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Los Angeles Dodgers phenom outfielder Yasiel Puig was arrested on the morning of Saturday, Dec. 28, in Collier County, Fla. for reckless driving—his second such charge of 2013. 

NBC 2 News in Florida has the report:

BREAKING: LA Dodgers Yasiel Puig arrested in Collier Co. this morning. #swfl http://t.co/UsuYFCskTm pic.twitter.com/R9VgwmjP4V

— NBC2 (@NBC2) December 28, 2013

Dave Osborn of the Naples Daily News provides his mugshot:

Arrest mug shot of Los Angeles Dodger All-Star Yasiel #Puig. Read full story at http://t.co/bIvMfQFn5v. pic.twitter.com/i1wZeXIwPx

— Dave Osborn (@NDN_dosborn) December 28, 2013

Per Florida Highway Patrol officials (via the NBC 2 report), the 23-year-old Dodgers star was arrested around 9:30 a.m. after being pulled over for driving 110 mph in a 70 mph zone. He was driving a 2013 Mercedes in Alligator Alley, which is located in the southern part of Florida. 

In April of 2013, shortly before he was called up to the major leagues, he was charged with speeding, reckless driving and driving without proof of insurance, per the Los Angeles Times‘ Kevin Baxter.

”We’re aware of it,” Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said following Puig’s first arrest. “We take it seriously. We’ll be handling discipline internally.”

The Cuban star has a bright future in the major leagues. 

In 104 games during his rookie season, he hit an impressive .319/.391/.534 to go with 19 home runs, 42 RBI, 66 runs scored and 11 stolen bases. He also provided tremendous defense—most notably a rocket arm—in right field and was a major catalyst in L.A.’s season turnaround when he was brought up in June. 

There have been suspicions about his maturity (he was assigned a mentor last spring, according to Baxter), however, and the youngster needs to stay out of trouble and make smarter decisions off the diamond if he is going to continue to climb the ranks in MLB. 

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If it were profitable, Alex Rodriguez would get on the biggest hill he could find, spin around and sing his story for all to hear like a baseball Julie Andrews. Instead, he is opting to just write a tell-all book about his plight and possibly secure a documentary feature. 

Emily Smith, writing for the New York Post‘s “Page Six,” reports the Yankees’ star third baseman is close to securing a profitable format to explain his side of an ongoing drama.  

First, he has to settle on a publisher. A final decision is still a few weeks off, but HarperCollins and Random House are the two hoping to secure the rights. 

Rodriguez is also hoping to chronicle all that has happened to him in the wake of his 211-game suspension and subsequent hearings in the form of a documentary. 

Alex has also recently had several meetings with filmmaker Billy Corben — whose work includes the acclaimed “Cocaine Cowboys,” which depicts Miami drug culture in the 1970s and ’80s — about making a documentary about his battle to stay on the field.

This should please that very specific demographic of fans who aren’t already weary of the ongoing circus surrounding Rodriguez at the moment. 

Rodriguez spoke to reporters this past weekend while participating in David Ortiz’s charity golf tournament in Punta Cana, per ESPN, and was hopeful. According to A-Rod, there isn’t much to be worried about in regard to his suspension handed down by the league for his part in the Biogenesis scandal.

Rodriguez believes the arbitrator, Fredric Horowitz, will see fit to grant Rodriguez some playing time next season: 

Yes, I feel confident. I’m preparing as always, working hard. I feel completely healthy, I have the entire offseason to prepare for it…We have to get out of this and start talking baseball, about the good things with MLB and about my hard training work to get back in the middle of the Yankees’ lineup.

It being early in the proceedings, there isn’t a great deal of information surrounding the potential book.

Smith did glean a nice round number from a source close to the negotiations, however: “A number of publishers are vying for the book, with offers coming in over $5 million. Alex has met with several publishers over the past few weeks and has meetings with others right after the new year.”

As for the documentary, Rodriguez is hoping for production similar to ESPN’s documentary series 30 for 30, which makes sense because Billy Corben, along with Alfred Spellman, directed the popular The U. 

All of this must have you thinking that everything is coming up A-Rod in the financial department. Well, Smith does remind that Rodriguez has huge bills to pay in the form of his legal representation, and he could still lose out on over a season’s worth of salary. 

We aren’t about to hold a telethon for Rodriguez, but we are sure any book/documentary deal would go a long way to shore up anything a millionaire might consider financially strenuous. 

If not, there is always the money he will get from his recent real estate endeavors. Back in May, the 38-year-old sold his Miami mansion for a reported $15 million profit. 

Now, via Realtor.com, Rodriguez is hoping to sell his Miami condo for a cool $1 million profit. 

All of this is to say you don’t have to fret about Rodriguez, because we know how you all were making yourselves sick with worry over the MLB star. 

From the looks of things, Rodriguez will be just fine. 

Hit me up on Twitter: 

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Ashley Papelbon, the wife of Philadelphia Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon, shared this “awkward family photo” of the two on Twitter: 

It looks like we have an early contender for “most festively dressed.” Papelbon’s incredible outfit is only outdone by his mustache. 

Hat tip to David Brown of Yahoo! Sports for the find. 

