she made a huge difference on the second leg and the team spe

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Tim Tebow threw a wrinkle into the baseball season when he enticed dozens of reporters and scouts to trek to Los Angeles in late August to watch him run a 60-yard dash, shag fly balls and crank batting practice fastballs over the fence.For his next trick, Tebow will ascend to the ranks of the Spruce Bluff Preserve, the Botanical Gardens and the Treasure Coast Model Railroad Club as a Port St. Lucie tourist attraction.Tebows professional journey begins for real Monday when he joins 57 other aspiring New York Mets for the teams three-week instructional league at Tradition Field. The event is open to the public, and the Mets have fielded enough inquiries to expect more than the usual trickle of back field stragglers.Ive never seen more than seven people at our instructional league before, Ian Levin, the Mets director of minor league operations, said with a laugh. Im making that up, obviously, but its typically just family and friends. This will definitely be a different instructional league.Tebow, a former Heisman Trophy winner, two-time national champion at Florida and NFL quarterback with the Denver Broncos, New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles, is taking a high-profile plunge into a new sport. After signing with the Mets for a $100,000 bonus, hell try to buck convention and carve out a career in baseball despite an 11-year absence from the game.Ever since Tebow revealed his plans to pursue baseball, he has been the focus of a debate over the worthiness of the experiment. Supporters are intrigued by the entertainment value of a natural athlete chasing his dream. Skeptics dismiss the Tebow story as a publicity stunt and think hes receiving an inordinate amount of attention for someone with a minuscule chance of reaching the big leagues. Tebow also has received criticism for his plan to leave the instructional league for a day or two each week to continue his TV work with ESPNs SEC Nation.Amid the dissenting views, Tebow approaches his quest with his typical brand of can-do optimism.Im excited about it. I really am, Tebow told Newsday last week during a national media tour. Ive loved the game of baseball. Hitting a baseball is one of my favorite things to do in sports. Im excited about the journey, the challenge, the difficulties, all of it. Its going to be a lot of fun and its something thats definitely exciting for me.The Mets signed Tebow knowing that hes raw and has a big learning curve ahead of him, so instructional league is a natural place to start. Its a compressed learning lab that allows young players to polish their skills in a structured environment with an emphasis on individual instruction. Tebows progress in Florida will help determine whether hes ready for the Arizona Fall League or winter ball, or if hes better served working one-on-one with coaches during the offseason heading into spring training.The Mets are sending 24 coaches to Port St. Lucie to oversee 29 pitchers, eight catchers, 12 infielders and nine outfielders (a group that includes Tebow). Tebow and his fellow instructional leaguers will arrive at the park at 7:30 or 8 a.m. each day. After breakfast and morning meetings, theyll hit the field from 10 a.m. to 1 or 2 p.m.The Mets minor leaguers are scheduled to play five games against other organizations and several more intrasquad games in Port St. Lucie. Factor in weight training before or after games, and Tebow will be logging some days of eight hours or more in the 90-degree heat. Former Boston College pitcher Justin Dunn, New Yorks top pick in Junes first-year player draft, has the highest profile among the other 57 players in camp. The oldest instructional leaguer after the 29-year-old Tebow is pitcher Cameron Griffin, who turned 25 in June.The youngest attendee, Venezuelan outfielder Raul Beracierta, turned 17 in May. Dominican shortstop Gregory Guerrero, who signed for a $1.2 million bonus in 2015, is also 17. Hes the nephew of former big league All-Star Vladimir Guerrero.Mets general manager Sandy Alderson has expressed the hope that Tebow will have an impact on New Yorks prospects with his energy and wide range of life experiences. Tebows give-and-take with players of high school and college age is likely to be one of the more intriguing facets of his instructional league experience.Development comes from all different areas, Levin said. Theres on-field development that comes from the coaches and playing games, and theres off-field development from your peers and the environment. I havent spoken to Tim yet, but from everything Ive seen about him, hes a very positive person and obviously a hard worker whos become successful in his own right.Im looking forward to seeing him interact with the players. It brings another perspective and another viewpoint that could rub off on our guys in a positive way.Judging from the media attention and the number of Mets fans wholl be dropping by Tradition Field this week, Levin and his colleagues in New Yorks front office arent the only ones who are curious how Tebow will fare in his strange new world. Jake Odorizzi Twins Jersey . LOUIS -- Mike Smith is used to facing plenty of shots, so this was nothing new. Jason Castro Twins Jersey . Halifax beat the Saint John Sea Dogs 7-5 on the strength of two goals apiece from Nikolaj Ehlers, Matt Murphy and Brent Andrews. Jonathan Drouin also scored and had three assists while Zachary Fucale made 17 saves for the Mooseheads (16-8-0), who led 6-1 after two periods. http://www.twinssale.com/twins-jason-castro-jersey/ . Sgt. Eric ONeal says most of the arrests at Monday nights game were for public drunkenness, though one person was taken into custody on suspicion of trying to steal a seat from the stadium. C. J. Cron Twins Jersey . -- Ty Montgomery had 290 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, and fifth-ranked Stanford held on to beat No. Martin Perez Jersey .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. AMSTERDAM -- Wrapped in a Dutch flag, bedecked in orange and celebrating gold. That was Dafne Schippers at the European Championships, showing the edge that will make her a major sprint contender at the Olympics next month.Her 200 meters is so strong she didnt even test it at the continental event. In a chill, she left everyone standing in the 100 on Friday and on Sunday, the Dutch womens 4x100 relay team mixed Schippers sheer speed with clockwork orange baton exchanges for a national record of 42.04 seconds. That makes the team a medal contender in Rio de Janeiro too.Schippers leaves the Euros with 2-for-2 in gold and the knowledge that her start has improved to the extent that she can challenge the Americans and Jamaicans over 100 as well as 200, where she is already the world champion.Lets go for more, said Schippers after the championships, which ended Sunday.On Sunday, she made a huge difference on the second leg and the team sped to a Dutch and second best performance this year. It was a display good enough to make the Dutch medaal contenders in Rio, something few would have thought ahead of Sundays race.ddddddddddddchippers already won the 100 with overwhelming power. She skipped the relay heats at the last moment on Saturday because of a tight hamstring but had fully recovered with a dominating leg on Sunday.Well behind the Dutch, Britain took silver and Germany bronze.In the mens relay, Britain did one better, successfully defending its title ahead of France and Germany. For Europes fastest man, Frances Jimmy Vicaut, it concluded a disappointing championship after he slipped to bronze in the 100 meters on Thursday.Without the Russians, the big question was how other nations would profit from their absence and at the end on Sunday, Poland was top with six gold medals, driven by strong performances in the middle distance and field events.When it comes to the overall medal standings, Britain and Germany were even at 16 medals each. ' ' '