Spring training for the Houston Astros has come with its share of drama in recent years. It should be no different next week in Kissimmee, Fla. Miguel Tejada was the biggest acquisition in an off-season full of changes, but the day after Tejada signed he was mentioned in the Mitchell Report on steroid use in baseball. Since then, his older brother died in a motorcycle accident and the FBI opened a preliminary investigation trying to determine if Tejada made false statements to U.S. House committee staff in 2005 when he was interviewed about Rafael Palmeiro and steroids. The Astros still expect Tejada to show up on time for the teams first full-squad workout Feb. 19. The 2002 AL MVP is certain to be the centre of attention - like Roger Clemens was last season as he threw batting practice and pondered retirement, and like Jeff Bagwell was in 2006 when he tried to play through an injured shoulder and settle an insurance dispute with the team. Weve had the Rocket here, we had Carlos Lee come here last year with a US$100-million contract and that attracted a lot of attention, Houston manager Cecil Cooper said. Theres always been a lot of media around. As a staff, we just have to focus on what guys do on the field and getting the guys ready. Cooper has plenty of other things to think about before the season starts March 31, including the starting rotation, the batting order and the bullpen. Cooper says his top priority is finding out whom he has behind No. 1 starter Roy Oswalt. He needs left-hander Wandy Rodriguez to show he can blossom into a consistent starter after going 28-33 in his first three seasons. Hes hoping Brandon Backe returns to his 2005 form after Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow. Hes banking on 41-year-old Woody Williams turning around after he went 8-15 in 2007. And he needs to find a starter from a group that include Chris Sampson, Felipe Paulino and Fernando Nieve. Weve got some capable guys right there, Cooper said. I think we saw the worst of Woody last year. Hell be better. Im anxious to see Brandon Backe for a whole year. The growth process is continuing to help Wandy. I think weve got some quality there. Cooper said he wont settle on the batting order until just before the regular season, and theres no shortage of possibilities. The Astros acquired speedster Michael Bourn to play centre field and Kaz Matsui to replace Craig Biggio at second base. Tejada, Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee and Hunter Pence already form a hard-hitting quartet in the middle of the lineup. Cooper is eager to evaluate his teams offensive potential. The Astros scored 723 runs in 2007, fourth-fewest in the NL. Ill have discussions with guys about where theyre comfortable in the lineup, Cooper said. I know some guys are projected to bat here or there (in the order), but I want to see how everybody fits. We still have to go to camp and see what everybody can do. The bullpen has been revamped. Houston has a new closer (Jose Valverde), two set-up men (Oscar Villareal and Doug Brocail) and other new options (Geoff Geary, Ryan Houston and Chad Paronto) who will compete for spots. Relief pitching was a weakness last season, but Brad Lidge, Chad Qualls and Dan Wheeler were among those traded away. Weve got a great basis to build from, Cooper said. Well go a little on past history and then well determine whos the best fit where, based on what we see (at spring training). Pitchers and catchers report Thursday and as the rest of the players filter in, Cooper might consider handing out name tags. More than half the players on the 40-man roster werent on the team at the end of last season. The Astros went 73-89 in 2007, their second losing season since 1991, and Cooper said a wholesale renovation of the roster was necessary. Change is good, Cooper said. We were just not a very good team last year. Last September, when some of the kids were coming up and contributing, you could already see changes that were definitely positive. Note: The Houston Astros have made an offer to free-agent right-hander Shawn Chacon. The 30-year-old Chacon went 5-4 with a 3.94 ERA in 64 appearances (96 innings), including four starts, for Pittsburgh last season. Chacon has a career record of 43-58 in seven seasons with Colorado, the New York Mets and the Pirates. Hes started 119 games in 254 career appearances. Clyd... Drexler Blazers Jersey . The 23-year-old Jones, whose ranking slumped from 187 to 373 during 2012, posted his first ever win in an ATP Tour match at the expense of the 29th-ranked Melzer. Tall, rangy and powerful, Jones matched the 31-year-old Melzer shot for shot in the first set, which went into a tiebreak without a break of serve on either side. Dam... Lillard Jersey . Hes gone 13 majors without a win in the events he once dominated. Still, hes showing signs that hes getting closer. http... . The Windsor, Ont., based runner earned Canadas first medal from the track and field portion of the competition. "I have so many mixed emotions right now, Im over the moon. [url=http://www.theportlandtrailblazersshop.com/Wesley-Matthews-Jersey-qz-23/]We... Matthews Jersey . Spains bid to win a third straight major title comes Sunday at Kyivs Olympic Stadium, where the Mediterranean rivals meet for a second time, after starting Euro 2012 with a 1-1 draw. ... Aldridge Jersey . St. Paul Saints right-fielder Jose Hernandez scored a wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth inning off reliever Craig James, as the Goldeyes fell 7-6 to the Saints Monday night at Midway Stadium in front of 2,525 fans.Canada will have to wait at least another four years for its first Olympic medal in mens freestyle wrestling since Daniel Igalis gold at Sydney 2000. On the final day of competition at London 2012, Haislan Veranes