his NBA-record streak of at least one made 3-pointer i

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- If Yu Darvish is feeling any pressure after leading the majors in strikeouts last season, it isnt showing. The Texas Rangers ace was even in a joking mood Tuesday at spring training. Darvish wisecracked that the New York Yankees might have paid too much for fellow Japanese right-hander Masahiro Tanaka by giving him a seven-year, $155 million contract on top of a $20 million posting fee to the Rakuten Golden Eagles. The deal made Darvish No. 2 when it comes to Japanese players in the majors: He has a six-year, $56 million deal signed before the 2012 season after the Rangers paid $51.7 million to Hokkaido for the right to negotiate with him. "I dont know the details of the posting system, but I think the Yankees gave him a little bit too much," Darvish said with a chuckle through his interpreter during his first spring training session with reporters. Even before the session was done, the remark was all over social media and the Rangers released a statement to make sure everyone knew Darvish was kidding. "I am sorry if anyone took my comment seriously about Masahiro Tanaka at the press conference," Darvish said in the statement. "I assumed by the reaction in the room that everyone knew I was joking." The 27-year-old Darvish could opt out of his contact after five years if he wins a Cy Young Award and potentially get a contract exceeding that of Tanaka. He came close last year, finishing second to Max Scherzer in the balloting after leading the majors with 277 strikeouts -- the most since Randy Johnson struck out 290 in 2004 with Arizona. Darvish, who manager Ron Washington has already named the opening day starter, was 13-9 with a 2.83 ERA in 32 starts last season. "If we score him runs, he might win 35 games and hes only going to get 32 starts," Washington said. Darvish lost four 1-0 decisions, the first pitcher to do that in a season since Orel Hershiser with the 1989 Dodgers. "Never once did he ever make any whimpers of, Boy it sure would be nice to get some runs, never once," pitching coach Mike Maddux said. "Thats the kind of teammate he is. Hes going to go out and do the best he can and wants everyone else to the best they can." The Rangers averaged 3.08 runs per game in Darvishs final 23 starts. "The game is something you cant control, so you cant be pessimistic or optimistic," Darvish said. "The main thing is to keep yourself healthy. If youre healthy enough, I think numbers are going to follow. The outcome is something that is a result of having a healthy season. I cant really control what goes on in a game situation." Darvish went on the 15-day disabled list last July with a right shoulder strain and was bothered by back nerve irritation in September. Darvish said he shied away from heavy lifting during the off-season to help the back. His lack of fastball command, which gets his pitch count up early, has been a concern. "Youll probably see during the course of the season how much I have improved," Darvish said. "Im more relaxed and I can do many things at my own pace and Im aware of whats going on and people know me better than in the past." An improved Darvish could equate to a blockbuster contract. No joke. Notes: RHP Tanner Scheppers (back spasms) and LHP Matt Harrison (stiff neck) were held out of throwing Tuesday. .2B Jurickson Profars right shoulder is still stiff, preventing him from throwing. He likely will be limited to DH duties until mid-March for exhibition games. Pittsburgh Pirates Gear . Mika Zibanejad and Jason Spezza scored in the shootout to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 2-1 victory over Nashville on Saturday night. Wholesale Pirates Jerseys . Join World Soccer Pickem 2014 for your chance to win $5,500 in cash prizes by picking the winner of each game all the way through to the tournament final. Will you ride a favourite such as Spain or Germany, or cast your lot with an underdog like Ivory Coast or Mexico? Perhaps key victories from Netherlands or the United States will be your key to victory. https://www.cheappiratesjerseys.us/ . With newly minted president of hockey operations Trevor Linden looking on from above one day after being handed the keys to the franchise, it was more of the same on Thursday night. Pirates Jerseys China .Y. - DeMarre Carroll felt as though he couldnt miss in the second quarter as he outscored the Brooklyn Nets 14-13 all by himself. Stitched Pirates Jerseys .C. - The Panthers will be without starting defensive tackle Star Lotulelei for Saturday nights NFC divisional playoff game against Seattle after undergoing surgery Wednesday to repair a broken bone in his foot.PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns