ANAHEIM, Calif. Hank Aaron Jersey . -- Nick Tropeano is the third Los Angeles Angels starter to tear his ulnar collateral ligament this season, and manager Mike Scioscia is wondering whether the club is doing something wrong.A disappointed Tropeano said Tuesday that hell seek a second opinion before deciding whether to have Tommy John surgery, which could sideline him until 2018. The right-hander felt no sharp pain in his elbow Monday but left his start after just two innings with what he thought was soreness.Im just trying to stay positive until we get that second opinion, get that true diagnosis, Tropeano said. Its upsetting. Its a tough blow to me, but obviously I want to be out there. I want to pitch. I want to help this team win. Its part of the game nowadays, I guess.Tropeano and fellow Angels starters Garrett Richards and Andrew Heaney have torn their UCLs over the past four months. Heaney had Tommy John surgery earlier this month, while Richards is still hoping to avoid it with rest and platelet-rich plasma injections.Tropeano likely cant wait that long to decide on surgery if he hopes to be ready to pitch in 2018.Were going to keep all options open, Tropeano said. Obviously no one wants to get surgery, so if (rest and therapy are) a possibility, were going to look into it.The Angels had only three recorded UCL tears during Scioscias first 16 seasons in charge of the club from 2000-15. The longest-tenured manager in baseball is baffled by the dramatic upswing in major arm injuries this year.What were looking at is just looking in the mirror, saying, `What is going on (that) we have so many back to back? Scioscia said. You definitely look internally. You analyze everything from the throwing program to how you monitor guys, and were going to do that. ... So this might be a fluke thing, but naturally you have to look from within to make sure that the process is correct. Weve always been confident with it, but when you have injuries like this, then naturally we look to see if theres any cause.C.J. Wilson also hasnt pitched for the Angels in 2016. The 35-year-old left-hander had surgery on his problematic shoulder earlier this month, likely ending the final season of his $77.5 million contract.Tropeano is 3-2 with a 3.56 ERA in 13 starts this season, bouncing in and out of the rotation during the Angels bewildering series of injuries. The Long Island native came off the disabled list earlier this month after a minor league stint.After their worst first half since 1992, the Angels (41-52) won their first four games out of the All-Star break. The latest loss of a starter to long-term injury probably makes it impractical for the Angels to trade off any of their remaining rotation depth -- such as dependable veterans Matt Shoemaker or Hector Santiago -- to rebuild their depleted farm system, since somebody will have to pitch for the club next season as well.Our depth is stretched, Scioscia said. We still feel the guys in our rotation are going to give us a chance to get back in this, but were thin, no doubt.Tropeanos replacement in the rotation might be Tyler Skaggs, who had Tommy John surgery of his own in 2014 after 18 starts with the Angels.Skaggs, a formerly touted prospect acquired in a trade for All-Star slugger Mark Trumbo, was scheduled to start for Triple-A Salt Lake on Tuesday. He has been solid after overcoming a biceps injury that threw off his recovery, and a day off in the Angels schedule would allow him to make his big-league return on regular rest.Scioscia wouldnt commit to Skaggs as Tropeanos replacement, but acknowledged the Angels have fewer choices than most teams.Veteran Jhoulys Chacin, who lost his spot in the rotation recently, also could take Tropeanos turn. Luis Polonia Jersey . -- The Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake played to a 0-0 tie Saturday night that left the top of the Western Conference standings unchanged. Philip Pfeifer Jersey . 10 VCU 85-67 on Thursday night at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The Seminoles (4-0) have scored at least 80 points in each of their games. http://www.custombravesjersey.com/custom...arge-1527z.html . - After leading the Saints to a fourth playoff appearance in five seasons, Drew Brees expressed confidence in the direction of his team and, perhaps more importantly, showed a willingness to listen to contract proposals if the team needs his help getting under the NFLs salary cap. The story till thenEver since the heady days of the 1980s and 90s, when PT Usha commanded the Asian Games with her performances and made fourth place at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Indias search for its next star athlete tended to focus on the track. The countrys most successful and recognisable female track stars had eased themselves gradually into retirement, and while their persevering successors did well at the Asian level, they went no higher. Little attention was paid to a heptathlete from Kerala who had decided to switch to the long jump and triple jump.A double gold winner at the National Games, Anju Bobby George held national records for both events. An ankle injury had kept her out of the 2000 Sydney Olympics and public attention, but from 2001, still under the radar, she was making the biggest strides in her career along with her husband and coach, Bobby George. A long jump gold medal at the 2002 Busan Asian Games and a rise up the international rankings offered signs of what was to come.The moment After a season in Europe with her husband-coach and a spell of training with world long jump champion Mike Powell, George made it to the 2003 World Championships final on a cold and drizzly August evening at Paris Stade de France in Saint-Denis. The qualifiers had cut the defending champion Fiona May of Italy and the 2002 Commonwealth champion Elva Goulbourne of Jamaica out of the fray. The finals field featured world champion heptathlete Eunice Barber of France, and Olympic medallist and European champion Tatyana Kotova of Russia. But Georges closest rival over the six-jump final was to be Jade Johnson of Britain, the silver medallist at the Manchester Commonwealth Games, where George had taken bronze.Georges 6.61m on her first jump was improved by Johnsons 6.63m and pushed her to fourth position. On jump No. 5, she thought she had been flat. I dont know how I landed, my legs were in a tangle, I thought, she said. On landing, she loooked stricken, her head dropped and she hit the sand in frustration. Chad Sobotka Jersey. When the numbers appeared, they showed 6.70m, four centimetres short of the national record and her seasons best. But ahead of Johnson, into third place and medal contention.When Johnson couldnt match that over her next three jumps, George had made her big leap into Indian sporting history, becoming the first Indian to win a medal at the World Championships.The reaction We always had a dream, the dream of taking Indian athletics away from the routine sob stories. Of winning a big medal for our country. We had to achieve that, no matter how hard it was. - Bobby George, Anjus coach and husbandExpert view She still had a lot more in her. She had great jumping ability and way better landing than I had. She needed more speed and I didnt have enough time to teach her that. She was sure of herself when she was on the field. - Mike Powell, world long jump record holderThe story since After Paris, Anju Bobby George remained Indias most successful medal winner on the world stage. At the Athens Olympics in 2004, she made the finals and broke the national long jump record with 6.83m, which still stands. In 2005, she won a long jump silver at the World Athletics Final in Monte Carlo. Nine years later that was upgraded to gold because of a drugs test failed by the gold medallist Tatyana Kotova.After Anjus retirement, Indias performances in track and field have grown with promising consistency, if not with world medals. At the 2012 London Olympics, discus thrower Vikas Gowda made the finals and race walker KT Irfan finished tenth and broke the national record in the 20km walk. Indias 4x400m womens relay team are once again amongst the top two teams in Asia along with the Chinese. Yet a world-class medallist and a breakout star is still to be found. ' ' '