The worst part about Josh Hamilton’s relapse is that he didn’t care. The most famous addict in sports does not go to a bar in the town where he is best known without full knowledge that his exploits will become public in a matter of hours. That it took three full days for Hamilton’s latest relapse to go viral – and that incriminating pictures have yet to surface – is something of a miracle.

What we know at the moment, from the Dallas Morning News report and confirmation by the Texas Rangers, is that Hamilton drank Monday. The particulars – was he drunk, why did he drink and was he really letting women at the bar grab his butt? – don’t matter as much as the act. With addicts they never do. Sobriety is black and white. Black won Monday.

That it prevailed in such open fashion is what should scare Hamilton’s family as well as the Rangers. Only Hamilton understands why he would choose such a setting to drink, whether it was the empowerment of doing what he wants, where he wants, when he wants, or if it was his way of asking for help as he floats about without an accountability partner. After his spectacular fall off the wagon in January 2009 that included pictures of him licking whipped cream off a woman’s fake breasts, Hamilton knew the second alcohol touched his lips he was vulnerable not only to its seductive ways but to the gossipy culture that is making secrets an anachronism.

Hamilton does care, of course, even if for the tiniest sliver of time it eluded him. He has said so to me and to his friends and to millions of people who see him for what addicts can achieve, and there’s no reason not to believe him. A temporary slip in that does not represent weakness. It is a symptom of addiction’s vagaries. And those moments are the toughest for every addict to confront. Some reach that nadir and stop. Others fight and claw and battle and cave. Hamilton has seen some lows. Falling asleep in a ditch whacked out on crack. Being immortalized in a Deadspin photo montage. The devil in him is strong.

And because he can’t beat it – because even though he’s got the greatest job in the world and a newborn daughter and so very much, it’s just not that easy – the severity of the consequences are hastening.

That long-term contract Hamilton wanted from the Rangers? Gone. It has to be. Already the Rangers had shown little inclination to lock up long-term a player who two years ago won the American League MVP award despite missing the final month. Texas, like most other clubs, fears Hamilton’s body, brittle from his years of drug abuse, won’t hold up. Whatever leverage Hamilton held is kaput, and only the madness of free agency will land him a payday.

All it takes is one screw-up, one moment different than the millions of good ones, and an addict self-inflicts another scar. Like Hamilton said when acknowledging his wild night out three years ago, “Some people it just don’t mix with, and I’m one of those people.”

Hamilton’s forthrightness about his struggles – his honesty about the night three years ago, about the depths of his addiction – means he almost certainly will talk publicly about this. And as he is so good at doing, Hamilton will placate the sadness that permeates his fan base today through words of encouragement and strength and hosannas to how through God’s help and his family’s love he’ll persevere and win this lifelong battle.

That’s all addicts can offer. There will be those who call them hypocritical or weak-minded or full of excuses. Such ignorance never ceases. Sobriety for those who struggle the most is merely a moment between relapses – hopefully a moment longer than the last, one that eventually lasts forever.

Hamilton has lasted three years, and once again in the middle of an offseason he failed. Like last time, too, it was in full view for everyone to witness. Only now the stakes are higher, the money bigger, the team better – and the sober clock back at zero.

Whether Hamilton needs rehab or someone to babysit him or nothing at all is up to him, though that decision comes with consequences. For addicts, every decision does because every decision ultimately leads back to the most vital thing in their life: sobriety. It is their sine qua non. A sober Josh Hamilton is a role model, a paragon of perseverance, a pillar for addicts trapped in dark tunnels.

Sober, he is great.

On Monday, when he wasn’t, he was just another guy who didn’t care.

Yahoo.com

The January transfer window passed with very little activity at Liverpool, and Joe Cole has revealed there were no talks with the club regarding his long-term future.

Cole is currently on a season-long loan at Lille, where he is reviving his career after a disastrous time under former Reds boss Roy Hodgson. The England man recently hit a hat-trick for his temporary employers, whose fans have grown to like their foreign import.

In Cole’s absence Liverpool have been unpredictable this season, reaching the Carling Cup final and knocking Manchester United out of the FA Cup, yet drawing seven league games on home territory. In 11 league encounters at Anfield, they have scored just 14 goals.

Cole is the type of player who once built a career on unlocking defences so the argument for his requirement on Merseyside is obvious. However, he admits he is fairly content in France and heard nothing from Liverpool during the January window.

