Disappointment, despair and heartbreak. These are the words Sikandar Raza used to describe the mood among his Zimbabwe team-mates, as they frantically called each other and exchanged messages in the minutes following the ICC's decision to suspend Zimbabwe with immediate effect over 'government interference'.

Raza said his team-mates' emotions were similar to the way they felt after the World Cup Qualifier last year, when their defeat to UAE cost them a place in the 2019 World Cup. But the situation was a lot worse, he said, as players remain in the dark over their immediate and foreseeable future. Zimbabwe are scheduled to play a T20 tri-series in September in Bangladesh, against the hosts and Afghanistan, in the lead-up to the Men's World T20 Qualifier in October in the UAE. While Zimbabwe remain suspended, representative teams will not be allowed to participate in any ICC events, making their presence in the Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier in August and Men's World T20 Qualifier highly unlikely.

Effectively, Zimbabwe Cricket has to get its house in order by the next ICC meeting in October. Raza said that the ICC could have applied the same conditions but at least allowed them to play cricket.

"We are all pretty heart-broken at the moment," Raza told ESPNcricinfo. "We are still in shock to be honest, seeing how our international career can come to an end like that. Not just for one player, but for the whole country. I am not coming to terms with it so easily, and I am sure my team-mates feel the same way. Where do we go from here? Is there a way out?

"I don't know what is the way out. We have been told that we have been suspended but not told for how long. [A] two-year [suspension] could basically bring an end to a lot of careers. I don't know the conditions but to totally suspend us from playing cricket, while you allow whoever is responsible to get our house in order, you basically stop cricket in Zimbabwe. I don't know how one can do that but it has happened to us now."

Raza feared it may be time for Zimbabwe players to think of alternative careers. Raza, himself, is a software engineer, and had also attended the Air Force College in Pakistan. Although he picked up cricket as a profession later than most players, he has quickly built himself into a solid batting allrounder in international cricket, and has picked up gigs in many of the T20 leagues around the world .

"If we miss the World T20 qualifiers, we will miss the T20 tri-series in Bangladesh [in September]. What if the house [ZC] is not in order? Is the ICC going to recognise the interim committee or the old committee? What is happening?

"I don't know where we go as international cricketers. Is it club cricket or no cricket for us? Do we just burn our kits and apply for jobs? I don't know what we have to do right now."

Raza said that if the ICC had directly overseen the Zimbabwe Cricket elections in June, they may have quickly recognised why the government's Sports and Recreation Commission dismissed the board in the first place. "I genuinely thought that it would have been ideal if one member of the ICC had come and overseen the election process, for the reasons SRC dismissed the board, while we continued to play cricket. I thought that would have been a very good quick fix."

Last year, while accepting the Player of the Tournament award at the World Cup Qualifier in Harare, Raza had voiced his disappointment at the ICC's decision to limit the number of teams in the 2019 World Cup. He maintained a similar stance regarding cricket's decision-makers

"As much as I want to say, there's nothing to say. Our cricket and livelihoods have been taken away from us," he said. "Whatever I say now will mean nothing. It will fall on deaf ears. I just thought the motto was to grow the game, and it keeps on shrinking."

Washington Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg went 3-for-3 with five RBIs -- including a single and a 420-foot home run in one inning -- in Thursday's 13-4 win over the Braves in Atlanta.

Strasburg became the first Nationals pitcher to drive in five runs in a game and have two hits in one inning. He's the first pitcher in the majors to homer and record an additional base hit in the same inning since Edwin Jackson did it with the Diamondbacks against the Pirates on April 11, 2010.

But Strasburg, who won the Silver Slugger Award in 2012, said he may have been a little lucky at the plate.

"It's just how crazy this game is," he said. "Sometimes you just run into the ball."

Strasburg led off the third inning with a single to center and scored the Nationals' first run, tying the game. The Nationals batted around, and when Strasburg came up the second time with two outs and two on, he drove a 92 mph fastball from Touki Toussaint deep to left for his fourth career homer.

The blast was the longest by a pitcher this season and the longest by a Nationals pitcher since the Statcast era began in 2015. Strasburg celebrated by dancing with his teammates in the dugout, but reviews from his teammates weren't kind.

"Stras isn't much of a dancer," first baseman Ryan Zimmerman said. "Maybe his wedding is the last time he danced."

In his next at-bat in the top of the fifth, Strasburg picked up his third hit of the night, singling to left to drive in two more runs to give him five RBIs on the night. He had one RBI going into the game, and he had one all of last year.

Strasburg was due to lead off in the top of the seventh, but he couldn't get through the bottom of the sixth, as his pitch count surpassed 100. He struck out seven Braves over 5⅓ innings while allowing three runs on eight hits.

"Stephen wasn't as sharp as he could be, but man, he swung the bat really well,'' manager Dave Martinez said. "He might be a pinch hitter coming up here for the rest of these games."

