Rehab

By Nick Cafardo, Globe Staff PHILADELPHIA — Daisuke Matsuzaka's rehab assignment is scheduled to end May 23. That's when the maximum 30 days are up. But under the rules of the new basic agreement, the Red Sox can restart that clock, but it would require activating him before the 30 days are up, waiting seven more days and then placing him back on the disabled list where he'd get another 30 days. It's an option and Matsuzaka still has one more rehab start to make that decision.

By Greg A. Bedard, Globe Staff FOXBOROUGH -- A few quick notes before we come back in a little bit with a little more detail from the Patriots practice on Thursday. Not present for likely injury/rehab reasons : LG Logan Mankins, RT Sebastian Vollmer, WR Anthony Gonzalez. Not present for reasons unknown : RG Brian Waters, LB Tracy White, TE Daniels Fells. Rookie not present (graduation) : WR Jeremy Ebert. Present but rehabbing : TE Rob Gronkowski (ankle)

By Peter Abraham, Globe Staff ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Red Sox closer Andrew Bailey has been cleared by his surgeon to start throwing next week. Bailey was checked out by Dr. Thomas Graham earlier this week. The righthander has been out all season after having surgery on a torn thumb ligament. "Boy, he's been working," Bobby Valentine said. "He's one of the guys, I'm sure we're going to have to hold him back. " As to other matters: ߦ Kevin Youkilis will get three at-bats as the DH for Pawtucket tonight, get the day off on Thursday and then play the field (third base)

PHILADELPHIA - Daisuke Matsuzaka will not be returning to the Red Sox any time soon. The righthander, whose minor league rehabilitation assignment was due to end Wednesday, has been shut down because of pain in his right trapezius muscle, located in the upper back. Matsuzaka received an injection Sunday. "That's been nagging him for quite a while and we've got to make sure that that's 100 percent before he's going out there again," manager Bobby Valentine said. "I talked to him [Saturday]

By Michael Vega, Globe Staff Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said Kevin Youkilis, on the disabled list with a lower back strain since May 2, would make a rehab start as the designated hitter for Triple A Pawtucket Wednesday in Durham, N.C. "We're trying to get him at least three at-bats [Wednesday] as a DH," Valentine said before Tuesday afternoon's game against the Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park. "He looked really good taking ground balls today, moving around, a bounce in his step.

After spending the last three days doing baseball activity that ranged from playing catch, to taking grounders at third base, to taking swings in the cage and during batting practice, Kevin Youkilis is ready to resume doing those things under game conditions. Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said that Youkilis, on the disabled list since May 2 with a lower back strain, would make a rehab start as the designated hitter for Triple A Pawtucket Wednesday in Durham, N.C. "We're trying to get him at least three at-bats as a DH," Valentine said before Tuesday...

Tom Brady returned to Boston recently for a checkup on his surgically repaired left knee by team doctors, according to NFL sources. Those same sources also confirmed that the Patriots quarterback suffered a postoperative staph infection and remains on antibiotics. Staph is the most common kind of postoperative infection. In all likelihood, the patella tendon graft inserted to replace his torn ACL during surgery Oct. 6 will be kept, and not replaced in a second operation. But in cases involving a septic joint, doctors wait until the patient finishes the antibiotics treatment to...

WASHINGTON — Stephen Strasburg had to get through a few hours of anger, confusion, and certainly a few more volatile emotions before he was ready to accept the sobering news expressed in three disheartening words. Tommy John surgery. The Washington Nationals rookie sensation is done for the season — and maybe next season as well — after the team announced yesterday that he has a torn ligament in his right elbow. He will travel to the West Coast today for a second opinion, but the 22-year-old righthander has accepted the fact that he will need the ligament replacement...

After Amy Winehouse was found dead Saturday in London, her 2007 song "Rehab" went into heavy rotation again on radio stations and in bars and clubs around the world. Yet in retrospect, the 27-year-old British soul vocalist's biggest hit - an autobiographical tale about a young woman who resists pressure to seek treatment - isn't much of a tribute to her wit or her singing talent; rather, it's a grim reminder of the power addiction holds, even for those with considerable means to fight it. While her death remained unexplained yesterday, many fans assumed that...

Charlie Sheen is back in rehab and his hit sitcom, “Two and a Half Men,” is on hold, one day after a 911 caller said the actor was intoxicated and in pain. According to a person familiar with the emergency call, a neighbor of Sheen’s informed a 911 operator that the actor was “intoxicated” and complaining of abdominal and chest pains. A Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman said copies of the call probably won’t be ready for release by the department until Monday. The 45-year-old Sheen was treated at a hospital Thursday, with his publicist citing the actor’s history of hernia problems.

