yankee and stuck on the bench.Said Girardi: My responsibility as the manager -- and we are still in this -- is to win games. Wholesale Custom Tigers Shirts . Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee? Green had bounced around the NBA when he wasnt playing overseas. The Pacers gave up on Plumlee after just one season. Now Green and Plumlee are key cogs in the Suns surprising breakout season. Authentic Custom Tigers Jersey . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. http://www.customtigersjersey.com/ . Now that hes hitting streaking teammates with pin-point passes for easy layups, Love is asserting himself as one of the true superstars in the league. 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Enough that Self knew to put the ball in Masons hands and let him take the shot that kept the Blue Devils matchup from also going into overtime.I think the NBAs missing the boat on him, Self said. He doesnt fit the eye test with length and standing (5-foot-11) and that kind of stuff, but hes got some things you cant teach and intangibles that are as good as anybody in America probably possesses.After netting a career-high 30 points in the Indiana defeat, Mason led Kansas with 21 points and five assists against Duke. The third-year starter has already gained the distinction as the Jayhawks go-to man entering their home opener Friday against Siena (1-1).By at least gaining a split of a season-opening salvo in which Kansas flew over the Pacific and also played near the Atlantic to confront two bluebloods of their ilk , the Jayhawks realized their potential as Big 12 favorites expected to vie for a Final Four berth.It will do something for us, because, for the first time, we won a game when we shot it like (garbage), Self said. He also noted that Duke did not get transition points and we controlled the glass. Its not that complicated.Certainly not if Mason continues a furious pace that finds him averaging 25.5 points, 7.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds over 37.5 minutes. This, despite sitting out some of the first half against Duke because of foul trouble.Freshmen also flashed more of their skills in the Duke win. Joshh Jackson, a 6-8 guard rated by some services as the top recruit in this years class, added 15 points.dddddddddddd Udoka Azubuike, a 7-foot, 280-pound man-child from Nigeria, grabbed 12 rebounds.Were not a great rebounding team by any stretch, Self said, and he gets 12 in 15 minutes and our other bigs get seven in 30. As he gets more comfortable, I certainly see his minutes going up. Hes going to be as important as anybody on our team in how good we can be.The Jayhawks have won 42 straight home openers. The game against Siena is officially part of the CBE Classic, which will find Kansas moving on to Kansas City, Mo., for a Nov. 21 game against UAB. Also that night, George Washington faces Georgia. The four-team bracket concludes Nov. 22.Siena was edged 77-75 by George Washington, the reigning NIT champion, on Nov. 15.The Saints had a chance to win at the buzzer, but sophomore guard Nico Clareth missed a 3-pointer. The loss began a stretch of four road games in eight days.Its a lot of travel and a lot of games, said Siena senior forward Brett Bisping, who averages a double-double (14.0 points, 10.5 rebounds). But its early in the season, so were not really worn down yet. I think well be ready to go.The Saints were picked second in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (behind Monmouth) after returning their five top scorers off last years 21-13 squad.Marquis Wright, a 6-1 senior guard, leads Siena with a 26-point average after matching his career-best with 31 points against Cornell in the season opener.I hope some of the younger guys see what Marquis does, Siena coach Jimmy Patsos said. Hes fiery. He keeps taking the big shot. But he plays defense, then he hustles, he comes over and he listens to me. Hes a complete player. ' ' '