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland -- Brooks Koepka briefly had a share of the first-round lead at the 148th Open Championship on Thursday, and he's only 2 shots behind leader J.B. Holmes after firing a 3-under 68.

It has become an all-too-familiar sight for the rest of the field, which can't feel great about seeing Koepka's name on the leaderboard again. He has won four of the past 10 major championships.

Koepka had four birdies in the first round and didn't have a bogey until the 17th.

"I feel like I played pretty solid," Koepka said. "I missed it in the right spots all day. One bad one on 17. That's going to cost you. Didn't really make any putts. Didn't take advantage of anything to really go low. But definitely didn't shoot myself out of it, so I'm OK with that."

It doesn't hurt that Koepka's caddie, Ricky Elliott, grew up in Portrush and played the course quite a few times as an amateur. When Koepka was asked how many shots Elliott made a suggestion on, he responded: "Sixty-eight of them."

It's the 14th time in the past 17 rounds of a major that Koepka has finished in the top six. The only times he didn't were the first round of the 2018 PGA Championship at Bellerive (which he won) and the first round of June's U.S. Open at Pebble Beach (in which he was runner-up).

In the four majors this season, Koepka had a combined score of 18 under in the first round, which is best among active PGA Tour players.

In fact, it's the second-best aggregate score for the first round in the four majors in the past 25 years. Dustin Johnson was 20 under par in the opening round of the majors in 2015.

Koepka feels good about his chances this weekend.

"I've hit it unbelievable the last couple of days," he said. "I'm very pleased with the way I'm striking it. It's nice to get some practice in over the last five, six days. I feel good. I feel very comfortable. It's a major championship. That's what you're trying to peak for."

And no one, at least right now, does that better than him.

Big names headed home for the weekend?

Some of golf's biggest stars have plenty of work to do Friday if they're going to make the cut. For a few of them, it's probably going to be too little, too late, regardless of how well they play in the second round.

The top 70 scores and ties make the 36-hole cut.

Local favorite Rory McIlroy, who grew up in Holywood, Northern Ireland, and set the Royal Portrush course record with a 61 when he was 16, shot 8-over 79. McIlroy had a quadruple-bogey 8 on the first hole and a triple-bogey 7 on the 18th.

"I definitely think if I can put the ball in the fairway [on Friday] I can shoot a good enough score to be around for the weekend," McIlroy said. "Obviously, I'm pretty sure anyone starting with a 79 in this golf tournament doesn't think about winning at this point. But I think I can go out there and shoot something in the mid-60s, be around for the weekend and then try to play good from there."

Things weren't much better for Tiger Woods (7-over 78), five-time major winner Phil Mickelson (5-over 76) or 2013 Masters champion Adam Scott (7-over 78).

For Woods, the 78 was his worst opening round ever at The Open.

"I'm just not moving as well as I'd like," Woods said. "And unfortunately, you've got to be able to move, and especially under these conditions, shape the golf ball. And I didn't do it. I didn't shape the golf ball at all. Everything was left-to-right. And wasn't hitting very solidly."

Scott, meanwhile, never felt comfortable during his round.

"I didn't really have anything going my way," Scott said. "And I got myself in some trouble I couldn't get out of, which was disappointing. I've just got to go and shoot a low one [in the second round]. I feel like I'm playing well enough. Just a few things that cost me at least 5 shots. I don't think there's much in it. They're the errors you can't make."

Reigning U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland, defending Open Championship winner Francesco Molinari, Bryson DeChambeau and Xander Schauffele each shot 3-over 74 and also have some work to do in the second round.

Look who's back in the conversation

While Rickie Fowler (1-under 70) and Matt Kuchar (1-under 70) might currently be considered the best players to have never won a major, England's Lee Westwood held that unenviable title for a long time during the height of his career.

Westwood, 46, has won 43 times as a pro and has come agonizingly close in the majors. He has been second at the Masters (2010 and '16) and The Open (2010) and third at the PGA Championship (2009) and U.S. Open (2008 and '11).

Does Westwood have one more run in him? He fired a 3-under 68 for a tie for third after 18 holes. It's his best first round of The Open since he was tied for eighth at St. Andrews in 2010.

Sergio Garcia got the major monkey off his back by winning the 2017 Masters. But he hasn't done much of anything since; he missed the cut in seven of the previous 10 majors.

Garcia is also among 13 players tied for third at 3-under 68. It's the fifth time he has shot 68 or better in the first round of The Open; he finished in the top five in four of the previous occasions.

"Obviously, I'm very satisfied with the way I played and the way that the day went," Garcia said. "It was a solid day. Like I said, it wasn't easy out there. It was quite windy all day. There were some really tough holes, and obviously on the back nine."

Don't forget about me

The loudest gallery cheers Thursday were for McIlroy and fellow Northern Ireland natives Darren Clarke, who hit the first tee shot, and Graeme McDowell.