Billy Butler and Mike Moustakas homered, Bruce Chen won his third straight start and the Kansas City Royals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-3 Saturday night. Butler homered to left-center in the third with Alcides Escobar aboard. Butler also drove in Jarrod Dyson with a sacrifice fly in Kansas City's two-run fifth. Butler's eight home runs and 31 RBIs lead the Royals. Moustakas sent his sixth homer of the season into the right-field bullpen in the fourth. Chen, who has won three straight after starting the season 0-4, weaved his way into and out of trouble the first four...

BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS might suffer from weakness, scar adhesions, cognitive problems, balance problems - the list goes on. But unlike stroke or heart attack victims, they are typically tossed out to sink or swim after chemotherapy or radiation. Harvard Medical School physician Dr. Julie Silver, 47, believes that the 12 million cancer survivors in the United States should have rehabilitation services provided as a standard part of cancer care. That belief is partly personal; Silver is a breast cancer survivor.

By Nick Cafardo, Globe Staff PHILADELPHIA — Daisuke Matsuzaka's rehab assignment is scheduled to end May 23. That's when the maximum 30 days are up. But under the rules of the new basic agreement, the Red Sox can restart that clock, but it would require activating him before the 30 days are up, waiting seven more days and then placing him back on the disabled list where he'd get another 30 days. It's an option and Matsuzaka still has one more rehab start to make that decision.

DURHAM, N.C. — Daisuke Matsuzaka agrees with Boston manager Bobby Valentine. The Red Sox pitcher isn't quite ready to return to the big leagues — yet. Matsuzaka had his longest rehab start for Triple-A Pawtucket on Thursday night, but allowed five runs — four earned — in 6 2-3 innings of a 5-0 loss to the Durham Bulls. He threw 64 of his 95 pitches for strikes while allowing seven hits. The Japanese star struck out three, hit one batter and gave up two home runs — including one to the first hitter he faced, and a three-run shot in the...

Daisuke Matsuzaka agrees with Boston manager Bobby Valentine. The Red Sox pitcher isn't quite ready to return to the big leagues — yet. Matsuzaka had his longest rehab start for Triple-A Pawtucket on Thursday night, but allowed five runs — four earned — in 6 2-3 innings of a 5-0 loss to the Durham Bulls. He threw 64 of his 95 pitches for strikes while allowing seven hits. The Japanese star struck out three, hit one batter and gave up two home runs — including one to the first hitter he faced, and a three-run shot in the sixth.

After spending the last three days doing baseball activity that ranged from playing catch, to taking grounders at third base, to taking swings in the cage and during batting practice, Kevin Youkilis is ready to resume doing those things under game conditions. Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said that Youkilis, on the disabled list since May 2 with a lower back strain, would make a rehab start as the designated hitter for Triple A Pawtucket Wednesday in Durham, N.C. "We're trying to get him at least three at-bats as a DH," Valentine said...

Lindsay Lohan has been released from jail, but she’s not exactly a free woman. The actress was discharged at 1:35 a.m. yesterday after serving 14 days of a 90-day sentence for violating her probation in a 2007 drug case, a Los Angeles sheriff’s spokesman said. She is now required to begin a three-month stint in rehab. A prosecutor has said that Lohan cannot be released early and will have to spend the entire time in treatment, reportedly at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

Ailing Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk (head injury) participated in an optional morning skate today. He was one of the last players to leave the ice after ramping up the work at the end. It was a harder session than yesterday's solo skate with strength and conditioning coach John Whitesides. "I'm feeling pretty good," Boychuk said. "I felt good out there. Just take it day by day, I guess. " Boychuk can recall Chris Neil's hit from Saturday. He said he felt like he got run over by a train.

By Peter Abraham, Globe Staff ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Red Sox closer Andrew Bailey has been cleared by his surgeon to start throwing next week. Bailey was checked out by Dr. Thomas Graham earlier this week. The righthander has been out all season after having surgery on a torn thumb ligament. "Boy, he's been working," Bobby Valentine said. "He's one of the guys, I'm sure we're going to have to hold him back. " As to other matters: ߦ Kevin Youkilis will get three at-bats as the DH for Pawtucket tonight, get the day off on Thursday and then play the field (third base)