DETROIT – Alex Anthopoulos likes to say the perception of a player is directly tied to his production. If a team is winning and a player is excelling, the guy becomes known as a "leader" or a "positive clubhouse influence." When a team is losing and a player is struggling, his character is questioned. Its easy to be enamoured with Mark Buehrle because of the year hes having. By now you know the statistics: 10-1, a 2.10 ERA and in his only no-decision of the season, Buehrle left with the lead. Even last season, when Buehrle struggled through the first half of the Blue Jays haltingly poor year, he drew no negative attention. He went about his between-starts routine despite his weight-related self-deprecation. He was always approachable despite his claims that he detests speaking into a microphone. What became clear, quickly, was Buehrles devotion to his family. Married with two kids, he looks in advance at the schedule and plots out homestands that will facilitate relatively lengthy visits. His father, John and mother, Pat, seem to be constants around the ballclub, even though John estimates they attend about 30 games per season. When this reporter renewed acquaintances with Buehrle on the first day of spring training and casually asked how his offseason had gone, it took the pitcher less than five seconds to begin to explain the difficulty he had saying goodbye to his children, who are now old enough to understand their dad has to leave home to go to work but wish that he wouldnt. John is in Detroit for the brief road trip, having scheduled a personal matter in the Motor City to coincide with the Jays lone visit to the Tigers. Hed have it no other way. "Our whole family was brought up as a family," said John Buehrle. "Everything we failed in or excelled in we shared as a family, our trials and tribulations if you will. When Mark did well in school, high school, college, everybody shared. When my other sons did well, everybody shared. They were brought up as a family, just as I was. They were brought up with respect." Mark Buehrle is making $18 million this season and is due $19 million in 2015, the final year of the four-year pact he inked with the Miami Marlins in the 2011-2012 offseason. When it comes to respect, money isnt an object in the Buehrle household. Johns three sons, Mike, 40, Jason, 37, and Mark, 35, and his one daughter Amy, 32, are expected to adhere to a set of rules when they visit. "Even today, they come to my house, they sit down at my table, their hat comes off," said John Buehrle. "Ill sit there and Ill stare them down. They wont even look at me, they can feel it. They can feel me looking at them because its manners. Theyll say Yes sir, no sir and Yes maam, no maam and open the door for the wives and their wives because thats the way they were raised." Mark is four wins shy of 200 for his career. Not many pitchers make it to the big leagues, let alone last long enough to win that many games. Johns son has never been placed on the disabled list. Hes pitching in his 15th big league season. John is pleased for Marks success but shows his youngest son no favoritism. "Any parent is proud anytime their child excels or succeeds at anything, regardless of what it is," said Buehrle. "Im just as proud of Mark for being where he is today as I am of my one son whos driving a concrete truck whos never had an accident. And thats a lot to say for concrete truck drivers, believe me, because I used to be one." Asked about Toronto, John returns to what matters most. "Toronto is as much of a family-oriented town as what we had found Chicago to be," said Buehrle. "We were there 12-and-a-half years in Chicago. Everybody in Chicago was like family. Every place we went, they were so nice." He admitted to uncertainty about Toronto after the trade with the Marlins and no, the fact Johns sons pitbull dog wasnt allowed to move to Ontario wasnt his top concern. "We didnt know, coming to Toronto, big city, we didnt know what it was going to be like," said Buehrle. "From day one, the people, everyone, not just the team, the staff, the people we ran into in the restaurants, it was genuine, you can tell when someones putting it on, but you could really tell there was a genuine Were glad youre here." The Blue Jays are glad to have Buehrle. Since last years All-Star Break, Mark is 17-5 with a 2.66 ERA. With an impending second knee replacement surgery scheduled soon, John hopes to be able to travel to Minneapolis for this years All-Star Game. He expects Mark will be a participant. "Hes having a real good year and I couldnt want or wish any better for him or the team," said Buehrle. "Im really happy for the fans, too, because the fans, I guess in a certain way through Mark see a little hope and glimmer and think, Oh, we may just pull it off this year. Its not just Mark. You look at Joey Bats, Edwin, Melky. Everyones having an awesome year." Wholesale Vapormax 95 . - Loosening up for their first training camp practice, the Miami Dolphins high-stepped sideways up and down the field while House of Pains song "Jump Around" blared on the loudspeakers. Nike Air Vapormax Plus Black+White . The Jets have now won three straight at home and four of the last five at the MTS Centre. After a scoreless first period, Brad Marchand scored his first goal in eight games eight seconds into the second. http://www.clearancevapormax.com/cheap-v...