Dice-KKKKKKKKKK  —  Matsuzaka lives up to billing in debut victory  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Dice-K was Ice K. He was also 10 K. And Special K.  —  Maybe even a Japanese Pedro.  Or a Pocket Rocket.  —  Given the hype and hysteria that have accompanied his every move and word since …

Sportscasters go comical in 'Blades'; Ripken, Gwynn join TBS  —  Like disfigured guys with chainsaws and precinct captains infuriated by rule-breaking maverick cops, sportscasters in movies are usually stock characters.  —  Usually, real sportscasters are cast to sort of sound like themselves.

Insider: Reyes the marketing odd man out  —  The most accessible athlete in New York these days has to be David Wright.  Not even Derek Jeter has appeared on more magazine covers, video game boxes or ESPN promos lately than the Mets' photogenic third baseman.

Throwing Batters Curves Before Throwing a Pitch  —  The pitch was nothing remarkable: Pat Venditte, Creighton University's temporarily right-handed pitcher, threw a fastball past a Northern Iowa batter for a called strike three.  It was his next windup that evinced this young pitcher's uniqueness and, perhaps, professional future.

conspiracy theory  —  UPDATE #2: I talked to Francisco Rodriguez about this white substance on the underside of his bill and he grabbed the hat from his locker, flipped it over and said "This?"  —  On the black underside of his cap was a sizable white smudge.  —  "It's rosin," Rodriguez said.

Mets: Peterson sees 'A' talent in young staff  —  ATLANTA — Even before John Maine's seven-inning, one-hit wonder against the defending world champions Wednesday night in St. Louis, Rick Peterson was excited about what he'd seen.  —  The Mets pitching coach has been around talented young pitchers before …

Willis inherits a social responsibility  —  Left-hander will wear No. 42 on Jackie Robinson Day  —  MIAMI — If it wasn't for baseball, Dontrelle Willis doesn't have a clue what he would be doing with his life.  —  Raised in Alameda, Calif., Willis says the reason he became a baseball player …

Strained Right Calf Could Put Damon on the D.L.  —  Johnny Damon has played 1,705 games in the major leagues and has never been on the disabled list.  That will change if his strained right calf becomes worse.  —  Damon had a magnetic resonance imaging examination yesterday that revealed a mild strain of the calf.

Piniella preaches pitcher patience  —  CINCINNATI — After watching Larry Rothschild's patented slow walk to the mound for pitching confabs the last five years, it was surprising to see Cubs manager Lou Piniella's fast-food version of a mound meeting in the ninth inning of Wednesday night's victory over Cincinnati.

Cubs fans, beware of Colangelo's past  —  There seems to be a presumption around town that most everybody will get behind Jerry Colangelo's bid to put together a group to buy the Cubs.  —  Good guy.  Chicago Heights native.  Former University of Illinois basketball player.  Strong Chicago ties.

Pirates Notebook: Sanchez could return tomorrow  —  By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette  —  Freddy Sanchez could rejoin the Pirates in Cincinnati tomorrow, the first day he is eligible to come off the 15-day disabled list.  —  Management is leaving the call up to the player …

Decision 2007: Where will Rocket go?  —  Well, it's getting to be that time of year again:  —  Rocket-watching time.  —  If it's April, that must mean that any day now, Roger Clemens is going to have to wave a sad farewell to the pro-am golf circuit — and start gearing up his workout program for YouKnowWhat.