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NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez said Wednesday hes cutting off all non-baseball talk after a wild weekend of accusations and retaliations on and off the field. Playing while he appeals a 211-game suspension for violating baseballs drug agreement and labour contract, the New York Yankees star and his fleet of lawyers and representatives sparred with the Yankees and Major League Baseball over his medical care and evidence in the doping case that stems from MLBs investigation into Biogenesis, the now-closed Florida anti-aging clinic accused of distributing performance-enhancing drugs. "I think thats behind us now. Ive shut everything down," Rodriguez said. "I want everything to be 100 per cent on baseball and thats what I want my guys to focus on." Rodriguez was not in the Yankees lineup Wednesday night, a day after playing both games of a doubleheader against the Toronto Blue Jays. The teams will play a day game Thursday. "I felt I couldnt play him both tonight and tomorrow, its probably too much," manager Joe Girardi said. Rodriguezs change of public-relations strategy comes after a weekend in Boston that turned increasingly intense and bizarre. -- While the Yankees were playing the AL East-leading Red Sox, it was learned Rodriguez paid Florida-based attorney Susy Ribero-Ayala in February to represent Anthony Bosch, head of the Biogenesis of America anti-aging clinic. ESPN first reported the deal. -- Rodriguezs newest lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, accused the Yankees of botching the sluggers medical care last post-season when the three-time MVP was benched and pinch hit for during a pitiful playoff performance. Rodriguez had left hip surgery in January. -- Team president Randy Levine basically dared A-Rod to file a grievance, and the slugger said his lawyers would ask the players union to do so. -- Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told reporters on the field in Boston that he felt "lied to" by Rodriguez regarding his medical care, and that he doesnt feel comfortable talking to one of the teams most important players because they are in "a litigious environment." -- Finally on Monday, MLB wrote to Tacopina, urging him to waive his clients confidentiality under baseballs Joint Drug Agreement so all the evidence relating to the drug case could be released. The letter was given to Tacopina on the "Today" show. Tacopina rejected the offer. "I think thats behind us now," Rodriguez said. "Out of respect to my team and my manager and my coaches we are in the middle of a pennant race. Were playing pretty well right now. We want to keep the focus on the field." Rodriguez wasnt free of controversy on the field, either. In the second inning of Sundays nationally televised game, Bostons Ryan Dempster threw three close pitches at Rodriguez before hitting him with another. Manager Joe Girardi was ejected for his outburst after Dempster was not ejected. The moment appeared to galvanize the team, and the third baseman led the charge with a long home run that kicked off a sixth inning rally. Dempster was suspended Tuesday for five games and fined $2,500. Rodriguez would not comment on the penalty. Rodriguez returned from hip surgery Aug. 5, the day he was suspended by MLB. The Yankees were swept three straight by the lowly Chicago White Sox in his first three games but have been on a tear since. Theyve won nine of 12 to creep back into the AL wild-card race -- 4 1/2 games back of the second spot. Rodriguez is batting .296 with two homers and six RBIs in 15 games. "I think if we keep doing what weve been doing the last two weeks -- I think were playing with a lot of energy, a lot of confidence, (getting) a lot of contributions from a lot of people," Rodriguez said. "I think we have an opportunity thats special and we want to put the focus on the field." Stitched Custom NHL Jerseys . Nigeria beat surprise package Ethiopia 2-0 in the second leg of their playoff for a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory. Victor Moses converted a 20th-minute penalty after an Ethiopian handball, and Victor Obinna made certain of Nigerias place in Brazil with his powerful free kick in the 82nd at UJ Esuene Stadium. Cheap Custom NHL Jerseys . As the crowd erupted, Davis knocked the ball off the glass and back into his hands. With 1:14 to go in overtime, Davis sixth block also became his 17th rebound. 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SEC commissioner Greg Sankey defended the decision to postpone Saturdays matchup between LSU and Florida but reinforced that its important to play that game at a later date.Sankey spoke by phone with broadcasters Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson during CBS airing of the Tennessee-Texas A&M game and said that the conference is still working to find an acceptable makeup date after postponing the game on Thursday as Hurricane Matthew approached the Florida coast.The game needs to be played, and we need to work to find a way to do that, Sankey said. This conference often describes itself as a family. A family has points of tension. I certainly understand the angst and frustration. I have my own level of angst, but we need to come together to play a football game and find the best way to do that.Sankey said postponing the game was the right call -- even while Georgia and South Carolina simply moved their game in Columbia, South Carolina, back one day to Sunday -- for a number of reasons. It would have been difficult to assemble the necessary security and emergency personnel, for one thing, and the Gainesville area also had been designated as an evacuation zone for coastal Florida residents.A number of those things are different from what we saw with Georgia-South Carolina where there was bus travel involved, we could secure space for the team to stay without displacing evacuees, local emergency personnel were still available to staff the game, Sankey said. You have to understand those differences.An SEC official told the Baton Rouge Advocate on Friday that two dates are on the table for a makeup game: Oct.dddddddddddd 29 and Nov. 19.Asked about playing it on Nov. 19, Sankey said, I want to be careful because there are a number of options so it doesnt narrow to just one and a number of factors to consider.Playing Oct. 29 would require Florida to sacrifice its open date on Oct. 22 and instead play Georgia a week early and LSU the next Saturday. LSU also would lose its open date that weekend prior to the Alabama game the following Saturday.A Nov. 19 makeup date would require both teams to buy out existing non-conference games: Florida against Presbyterian and LSU against South Alabama. Playing that day in Gainesville would require LSU to lose a home game, which is a point of contention in a Baton Rouge area whose economy was hammered by Augusts historic floods.Both teams remain among the contenders in their respective division races, and as SEC rules dictate, the winner in each will be determined by in-conference winning percentage even if LSU and Florida fail to reschedule the game.Sankey acknowledged that a cancellation would impact the integrity of the division races, although he did not offer a timetable on when a makeup decision will be made.We want to make sure we evaluate it, Sankey said. I would like to move this along as efficiently as possible, but Id be careful not to put a point in time where we can provide a definitive answer because there are a number of issues that have to be considered. But my desire is to see us play that game. ' ' '