But it was Irishman Shane Lowry who is close to the top of the leaderboard after firing a 4-under 67 in the first round.

"If I hit a bad shot, I feel like I can get myself out of trouble," Lowry said. "It's a great place to be in, to be honest. I hope it lasts for another while."

Lowry, 32, won the 2009 Irish Open as an amateur and has won once on the PGA Tour and four times on the European Tour. He missed the cut in his past four appearances in The Open.

The key for Lowry will be stringing together four consecutive good rounds. He shot 68 in the first round at St. Andrews in 2010 but finished 73-71-75. At Hoylake in 2014, Lowry went 68-75-70-65.

McDowell said Lowry is good enough to win the first Open Championship on Irish soil in 68 years.

"Listen, I've always thought Shane had kind of three big things going for him," McDowell said. "Obviously, he's a great driver of the ball; one of the best chippers of the ball I've ever seen; and he's got a lot of guts and determination. To win an Irish Open for an amateur speaks volumes of who he is and what he is.

"He's a good friend out here, and I have a huge amount of respect for his game. He could easily continue this into the weekend and could easily contend here on Sunday afternoon. He has the game."

Mother Nature will have something say

The weather and wind are always big factors at the Open Championship. Thursday's opening round was no exception. At times, there was heavy rain on certain areas of the golf course. At the exact same time, other holes were bathed in sunshine.

The forecast for Friday is much of the same, according to the Met Office, which predicts an increased risk of heavy downpours in the late afternoon and evening, along with winds at 5 to 10 mph from the southeast.

If the weather conditions remain the same, Englishman Paul Casey doesn't expect the winning score to get to 10 under.

"If we get the same periods of sun, couple of squalls, same strength of wind, I'd snap your arm off if anybody got to double digits," Casey said. "Double it, add a couple. Yeah, I don't know.

"But we'll see if the R&A lean on it a little bit. They have a very good grasp of things. That's not their style. Their style is usually to let the elements dictate."

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland -- Tiger Woods all but told us this would happen. Just the other day, he said that the Masters had taken a ton out of him, that his game was not particularly sharp, and that he needed to shape his golf ball more convincingly than he had been.

Oh, and he also reminded us that his surgically altered, 43-year-old body does not move forcefully through the ball, or around the course, when the weather starts reminding him of his age.

But to see him almost stagger around Royal Portrush on Thursday while shooting a 7-over 78 in the first round of The Open, and then to hear him speak as candidly and alarmingly as he ever has about his physical state, was to understand that Woods appears to have crossed a threshold only three months after his most significant victory.

Welcome to the Old Tiger. Goodbye to the Tiger of old.

"It's going to be a lot more difficult," Woods said of the process of winning. "I'm not 24 anymore. Life changes, life moves on. I can't devote the hours to practice like I used to. Standing on the range hitting balls for four, five hours. Go play 36. Come back and run four, five miles, then go to the gym. Those days are gone, OK? So I have to be realistic about my expectations and hopefully peaking at the right time. I peaked at Augusta well, and hopefully I can peak a few more times this year."

Speaking haltingly in a post-round interview with reporters, almost as if it hurt to talk, Woods admitted he was in pain and that the pain prevented him from attempting or executing certain shots. "Just the way it is," he said. "Just Father Time and some procedures I've had over the time. It's just the way it's going to be."

In other words, Woods will be more of a cherry picker than a terminator across the rest of his career.

This doesn't mean Woods is done winning majors. It doesn't mean he can't tie or break Jack Nicklaus' record of 18. It doesn't mean he won't nail down the two victories needed to break Sam Snead's PGA Tour record of 82.

It only means he needs to be smart in managing his body and schedule, and then opportunistic when everything in his dialed-back game and diminished skill set happens to click once or twice every two or three years.

After missing the PGA Championship cut at Bethpage Black, site of one of his U.S. Open victories, and then finishing outside the top 20 at Pebble Beach, site of his greatest all-time performance, Woods showed again why he needs to remain committed to a strict pitch count from here to retirement. Sunday at the Masters made everyone forget the four back surgeries, including the spinal fusion, and Tiger's own stated belief in 2017 that he was done as a competitive golfer.

Thursday at The Open delivered a cruel dose of reality. As it turned out, Northern Ireland was no country for old men. On his very first hole at Royal Portrush, after a great bunker shot negated a lousy tee shot, Woods surrendered to a sudden burst of wind and rain. He yanked his light vest over his head, walked across the green and handed it to caddie Joe LaCava, and slid into a long-sleeved gray pullover. Woods then made his par putt, pumped his right fist as the fans roared, and marched to the second tee.

It would be a small victory on a day of big-picture defeats.

Woods posted his worst opening-round score ever at The Open, and his third-worst in any round of any major. He went to bed a dozen strokes off J.B. Holmes' lead in the first Open to be played in Northern Ireland in 68 years. Woods' only consolation was found on two of his friends' scorecards.

