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NEW YORK -- The latest high-priced addition to the New York Yankees stood on the dais in front of a large news conference, put on his pinstriped jersey with No. 19 and smiled. "Hello. My name is Masahiro Tanaka," he said slowly in English. "Im very happy to be a Yankee." After chartering a Boeing 787 Dreamliner for his trip from Tokyo to New York, the 25-year-old right-hander with the $155 million, seven-year contract was presented Tuesday not in the news conference room downstairs at Yankee Stadium, but in the Legends Suite Club, where the high rollers congregate on game days. Yankees spokesman Jason Zillo concluded the teams latest Pacific overture drew New Yorks most-attended news conference since Hideki Matsui was introduced in January 2003. Managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said obtaining Tanaka was worth the economic pain of exceeding the $189 million luxury tax threshold New York had hoped to stay under. "We needed another starter, and when we do things, we try to do them right," Steinbrenner said. "And this guy, hes tough. Hes got tremendous ability. We all know that. And hes going to be very exciting to watch. And hes going to be great for the team, a great teammate. And $189 (million) or not, we wanted a good quality starter, and we got it." Tanaka charted a Japan Airlines plane, which seats about 200, for the trans-Pacific trip to New York, reportedly costing about $200,000. There were just five passengers on the plane, including his pop star wife Mai Satoda, plus their poodle Haru. The flight, originally scheduled to depart at noon, was delayed many hours by a snowstorm. "There wasnt many choices of planes," he said through a translator when asked about the big jet. And a lengthy commercial trip could have been uncomfortable. "I thought about my conditioning, just wanted to get here in the best condition possible," he said. For his first meal in New York, he ventured outside his room at the Mandarin Oriental hotel overlooking Central Park. "I ate a sushi," he said, "which I bought at a grocery store nearby." New York, which also added Brian McCann, Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran during the off-season, figures to have a big following in Japan this year. Tanaka joins pitcher Hiroki Kuroda and outfielder Ichiro Suzuki on the roster, and reliever Yoshinori Tateyama will be at spring training with a minor league contract. "This would make the Boss proud," general manager Brian Cashman said in a reference to late owner George Steinbrenner. "The Yankees obviously are about always trying to acquire the best talent and a collection of talent that can compete for a championship, but he also liked a lot of attention, and this certainly represents a lot of attention. So this is Yankee big. This is Steinbrenner big." Tanaka was 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA last year, leading the Rakuten Golden Eagles to the Japan Series title. That left him with a 99-35 record and a 2.30 ERA in Japan, where he had 53 complete games in 172 starts. New York had one of the most successful Japanese players in the major leagues with outfielder Hideki Matsui, the 2009 World Series MVP. And the Yankees experienced costly flops with pitchers Hideki Irabu and Kei Igawa. Manager Joe Girardi was behind the plate for Irabus debut in 1997. "They feel a little bit more weight of representing their country than maybe players that are here on an everyday basis, because they kind of pave the way for the next guy and then the next guy," he said. Girardis advice: "Dont feel like you have to live up to the contract." On a tour of the U.S. with a Japanese high school all-star team in 2006, Tanaka met Matsui when one of the young pitchers games was rained out. During the off-season, he spoke briefly by telephone with Matsui about his pending decision. New York appealed to Tanakas desire to pitch on the biggest stage. "This is where you need to be. A great star. The biggest franchise. The biggest brand. The biggest city," Yankees President Randy Levine remembered saying during the teams pitch session with the player on Jan. 8 in Beverly Hills, Calif. "He said some other teams he had met with wanted him to transition in, and he didnt like that. He wanted to take the ball on Day One, and that told us a lot about him." Tanaka sounded prepared for the Yankees win-or-else mentality. "Ive heard that this place is -- it could be very harsh to you at times," he said. "Just wanted to put myself, though, in this environment and try to see where I can get to with my ability." Cashman is trying to lower expectations, saying Tanaka will slot in as No. 3 in the rotation behind CC Sabathia and Kuroda. "We could be getting more than a three. Maybe its a two. Maybe its even a one at some point," Cashman said. "I think that the adjustments are real, and as excited as we are to have and as much as we need a player of his capabilities, I want to make sure that people understand how difficult this game is over here and that there should be expectations of growing pains." Cheap Michael Jordan Jersey . Today, well look at five frontcourt players today, here from the Bay Area. 1. AMIR JOHNSON (Raptors): I cant figure out what the issue or problem is, but based upon what Im seeing, hes not right. College Tom Brady Jersey . Rajne Soderberg, the director of the Stockholm Diamond League event, said in an email Friday that the ban still holds. Euromeetings, the organization representing Europes top track events, "will continue to recommend that members do not invite athletes who we believe cause disrepute to our meetings and our sport. https://www.sportsstarsjerseys.com/tom-brady-jersey/ . "Theyve been good against everybody," he said. Carlos Gomez launched a three-run homer and Matt Garza battled into the seventh inning for his first win in four starts to help the Brewers continue their mastery of the Rockies with a 7-4 victory Saturday. Signed Tom Brady Jersey . -- Darrelle Revis says at least 26 teams called after he was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Signed