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Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week they discuss the NFLs Draft dodging, Miguel Cabreras pursuit of history, the man that helped shape the Blue Jays and Canadas place in the Worlds. Dave Naylor, TSN Radio: My thumb is down to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell who says the NFL has no choice but to move its draft into May. Now, call me a cynic on this one - That it has less to do with dates available at Radio City Music Hall and more to do with television sweeps in the month of May – but most football people are like most football fans. By the end of April, theyre ready for the NFL Draft. They dont need more research, study, picking guys apart. This is also bad for the CFL, which already doesnt have enough time between the NFL Draft and the CFL Draft to know which Canadians may be NFL-bound. Theyre going to have a hard time getting their draft in between the new NFL Draft date and training camps. So, thumbs down on both side of the border for this move. Steve Simmons, Sun Media: My thumb is up to Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers, not just the best hitter in the American League but the best hitter in baseball and, if you look it up, one of the best hitters of all-time. Right now Cabrera is first in batting average, in RBIs, in OPS, on-base percentage and second in home runs. Hes coming off the first Triple Crown season since 1967. He looks like he can do the Triple Crown back-to-back. We dont talk enough about this guy. We dont appreciate him enough. We dont celebrate him enough. We should start doing that more with Miguel Cabrera. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated: My thumb is up to scouts and one in particular: Epy Guerrero of the Toronto Blue Jays who passed away this week. He was part of the foundation of the success of the Blue Jays franchise. Taking George Bell in the Rule 5 Draft in 1980 from the Philadelphia Phillies? That was the recommendation of Epy Guerrero. Some of the other great players in franchise history: Tony Fernandez, the shortstop from San Pedro de Macoris – that was Epy Guerrero – as was Carlos Delgado. These are the men and sometimes women who provide the foundations for strong franchises. Guerrero was one of the best at his job. Dave Hodge, TSN: I have no idea if Hockey Canadas moves to replace head scout Kevin Prendergast and goalie coach Ron Tugnutt are justified or will make a bit of difference, but my thumb is up to the organization for admitting that a fourth straight World Championship performance without a medal is not acceptable. Weve heard it here that Canadians dont care about anything but the Olympics, and find it easy to ignore the world tournament while they concentrate on the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but Hockey Canada competes internationally with a mandate to excel and to produce the best possible results, so it has to care about and must not ignore quarter-final losses at the Worlds.Marvin Bagley III Jersey . LOUIS -- Theres no telling how these wacky World Series games will end. Mitch Richmond Jersey . "We have always prided ourselves on the way we play defence. Having two big pieces back is going to be a key for us moving forward for years to come," said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. https://www.kingslockerroom.com/Buddy-Hield-City-Edition-Jersey/ .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. Mitch Richmond Kings Jersey . According the Toronto Star, a knee injury will keep Sundin out of the lineup, which includes former teammates Gary Roberts, Darcy Tucker, Tie Domi and Curtis Joseph. Marvin Bagley Jersey . Rob Manfred, baseballs chief operating officer, testified last week during the grievance filed by the players union to overturn Rodriguezs 211-game suspension. A person familiar with the hearing, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Manfred testified the sport wasnt concerned whether Bosch distributed performance-enhancing drugs to minors because MLBs interest was his relationship with players under investigation.SAN DIEGO -- Antonio Gates recalls Nick Saban telling him hed one day be an NFL first-round draft pick and that he could play both football and his beloved basketball at Michigan State.Neither happened.Yet heres Gates, the former basketball star from Kent State, needing three touchdown catches to break Tony Gonzalezs NFL record of 111 for a tight end.Being 6-foot-4 and weighing 250 pounds, Gates knows he made the right choice in going to the NFL rather than trying to pursue an NBA career.Still, for every pass hes caught from Drew Brees, Doug Flutie, Philip Rivers and even LaDainian Tomlinson, Gates always has basketball in the back of his mind.Thats the part thats kind of like the chip on my shoulder when I play, Gates said. In my mind, Id be thinking, `I wish I would have given it a chance, to see what would have happened. But its hard to see it because of the success over time playing football. Its kind of hard to say now.But I think