as sore shooting. A second scan showed the same.Fearing he h

NEW YORK -- The banged-up New York Yankees are getting an unexpected but much-needed rest. New Yorks game against the Pittsburgh Pirates that was scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Friday was postponed six hours before game time due a forecast of inclement weather throughout the night. The game will be made up as part of a single-admission doubleheader Sunday with the opener starting at 1:05 p.m. Only tickets for Sundays game will be honoured. Its the first one-ticket doubleheader hosted by the Yankees since Sept. 29, 2004, against Minnesota, according to STATS. Pittsburghs Edinson Volquez (1-3) was scheduled to face New Yorks David Phelps (0-0) Friday night in the Pirates first game at the newest version of Yankee Stadium, which opened in 2009. Phelps will now start Saturday and Hiroki Kuroda will be given an extra day of rest. He and Vidal Nuno will start in the doubleheader, the order still to be determined. This is the third postponement for each team this season. The rain gives Yankees outfielder Ichiro Suzuki an extra day of rest. He has not played since Sunday, when he hurt his back attempting a catch in Milwaukee. Once healthy, Suzuki should see more playing time because Carlos Beltran was placed on the 15-day disabled list Thursday with a bone spur in his right elbow. "Im getting better but not to the point where Im capable of swinging the bat 100 per cent," Beltran said Thursday. The Yankees (21-19) are coming off back-to-back shutouts of the crosstown rival Mets with Masahiro Tanaka winning 4-0 Wednesday, his first complete game in the major leagues. A night later, rookie Chase Whitley pitched two-hit ball for 4 2-3 innings of a 1-0 win that gave the New York a split of the four-game Subway Series. Whitley made his major league debut in place of ace CC Sabathia, who is on the 15-day disabled list with a right knee injury. Phelps was scheduled to make his third start since replacing Michael Pineda in the rotation. Phelps first joined the rotation when Pineda was suspended 10 days for having pine tar on his neck in a game at Boston. The right-hander remained in the starting five when Pineda injured a muscle in his upper back pitching a simulated game April 29, during his ban. Phelps gave up four runs and eight hits over five-plus innings Sunday, when the Yankees lost 6-5 in the bottom of the ninth at Milwaukee. The Pirates (17-23) come to New York after a 4-3, walkoff loss Thursday, also at the Brewers. Former Yankees reliever Mark Melancon blew the save filling in for injured closer Jason Grilli. The Pirates have not won in New York since the start of interleague play, losing three in a row in 2005 and 07. They took one of three in Pittsburgh in 2008. Pirates catchers Chris Stewart and Russell Martin both played for the Yankees, and theyve seen how the new ballpark can be hitter friendly for batters swinging from the left side. "Every stadium kind of has their pros and cons, and thats definitely one of them for left-handers, and some right-handers like to go the other way," Stewart told MLB.com. "Ive seen popups over there that have sailed out." That could bode well for slugging third baseman Pedro Alvarez, who grew up in the Bronx and has eight homers. The ballpark also suits Ike Davis well. The first baseman will be returning to the city where he played his entire career for the Mets in Queens until being traded to Pittsburgh on April 18. Brent Burns Jersey . With the suspension, Nigeria is unable to take part in any kind of international fixtures. FIFA had issued a warning to the NFF last week after the federation was served with court proceedings from the government that prevented the NFFs president from running the NFFs day-to-day affairs. 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The 31-year-old English international is happy to be back in Toronto and any transfer talk was out of his hands.Toronto FC has acknowledged turning down a franchise-record bid for Defoe at the closing of the summer transfer window and the talk did not stop there. Such speculation, said Defoe, is part of football and players have no control over offers from other clubs.In England, its normal a€” where theres speculation about players leaving, players going ... At the end of the day Im still a TFC player and Im totally committed to the cause, he told a news conference Wednesday, his first public comments since returning from England where he had been nursing a groin injury.For me it was sort of like Oh here we go again, he added. It was just normal. I didnt really pay too much attention to it because I think my main focus was trying to get fit. People that know me, they know I love playing football and I find it really it difficult to be on the sidelines. Especially at such a crucial time, pushing for the playoffs. I want to be involved, I