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PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Tim Tebow crossed an item off his instructional league bucket list Tuesday when he hit his first batting practice home run. He also received a batch of helpful tips from New York Mets coaches. The atmosphere was more reminiscent of a baseball practice than a college football pep rally.Judging from the more relaxed vibe in Mets camp, Tebow has a reasonable chance of assimilating in peace over the next three weeks. About 30 media members showed up for his second workout, down from the 70 or so who attended his debut. The crowd shrunk from 500 to 250 or thereabouts, and the local news helicopter that hovered above Mondays proceedings went back to covering some real news.Life is evolving off the field as well. Tebow has already ventured out on a shopping trip and mingled with some locals, who enthusiastically welcomed him to his temporary home in Port St. Lucie.Im sure people will see me out and about, Tebow said. Some people saw me in Target last night getting some supplies. LaCroix water. Almonds. Stuff like that.As the interviews and autograph requests recede, Tebow will work on forming relationships with his coaches and teammates and traveling the hard, improbable road to extended baseball employment. His ability to acclimate to his new environment, absorb instruction and deal with the drudgery will help determine how far he goes.But even the scouts who admire Tebow for his effort and work ethic remain skeptical that he has the skills to navigate the massive task that awaits him. A veteran personnel man who watched Tebow during his recent two-hour audition in Los Angeles saw what he expects to be significant obstacles for Tebow.To me, he looks like a football player trying to play baseball, the scout said. He has that big upper body, and he muscles everything. His swing is pretty good. Its pretty efficient. But I dont see the kind of bat speed you need to have to play in the big leagues.You look for guys who do things easy. The bat whistles through the zone. They dont look like theyre straining to hit a fastball, and they can make an adjustment easy. He put in a lot of effort for that workout, but nothing he did was easy.At first glance, its stunning how Tebow dwarfs the younger players in Mets camp. Hes listed at 6-foot-3, 255 pounds, and he looks every bit the full-grown football star next to wiry prospects in their late teens and early 20s. Infielders Pete Alonso and Dash Winningham are both listed at 230 pounds, but they look pocket-sized in the company of Tebow.If that muscular frame restricts Tebows mobility or affects his ability to turn on inside fastballs, he hasnt noticed.Thats not a lot of weight for me to carry, Tebow said. It wouldnt be that hard for me to even be heavier. Ill obviously listen to advice and what people think, but I feel pretty good at this weight.From all accounts, Tebow made significant strides as a hitter in three months at the Chad Moeller Baseball school in Arizona leading into his showcase in Los Angeles in last August. He talks routinely about his fondness for the craft of hitting and the sense of exhilaration he gets from swinging a bat. But hes missed out on 11 years of swings since dropping baseball after his junior year of high school, so hes very much a work in progress.Growing up in suburban Jacksonville, Florida, Tebow was a fan of Gary Sheffield, Ken Griffey Jr., Frank Thomas, Chipper Jones and Jeff Bagwell. He took a little something from each of them, but hes ultimately going to have to settle on an approach and a philosophy that suits him. Thats a major undertaking at age 29.You look at things they do well, whether its super-fast hands, or getting their foot down, or their rotation, or hands through the zone, Tebow said. You look at each of these guys, and they do something amazing, and you can learn from that one thing.Im still listening to coaches and trying to develop. Hopefully, I have a goal where Im not just a pull hitter. My goal is to be someone who hits the ball where its pitched.Tebows ultimate goal is to be perceived as a baseball player, rather than a celebrity dabbling in baseball, and that means immersing himself in the clubhouse culture and having the patience to deal with the daily grind. For what its worth, he seems to be making a positive early impression on his fellow Instructional Leaguers.Nice guy, said Mets pitcher Steven Matz, who spent the past week in Port St. Lucie on a rehab assignment before leaving for New York on Tuesday. Hes a hard worker, and hes just another player. 