thats what drives me still to this day is because I know I didnt give my heart a chance to do what I wanted to do. So Im like, `OK, well, somebodys going to pay for it. If Ive got to play 15, 18 years, to get all the records, thats what drives you, when people cant see you for what you were.Gates, 36, joined the Chargers as a rookie free agent in 2003, a year after leading Kent State to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. He caught his first touchdown pass on Nov. 9, 2003.It was against Minnesota. From Doug Flutie, Gates said. Drew Brees was here and I guess he kind of didnt get off to a good start and Flutie got in the game and I scored a touchdown.Brees regained his starting job but left after 2005, and Rivers became the starter.Rivers and Gates have connected on 82 touchdown passes, the most between a quarterback and tight end. Gates 109 TD catches rank him seventh all-time.Rivers first start was opening night in 2006 at Oakland. In the fourth quarter, he hit Gates on a 4-yard corner route. Rivers threw only 11 passes that night, two to Gates.I was fired up, obviously, to throw a touchdown in my first start, Rivers said. I remember going up to him and saying, `Hey, thats the first of many. And he was kind of like, `Get out of here. I havent got a ball all day. I dont want to hear that.Now you look back and however many its been between he and I, and hes right there at 109. It is special. I want it for him more than anything, and I think he wants it as well. Certainly when given the opportunity Im going to try my hardest to get him into the end zone three more times, at least.When Gates joined the Chargers he hadnt played a down of football since his senior season at Detroits Central High. Saban recruited Gates to Michigan State. Gates left after a year because Saban wouldnt let him play basketball.We didnt see eye to eye. I felt he sat in front of my momma and my father and said I could do both, said Gates, who had grown up idolizing Michigans Fab Five. I told him, `I came here to do both. He said, `No, football. `After playing at two junior colleges, Gates ended up starring in hoopps at Kent State.dddddddddddd Along the way he was noticing that people he knew were getting drafted high by NFL teams.Among them was Dwight Smith -- my homeboy from high school -- who went to Akron and was a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in 2001. Smith had two interceptions of Oaklands Rich Gannon, the league MVP, in the Bucs Super Bowl win at San Diegos Qualcomm Stadium in January 2003.Thats how it started, Gates said.He mentioned former Michigan State players T.J. Duckett, Charles Rogers, Julius Peterson, Dimitrius Underwood and Plaxico Burress. All first-rounders.Wait a minute, something aint adding up, Gates said. This is my circle and everybodys getting drafted.So now Nick Saban, what he had told me, started to make sense at that point, Gates said. Because he told me I was a first-rounder. He swore up and down Id go first round if I just played football. I was like, `Uh, I dont want to hear that. You just want me out there. I dont want to hear that, Nick Saban. You just dont want me on the basketball court.But I loved basketball. That was my heart. Its like going to the prom, man. Youve got two girls and you love one and she dont show you no attention and you have to go out of your way. Youre trying to get her attention. And then heres a girl whos just wanting to go to prom with you: `Love you, like your height. You smell good, ` Gates said with a laugh. Thats how football was. Everything was great. `You tall, you fast. You big. And basketball was like, `Uh, can you do it at this level? It was always the ifs ands and buts when it came to basketball. Golly, no matter what I do, I average 20 points a game and they were like, `Do it against Kentucky. I had 27 on that. I had 33 on Boston College. `But can you do it consistently on this level?Football was like, nothing I did was bad. Ultimately it wears on you. It wears on your confidence.Gates had a daughter at the time and made what he felt was the safest choice: the NFL. All these years later, hes certainly erased the doubters.I think its great. Im not surprised, either, said Gonzalez, who plans to congratulate Gates via Twitter when he breaks the touchdown mark.The two were division rivals for six seasons when Gonzalez was with the Kansas City Chiefs.He pushed me to the limit to be the best tight end I could be, said Gonzalez, a studio analyst for CBS NFL Today.Id like to think I did the same. There was always that competition of who could outperform who in the game.Gonzalez also played college hoops, at California, and like Gates picked the NFL over a possible NBA career.I love that he made the right decision, Gonzalez said. With the legacy hes set, hes right there with the other guy from that franchise, Kellen Winslow, two of best to ever put on cleats and play the tight end position.---Follow Bernie Wilson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/berniewilson---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '