Speaking after throwing a bullpen session, Tuesday at Angels Stadium, Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett said the back spasms which led him to getting three cortisone shots while also missing a start were never a serious concern and that the entire situation was "blown out of proportion". “I just had those two days where I had the back spasms. I don’t think I even needed the shots, I just wanted the pain to go away that day,” the pitcher said. “All they were where back spasms. I don’t know who ended up blowing it up into this big situation. It really wasn’t that big a deal. It was trigger point injection with cortisone and all it was was tight muscles. It really wasn’t anything. I really didn’t do anything to my back. I just woke up that day and my back was stiff.” For more...

According to the National Football Post, linebacker Junior Seau took another step in a return to the game on Tuesday when he worked out for the Patriots. The story, which quoted a league source, indicated that New England put the veteran linebacker through a tryout. Things appear to falling into place for Seau's return to the Patriots: WEEI.com reported Sunday that the 40-year-old Seau will sign a deal to return to the Patriots very soon, possibly as early as this week. ESPNBoston reported that Seau took a physical for the team last weekend. And Seau has stated several times in the past if he did return, it would only be with New England. The linebacker, a 12-time Pro Bowler, has come out of retirement twice to join the Patriots, and has played parts of the last three seasons in New...