“It is still a little difficult for me to talk about my future,” Cole said in L’Equipe. “What I want? I don’t wish to talk about it now, because it is not that simple.

“I am really very happy here and my family too. But up to now I have not talked with Liverpool.

“Do I miss English football? I don’t know. The only thing I miss is the dressing room. I can’t understand all the jokes and that is frustrating. French is more difficult than I thought. But I try to be very serious with my lessons.”

Cole is realistic enough to know that the Premier League is stronger than France’s Ligue 1 competition, but he also stressed that the English game can learn from its European counterpart.

“I like the atmosphere in Ligue 1, the closeness between TV and players,” he said. “The interviews before, in the middle and after the match are very friendly. The Premier League should get inspired by that.”

ESPN.co.uk

Hamilton described the MP4-27, unveiled at the team’s Surrey base, as “the finest-looking car we’ve had for some time”.

The car features a notably tightly packaged rear end, after the fashion of the Red Bull that has dominated Formula 1 for the last two seasons.

“We’re excited. I’m sure every team is a little apprehensive,” Button said.
Among other notable features, the car does not have the platypus-style nose that is expected to feature on many designs this year as a result of a change in the rules requiring a lower nose height.

Lewis Hamilton won the drivers’ world title in a McLaren in 2008, with Jenson Button winning the championship in a Brawn a year later.

But Red Bull have won the last two constructors’ championship, with Sebastian Vettel securing the drivers’ title in both seasons .

McLaren have not won the constructors’ title since 1998.

Button added: “This is a beautiful car – many you will see will not be.

“There are some good rule changes giving the engineers and aerodynamicists something to really think about.

“Everyone seems positive, we will see how it is when we get out on to the track.”

McLaren have also abandoned the distinctive L-shaped sidepods that distinguished the 2011 car, reverting to a more conventional shape.

Hamilton said: “The back of the car is much neater, it’s much tighter. The focus was on getting it as tight as possible for aerodynamics.

“It’s about dropping drag and we have tried to get as much downforce back as possible with the banning of the blown diffuser [where teams directed exhaust gases along the rear floor of the car even when the driver was off the throttle].”

He said that the rule change had made an obvious difference to the way the car feels, having already driven it in the team’s simulator.

Hamilton added: “It’s a lot trickier to drive now than it was but I’m sure, as we get into the season, we’ll get that back.”

Both men said they were looking forward to the challenge of the new season, which features six world champions for the first time in F1 history.

Kimi Raikkonen has returned to F1 with the Lotus team after two years in rallying, to join fellow champions Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, Hamilton and Button..

“We love to have the competition and we love to have the great drivers out there,” Hamilton said. “We hope there are no world champions added to [the list].

“It’s great for the fans and the sport and hopefully we’ll be able to put on a good show. We do have a good looking car and, when a car looks good, it generally is good.”

Asked who the drivers expected McLaren’s main competition to be, Button said: “The Red Bulls will be strong, they’re not going to suddenly build a bad car after winning the championship for the last two years.

“Do we know where we stand? No, but the important thing is we focus on our own work in testing and in Melbourne we will find out where we are compared to our competitors.”

Hamilton added: “Last year we were the team closest to the Red Bulls, that’s comforting, and we improved a lot too. If we can start the season better than last year then we will put good building blocks down.

“We have the fastest rate of development, so that should give us a strong position to start the season.”

Team principal Martin Whitmarsh said: “It will be close, it’s a massively competitive championship. No-one in my view is going to run away with it.

“We don’t like losing, coming second in the last two years has been frustrating.

“We want to win races and world championships. We have two great racing drivers, everyone can see the chemistry between them but they want to beat each other.

“There are some very strong competitors out there but we are feeling at the moment as if we are in a good place and we’re looking forward to getting to Melbourne and competing for championships.”

BBC.co.uk

Two people accused of trying to blackmail Coleen Rooney, the wife of Manchester United football star Wayne Rooney, have been jailed.

The blackmailers – Lee Platt, 29, and Steven Malcolm, 42 – were found guilty at Manchester crown court of trying to extort £5,000, after recovering a digital camera that contained more than 400 private photos of the couple.

Platt was jailed for two years and Malcolm received 20 months. Platt’s girlfriend, Jennifer Green, 26, received a 12-month community order for assisting in the retention of stolen goods.