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Arsenal failed to take full advantage of its main rivals stumbles on Saturday as substitute Gerard Deulofeu levelled with a hard shot from a tight angle in the 84th minute to give Everton a deserved point. Ahead of a crucial fortnight that will see them play against Napoli in the Champions League, Manchester City and Chelsea, Arsenal leads by five points ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea. Loughborough Lightning 128 for 9 (Devine 52) beat Yorkshire Diamonds 85 (Grundy 3-21)ScorecardYorkshire Diamonds were struck down by Loughborough Lightning who beat them by 43 runs with 17 balls remaining at Headingley in the first match in the new Kia Super League.In front of a crowd approaching 1,000, Lightning had to work hard for their 128 for 9 but it was easily defended after Diamonds captain, Lauren Winfield was controversially run out for a rapid 23 from 13 balls with five fiercely struck boundaries.It appeared that if she may have been impeded by the bowler, Ellyse Perry, when turning for a second run and she was unable to make her ground in time. Winfield spoke to the umpires but they were happy that she had been fairly dismissed.I felt I may have been obstructed by the bowler when going for a second run and I had a word with the umpires but it was just one of those things, Winfield said. Perhaps if there had been the chance to see it again I may not have been given out but it was a situation which couldnt be changed.Diamonds were 37 for 2 in only the fourth over when Winfield left the field but they were never able to regain their early momentum against tight bowling, Rebecca Grundy finishing with 3 for 21 from her four overs while Sophie Devine and Georgia Elwiss had two apiece.The experienced Katherine Brunt managed 16 before being fifth out, bowled by Elwiss, and Danielle Hazell hit a couple of boundaries in her 15 but her dismissal off Devine brought the game to an early conclusion.Four of the wickets fell to lbw decisions and there were two stumpings late in the innings for Amy Jones.Winning the toss, Lightning chose to bat first on a green tinged pitch and captain Elwiss got her side off to a perfect start by delicately cutting Shabnim Ishmails first ball for four.But Brunts first delivery from the Kirkstall Lane end brought her a wicket as she found the edge of Dane van Nierkerks bat and Hollie Armitage held a splendid catch at slip, Brunt going on to complete a wicket maiden.Devine helped Elwiss take the score to 29 in the seventh over before Elwiss took a step down tthe pitch to the spin of Hazell and was smartly stumped by Beth Mooney but Perry responded positively in the same over by on-driving the first six of the match.ddddddddddddDevine hit a big six over midwicket off Katie Levick and Lightning were well placed at 66 for 2 with half their overs gone. Perry then produced one of the shots of the day with a glorious straight drive off Ishmail.It was Devine, however, who was playing the major innings and she reached her 50 off 35 balls with five fours and two sixes but the 55 stand for the third wicket ended at 85 with the running out of Perry for 17 from 20 balls with two fours.Without addition, Amy Jones was lbw to Hazell and Gunn took a hard return catch to send back Sonia Odredra before Levick captured the important wicket of Devine who was well caught by Gunn running in from long on for 52.Lightnings progress was slowed down by Jenny Gunn who was hard to combat and she well deserved figures of 2 for 20 from her four overs.Thea Brookes was run out as Lightning dipped to 96 for 7, five wickets going down in three overs for 11 runs, but in the end they had sufficient runs on the board to complete an easy win.New Zealands vice-captain, Devine, said: I was really nervous after a winter in New Zealand and a bit scratchy at the start but it was nice to be able to get some runs on the board.I thought we may have been 15-20 runs short of the score we needed and Yorkshire came out really hard at us and the run out probably helped us. It was a great team win and our bowling performance was very good. Our fielders did well on the big outfield and we took a couple of great catches.Winfield said: It was very disappointing to lose because I thought we did a lot right and we were in a good place at half time. I was not too unhappy with their total and we got a decent start but fell away in the middle. It is important that we learn from todays performance. We probably hit the self-destruct button after losing a few early wickets. ' ' '