Rory McIlroy, the tournament and hometown favorite, hit a woman (and her phone) with an opening tee shot that ended up out of bounds, made a quadruple bogey, and shot 79. David Duval, former world No. 1, shot 91 and made a 14 on the par-5 seventh by staging a tragicomedy of errors that made Jean van de Velde's 1999 masterpiece look boring in comparison.

But McIlroy hasn't won a major in five years, and Duval hasn't won one (his only one) in 18. Woods ended an 11-year drought by winning his 15th in April, after nearly winning The Open and the PGA Championship the previous summer and winning the Tour Championship in September, breathing life into the possibility he might revive the dominance of his prime.

Just as it didn't happen at Bethpage and Pebble, it didn't happen at Portrush. Woods started coming undone on the drivable par-4 fifth, a birdie hole he turned into a bogey hole with a lousy approach and putt. He doubled the next hole, a par-3, by chipping from one greenside swale to another, and then bogeyed the following par-5. On the ninth, facing a nasty sidehill lie in the left rough, Woods took a huge cut on a ball that went nowhere and left him wincing like he had winced on the first tee. That bogey gave Tiger a 41 at the turn, and buried him nine shots off the lead. His body language matched his position on the board.

When Woods made his first and only birdie at the 15th, he used humor to ease his misery. Tiger lifted his head and extended his arms wide in mock disbelief. He licked his right index finger, and then raised it and jabbed it downward in count-it form.

Woods later said that his warm-up on the range was troubling, that his body wasn't moving on the course, that he hit everything off the heel of his club. He conceded he tried and failed to piece together a swing that would salvage the round.

No, that fifth green jacket didn't undo the long-term damage to his back. Away from the course, Woods said he feels sore -- really, really sore -- after picking up his kids from school or after taking them to and from soccer practice. But it's easier to manage the pain as a father than as a world-class athlete.

"These guys are too good," Woods said. "There are too many guys that are playing well, and I'm just not one of them."

Woods didn't play between Pebble and Portrush, just like he didn't play between Augusta and Bethpage. He beat up his own body entering too many tournaments last year, and now he is limiting himself in an attempt to prolong his career.

Woods can win another Masters, if only on muscle memory. He can win another Open, too. There's a reason Woods brought up a couple of golden oldies in his pre-tournament news conference. He brought up 59-year-old Tom Watson's near-miss at Turnberry in 2009, and 53-year-old Greg Norman's near-miss at Royal Birkdale (2008) as examples of how the bouncy quirks of links golf can neutralize youth, power and athleticism and give the graybeards a credible chance to win.

But Tiger won't be winning this Open. When last seen Thursday night, he was heading straight into treatment for everything that ails him.

Woods was also heading into the last chapter of his incomparable career. The pain has reduced him to the greatest cherry picker and opportunist of all time.

Nike has filed a countersuit against LA Clippers star Kawhi Leonard in response to his lawsuit against the company last month, the latest step in a battle over the "Klaw" logo that was developed and used during Leonard's time as part of Jordan Brand.

"In this action, Kawhi Leonard seeks to re-write history by asserting that he created the 'Claw Design' logo, but it was not Leonard who created that logo," Nike states in its countersuit, which was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, where Leonard's original suit was filed last month. "The 'Claw Design' was created by a talented team of NIKE designers, as Leonard, himself, has previously admitted.

"In his Complaint, Leonard alleges he provided a design to NIKE. That is true. What is false is that the design he provided was the Claw Design. Not once in his Complaint does Leonard display or attach either the design that he provided or the Claw Design. Instead, he conflates the two, making it appear as though those discrete works are one and the same. They are not."

In its countersuit, Nike provides a pair of images -- one of which it says is the image Leonard provided to the company, which has a "KL," with the L also turning into a numeral 2, inside of a hand, and the other the design Nike ultimately created.

Later in the countersuit, Nike paraphrases quotes from Leonard in a Nice Kicks oral history about his logo design from 2014 as saying he was happy with how the logo turned out, though the quote in the countersuit doesn't include the beginning, in which Leonard says that he came up with the original idea of incorporating his initials in the logo.

The countersuit also reiterates later that Leonard is trying to take credit for the work of the logo's designers by saying he owns it despite providing only the initial rough draft of the design.

"Despite the Contract's intellectual property ownership provision to which Leonard agreed, and despite his prior public acknowledgement that NIKE authored the Claw Design, Leonard has now decided that he, and not NIKE, is the rightful owner of the registered Claw Design, and has gone even further to accuse NIKE of committing fraud by registering its Claw Design with the Copyright Office," the suit says.

"Moreover, in clear contravention of Leonard's contractual obligations and NIKE's exclusive ownership rights in and to the Claw Design, Leonard has continued to use and reproduce the Claw Design, without NIKE's authorization, on his non-Nike apparel worn publicly, and has manifested his imminent intent to commercially exploit the Claw Design on non-NIKE merchandise."

