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NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez will play his final game for the New York Yankees on Friday night and, as of now, the only thing hes planning for Saturday morning is a hangover.If I wake up on time tomorrow, I would watch tomorrows game, Rodriguez said in a news conference before the Yankees game against the Tampa Bay Rays. But I may have a couple of cocktails tonight, so I may not wake up by game time tomorrow. But Ill definitely watch Sundays game.Rodriguez is batting third in the Yankees lineup against Chris Archer, after which he will be unconditionally released by the club following 11-plus seasons, two American League MVP awards and one World Series title.Thereafter, he will be a free agent for the first time since the brief period in 2007, when he opted out of the 10-year, $252 million contract he signed with the Texas Rangers in 2001 that became the property of the Yankees when they traded for him before the 2004 season.Technically, he can be approached by -- and can sign with -- any of the 29 other clubs, who would be obligated to pay only a pro-rated portion of the major league minimum salary to acquire his services.Rodriguez was asked if a phone call from another team would be difficult to resist, especially since he sits just four home runs shy of 700, a plateau reached by just four other players in big league history.Well, unless its Hal [Steinbrenner], I probably wont be answering the phone for anyone, Rodriguez said. Im going to go and take a nap for a minute. I need some rest, kind of recover and reflect; spend some time with my two little ones. Its been a great run and an incredible journey. I never thought when I first entered Fenway Park as an 18-year-old that I would play for 10 years, forget 22 years. Im going to take some time for myself.After a surprising 2015 season in which he hit 33 home runs despite missing all of 2014 while on suspension for PED violations in connection with baseballs Biogenesis scandal, Rodriguez has struggled throughout 2016. He is hitting .199 with nine home runs and 30 RBIs in 64 games as a designated hitter. Rodriguez, in fact, struggled in the last two months of 2015, hitting just .191 after July 31.And the consensus within the Yankees upper management is that Rodriguezs struggles are not just an extended slump.We just havent seen the explosiveness and the production that wed seen the first four months of last year, manager Joe Girardi said. This is not just this year. It happened in August and September of last year, and when you get to a certain age, whenever you struggle, the first thing theyre going to ask, is he too old? As an athlete, those are things that you have to deal with. I dont ever put anything past someone. Im not ever going to say someone cant do something, but what weve seen has led us to make this decision.Rodriguezs final game caps a tumultuous five days that began with an emotional news conference Sunday, when it was announced he would be released as a player but was given the option of continuing with the Yankees organization as a special advisor, an option he indicated he would accept.General manager Brian Cashman made it clear that Rodriguez was free to change his mind, or to play for another team if he so chose. A team source indicated that the offer would remain even if A-Rod accepted an offer from another team.I do not believe Hal would pull it off the table, the source told ESPN. Hals a good guy. Hes a good person. I dont think it ever got bad between Alex and Hal.Said Rodriguez: Hal has given me an opportunity to stay involved with the organization. With all my screw-ups and how badly Ive acted, the fact that Im walking out the door and Hal wants me as part of the family, thats hitting 800 home runs for me. Thats something Ill be able to share with my daughters for a long time.Rodriguez, however, admitted that his relationship with Girardi has been strained over the past month. Before Thursday night in Boston, Rodriguez had started just one game since July 22 -- and, despite his wishes, started just one of the Yankees three recent games against the Boston Red Sox.Its been very difficult, Rodriguez said. I said its been awkward and difficult. But we are a family and weve had a wonderful relationship for the last 10 years. Its been really good. Families have disagreements and thats OK. He has his opinion and I have mine. But in the long run, were going to be fine.And even while sidestepping the question of whether he would play again, Rodriguez didnt rule it out.I said on Sunday that my horizon is Friday and it still is, he said. We want to win the game tonight. Thats