The camera had been misplaced by Coleen during a Black Eyed Peas concert at the MEN Arena in Manchester in May 2010.

Platt and Malcolm had threatened to sell the photos, which were of family holidays, the couple’s son Kai, the couple’s house and some relatives, to the media if their demands were not met.

The police were contacted and they sent an undercover officer who pretended to be interested in buying the camera. Malcolm was arrested at the Marriott Hotel in Manchester, with the camera and the photographs.

Platt and his girlfriend, Jennifer Green, 26, were arrested soon after, when their fingerprints were found on the folder containing the photographs.

Blake Griffin’s jaw-dropping one-handed jam over Kendrick Perkins sent Los Angeles Clippers fans into a frenzy, fired up his teammates, lit up the Twitterverse and burned the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Griffin had 22 points to go with Chris Paul’s 26 points and 14 assists in a 112-100 victory Monday night that snapped the Thunder’s four-game winning streak in a matchup of division leaders.

Griffin downplayed his monster move after the game, a sly smile only briefly breaking his serious expression.

‘‘CP commands so much attention out there. He came off the pick-and-roll and he hit me in stride,’’ Griffin said.

Paul added: ‘‘I told Blake after the game, ‘Thanks for letting me be part of that.’’’

DeAndre Jordan grabbed Griffin from behind in a celebratory bear hug as the basket got replayed over and over in the third quarter.

Jordan, who had 11 points and 11 rebounds, couldn’t help himself.

‘‘I was shocked. I didn’t know what to do, so I just grabbed him. I hit him kind of hard,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m going to go home and watch it again. It’s probably going to be the screensaver on my phone.’’

Griffin said he knew he’d made an impression judging by the crowd’s raucous response. Then he felt Jordan behind him.

‘‘He armlocked me,’’ Griffin said. ‘‘I couldn’t breathe.’’

The reaction on Twitter came fast and furious.

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald tweeted: ‘‘Blake Griffin just made one of the top dunks of the season. Maybe even his career. (hashtag) Beast.’’

Tracy McGrady of the Atlanta Hawks weighed in with ‘‘yo, crazy crazy dunk by the dude Blake Griffin.’’

Even Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-wife was impressed.

Shaunie O’Neal tweeted: ‘‘OMG!!! Did y’all just see Blake Griffin dunk!!!!! Daaayyyummm!’’

Paul had 26 points and 14 assists, Caron Butler also had 22 points, Chauncey Billups scored 13 and Mo Williams 12 as the Pacific-leading Clippers dunked with high-flying abandon against the team with the NBA’s best record at 16-4. They won their third in a row to follow up a 109-105 victory at Denver a night earlier that began a stretch of five games in seven nights.

BostonGlobe.com

Speed, a father of two who played for Sheffield United, Everton, Newcastle, Leeds and Bolton, “talked in terms of taking his life”, the inquest at Warrington Coroner’s Court was told.

Mr Speed was found hanged at his house in Cheshire in November by his wife, who gave evidence at today’s hearing.

Richard Bevan, the League Managers’ Association chief executive, is expected to make a statement on behalf of the family after the hearing.

Police said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of the 42-year-old.

A previous hearing saw a pathologist give a provisional cause of death as hanging.

Following his death, tributes poured in from around the world for Speed, who appeared on BBC1′s Football Focus programme the day before he died.

His death led many in football to speculate as to whether depression had played a part and there was much discussion of how the problem can be better identified and treated among professional sports players.

On the day of his death, a minute’s silence at the start of the lunchtime match broke into spontaneous applause which ran around the stadium.

It was the first of many tributes paid to the popular Welshman, including a shrine outside Leeds United’s Elland Road stadium, where even shirts from the club’s fierce rivals Manchester United were laid in his honour.

A public memorial service to celebrate his life is planned to take place later this year.

The Football Association of Wales has also said that the national team’s game against Costa Rica on February 29 will be dedicated to their former manager.

The FAW appointed Chris Coleman as the new manager of Wales earlier this month after what they admitted had been “a very difficult period” following the death.

The inquest is due to take place at 2pm at Warrington Coroner’s Court before the coroner for Cheshire, Nicholas Rheinberg.

Telegraph.co.uk

Was there every any doubt? Shaun White proved yet again that he is the world’s top halfpipe snowboarder with an unprecedented perfect score of 100 in the superpipe final at Winter X Games, winning his fifth consecutive gold medal in the discipline.

