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The Detroit Tigers released nine-time All-Star Gary Sheffield on Tuesday, leaving him without a team as he closes in on becoming the 25th player to reach the 500 Home Run milestone.

ESPN The Magazine’s Buster Olney reported that Philadelphia Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. said the team contacted Sheffield after his release.

Sheffield left Tigers camp as the rest of his former teammates were reporting for an afternoon game against the Washington Nationals.

“I wouldn’t say I’m shocked, but I am surprised,” Sheffield told The Oakland Press of Pontiac. “To do this when somebody is one home run away … I don’t know how to react to it.”

Leyland, the Tigers manager, said he had a hard time sleeping Monday night, knowing he was going to release a future Hall of Famer.

“I lit two Marlboros at the same time,” Leyland said. “I couldn’t sleep. But I feel better that it’s over with than I did at 3 in the morning.”

The slugger’s stay in Detroit was a disappointing one. The team was hopeful Sheffield would be a powerful presence at the plate in the final season of the $28 million, two-year contract extension it gave him after acquiring him from the Yankees for prospects.

But Sheffield failed to deliver in large part because he often was injured. Any team can sign him for the $400,000 minimum, with Detroit paying the rest of his $14 million salary.

“It’s one of those things where you move on, you know?” Sheffield told the Detroit Free Press. “I was surprised. I thought I was getting ready for the season. I never thought that I wasn’t going to be playing with the Detroit Tigers this year. It’s probably a blessing.”

Seth Curry, younger brother of Davidson star Stephen Curry, has decided to transfer to Duke after playing his freshman season at Liberty.

Curry, who was named the Big South’s Freshman of the Year, visited the Durham, N.C., school over the weekend and told Liberty coach Ritchie McKay of his decision Sunday evening.

“I received a call from Seth today and he told me he decided on transferring to Duke,” McKay said in a statement.

“I am excited that Seth will be able to fulfill his desires at a place as prestigious and successful as Duke. We are thankful for Seth and the time he spent at Liberty, helping with the foundation of what we are building.”

During the 2008-09 campaign, Curry led all freshmen in scoring with 20.2 points per game, recording the sixth-most single-season points (707) in Big South history and breaking the Liberty single-season record for 3-pointers with 102.

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Billy Gillispie is out as coach of Kentucky in his second season at the helm.

School officials had been quiet about Gillispie’s job status after the Wildcats tumbled through the second half of the season to finish 22-14, but today the school has called a 4:30 p.m. ET news conference to announce the change.

On Wednesday, Kentucky’s postseason ended with a loss to Notre Dame in the National Invitation Tournament quarterfinals.

Kentucky’s 20 regular-season wins weren’t enough to get a bid into the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1991.

When asked after the loss to Notre Dame if he expected to be back, Gillispie said the decision wasn’t up to him.

“You’re asking the wrong guy,” he said. “All I know is to go to work, recruit, coach and that’s what I did, that’s what I’ve done and that’s what I’ll continue to do.”

After the University of Kentucky inked Gillispie to a 7-year, 2.3-Million dollar deal they will be buying him out just after full seasons completed. It will come with a 6-Million dollar buyout.

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The field is wide open this year, and anybody can take home the trophy on April 6th. Our good friends at Pinnacle Sports released the latest odds for the 16 remaining teams fighting it out to be crowned Champions.

1. Louisville +558
2. North Carolina +341
3. Connecticut +671
4. Pittsburgh +670
5. Duke +1669
6. Michigan State +2211
7. Memphis U +818
8. Oklahoma +2493
9. Kansas +2854
10. Missouri +3140
11. Syracuse +2476
12. Villanova +2724
15. Gonzaga +2991
16. Xavier +5526
18. Purdue +6500
45. Arizona +7000

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BOSTON — Curt Schilling, the 42-year-old right-hander decided to retire from baseball Monday after a career in which he won World Series titles with the Boston Red Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks.

Schilling said on his blog he’s leaving after 23 years with “zero regrets.” The hard throwing righty missed all of last season with a shoulder injury after signing a one-year, $8 million contract with the Red Sox.

Curt said in his blog “The things I was allowed to experience, the people I was able to call friends, teammates, mentors, coaches and opponents, the travel, all of it, are far more than anything I ever thought possible in my lifetime.”