The suit goes on to later point out Leonard used the logo on non-Nike clothing during the NBA Finals, and that he alluded to planning to do so in the future in his own lawsuit last month. Because of this, Nike says in its countersuit that it is "entitled to the maximum statutory damages recoverable, or for other amounts as may be proper," in addition to legal fees and other costs.

The company also asked the court to stop Leonard from being able to use the logo, to dismiss his lawsuit against Nike and to rule in its favor.

Leonard became a shoe free agent during the season, and eventually agreed to a deal with New Balance. The Boston-based company has created multiple campaigns involving Leonard this season -- one being "Fun Guy," and another, more recently, being "King of the North," playing off a phrase from the recently concluded HBO series "Game of Thrones."

Leonard originally addressed his lawsuit ahead of Game 3 of the NBA Finals, when he was a member of the Toronto Raptors.

"It happened over a long time ago," Leonard said. "You guys are just finding out. Not a big worry of mine."

The Los Angeles Dodgers are irate with Philadelphia Phillies reliever Hector Neris, who celebrated his save against them Thursday with a fist pump and then a stare-down into the L.A. dugout.

"Neris got the save and looked right into our dugout and screamed as loud as he could, 'F--- you!'" Dodgers first baseman Max Muncy told reporters after the game.

The Dodgers stayed in the dugout, watching Neris. On the broadcast, it appeared that catcher Russell Martin shouted to the pitcher that they meet somewhere.

"I think we played this series the right way, played it straight," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "To look in our dugout and to taunt in any way, I think it's unacceptable. Look in your own dugout."

Neris had given up a solo homer to center fielder Alex Verdugo and ended the game with a long fly ball out by third baseman Justin Turner, securing a 7-6 win and a split in the four-game series.

Neris is facing a three-game suspension for throwing at Dodgers first baseman David Freese on Tuesday after giving up a three-run homer. He is playing until his appeal is heard.

He told reporters that Thursday's celebration was "just emotions."

"It's a great win for my team and just I let my emotion get out," he said.

Muncy thought there was more to it than that.

"He's blown about eight saves against us over the last two years," Muncy said. "I guess he was finally excited he got one. Whatever."

Neris has a loss and a blown save in three appearances against the Dodgers this year. He has allowed three home runs, four hits, one walk and has struck out two batters. Last season, in one appearance, he allowed three hits and a run in a third of an inning against the Dodgers.

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone went on a profane rant Thursday that seemed to spark his team's rally from a slow start to a 6-2 victory in the first game of a doubleheader against the Tampa Bay Rays.

The rant came after rookie umpire Brennan Miller called Brett Gardner out on strikes in the second inning. Gardner returned to the dugout, where he slammed his bat nine times into the bat rack, then eight times into the dugout roof.

Microphones caught Boone's yelling that the pitch was outside along with profanities to Miller, an International League crew chief who made his big league debut April 20 as a call-up umpire.

Miller said, "I heard you, Aaron," and when Boone persisted, the umpire ejected him. Boone then ran out and kept up the argument, getting close to Miller's face and clapping his hands for emphasis.

"My guys are f---ing savages in that f---ing box, right? And you're having a piece of s--- start to this game. I feel bad for you, but f---ing get better," Boone said, going on to repeat his thoughts several times. He told Miller to "tighten it up right now, OK?"

Miller, umpiring behind the plate for the fifth time in a major league game, had called Aaron Judge out on strikes following DJ LeMahieu's leadoff double in the first. Gardner batted in the second after Gio Urshela's tying, two-run homer and was called out on a 1-2 pitch.

Boone was ejected for the third time this season and the seventh time in two years as a big league manager. Asked whether Boone went too far with his use of profanity, crew chief Gerry Davis replied: "Yes, absolutely."

"Just a big game, and just felt like some things weren't going our way there early, and it felt like it needed to be known," Boone said after the game. "Sometimes in the heat of the battle, you just kind of utter some things. But I feel that way about our guys, no doubt.

"Certainly didn't want anyone else getting tossed. We were pretty heated there, several of our guys there in the first couple of innings. So I just felt it was necessary in that spot to kind of take the attention off some of the other guys."

Yankees pitcher Domingo German, who allowed back-to-back home runs to Austin Meadows and Yandy Diaz to lead off the game, said Boone's rant gave him a spark.

"I loved it," German said through an interpreter. "Personally, I fed off that energy. It gave me a boost to concentrate and go out there, do my job and try to get this victory for him, because he went out there and fought for us. I felt that it was my responsibility to go back out there and return the favor."

As for calling his players "savages," Boone explained that they "make it hard on the pitcher all the time. That's something that those guys take a lot of pride in as a lineup. You may have your way with us, you may have success against us, but I want you to feel us."

First baseman Luke Voit said after the Yankees rallied to win the second game 5-1 that Boone has been referring to the team that way all year.