Two days earlier, an ankle sprain forced White to withdraw from a very competitive slopestyle event. There was some question whether he would be able to compete in Sunday’s pipe final, particularly after he failed to show up for Saturday’s pipe practice.

Then White came out with a bang at the elimination round Sunday afternoon, dominating the field and leading the qualification for the final round. He even broke his amplitude record set in last year’s gold medal-winning finals performance.

The talk around Winter X was the sheer intensity of superpipe’s progression with double corks, back to back 12s and various stylized tweaks marking each of the eight riders in the final. Among the favorites to challenge White were Iouri “Ipod” Podlatchikov, who won last week’s pipe final in Vermont at the Dew Tour, and Luke Mitrani, who won the Grand Prix in Breckenridge, Colo., in December, qualifying second to White in the elimination round. Other not-so-wild-card contenders included just about everyone in the final: Louie Vito, Markus Malin, Christian Haller, Greg Bretz and Ryo Aono.

Yet none could match the ferocity of White who took a commanding lead after his first run, achieving a score of 94.

A second-run fall on his final hit enabled a fight to the finish. With White, Podlatchikov and Haller sitting 1-2-3, the race was on for the remaining finalists to make a charge for a podium spot.

Vito faltered on his final run, but then Aono put down a flawless run that put him in third. Matt Ladley, Bretz and Mitrani followed, yet none could put together a run worthy of an X Games medal.

White and snowboard cross champion Nate Holland are the only X Games athletes to win five gold medals in the same event.

In classic White fashion, however, the Carlsbad, Calif., native was not content with a commanding win and a history making five-peat. Dropping in a for a casual “victory lap” White broke new ground. Combing jaw-dropping amplitude, textbook skill and style and a technical difficultly never before seen, White executed the first truly perfect performance in Winter X Games history, including an 18-foot backside air, a 17-foot frontside double cork 1080, an 11-foot switch frontside double cork 1080, a 14-foot frontside cork 540, a 13-foot backside double cork 1260 and a 12-foot frontside double cork 1260 — the first back-to-back double cork in Winter X.

The judges with the the perfect 100.

A surreal moment for the global audience but not a speechless one for White.

“It was bizarre — and my coach Bud Keene was saying ‘They’re going to give you a 100 if you make it.’ ” said White. “I’m thinking he was very excited. But I don’t know, I just came through it and everything felt perfect. I was landing the 10 at the top and the cab double came through perfect. I don’t know if I have ever landed my double Mc12 as clean as I have tonight, so that just set myself up perfect for the frontside double cork 12. I guess it’s the first (time) ever to do back-to-back double cork 12s. What a night.”

USAToday.com

The next chapter in the Peyton Manning saga could take a decidedly defensive turn.

The Colts hired Ravens defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano as its new coach yesterday and will introduce him today.

It’s the third time Jim Irsay has turned to a defensive-minded coach since replacing his father as team owner in 1997, first hiring Jim Mora and then Tony Dungy as Mora’s replacement in 2002.

“I like it,’’ Pro Bowl defensive end Robert Mathis wrote on Twitter.

The Colts are hoping the change produces better results after Indy went 2-14 this season, its worst record in two decades. But there are questions about how this decision will impact the future of Manning and his teammates.

The 51-year-old Pagano had been a career assistant until yesterday. He had coached previously in the NFL with the Raiders and Browns and also worked extensively in college with stops at Miami and North Carolina.

He’s the fourth Ravens defensive coordinator to get a head coaching job in less than a decade. The others were Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, Jets coach Rex Ryan, and former 49ers coach Mike Nolan.

Those who have worked closely with Pagano believe he’s ready for the promotion.

“Chuck has a leadership quality about him. He’s humble but he also knows when to take the reins and take charge,’’ Ravens linebacker Paul Kruger said. “He doesn’t try to dominate you in every meeting. He’s just a coach that knows exactly how players are and what direction they need.’’

“Chuck is unorthodox,’’ Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs said. “He’s like The Joker. You never really expect what he’s going to do, and everything has a motive.’’

But Pagano is taking over a team in transition.

Irsay’s dizzying array of moves this month has essentially cleaned house.

It began with the firings of the father-son front office tandem of Bill and Chris Polian on Jan. 2, the day after the season. The next week, Irsay hired 39-year-old Ryan Grigson as the new general manager.