still my approach. After all of this, Im going to need a long nap to recover and Ill see where life takes me. Right now, I value wearing this uniform. For me, the Yankees pinstripes is enough.Ultra Boost Ale . Vokoun departed practice on Saturday morning after discovering swelling in his thigh. He was taken to a local hospital where the clot was revealed. The club announced the surgery following a 5-3 exhibition loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Fake Yeezy Suomi . Third-seeded Murray had the easiest path to victory on New Years Eve, barely breaking a sweat during his 6-0, 6-0 win over 2,129th-ranked Qatari wildcard recipient Mousa Shanan Zayed. http://www.yeezysuomi.com/yeezy-powerphase-suomi.html . The defence is doing its part, too. Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and the guys on the other side made sure that was enough, sending the Saints to a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. Yeezy Boost 350 v2 Suomi . The Dane followed up his first European Tour title last weekend with eight birdies and just a single dropped shot on Thursday for a one-stroke advantage over South Africas Allan Versfeld and Portugals Ricardo Santos. Yeezy Kengät Suomi . -- Quarterback Will Finch threw for 252 yards and three touchdowns, and Yannick Harou rushed in two scores as the No.ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands -- Greg McDermott isnt ready to think about No. 22 Creightons place in the national polls just yet.Ill worry about that come March, the Bluejays coach said.Creighton is riding high, though, after beating N.C. State 112-94 on Sunday night to advance to the championship game of the Paradise Jam tournament.Cole Huff had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and six other players finished in double figures for Creighton (4-0), which had its highest offensive output in a regulation game since scoring 115 points against Indiana State on Jan. 19, 1985.The polls dont mean anything to me right now, McDermott said. They will in March, but not right now. We just have to continue to get better.Im proud of the fact that coming off an emotional win like we had against (No. 9) Wisconsin, weve been able to put together two pretty good performances back to back. Thats a credit to this team.Khyri Thomas added 16 points and Marcus Foster had 15 among the seven Bluejays (4-0) in double figures. Creighton led by 24 at one point in the second half.Terry Henderson scored 28 points and three other players finished in double figures for the Wolfpack (3-1), who battled to six ties and eight lead changes in the first half.Dennis Smith Jr. added 21 points, Torin Dorn had 16 and Abdul-Malik Abu had 13 for N.C. State, which last led 47-46 with 2:43 remaining in the first half on Smiths 3-pointer.Creighton closed out the half with an 8-2 run for a 54-48 lead, then opened the second half with another 8-2 stretch for its first double-digit lead.The Bluejays biggest lead, 24 points, came when Huff hit a pair of free throws with 5:17 remaining for a 103-79 lead.No. 1, theyre a really good team and theey can score the ball, N.ddddddddddddC. State coach Mark Gottfried said. We had a hard time stopping them from scoring. I liked a lot of things we did -- we scored 92 ourselves -- but we just really couldnt slow them down, much less stop them. That was the difference in the game.Maurice Watson Jr. scored 15 points for Creighton, Isaiah Zierden added 12, Zach Hanson had 11 and Justin Patton had 10.BIG PICTUREN.C. State: Henderson scored more than 20 points for the second time in four games this season after missing nearly all of 2015-16 with an ankle injury.Creighton: The Bluejays are 4-0 for the fifth time in the past six seasons under McDermott. The only blemish on that run was a 3-1 start in 2015-2016.STAT SHEETN.C. State made a season-best 14 of 28 3-pointers and shot 45.6 percent from the field (31 of 68). But Creighton countered with a season-best 60.6 percent shooting (40 of 66) and made 13 of 27 3-pointers.FOUL TIMEN.C. State and Creighton were whistled for 45 combined fouls, including a pair of technical fouls (on Foster and Patton) in the second half for excessive celebration. Beejay Anya fouled out for the Wolfpack, and six others (four for N.C. State, two for Creighton) finished with four fouls.POLL IMPLICATIONSWith the Top 25 rankings coming out Monday morning, Creighton should head into that evenings Paradise Jam championship game having moved up several spots following back-to-back 100-point games.UP NEXTN.C. State: Will play Saint Josephs in the tournaments third-place game Monday.Creighton: Will face Mississippi in the championship game Monday. ' ' '