He was drafted by the Red Sox in the second round of the 1986 draft, but was traded to the Baltimore Orioles before playing for the big league club. He pitched for the Orioles, Houston, Philadelphia and Arizona before returning to the team that drafted him.

Schilling, one of the sport’s hard throwers, finishes his career with 3,116 strikeouts, 14th most in baseball history, a 216-146 record and a 3.46 ERA.

He was even better in the postseason, with an 11-2 record, the best of any pitcher with at least 10 decisions, and 2.23 ERA in 19 career starts.

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Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler said Sunday night that he will not report to the team’s first meeting on Monday and has formally asked to be traded.

“I went in there with every intention of solving the issue, being a Bronco, moving forward as a Bronco,” Cutler said. “We weren’t in there but about 20 minutes, [McDaniels] did most of the talking and as far as I’m concerned, he made it clear he wants his own guy. He admitted he wanted Matt Cassel because he said he has raised him up from the ground as a quarterback. He said he wasn’t sorry about it. He made it clear that he could still entertain trading me because, as he put it, he’ll do whatever he feels is in the best interest of the organization.

“At the end of the meeting, he wasn’t like, ‘Jay, I want you as our quarterback, you’re our guy.’ It felt like the opposite. He basically said that I needed to tell him if we can’t work this out, to let him know,” Cutler added. “I thought he was antagonizing me and that was disappointing because I was ready to move on, committed as a Bronco. Really, I figured we’d hash things out, shake hands, laugh a little and move forward. What happened was the last thing I expected. If I didn’t think it could be fixed, I never would have come back to Denver. It was painfully obvious to me it’s not something they wanted to fix.”

Consequently, Cutler instructed Cook, who also attended the meeting, to formally request a trade. The quarterback said he left town late Sunday and would skip McDaniels’ first team meeting on Monday as they begin their off-season program.

Bus Cook, Cutler’s agent said that he was “totally in shock” that it has gotten so ugly.

“I would have bet my house going into Saturday’s meeting that everyone would be shaking hands and smiling,” Cook said. “I thought it was going to get worked out. But it was very clear to me that Jay Cutler is not their choice to be quarterback of that team.”

Yet Cook admitted that when he called Sanders to request a trade on Saturday night, the team’s general manager said it wasn’t going to happen and that “Jay should show up Monday.”

Jay showing up Monday isn’t going to happen, either.

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The Rams announced Friday they have released wide receiver Torry Holt.

Holt had a $1.25 million roster bonus due March 17, and the Rams didn’t plan to keep him at his $8 million salary. As they did earlier this week with left tackle Orlando Pace, the Rams parted ways with Holt.

Rams owner Chip Rosenbloom said. “He is an All Pro in every sense of the word. Over the past 10 seasons, Torry has proven himself to be one of the finest wide receivers in league history. This is a difficult decision because Torry has meant so much to the organization. In my mind and for all Rams fans, Torry will always be a Ram and we wish him and his family nothing but the best as they move forward.”

The releases of Holt and Pace cleared out $14 million of cap room for the Rams. Holt, a seven-time Pro Bowl selection, ranks 11th on the league’s all-time reception list with 869 catches. He started 147 games in 10 seasons.

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LaDainian Tomlinson and the San Diego Chargers have been in talks for weeks. Finally they came to an agreement on Wednesday restructuring the final three years of his contract. This will give the team some needed cap room as well as secure Tomlinson’s job for the next few seasons.

According to a source, Tomlinson won’t take a pay cut from his $6.725 million salary in 2009 but the deal was restructured to give the team a cap break in 2009. Tomlinson’s cap number in 2009 was scheduled to be $8,791,666.

In addition to not taking a pay cut in 2009, Tomlinson receives an unspecified guaranteed amount of money in 2010. The amount might not be large enough to guarantee Tomlinson can’t be cut next year, but it gives him some security for the 2010 season.

A trade off, Tomlinson reduced his salaries in 2010 and 2011. He was scheduled to make $8 million next year and $9.275 million in 2011. The final three years of his old contract was worth $24 million over three years.

Tomlinson said, “I love San Diego and being a part of this team with my teammates. My No. 1 priority was to stay here in San Diego. I truly believe this is the place that gives me the best chance to be successful and win a championship. I want to finish the job we started when I got here eight years ago. My heart has always been in San Diego. I couldn’t imagine putting on another uniform.

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