Last week, coach Jim Caldwell was fired after his third season because he won only two games while Manning sat out with a neck injury and now, eight days later, Indy has his replacement – with more changes to come.

Quarterbacks coach Ron Turner, receivers coach Frank Reich, and offensive line coach Pete Metzelaars all have been let go, too. That leaves offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen, running backs coach David Walker, and tight ends coach Ricky Thomas among those with fates yet to be determined. Back in 2002, when Mora was fired, Irsay hired Dungy but kept most of the offensive staff intact.

The offseason moves are taking a toll on the team’s morale. In an interview published Tuesday by the Indianapolis Star, Manning called the complex not a “very good environment’’ for healing.

Irsay must pay Manning a $28 million bonus by March 8 or the four-time league MVP, who turns 36 in March, could become an unrestricted free agent after having three neck surgeries in 19 months. The Colts have the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, which most expect to be used on Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck.

Raiders inch closer

Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie is finalizing a contract to make Denver defensive coordinator Dennis Allen the team’s next head coach, a person familiar with the process said on condition of anonymity because the team is not publicly discussing the search.

Fox Sports and ESPN reported Tuesday night that the Raiders had chosen Allen to replace the fired Hue Jackson and become the team’s seventh coach since 2003.

Allen, 39, will be the first new Raiders coach to come from the defensive side of the ball since John Madden before the 1969 season. Madden won 103 games in 10 seasons.

Goodell is extended

Now that the NFL has labor peace for the next decade, commissioner Roger Goodell has job security through the 2018 season. Not only did Goodell get through one of the league’s most contentious and troubling periods – a 4 1/2-month lockout of the players – but he oversaw a highly successful season once a 10-year collective bargaining agreement was reached. Yesterday, he reaped some rewards himself with a contract extension through March 2019.

“It is the only place I have ever wanted to work,’’ Goodell said after the league’s compensation committee approved the extension. The 52-year-old Goodell took over for Paul Tagliabue in 2006. His original five-year contract was extended in 2009. He earned about $10 million, including bonuses, under that contract. During the lockout, he had a $1 salary. No terms were disclosed for the new contract.

Reed out of Pro Bowl

Ravens free safety Ed Reed has withdrawn from the Pro Bowl because of multiple injuries, becoming the latest of several players from his team to skip the game. The 33-year-old Reed is dealing with ailments that include a nerve impingement in his neck, a sore shoulder, and a sprained left ankle. He will be replaced by Steelers safety Ryan Clark. Other Ravens opting out are Suggs (undisclosed), defensive tackle Haloti Ngata (thigh), and running back Ray Rice (family reasons) . . . The NFL is relaxing its social media policy and allowing players to tweet before and during Sunday’s Pro Bowl. The league said it will set up a computer on each sideline where players are encouraged to use Twitter to communicate with fans, teammates, and even opponents during commercial breaks and when their offensive or defensive unit is not on the field . . . Steelers nose tackle Chris Hoke is retiring. The 35-year-old Hoke spent 11 seasons with the Steelers after originally signing with the team as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Brigham Young in 2001. Hoke played in 114 games, finishing with 81 tackles and two sacks . . . A deadline is approaching for a plan to upgrade the Edward Jones Dome and fans are wondering if football in St. Louis might be at stake. There is a Feb. 1 deadline for the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission to outline how it will transform the aging dome into a “first-tier’’ stadium by 2015. If it fails to do so, the Rams can break their lease after the 2014 season . . . Vikings owner Zygi Wilf said the team wants a new stadium in the Twin Cities, even if it means building on the current site of the Metrodome. Wilf spoke after a meeting with Governor Mark Dayton and state lawmakers about the team’s push for state funding of a new stadium. The New Jersey businessman was more open than ever to rebuilding on Metrodome land in downtown Minneapolis, despite his past preference for two other sites.

BostonGlobe.com

Professional sports crossed over into the world of politics yesterday when Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas refused to join his teammates at the White House for a ceremony with U.S. President Barack Obama honouring the Stanley Cup champions.

Thomas explained his absence in a short posting on his Facebook page, writing: “I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People. This is being done at the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers vision for the Federal government. Because I believe this, today I exercised my right as a Free Citizen, and did not visit the White House. This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country. This was about a choice I had to make as an INDIVIDUAL.”