Garcia and Khetag Pliev were unable to make the podium as they both lost repechage matches in their respective divisions. Coquitlam, B.C.s Garcia, who made the quarter-finals after a walk-through in the 66kg preliminaries followed by a three-round win over Tajikistans Zalimkhan Yusupov, fell in a tough match to Japans Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu 0-1, 1-0, 5-0 and then lost his repechage bout 1-0, 0-1, 1-0 to Cubas Livan Lopez Azcuy. Garcia, who was born in Cuba but moved to Canada eight years ago, looked strong in his earlier win but he was too defensive against Lopez Azcuy, with whom he was very familiar having previously lost to the 2011 Pan American Games bronze medallist. There was no scoring in regulation in either of the first two rounds, which were split after each scored the sudden-death takedown after getting his ball drawn. Garcia found himself battling for back position midway through the third period and Lopez proved too strong, getting the Canadian onto his stomach for the winning score. The 29-year-old Garcia did not register a point apart from the winning takedown from the clinch in the first rounds overtime frame. He lost a tough one as well to Yonemitsu, who went on to win the 66kg gold medal. Garcia lost the draw after a scoreless first round, but instead of securing the single leg, Yonemitsu went for a double-leg takedown and Garcia was able to defend it for 30 seconds to take the point. In the second, Yonemitsu was able to get a double-leg for the first point and then defended well against Garcias aggressive attempts to find the next one. Late in the third, Yonemitsu went for a single but quickly transitioned to a double and got Garcia down very quickly for two points. Garcia then appealed to the referee for a penalty, showing his finger was bleeding. A replay showed he had gotten his hand in the Japanese wrestlers mouth during their scramble and Yonemitsu bit down. A caution for biting could result in up to a two-point penalty, but because Garcia was deemed to have shoved his fingers in his opponents mouth, he was the one penalized a point. The 2010 and 2011 Pan American Championships bronze medallist tried for a big throw to get back into the match but Yonemitsu instead reversed it for a three-point takedown and held on for the win. Garcia, making his second Olympic appearance, managed to improve on his 18th-place finish at Beijing 2008. He got a win by default in his first scheduled bout when his Tunisian opponent Haitem Ben Alayech did not show up, and then defeated Yusupov 2-0, 0-2, 2-0. Against Yusupov, he got the benefit of a drawn ball and an upheld challenge after a scoreless first round to score the extra-time point at 2:14. Then after dropping the second round, he responded with a winning two-point takedown in the third. Later, YYonemitsu was a 1-0, 3-1 winner in the final over Indias Sushil Kumar, who was also involved in an apparent biting incident on Sunday.dddddddddddd Reminiscent of boxer Mike Tysons infamous chomping in a bout against Evander Holyfield, Indias Sushil Kumar appeared to bite the cauliflower ear of his opponent Akzhurek Tanatarov of Kazakhstan in their 66kg semi-final, drawing a fair amount of blood. He was not penalized and instead advanced to the final to coincidentally take on Yonemitsu. Lopez Azcuy ended up taking a bronze medal with a victory over Azerbaijains Jabrayil Hasanov. Tanatarov got some consolation for his bloody injury by defeating Turkeys Ramazan Sahin in his bronze-medal match, during which his ear was bandaged up. In the 96kg division, Torontos Pliev lost his quarter-final match 1-0, 1-0 to Jacob Varner of the U.S. on two takedowns and then dropped two rounds against Uzbekistans Kurban Kurbanov in the repechage. Kurbanov scored first when he grappled against Pliev at the boundary. The Russian-born Canadian tried to circle away to stay in bounds but barely touched a foot on the blue mat for a point to his opponent. The Uzbekistani wrestler then took Pliev down early in the second and got a gut wrench turn for another two points. After being spun for another point, the 28-year-old Pliev managed a late takedown but had no time left to make up the three-point deficit and lost 1-0, 4-1. Earlier Pliev rallied from an 0-2 hole in the second frame of his first match after already being down one round to win a 0-2, 2-2, 1-0 decision over Javier Cortina Lacerra of Cuba. Pliev, who was making his Olympic debut, was hoping for a better performance but was happy with the experience. It is quite the feat for the former national champion, who came to Canada for good when he was 21 but spent the summer of 2008 homeless and sleeping on a bench in Torontos Allan Gardens. There he found a Bible, began reading it and ended up becoming a born-again Christian. "I feel this is special, this is the Olympic Games and it brings the world together," Pliev said. "I am wrestling for Canada, it is a good country and I am proud of that. "It is all possible by God. I didnt think I had the strength to turn my life around (but) God helped me." Varner ended up capturing gold with a win over Ukraines Valerii Andriitsev. Kurbanov lost his bronze-medal match to George Gogshelidze of Georgia, while Azerbaijans Khetag Gazyumov took the other bronze when 2011 world champion Reza Mohammad Ali Yazdani of Iran pulled out after being injured in his semi-final match against Andriitsev. None of the Canadians competing in the three-day mens freestyle competition were able to make the podium. Team Canada leaves London with just the two medals in womens wrestling: Beijing 2008 gold medallist Carol Huynh won a bronze in the 48kg division and Tonya Verbeek won her third Olympic medal, taking a second 55kg silver to go with her first at Athens 2004 and a bronze in Beijing. ' ' '