58: LSU head coach Les Miles is celebrating his 58th birthday today. Born in Elyria, Ohio, in 1953, Miles in all likelihood will gather the 100th win of his coaching career Saturday, when his No. 1 Tigers take on unranked Western Kentucky University at Tiger Stadium. Miles’ record is 99-38 overall, and 71-17 at LSU. The Daily Reveille has compiled a list of the head coach’s top five quotes and moments since 2005, the year he came to LSU, to honor his birthday. You can check it out here.
Taken: The Washington Nationals say Major League Baseball’s Department of Investigations is working with “the appropriate authorities” on the case of Wilson Ramos, a player abducted in Venezuela on Wednesday. In their first statement about Ramos, issued today, the Nationals say the team and MLB “have been instructed to make no further comment.” According to Kathe Vilera, a spokeswoman for Ramos’ Venezuelan League team, the Aragua Tigers, four armed men kidnapped Ramos Wednesday from his home in central Venezuela. Ramos is a 24-year-old catcher who just finished his rookie season with the Nationals. Officials also reported finding the vehicle used by the kidnappers today in a nearby town. The Ramos family has yet to hear from the kidnappers, a close family friend says, but a Venezuelan police Twitter feed reported without elaboration that Ramos is alive. Read more from The Washington Post here.
Growing debate: The NFL players union has proposed conducting a study of players that accurately reflects the natural level of human growth hormone in their systems. The union has claimed its players might have a higher natural level of HGH than the general population, and it also has balked at adopting testing procedures approved by the World Anti-Doping Agency that the league has recommended. Instead, the NFLPA says it wants “a comprehensive HGH testing program that begins with a population study” of players to establish a test standard “that accurately reflects the population of NFL players.” When the lockout ended last summer, the collective bargaining agreement included provisions for HGH testing if the union approved the process. Instead, the NFLPA has asked for more information, which it says it has not received.