might be excused for their defensive lapses. They were putting most of their energy into a record-setting offensive display. The Suns achieved season highs in total points, points in a half and assists, and tied their single-game best for made 3-pointers in a 129-120 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night. Their first-half point total of 79 was the most in the NBA before halftime this season and two shy of a US Airways Center record for points in a half. The only cloudy spot for the Suns was that they allowed more than 100 points for the fifth straight game. This after they sank 15 3-pointers and dished out 29 assists in a blink-and-you-missed it kind of game where neither team paid any mind to the shot clock. "Both of our teams are hard to guard in terms of how we play. Kicking it up and quick shots, and the way that both teams have guards that can really penetrate," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said. "That breaks down defences when teams are good at passing the ball and shooting the ball. Sometimes there might look like there was zero defence out there, but Im sure the guys were trying." Gerald Green certainly was trying on offence. He hit 5 of 6 3-pointers in the first half and finished with 33 points. The previous high for Phoenix in any half this season was 67 points, but 63 per cent shooting, including 12 of 18 on 3-pointers in the first half, shattered the team mark. "We were making 2s and some 3s. They were making all 3s," Hawks guard Jeff Teague said. Goran Dragic added 19 points for the Suns, hearing the chants of "MVP" from the home crowd, and Marcus Morris had 18 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Twin brother Markieff added 21 points and eight rebounds. "Its two fast-paced teams going against each other," Green said. "We knew it was going to be like that, but I didnt know they were going to be running like that." Phoenix led by as many as 15 points late in the second quarter, even though Atlanta scored 65 first-half points, including 37 in the first quarter, the highest against the Suns in any first quarter this season. Teague had 29 points and eight assists for the Hawks, and Mike Scott added 20 points. "Its nothing we need to be super overly cautious about," Green said of the Suns defence, "but we do need to take a step back and kind of look and see whaat were doing wrong, especially in the first quarter.dddddddddddd" The second half saw slightly less scoring from both teams, but the Suns led 90-77 after Greens high-flying dunk over the Hawks Shelvin Mack with 7:21 left in the third quarter. The Suns lead was at 95-89 after Kyle Korver hit his fifth 3-pointer at the 3:54 mark, and down to 95-91 on a basket by Mack with 3:22 to play. Mack made it a one-point game with a layup to cap an 8-0 run, but the Suns scored seven of the last eight points of the third quarter to take a 102-95 lead into the fourth. Leandro Barbosa, playing his first game since missing the past five with a sprained toe, scored five key points in the fourth quarter to keep the Hawks at bay. The Suns never held less than a five-point lead in the quarter. A transition pass from Dragic to P.J. Tucker for a long jumper made the score 121-110 with 3:20 left in the game and essentially ended any chance for a Hawks comeback. "They shot the ball extremely well. They play with great pace, they put lot of pressure in your defence, make or miss," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "Our transition defence wasnt good enough." The Hawks have lost 11 of their last 12 games. The Suns havent lost two straight games to the Hawks since the 1991-92 season. It took Korver less than two minutes to continue his NBA-record streak of at least one made 3-pointer in a game. His long-range shot at 10:29 of the first quarter gave him 127 straight games with a made three-ball. Korver made six of seven 3-pointers to finish with 18 points. NOTES: Newly acquired power forward Shavlik Randolph made his Suns debut Sunday. He played 10 minutes and scored two points off the bench. ... Hornacek said guard Eric Bledsoe, who is coming back from knee surgery earlier this season, looked good in 5-on-5 action in practice recently. Bledsoe hasnt played since Dec. 30. The Suns want Bledsoes conditioning to return to game level before allowing him to play, which could keep him out for another two weeks. ... Budenholzer is a native of Holbrook, Ariz., in northeastern Arizona, and had family and friends at Sundays game. ... Hawks F Paul Millsap missed his fourth straight game with a right knee contusion. ... C Mike Muscala, signed late last week, made his Hawks debut and played 19 minutes. He had four points, five rebounds and two blocked shots. ' ' '