NEW YORK -- New York state is teaming up with Major League Baseball and others, including Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez,?to create a youth baseball and softball academy in the Bronx.Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the $11.25 million initiative Wednesday.He says the academy at Roberto Clemente State Park will immediately begin serving 1,500 young ballplayers.The facility will be funded by $6.5 million from the state, $4 million from MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association and $750,000 from Rodriguez.The new field will be named Alex Rodriguez Field.Baseball commissioner Robert Manfred Jr. says the academy will establish the next generation of New Yorks baseball legacy.Rodriguez says the park will give kids a chance to dream big from the field as well as in the stands.Authentic Hockey Jerseys . Houston won 3-0 to advance to face New York in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Last in the game, Di Vaio and Romero got into a shoving match with several Houston players. Romero appeared to elbow and kick Houston defender Kofi Sarkodie. Custom Hockey Jerseys . Howard Ganz, an MLB lawyer, said in a letter to U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos that Rodriguezs claims do not come "remotely close" to what is needed to overturn an arbitration decision in federal court. https://www.fakehockeyjerseys.com/ . 10 VCU 85-67 on Thursday night at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The Seminoles (4-0) have scored at least 80 points in each of their games. Hockey Jerseys Black Friday . The injury bothered Bledsoe in the Suns victory over the Clippers on Monday and he sat out the teams home loss to Memphis on Thursday night. Fake Hockey Jerseys . Third-seeded Murray had the easiest path to victory on New Years Eve, barely breaking a sweat during his 6-0, 6-0 win over 2,129th-ranked Qatari wildcard recipient Mousa Shanan Zayed.SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- Look no further than Jason Pominville for evidence that things are going better offensively for the Minnesota Wild under new coach Bruce Boudreau.Heading into his third game of the season Thursday night vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs, Pominville already has his first goal notched. Last season, thats a feat that took more than 20 games as Pominville slogged through one of the worst offensive seasons of his career.I felt good, Pominville said after scoring in Minnesotas 6-3 home win over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, which lifted them to a 2-1-0 record. Ive been shooting good in practice. Ive missed a couple, actually one in the first game, one in the second but yeah, its nice to be able to get one early and hopefully get going in the right direction. I dont have to worry about it now and just go out and play.Thats the freedom Boudreau has given the Wild, encouraging them to just play, move the puck, shoot the puck and have fun. After a rough season-opening loss in St. Louis, the Wild have put together back-to-back home wins over the Winnipeg Jets and the Kings, and now are prepping for the arrival of Maple Leafs rookie Auston Matthews and the accompanying circus.After scoring four times in his NHL debut, Matthews -- the Arizona kid picked first overall by the Maple Leafs in June -- has quieted down offensively. His assist on Wednesday night in Torontos 5-4 overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets was his first point since the season-opener. Thaats a fact not lost on opposing fans, who have quickly made Matthews the object of their razzing.dddddddddddd That was the case Wednesday, when the Maple Leafs (1-0-2) lost in Winnipeg after leading 4-0. When Jets rookie Patrik Laine, the second overall pick behind Matthews last summer, completed his first career hat trick in overtime, just seconds after Matthews had been stopped on a breakaway, it prompted a chant of Laines Better from the Winnipeg audience.As players, you dont really think about it much, Matthews said on Wednesday of the rivalry with Laine. Its not really a comparison, its your team against theirs. You obviously want to better your team in any way possible, whatever it takes to win.The Wild have owned their games with the Maple Leafs recently, winning five straight in the series, including both meetings last season. But four of those five Minnesota wins have been by one goal, and the all-time series is knotted 8-8-0.Although its a non-conference game, and one of only two meetings between the Maple Leafs and Wild this season, it could have some special meaning for Boudreau. Hes a Toronto native who played pro hockey both in Minnesota of the WHA and in 134 games with the Maple Leafs over the course of six seasons. Two of Boudreaus assistant coaches, John Anderson and Darby Hendrickson, are also former Maple Leafs. ' ' '