-clearance.html. According to TSNs Farhan Lalji, Richardson is heading to Toronto for a physical and is expected to sign with the Argonauts. Cheap Vapormax 3 . They were right in that they responded to coach Randy Carlyles goaltending switch to erase a two-goal deficit. Fake Vapormax 2020 . The Philadelphia left fielder clubbed a tiebreaking, solo home run in the seventh inning, and the Phillies edged the Red Sox, 2-1, in the middle test of a three-game interleague series at Citizens Bank Park.RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- Shanshan Feng was alone in her opinion about the pin positions in the Kraft Nabisco Championship. She was by herself atop the leaderboard, too. "The pin positions werent that hard," the 24-year-old Chinese player said. Feng had little trouble Thursday in perfect morning conditions at Mission Hills, shooting a 6-under 66 to take a one-stroke lead over Michelle Wie and Se Ri Pak. Defending champion Inbee Park voiced the majority opinion after an opening 74. "The pin positions were very tough for the first day," Park said. "Half of the pins, we couldnt go at. There were very tough pins out there." Cristie Kerr agreed after her morning round in the first major of the year. "The pin on 3 today, it doesnt matter if you hit a pitching wedge, it would be hard to get to, and were hitting 6- and 7- irons in," said Kerr, tied for sixth after a 69. "The pin on 1 is like 2 yards from the right side of the green. ... Do they have to be that severe? Maybe not, but theyre probably compensating for the fact that theres not much rough." Feng had seven birdies and a bogey. "This morning, it was playing easier because there was no wind," Feng said. Feng won the 2012 LPGA Championship to become the tours first Chinese winner and had two victories late last year. She tied for 16th last week in Carlsbad, her best finish of the season. "The beginning of this year I was kind of a little lost because I lost a little weight and my swing kind of changed a little," Feng said. "I wasnt swinging very comfortably." Angel Yin, a 15-year-old high school freshman from the Los Angeles suburb of Arcadia, was two strokes back at 68 with Amy Yang. Yin was asked if there was a player she wanted to meet, but was too shy to approach. "Michelle Wie," Yin said. "If she sat next to me and said Hi to me, Id probably run." The 24-year-old Wie laughed when told about Yins response. "Its crazy," Wie said. "These girls are starting to make me feel really old." Wie played a four-hole stretch in 5 under, showing off all the talent that made her a star in her early teens and helped attract players like Yin to golf. "I just felt comfortable out there," Wie said. Wie stalled at the end, llipping out a 3-foot par putt on the par-3 17th and settling for par on the par-5 18th.dddddddddddd "Ill take a 67 here," Wie said Wie birdied the par-5 ninth and par-4 10th, made a 25-foot eagle putt on the par-5 11th and moved into a tie for the lead with a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-4 12th. She got up-and-down for par from near a steep face in a bunker on the par-4 15th, hitting to 1 1/2 feet with her left foot almost 2 feet above her right. "Just was aggressive on the holes I needed to be and conservative on the other holes," Wie said Wie is making her 12th start in the tournament. She was ninth in 2003 at age 13, fourth the following year and tied for third at 16 in 2006. "I think when youre younger youre kind of fearless," Wie said. "You dont know what failure is." Wie has two LPGA Tour victories, winning the 2009 Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Mexico and the 2010 Canadian Womens Open. She has been in the top 16 in all five of her starts this year, finishing a season-best fourth in Thailand. "Im so grateful to have rounds like these," Wie said. Paired with 58-year-old Hall of Famer Amy Alcott, Feng rebounded from a bogey on 15 with a birdie on par-4 16th. "I made a bogey on 15, and she was like, OK, lets make two birdies back in the last three holes," Feng said. "I was like, Yes, maam." Alcott shot an 81 in her 36th start in the event she won in 1983, 1988 and 1991. In 1988, she became the first player to take the now-traditional victory leap into Poppies Pond. "She was very sweet starting off and we were talkative," Alcott said. "She hits it very solid. Just a very, very talented young player." The 36-year-old won the last of her five major titles in 2006. "Just a solid round," Pak said. "The greens got a little firmer, but I got pretty good distance control." Anna Nordqvist, the winner in Carlsbad for her second victory of the year, opened with a 71. Playing partner Stacy Lewis, the 2011 winner, had a 73. Lewis struggled off the tee, hitting drives to the right. "If I can straighten out my driver Ill be right there," Lewis said. Sixteen-year-old Lydia Ko and Hall of Famer Karrie Webb, also a two-time winner this year, were in the group at 73. ' ' '