"Not a lot of coaches I think would back it up and use that type of word, but I think we appreciate it -- and we are a bunch of savages," Voit said.

As for Gardner, he laughed off his dugout antics.

"I can't throw my helmet anymore," he said. "Just making noise. Just being me."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Editor's note: Alex Rodriguez has a unique relationship with the four players voted into the 2019 Hall of Fame class. He was teammates with three of them (Mariano Rivera, Edgar Martinez and Mike Mussina) and played against Roy Halladay throughout their careers. In the days leading up to their enshrinement in Cooperstown, A-Rod shares the stories of those stars -- as teammates, competitors and friends -- in his own words.

• A-Rod on: Mariano Rivera

When I was 18 years old and in my first days with the Mariners, Edgar Martinez complimented me to one of the beat writers who covered the team. When I saw it in print the next day, I went to a corner store, bought a pair of scissors and marker, and carefully highlighted and cut out the quote. I taped that shard of newspaper to the lower right-hand corner of the bathroom mirror in my apartment, and when friends would visit, I would point out the clipping and show them what he said.

His words carried so much weight because of who he is -- a great hitter, sure, a Hall of Famer, but a gentle person of substance and soul.

The funny thing was that when I first joined the Mariners, a team saturated with stars, he was an afterthought for me. I couldn't wait to be around Ken Griffey Jr., the greatest player on the planet. Playing in the Kingdome at that time was like playing in a basketball arena, and he would blast baseballs into the rafters with that beautiful swing.

I got to meet Randy Johnson, one of the best left-handed pitchers in baseball history. As a double-play partner, I had Joey Cora, the sledgehammer-blunt second baseman who kicked me in the proverbial testicles whenever I needed it. I got to play for Lou Piniella, the fiery manager who channeled Billy Martin and became my baseball mentor.

But it turned out that Edgar was the teammate that I would stalk, in trying to learn about the craft. I was the same age as college freshmen when I first stepped into the Mariners clubhouse, and Edgar -- who would have a Ph.D. in hitting, if there was such a thing -- was like the professor I desperately wanted to impress. My father left our family when I was 10 years old, and I've always felt you could draw a straight line from that point to when I was with the Mariners, searching for answers, quietly and curiously following Edgar to the batting cage at the Kingdome.

I'd find a chair outside of the netting, or turn a baseball bucket upside down, and just sit there and watch him, absorbing how he meticulously went about his work, his routine, the drills. He never called attention to my presence; he just accepted and embraced the fact that I was there. Eventually, I worked alongside him, and he responded to any question that I asked in the same even-handed manner and tone.

Before David Ortiz became Big Papi, there was a Papi. That's what the Mariners players called Edgar. That's what I still call him.

He turned out to be the person and player I wanted to be -- the most clutch guy, the nicest, the person you could count on. He is reserved, very humble, a man of few words. From my rookie year to my ups and downs later in my career, to the dinner we had earlier this year, Edgar has always treated me exactly the same way.

He patiently explained his thinking when he was ahead in the count, when he was behind, when he faced a pitcher with a tight breaking ball or someone who threw hard. He talked about how different the challenge of hitting in the postseason was, relative to the lower stakes of the regular season. He talked about how he handled a hitless game.

He explained to me why he swung a heavier bat in batting practice, why he used pine tar in the way he did, why there was always a doughnut on his bat in the on-deck circle. Scottie Pippen had Michael Jordan, and I had Edgar. Years later, when I was with the Yankees and in the latter half of my career, I'd explain to Robinson Cano and others different parts of my routine -- and just about all of it came from Edgar.

I always looked forward to the Mariners' cross-country flights, because the mentor that I stalked was captive. Edgar would always take the very back row, in the window seat, and I would sit on the aisle and get him anything he needed. Potato chips, pretzels, a sandwich, a beer -- or later in his career, the red wine that became his drink of choice. Meanwhile, he answered all my questions, about baseball, about the business, about his life. OK, when you got that 3-2 slider, Papi, what were you thinking? At about the time the charter passed over Chicago, Edgar would tell me, through a smile, to find another seat and leave him alone.

Edgar loves his family and loves boating. He'd arrive in spring training with the perfect tan, the great hair and blue eyes, ready to go. He was born in New York, and he said to me that he always loved to play against the Yankees, and I asked him why. "Because when you play great against the Yankees," he said, "it lives forever."

The Seattle Mariners will live forever, I think, because of what he did against the Yankees in the 1995 playoffs. At that time, the franchise's future in Seattle was tenuous, but we made up a 13-game deficit in the standings and beat the Angels in a tiebreaker to take the West -- only to lose the first two games to the Yankees in the best-of-five division series. But Edgar beat them in Game 4 of the division series, a grand slam off John Wetteland in the eighth inning that looked like a 2-iron in the way that it rippled the tarp beyond the center-field fence in the Kingdome, inspiring our Hall of Fame play-by-play man Dave Niehaus to give one of his signature calls. The Rye Bread, the Mustard, the Grand Salami.