A collection of some of the reaction in the sporting media this morning:

Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe called the Bruins’ goalie self-centred and immature:

“Yesterday was not about politics and government until Thomas made it about politics and government. The day, long set on the calendar, was a day when the Boston Bruins were asked to visit Pennsylvania Avenue to celebrate what they did as a team last season. It was their day in the national spotlight, until Thomas didn’t show, and then the focal point became, much the way it would be in a hockey game, on the guy who was no longer standing in goal.

Shabby. Immature. Unprofessional. Self-centered. Bush league. Need I go on? All that and more applies to what Thomas did, on a day when Cup teammates Mark Recchi (now retired), Shane Hnidy (a radio guy these days in Winnipeg), and Tomas Kaberle (a member of some Original Six team in Canada), all gladly joined the red-white-blue-black-and-gold hugfest at the White House.”

Boston Herald columnist Margery Eagan called the decision “embarrassing and classless.”

“That describes Tim Thomas’ hollow refusal to join his Bruins [team stats] teammates at the White House yesterday to be honored by President Obama.

The only thing I knew about Thomas until yesterday had to do with phenomenal hockey playing. Here’s what I suspect today: He’s a spoiled brat.”

ESPNBoston.com’s Joe McDonald wonders what impact the decision will have on the Bruins’ team chemistry.

“Thomas’ decision will no doubt spark a massive debate. He’s a fan favorite. He can be considered the greatest goalie in franchise history. Earlier in his career when he played overseas, he was considered a hockey god in Finland for all his success there.

His absence, however, will have a lasting effect on his boy-next-door image.”

Greg Wyshynski of the Yahoo blog Puck Daddy applauded Thomas for taking a stand.

“My take: Good on Thomas.

Good on Thomas for using this moment — where a professional sports team participates in what’s both an honor for its accomplishments and a political photo opportunity — to make a political statement of his own.

It’s the moment when Thomas will no doubt lose a lot of supporters, for sure, when they realize an athlete they celebrate has stark political differences than they have. He’s not the first nor the last athlete to choose not to visit the White House.

It’s a moment in which a professional athlete uses his fame, his influence for something he believes in, and does something that won’t be popular among fans or media.”

Columnist Kirk Minihane of WEEI, a Boston sports radio channel, writes:

“Whatever you think about his politics vs. Obama’s (and I’m somewhere in the middle, I guess), can we all agree that everything we’ve seen and heard about Thomas over his years with the Bruins suggests that we aren’t dealing with a moron? Thomas knew full well what this would look like, that he would be cast as the heavy for the first time in his NHL life.

The ability to tell the President that you’d rather hang out in your room at the Marriott than shake his hand at the White House is, when you really think about it, a fairly stunning example of what makes America great. Think that would fly in Cuba? Or how about Cold War Russia? Uday Hussein would torture and even kill soccer players for collecting penalties in games. You might not always like how someone exercises their freedom of expression, it’s not always comfortable, but there is no more essential act in enabling the health of a democracy.”

Bruins Insider Joe Haggerty of CSNNE sheds a bit of light on Thomas’s views, sharing an anecdote on that includes the goaltender opining that he doesn’t believe in the scientific theories behind global warming.

TheGlobeAndMail.com

Gary Carter’s condition has worsened with the discovery of new tumors on his brain, his daughter said Thursday on the family’s blog.

Six months ago, Carter, 57, the former Mets catcher, was found to have an aggressive brain cancer, glioblastoma, that has been treated with radiation and chemotherapy.

“I write these words with tears because I am so sad for my dad,” Kimmy Carter Bloemers said.

She said that one of her father’s doctors “will be coming to my parents’ house this evening to talk to the family about the next step.”

Carter has had an especially difficult week.

“Every day is exhausting and every move takes great effort,” Bloemers wrote.

Last Wednesday, Carter had an open gum wound treated by an oral surgeon. The next day, he fell in his doctor’s office — he also fell on Christmas Eve — and he is being treated for a torn rotator cuff.

Carter attended his annual golf tournament’s banquet on Sunday. Bloemers wrote: “Dad spoke a few words thanking everyone for being there and for all the support and prayers. He said he wants to feel better so he can continue to help others.”

He was at the tournament the next day in West Palm Beach, Fla., which benefits the Autism Project of Palm Beach County.

NYTimes.com