Iglesias told Tigers reporters before Mondays

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Detroit shortstop Jose Iglesias says he has stress fractures in both legs and isnt sure when hell be able to play again, leaving the Tigers two weeks to fill his spot for opening day and perhaps a lot longer. "Its bad news for me and bad news for the team as well," Iglesias told Tigers reporters before Mondays exhibition against Washington was rained out. The 24-year-old Iglesias is set to see a specialist in Colorado on Tuesday. After that, hell have a better idea on his future status. The smooth-fielding Iglesias played through pain in his shins last year while hitting .303 for Boston and Detroit. He said he intends to return this season to the three-time AL Central champion Tigers. "Absolutely," he said. "But for now, my goal is to get healthy, get rid of this, because the pain is really bad. I just want to get rid of it and come back 100 per cent." Minus Iglesias, the Tigers might pick from among three players already in camp to be their shortstop -- Danny Worth, Hernan Perez and Eugenio Suarez. Free agent shortstop Stephen Drew also is available, and Seattle infielder Nick Franklin could be a possible trade target. New Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said he wouldnt dwell on Iglesias absence. "You take the 25 players that are starting the season and try to find a way to win on a daily basis," he said. "You dont bury your face in your hands crying about what could have been. Its counterproductive." Detroit general manager Dave Dombrowski said Sunday that Iglesias will begin the season on the disabled list. The Tigers open on March 31 at home against Kansas City. The Tigers acquired Iglesias during last July from Boston in a three-team trade. He occasionally missed games while dealing with shin splints that hurt him while running, and hoped he would feel better this spring. But Ausmus said he spotted something was off with Iglesias in the Tigers exhibition opener on Feb. 26. Iglesias hasnt played since then and saw a specialist last week. Iglesias said he had "small fractures" in both legs. While disappointed at the diagnosis, he added, "at the end of the day, its good as well, because I know whats going on now. Its something that Ive got to deal with, but something that will go away with time." "I was able to play through it last year, but thats not going to happen this year," he said. NOTES: Ausmus said RHP Justin Verlander will pitch on opening day against the Royals. It will be his seventh straight year to start the opener. Verlander had core muscle repair surgery in January, a month after hurting himself while conditioning. Ausmus acknowledged that it was tough choice between Verlander and reigning AL Cy Young winner Max Scherzer. ... RHP Anibal Sanchez was scratched from Mondays start even before the game was rained out. Trainer Kevin Rand said Sanchez had some inflammation in his shoulder, but expected him to be OK for his next scheduled start. Josh Okogie Jersey .J. -- John Elway says Peyton Manning cannot stamp himself as the greatest quarterback in NFL history even if he wins the Super Bowl on Sunday. Anthony Brown Jersey . The Force had two men, including former Wallabies No. 8 Ben McCalman, in the sin-bin in the dying minutes of the match, but were able to resist a late Highlanders surge to post a four-try, bonus point win. http://www.timberwolvesgear.com/authentic-robert-covington-timberwolves-jersey/ . The 17-time Grand Slam champion, who lose three straight finals in Monte Carlo to Rafael Nadal from 2006-08, has not played in the tournament since 2011, when he lost to Jurgen Melzer in the quarterfinals. Minnesota Timberwolves Jerseys . And though his comeback night didnt quite go to script, Bryant couldnt help reflecting on the work necessary to get back on that court -- and all the months of steady labour ahead to reclaim his game. Bryant had nine points and eight rebounds in his season debut, but Amir Johnson scored a career-high 32 points in the trade-depleted Toronto Raptors 106-94 victory over Los Angeles on Sunday night. Anthony Tolliver Jersey . -- The anointed starting quarterback for the Oakland Raiders is strengthening his hold on the position this training camp instead of losing it.HOUSTON -- The Houston Rockets have won four games in a row. It certainly isnt a coincidence that Dwight Howard has scored at least 20 points in each game of the winning streak. Howard had 34 points and 14 rebounds to help the Rockets beat the Phoenix Suns 122-108 on Wednesday night. "Ive just been being patient and letting my teammates find me in the right spot and not rushing my shots," Howard said. The centre has been spending extra time after practice this season working on post moves with former Rockets assistant coach and general manager Carroll Dawson. "We talk about after I got my man beat, just slow down and make the shot," Howard said. "So Ive just been trying to do that." Howard also had three steals and two blocks, and James Harden added 23 points for Houston. It was the fifth game this season where Howard had at least 30 points and 10 rebounds, which is the most by a Rocket in a season since Yao Ming had six in 2007-08. Houston coach Kevin McHale is encouraged that his guards have started to get a better feel for how to get the ball inside to Howard. "I thought we missed him a couple of times, but we found him better," McHale said. "We just have to keep working on passing the ball to him, being better post feeders." The Suns cut it to four points with about 6 minutes left before Houston went on a 10-3 run to make it 113-102. The Rockets capped that run when Harden knocked down a 3-pointer, Howard blocked Goran Dragics shot, and Chandler Parsons added a layup. Phoenix missed four shots, had a turnover and a shot-clock violation in that span. Dragic had 23 points and eight assists for the Suns, who have dropped two in a row after winning five straight. They lost at home to Chicago on Tuesday night. "We didnt stop anybody," Phoenix coach Jeff Hornacek said. "We didnt stop anybody last night, either. Our defence has not been very good." Chandler Parsons and Terrencee Jones added 19 points each for Houston, which was playing the second of just three home games this month.dddddddddddd Houston scored six straight points early in the fourth quarter to push its lead to 101-92. The Suns responded with a 7-2 spurt, started with a 3 from Leandro Barbosa, to get to 103-99 midway through the period. The Suns trailed by 12 points late in the third quarter before going on a 10-3 run to cut the lead to 95-90 entering the fourth quarter. Dragic had six points in that run and Barbosa scored the rest. The Rockets scored the first six points of the third quarter before Gerald Green outscored Houston 6-1 over the next 2 minutes of the quarter to cut the lead to 73-69. Houston was up by seven a few minutes later when Harden got knocked to the court hard when Channing Frye backed into him. Harden remained on the court wincing in pain while the game continued and Tucker made a shot. Harden finally got up after the bucket and remained in the game. Howard scored four quick points after that as part of a 9-2 run that extended Houstons lead to 92-80 with 3 minutes left in the quarter. The Suns took their first lead of the game, 41-40, about 9 minutes before halftime after outscoring Houston 11-5 in the opening minutes of the second quarter. Marcus Morris scored the last six points of that run before Dragic hit a 3 and Ish Smith added a basket to extend the lead to 46-40. Houston got back on track after that with a 9-2 spurt that put the Rockets back on top 49-48. The Rockets led by one a few minutes later before a 6-0 run, capped by an alley-oop by Howard, pushed the lead to 61-54. Houston led 66-63 at halftime. NOTES: Houston G/F Francisco Garcia missed his ninth straight game with a sore left knee. ... It was the sixth straight game with at least 20 points for Dragic, the longest streak of his career. ... Phoenixs Markieff Morris had 11 points to extend his career-best streak of double-digit games to 12. ' ' '