Of course it was Edgar who came to the plate with our season on the line the next day, in the bottom of the 11th inning of Game 5, when we trailed by a run. I didn't start that game, but Lou used me as a pinch runner in the bottom of the eighth inning, and so when Edgar came to bat in the bottom of the 11th, I was on deck, scared to death that I might have to bat with the season on the line. I felt my knees shaking. We had Joey Cora at second and Griffey at first and while there was nobody out, I thought for sure that Buck Showalter, the manager of the Yankees at the time, would walk Edgar to get to me. I didn't think there was any way they would pitch to the hottest hitter on the planet.

But Jack McDowell did, and when Edgar smoked that double into the left-field corner, he hit it so hard that I didn't think there was any way Griffey would score. But I didn't realize how fast he was running -- fly, fly away, Junior -- and when he slid across home plate, I jumped on him and put him in a headlock. I was so happy, and also so relieved I didn't have to hit. When we lingered in the clubhouse afterward and the soaked clubhouse had that stale smell of champagne, we were all like: Papi did it again.

Later that month, King County approved financing for a new Mariners ballpark, and I immediately began to lobby our equipment manager, Scott Gilbert, to place my locker right next to Edgar's -- an honor that was realized.

When I left the Mariners after the 2000 season to sign with the Rangers, phoning Edgar to tell him the news was one of the hardest calls I've ever had to make, and playing against him was really weird. But even after I left the Mariners, I understood that Edgar would always remain with me, as I continue to borrow from the best example anyone could hope for.

Editor's note: Alex Rodriguez has a unique relationship with the four players voted into the 2019 Hall of Fame class. He was teammates with three of them (Mariano Rivera, Edgar Martinez and Mike Mussina) and played against Roy Halladay throughout their careers. In the days leading up to their enshrinement in Cooperstown, A-Rod shares the stories of those stars -- as teammates, competitors and friends -- in his own words.

• A-Rod on: Edgar Martinez

Mariano Rivera will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Sunday, the greatest relief pitcher ever, the first unanimous selection. What fans will always remember about him was how unflappable he was on the mound, how stoic, in victory or in those rare moments of defeat.

But the Mo I know is fully capable of bluntly chewing out somebody who needed it. Like me.

One of the worst places on earth to be was in the Yankees clubhouse, in innings one through five, if we happened to be losing or playing poorly, because that's where Mariano would be, watching everything. As part of his routine, he'd remain in the clubhouse in the early part of the game, preparing to pitch in the later innings, and if we fell behind early and I would walk back to my locker during our turn at-bat, he would be all over me. "What were you thinking, swinging at that pitch over your head?" he'd demand. Or, "What kind of a play was that? Get back out there, you moron."

He quoted George Steinbrenner a lot, and in our clubhouse, it was like he was the embodiment of what Steinbrenner demanded from the Yankees, in comportment and style. He remembered everything he learned from George and Don Mattingly, and had so much Yankee pride. He was always perfectly shaved -- I can't remember seeing a 5 o'clock shadow on him, ever -- and on every road trip, his tie was knotted tightly, perfectly, like he was a drill sergeant.

When I was with the Mariners and didn't really know him, Edgar Martinez and I viewed him with great respect for how he went about his business, how elegant and classy he was on the mound. He never tried to embarrass you as a hitter, or show you up. Watching him from across the field, there was always a sense of mystery there, and you'd almost think he was shy and timid because of how emotionless he was on the mound. That impression was reinforced by my interaction with him in the American League clubhouse in All-Star Games, because he said so little, barely making eye contact.

But what I learned after I joined the Yankees was that the reason why he kept his distance at All-Star Games was because he was so competitive -- he didn't want to get too close to players he expected to beat -- and perhaps the two words in the language that least applied to him were timid and shy. He became an integral part of my baseball world, but also one of the greatest friends of my lifetime.

"One of the worst places on earth to be was in the Yankees clubhouse, in innings one through five, if we happened to be losing or playing poorly, because that's where Mariano would be, watching everything ... if we fell behind early and I would walk back to my locker during our turn at-bat, he would be all over me. 'What were you thinking, swinging at that pitch over your head?' he'd demand. Or, 'What kind of a play was that? Get back out there, you moron.'"

Alex Rodriguez on Mariano Rivera

I don't think people realize what a phenomenal athlete he was. Late in our careers, there was testing done at the Yankees' spring training facility, and Mariano had the highest vertical leap of any player there -- 35 inches. He could jump like a rabbit, with the flexibility of a gymnast. When he was in his early 40s, he could still drop down into a split. Joe Torre would always say that Mariano was the best center fielder on the team, because of how much ground he covered running balls down in batting practice, and at that time, we had a Gold Glover in Bernie Williams.