want to score goals, I want to push the club forward.It was a polished 17 1/2-minute solo performance from Defoe, sitting at a table in front of a sizable media corps in the upstairs lounge at TFCs training centre. Defoe had shrugged off help from handlers in advance, saying he knew what he wanted to say.I never came out anyway and said I wanted to leave, Defoe, tattoos peeking out from a black T-shirt above jeans, said by way of summary.One suspects Defoes agent did not sit on his hands during the transfer window and who can blame him. Goal-scoring strikers are always in demand and Defoe has ties to the likes of Queens Park Rangers manager Harry Redknapp.Still Defoe single-handedly managed to stuff the transfer genie back into the bottle, at least for a while.I dont know whats going to happen in the future. All I can say to the fans is Im fully committed, he said.And with a salary listed at US$6.18 million this season, not to mention a reported list of perks that would do Van Halen proud, the five-foot-seven striker is not exactly roughing it on this side of the Atlantic.He is back but not yet fully healthy.Defoe ran Tuesday, only the second time since the injury, and said there was no negative reaction. He did some work in the gym Wednesday and hopes to be back in full training Monday. An Oct. 4 game against the Galaxy in Los Angeles seems the first possible return date.He said patience is the key, given he had made the mistake of coming back too fast in the past.Toronto (10-11-7) could use him. With six games remaining, the seventh-place team is three points out of the Eastern Conference playoff picture.Defoe has missed 12 games this season through injury or suspension but still leads the team in scoring with 11 goals in 16 MLS contests. He has played 150 minutes, appearing in two of TFCs 11 league games siince July 19.dddddddddddd.If anything, he says he wants more football. He said going out on loan to another club to keep sharp for the next MLS season was not out of the question, with Redknapp having already made the suggestion.Its something Ive thought about doing before I come back, so Im ready to go and Im sharp and Im fit, Defoe said.Given his recent health problems, which have been blamed on playing back-to-back English and MLS seasons, adding to his football schedule would seem to be a gamble, however.He himself acknowledged he had played 14-15 months straightAgain I love my football and Ive always tried to look after my body. Im someone whos tee-total, I dont drink, I always do my stuff in the gym.Defoe insisted he has enjoyed his North American experience, calling it amazing.I think Im lucky enough to be at a fantastic football club with special fans. Ive said that many times. And theres some fantastic people at the football club. From Day 1, I walked into the changing rooms, the players downstairs, all the boys have been fantastic. I think that helped me settle in and I felt at home.Its then just down to me to get on the pitch and perform. I love scoring goals. I love playing football.There have been no shortage of stories about Defoes future on either side of the Atlantic and some made their way through to Defoe despite his best efforts.I just tried to blank it out, he said. Obviously you see things on the TV. Social medias powerful when you see things. But I just tried to block it out and just concentrate on getting myself fit so I can come back and push for the playoffs.Some stories left a mark. The former West Ham, Portsmouth and Tottenham striker made a point of denying one story that had him texting former manager Ryan Nelsen to say If youre gone, Im gone.Thats not true, said Defoe. Thats hard to sit back and read something like that when I know thats not true. I would never do anything like that.Defoe said he went back to England to get a second opinion on a lingering groin injury. An initial scan had shown a strained adductor and a lower abdominal muscle strain. He kept playing though it and it got to the point, where he could feel it while running and it was sore shooting. A second scan showed the same.Fearing he had a hernia, he went to see a specialist and was a day away from going under the knife. Instead he went to a physio he had worked with before in England and was told the problem related to his hip.He had several injections, did rehab and worked on strengthening his core.It feels a lot better, he said.Since returning, Defoe said he had met with manager Greg Vanney and came away really impressed by what he heard.As to comments from outgoing MLSE CEO Tim Leiweke that he did not expect Defoe to be back next season, Defoe said Leiweke had reached out to say he didnt mean it like that.At the end of the day, Tim knows what sort of character and what sort of person I am, otherwise I wouldnt be here in the first place, he said.Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter ' ' '