Dressed in civvies and a hoodie to hide the damage, a sheepish looking Nigel Reo Coker emerged at training Thursday following his Sunday night stumble. The injury was gruesome, enough to keep the midfielder out of this weekends clash with Houston. The bruise to Reo-Cokers ego and reputation, however, might be more damaging. The former Villa and West Ham recruit has not had a stellar start to 2014. He dazzled once during the season opener beautifully setting up Pedro Moraless first MLS goal in the late stages, but that was a rare foray into the front third. At Chivas, he coughed up the ball in a bad area at a bad time, and the 10 men Goats took full advantage. In addition, against New England he had his pocket picked on a couple of occasions and was fortunate that neither led to a serious goal threat. Being substituted in the 60th and 70th minutes of those last two games was an indictment on his fitness. Youd think with a child on the way and a real opportunity in Vancouver to be the catalyst and a leader in a young squad, that "Reo C" would have come to camp in top shape and perhaps give the Whitecaps something to think about long term. At 29-years-old, hes still young, hes the box to box midfielder the Caps need, and he has some excellent supporting characters around him. But he didnt come to camp in shape, and in a simple one-on-one drill at the beginning of last week, he was badly exposed by a potential replacement in young Canadian Bryce Alderson. For all his bluster, Reo Coker has been put in his place, by an inanimate object no less. It might have been his manager sending the message, but now Carl Robinson has been let off the hook by having that decision made for him. What happens from here will define Reo Cokers future in Vancouver. He might view this injury/incident as the motivation needed to put his head down, get fit and let his game do the talking. The alternative will look all too familiar to keen observers of the British Bulldogs career; a departure with questions asked and unanswered followed by a new beginning somewhere else. I for one, hope its the former because its easy to like Nigel Reo Coker the person. Its even easier to like Nigels game when its at its very best. Paul Molitor Jersey . -- Falcons running back Steven Jackson, who has missed the last four games with a hamstring injury, is expected to practice on Wednesday. Max Kepler Jersey . Toronto FC hosts the three-time Italian league champions in a friendly Aug. 7 at BMO Field, a game that Roma CEO Italo Zanzi said falls within a key part of their pre-season. http://www.twinssale.com/twins-justin-morneau-jersey/.C. -- After turning Tobacco Road into "Raleigh Top," Tennessee is headed to the round of 16. Tony Oliva Jersey .C. -- LeBron James called comments on an audio recording of a man identified as Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling "appalling" and said hes not sure if he would suit up for the remainder of the NBA playoffs if he played for the Clippers. Bert Blyleven Jersey . “Im not sure well get Melky Cabrera at all,” said Gibbons. The 29-year-old left fielder struggled all season with knee and hamstring problems. Cabrera was first on the disabled list from June 27-July 20 with tendinitis in his left knee.SEATTLE -- After getting on base with a one-out single in the ninth inning, Texas Elvis Andrus had permission to take chances. Andrus understood trying to take down Seattle ace Felix Hernandez required being aggressive just to get one run. "Especially when you face a guy like that, when hes on, its going to be hard," Andrus said. "For whoever is hitting its going to be hard to get good contact, a base hit." Locked in a scoreless tie, Andrus singled, stole two bases and scored on Adrian Beltres infield grounder in the ninth as the Rangers did just enough against Hernandez for a 1-0 win over the Seattle Mariners on Friday night. Andrus singled with one out, then proceeded to steal second and third base. The second stolen base came as Shin-Soo Choo walked on a 3-2 pitch from Hernandez and was the final batter for Seattles ace. Closer Fernando Rodney entered and got Beltre to hit a grounder into the hole at shortstop. Brad Miller fielded the ground ball and was able to get Choo at second, but Robinson Canos turn on the double play attempt was rushed and the throw was wide. Beltre was safe, Andrus scored and Texas got the run it needed. "The difference was the base hit to Andrus and he stole the two bases," Hernandez said. "That was the difference of the game." Texas handed Hernandez (8-2) just his second loss of the season and the Rangers have now handed him 21 of his career losses. "Its just a win. We see King Felix a lot so its just a win," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "I wouldnt put any more credence to it than what it was." Matching Hernandez was Texas starter Nick Tepesch and a trio of relievers. Tepesch threw 6 1-3 innings, Jason Frasor finished off the seventh, Shawn Tolleson (2-1) got through the eighth and Joakim Soria pitched the ninth for his 14th save. Texas posted its 13th shutout and fourth 1-0 victory this season. Seattle lost its fourth straight. Tepesch matched Hernandez all night. He faced the minimum through five innings and used just 47 pitches to set down the first 115 batters.dddddddddddd The only batter to reach for Seattle was Mike Zunino with a single leading off the third inning. Zunino lined a ground-rule double into the Mariners bullpen leading off the sixth, the first baserunner by either team to reach second base but was left stranded at third. Tepesch started struggling in the seventh. With two on and one out, Tepesch was lifted in favour of Frasor who struck out pinch-hitter Endy Chavez looking and Dustin Ackley swinging to end the inning. Tolleson worked a perfect eighth to get the victory. Soria then shut down the top of Seattles order in the bottom of the ninth. He struck out James Jones, got a groundout from Kyle Seager and Cano grounded back to the mound for the final out. "I dont really try and focus on who I am throwing against," Tepesch said. "Its more about the hitters Im facing. I cant control his throwing or how well theyre going to throw or maybe theyre going to have a bad day. Its just controlling what I can control." Hernandez was coming off a career-best 15 strikeout performance in his last outing against Tampa Bay. Hernandez dominated the Rays, but didnt get the victory because Seattles offence failed to score while he was on the mound. An identical scenario played out against Texas. Hernandez was just as dominant -- minus the strikeouts -- and the Mariners again failed to provide their ace any runs. Hernandez was at 98 pitches beginning the ninth. He finished with six strikeouts, four hits allowed and one run. It was an improvement over his last start against Texas when he gave up three runs in six innings. "Big deal. It was still a lousy game," Hernandez said. NOTES: Seattle OF/DH Corey Hart (hamstring) hit on the field before the game for the first time since being injured on May 18. ... Rangers RHP Derek Holland (knee surgery) threw live batting practice on Friday. Hes scheduled to throw another live BP session on Wednesday. ... Texas LHP Joe Saunders will make his fifth start on Saturday. He pitched last season for Seattle, going 11-16 in 32 starts. 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