Everybody knew what he was going to throw -- a cutter -- and yet they couldn't hit it because of that late movement. He has long fingers, like Pedro Martinez, and flexibility in his wrists, and I think that gave him almost like a buggy-whip action when he released the ball. But he also had incredible extension when he released the ball, striding out, and I think that contributed to the late life on this pitch that nobody could hit. I was always fascinated by how smooth his delivery was, how explosive. Science shows that a hitter can't track a pitch all the way to home plate, and the dramatic movement on his cutter was in the last eight inches. Hitters couldn't see it, they couldn't hit it.

I had some problems throwing from third base after I first joined the Yankees -- some yips. It wasn't a Chuck Knoblauch situation, but it wasn't great. So he and I started long-tossing together every day, to help me. I would stand on the right-field foul line, and he would back up, drifting back until he got to the 399-foot mark in left-center field. I'd have to run into my throws to even have a chance to get it close to him, and he would mock me by maintaining a pitcher's delivery, like he was throwing out of the stretch -- and he would launch the ball so high, like a javelin, and it would go so far up. It would never come down, it seemed. And then it would drop right into my glove.

About 80 percent of our conversations were in Spanish. When Mariano would throw his last warm-up pitch, I'd always be the infielder to flip it to him, as the third baseman, and I'd cajole him in Spanish, calling him muerto -- Let's go, scrub.

I'd say to him, "Mo, if you had my balls, you'd have 800 saves."

And he'd retort, "If you had my balls, you'd have 1,000 home runs." After Mariano retired and I played out the last years of my career, he'd joke that he was going to Federal Express -- to mail me his testicles, so that I would have some.

He always wanted to teach, and like a pastor, he's always got a Bible, but he never overdid it; he's great about messaging. He wanted me to do things right, and look out for me, encouraging me to attend the Sunday morning services they have at ballparks, and on some Sundays, I'd be exhausted and beg off. He'd get annoyed, punishing me with silence for a day. I hated letting him down.

In the worst of my trouble with the commissioner's office, Mariano called me all the time. He got on a plane, flew down to Miami to see me and was very direct: "What the hell are you doing?" He never supported the crap that I did. He is filled with conviction, and was always true north.

I made a lot of mistakes and he called me out directly, looking me in the eye and chastising me. But he never did it in a way that made me feel like he looked down on me; he made me feel that it was possible that I could find my way through, if I made better choices. Mariano never turned his back on me, and he gave me hope.

Eventually, I owned my mistakes. Mariano texted and asked, "Why weren't you doing this your whole career?" After I returned to the Yankees in spring training of 2015, Mariano arrived as a guest instructor and picked me apart good-naturedly, as old friends will do.

Then he looked at me and said, "You're doing really well."

I get goosebumps thinking about those words and how much they meant in that moment, coming from somebody with as much depth and character as Mariano Rivera.

I've never really been into music, but it felt like I was standing in the wing of a concert stage when Mariano came into a game at Yankee Stadium, with "Enter Sandman" thumping out of the speakers and the roar of the crowd in response, and Mo jogging in for the final act, head down. I'd tell myself how lucky I was to be there to see him, the greatest pitching weapon in baseball history.

During this long season, the world relay champion is determined to pace himself and run well when it matters

While consistency is key for Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, the European 200m silver medallist says he now understands that it is about running fast when it matters most and that is his aim in this world championships year.

The reigning world 4x100m champion describes his season as having got off to a slow start but is confident the work he has been putting in will lead to quick times.

“One thing I’ve realised about being a professional is it’s about running fast when it matters,” says the 25-year-old, who ran his 200m PB of 19.95, which ranks him second on the UK all-time list, in May 2016.

“Last year I didn’t have the greatest year but I ran fast when it mattered. The ultimate goal is to be consistent. I feel that’s where you get longevity in the sport.

“I’m still finding the balance, I’m still training hard. It’s a funny sport, sometimes you’re on top, sometimes you’re not.”

Since his 19.95 200m clocking when sprinting for Louisiana State University in Alabama three years ago, Mitchell-Blake has also gone sub-10 seconds for the 100m with 9.99 in 2017 and came close to breaking 20 seconds for the half-lap event in 2017 and 2018 with a season’s best of 20.04 both years.

His best so far in 2019 is 20.50, while he finished fifth at the Shanghai Diamond League, but he now feels his body is in the best shape it has been all year as he works toward the Müller Anniversary Games at the London Stadium, where he will run both the 4x100m and 200m on July 21-22, 10 weeks before the IAAF World Championships in Doha.

“I’m excited, I really am,” says Mitchell-Blake, who anchored Great Britain to world sprint relay success in the same stadium two years ago. “I’ve had a consistent block of training and I feel that my body is in the best shape it has been all year.

“I’m excited to go out there and execute a race, see where I’m at, but also because it’s in London. I was born in London, I was born in Newham, it’s always a great opportunity to run in front of a home crowd.

“It should be a lot of fun, not to mention the memories I’ve gained – it will always hold a special place in my heart, running in London and the stadium.”