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Former Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano recently signed a massive 10-year, $240 million deal with the Seattle Mariners with some help from his agent, rapper Jay Z.

Instagram user UncleHemp created this photo based on the “Otis” video by Watch the Throne, a.k.a. Jay Z and Kanye West, in which the two ride around in a Maybach luxury car, but has replaced Kanye‘s face with Cano. Jay Z and Cano can now destroy a Maybach of their own with all their money from the Mariners. 

You can watch the original video here. 

Hat tip to @Jose3030 for bringing this to our attention. 

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The New York Yankees were unsuccessful in keeping Robinson Cano, but you have to credit them for trying.

Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes first broke the news that the All-Star second baseman agreed to a 10-year, $240 million deal with the Seattle Mariners. However, the Yankees tried an interesting tactic in order to help in the negotiations.

Cincinnati Reds general manager Walt Jocketty admitted Saturday that previous trade rumors concerning Brandon Phillips were intentionally leaked by the Yankees, according to C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer:

The idea was that if New York appeared to have a Plan B in place, it would be less desperate to overpay for Cano. This would keep the price down in the event that no other team was willing to match the expected cost.

Unfortunately, the Mariners ruined this strategy by offering Cano a decade-long contract to make him one of the richest players in baseball.

Of course, the Yankees’ plan was also hurt by a report from Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports early in the week. He noted that while there were some early trade talks, the odds of actually trading the second baseman appeared unlikely unless there was a significant offer on the table.

This puts Brian Cashman and the rest of the New York front office in a tough position going forward. 

The club has attempted to replace the offensive production it lost by signing Carlos Beltran to a three-year deal, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN. Still, it must find a new second baseman with two of the best in baseball currently off the market.

Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter for the latest breaking news and analysis.

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With news of second baseman Robinson Cano signing a 10-year, $240 million deal (via ESPN Deportes’ Enrique Rojas) with the Seattle Mariners, fans of his former team, the New York Yankees, are showing their disapproval by burning their Cano Yankees jerseys.

This will likely be the first of many videos like this from Yankees fans that we’ll see this week.

Hat tip to Steve DelVecchio of Larry Brown Sports for the video.

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The Houston Astros have been so bad in recent years that even the hit television show Jeopardy! is taking shots at the franchise.

In the last three seasons, the team has failed to acquire 57 wins even once. In 2013, they finished with a record of 51-111.

The question that should precede the sardonic answer is, “What is a blowout preventer?”

Ouch.

Hat tip to CBS Sports.

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As the Riddler and the Penguin are reprimanded for their diabolical deeds, a city swoons, a nation melts and Batkid goes home for a well-deserved afternoon nap. 

Chances are you’ve heard of this Batkid fellow. He is a caped crusader who, with the help of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, made a leukemia patient’s comic-book dream come true. 

As USA Today‘s Marco della Cava reports, five-year-old Miles was granted his wish of donning the cowl and helping the denizens of Gotham City. 

The city of San Francisco heard his plea and answered the call, delivering an awesome Batman experience that usurped anything director Joel Schumacher ever did with the franchise. 

By the end of the day, we learned that the Penguin had kidnapped San Francisco Giants mascot Lou Seal, and it was up to Batkid and his trusty companion, Batman to save him.

ESPN summed it up: 

Thanks to Make-A-Wish Bay Area, we have a fantastic look at how it all went down inside the stadium:

A wonderful story captured the hearts of nearly everyone around the nation, no doubt causing many to continuously hit refresh on their Twitter feeds to find out what happened next. 

And the sports world was as enamored with the entire spectacle as anyone. 

The 49ers and coach Jim Harbaugh tipped their collective caps: 

The Warriors and Stephen Curry chimed in with some love: 

The San Francisco Chronicle went above and beyond to craft the perfect Gotham City masthead:

The outpouring of reaction to the story continued as ample reporters, columnists and athletes put in their two cents on a moment that really served to invigorate the soul. 

Now it may be a tad “kumbaya” to say, but I don’t care. There is so much cynicism and negativity found nowadays in tweets and YouTube comments and the multitude of social-media spheres. However, on one day in November, we were all fans of one superhero. 

The Giants’ mascot is now safe and free to rouse the baseball crowds again once the season starts. I have no idea what the Penguin and the Riddler were thinking, because they had to know all their dastardly plans would be thwarted. 

Because the adorable little Miles has a way of fighting all that stands in his way.

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The Boston Red Sox organization took out an ad Tuesday in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch to thank the Cardinals organization and their fanbase for the “warm Midwestern welcome” they extended to the Red Sox organization through the duration of the 2013 Fall Classic.

The Red Sox defeated the Cardinals, 6-1, on Oct. 30 to clinch the World Series 4-2. They won two of three games in St. Louis’ Busch Stadium.

Hat tip to Deadspin

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The Boston Red Sox held their World Series victory parade Saturday, and Mike Napoli kept the party going into the night. He had a stint bartending at some point and was spotted walking the streets shirtless, likely pretty drunk, with what looks like a cigarette in his mouth. 

Way to go, Mike—you’ve earned it.

Photos via @FrankTheKoal and @collinsz10 (h/t Ty Duffy of The Big Lead).

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