Michael Jordan Jersey . New York Red Bulls. TSN primes Vancouver fans for the start of the 2014 season with MLS on TSN: Season Preview Special airing tonight at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt on TSN2 (encore Friday at 3:30pm et/12:30pm pt on TSN2).Fort Worth, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - The TCU Horned Frogs, ranked fourth in the latest AP poll, continue to press for national recognition as they close out the 2014 regular season on Saturday versus fellow Big 12 Conference member, the Iowa State Cyclones. Tied with both sixth-ranked Baylor and ninth-ranked Kansas State (facing off against each other later in the day) at the top of the Big 12 standings with a record of 7-1, the Horned Frogs are aiming to claim the conference crown. Since losing a wild shootout against the Bears in Waco the second week of October, 61-58, TCU has rattled off six straight victories. The latest win for the Frogs came on Nov. 27 in a lopsided 48-10 final versus Texas. The team has now reached 10 wins in a season for the fifth time in the last seven seasons and ninth time in 13 campaigns under Gary Patterson. As for the Cyclones, they are the ones who have been blown away by the competition, winning a total of just two games against the likes of Iowa (20-17) and Toledo (37-30). Since the victory versus the Rockets on the same day that TCU fell to Baylor, Iowa State has dropped five straight outings. The latest of those failed attempts came last weekend versus West Virginia, 37-24, at home, dropping ISU to 0-8 in conference play this season. In terms of the all-time series between these two programs, TCU has won four of the previous five matchups. In Big 12 meetings, theyve split a pair of contests, with Iowa State posting a 37-23 victory over the Frogs in 2012, while TCU rebounded with a 21-17 decision in Ames last season. At home against the enigmatic Mountaineers, Iowa State led 21-7 in the second quarter before everything fell apart and eventually the Cyclones absorbed the double-digit setback. The hosts ran 11 more plays than WVU, but generated only 410 yards of offense, compared to 570 for the Mountaineers. Quarterback Sam Richardson converted 26-of-50 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns, but he was also intercepted twice and sacked three times. Tad Ecby and Aaron Wimberly both caught TD passes and the latter also scored once on the ground as he posted a team-best 77 rushing yards. They brought some different pressures, said Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads of the WVU defense. When you are looking at a team that has three down linemen and the ability to bring multiple blitzes from a lot of different places, you identify your protection and set everything. We were good to a point and they adjusted to that, and then we had to adjust at halftime to compensate for that. Defensively, against a backup quarterback the Cyclones were unable to come up with even a single sack and had just two tackles for loss overall, as well as two fumble recoveries in the setback. Sacks have been a rarity for the most part this season for the Cyclones, although Cory Morrissey seems to have gotten the hang of it with six ssuch tackles, while the rest of the roster has combined for only eight sacks.dddddddddddd Opponents have rung up twice as many sacks (28) over the 11 games played. Surrendering 511.4 ypg, ranking the program 120th in the nation this week, it should come as little surprise that ISU is 113th in the FBS in points allowed as well at 37.4 ppg. Trying to balance the scales is Richardson with his 57.9 percent accuracy and 251.7 ypg through the air. He has tossed 18 touchdowns against eight interceptions, with his most productive target being E.J. Bibbs with eight TDs on 45 catches through 10 appearances, but he is still listed as questionable for this weekend due to a knee injury. In front of an announced crowd of more than 96,000, the Horned Frogs completely dominated Texas as they extended their streak of consecutive games scoring at least 30 points to 13 in a row, the longest run in the nation. All phases of the game got involved in the scoring for TCU, beginning with quarterback Trevone Boykin who threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as the visitors pulled away in the fourth quarter with four TDs. With the tradition that they have here (in Texas), its big for us, Boykin said of the statement win. We have the chance to prove ourselves, and we try to do that every time we go out there. During that final period, Josh Carraway returned an interception 33 yards for a TD, the second defensive score by the program on the night after Terrell Lathan brought back a fumble 40 yards for a score as well. Early on in the meeting the TCU offense stalled prematurely, and kicker Jaden Oberkrom came to the rescue with field goals of 42 and 29 yards. The Frogs forced six turnovers in the contest, with two interceptions coming from Sam Carter, while Marcus Mallet caused some major disruptions with 3.5 TFL and a forced fumble. I dont know if it set the tone or not but we knew, get on and off, give our offense more opportunities, Carter said of the forced turnovers. Those guys can score at any time, so the more times they get the ball, the better they are. Heading into action this week, the Horned Frogs are ranked second in the nation in turnover margin at plus-1.64 and all of those positive miscues have helped the offense to reach 46.1 ppg, third-best in the FBS. The defense may not carry the same hallmark as previous Patterson groups, in terms of yards allowed (370.7 ypg, 45th) and passing yards permitted (250.6 ypg, 92nd), but having a dominant offense helps to cover up those deficiencies. However, when it counts the most, the Frogs are there to shut down foes, allowing them to convert on just 29.6 percent of their third-down attempts. TCU is also 11th in the country in allowing first downs, so while there may be yards to earn against the Horned Frogs, the team still minimizes the impact as well as any squad in the country. ' ' '