Comrade! Edward Snowden's dad thankful for Putin's 'courage'

AP/NBC

Lon Snowden, father of National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden on the "Today" show.

MOSCOW — The father of National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden said on Russian television that he is grateful to the Kremlin for protecting his son.

Speaking on state Rossiya 24 television in remarks broadcast Wednesday, Lon Snowden of Allentown, Pennsylvania, thanked President Vladimir Putin and his government for the "courage" they have shown in keeping his son safe.

Addressing his son, Lon Snowden said that "your family is well and we love you." He added that "I hope to see you soon, but most of all I want you to be safe."

The younger Snowden has been stuck in the transit zone of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport since arriving from Hong Kong on June 23. Russia is considering his request for temporary asylum.

Snowden's lawyer Anatoly Kucherena told the Vesti-FM radio station on Wednesday that he is arranging for Snowden's father to visit Russia. Kucherena said that he would send Lon Snowden a letter of invitation to Russia later on Wednesday.

Kucherena said that Snowden asked him to get in touch with his father because "he needs moral support."

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Why Mara’s dad stuck with Parcells after rocky 1st year

As told to Paul Schwartz

Bill called me after he was elected into the Hall of Fame and said, "I'd like to go in as a Giant, if you'll have me.'' I said, "Of course we'll have you.''

You don't go in as anything in particular, but I think that would have been his choice. Certainly this is where he had his most success and where he's best known for, and we welcome that.

My father, Wellington, was very fond of him and even when he had moved on to three and four teams after us they still corresponded and still spoke and still had a warm relationship. You have to remember Bill ended a long, long drought for us and so for that reason alone he'll always have a special place in our hearts, in particular my father's.

AP

WELL DONE: The late Wellington Mara (left) hands coach Bill Parcells the Lombardi Trophy after the Giants won Super Bowl XXI by defeating the Broncos.

My father loved the way he coached, loved the way he drove the players, and no question he was a personal favorite of his. It was a big thing that he was a Jersey guy, he grew up a Giants fan, that meant a lot to my father. Nothing matched the winning. That was the most endearing quality about him.

At the end of the 1983 season, I think we were 3-12-1, we had an inordinate number of players on injured reserve, we just had no team by the end of the year. General manager George Young really was considering firing Bill and actually had been speaking with Howard Schnellenberger at the time. I still remember to this day George saying to my father and me, "I can't get him this year but I might be able to get him next year, so let's go with Bill one more year.''

George was also sensitive to the fact that it was Bill's first year and we had all these guys hurt so maybe he deserves another chance as well. The unknown question is: Had Schnellenberger said yes, what would we have done? Fortunately he didn't say yes.

It was not always easy because Bill and George didn't always see eye-to-eye and my father of course loved George so sometimes that got to be a little difficult, but in the end it all worked.

My first impressions of Bill was when he was an assistant with us prior to '83 and he was just a big, gregarious, personable guy who would joke around, was fun to be around and man, that all changed at the end of the '83 season. I think he'll be the first to tell you when you're about to get fired or sensed you might get fired, it changes something in you. It definitely changed him. He became much more gruff and focused. Hey, that was a fine trade-off as far as I was concerned because it meant we were going to the playoffs and winning Super Bowls.

Bill could be difficult at times. But the greatest thing about him was I went into every game feeling like we had a chance to win and never feeling like we were going to be out-matched by the other coach. I felt like at the very least we were on an even playing field and usually we were already seven points ahead and that's a pretty rare quality.

When he was with Dallas, that was a little tough to swallow. I remember the last game of Eli Manning's rookie season, 2004, I saw Bill on the field before the game and I'm talking to him, we were commiserating a little bit and he said, "How you doing?'' and I said, "Not as good as you,'' and he said, "Hey, at least you got a quarterback.'' He had [Tony] Romo at the time but Romo hadn't played yet, he had no idea what he had. And to me that was kind of Eli's coming out party, he took us down the field at the end of the game and we win the game.

Is he the greatest coach in Giants history? I don't want to get into that. The one we got now is pretty good, too. Steve Owen was a great coach and so was Jim Lee Howell so I'll let the media debate that. Bill's a Hall of Famer.

I remember being in the locker room after the two Super Bowls and being with my father and I knew how much those games meant to my father. I think that's probably the most distinctive memory I'll have, the relationship he and Bill had and the joy they both felt in winning those games.

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Returning veterans must bring pop to this lineup

LOS ANGELES — Don Mattingly, a man who knows all about being a Yankee, was taken aback.

When one of the Yankees buses arrived yesterday at Dodger Stadium, Mattingly was surprised with what he saw.

"The guys were walking down from their bus and I didn't recognize any of them,'' the Dodgers manager said of the 2013 Yankees. "It's a little different. I didn't see [Derek] Jeter or Mariano [Rivera] or [Andy] Pettitte. But the Yankees are hanging in there.''

The offensively challenged Yankees hung in there last night until the ninth inning, when Mark Ellis' two-out single off Shawn Kelley scored Andre Ethier with the winning run in a 3-2 victory for L.A at a raucous Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers scored in the first on a Yasiel Puig double and a two-out single by Hanley Ramirez against Andy Pettitte. The Yankees answered against Zack Greinke with a run in the top of the second on a home run by Lyle Overbay. After a Juan Uribe homer put the Dodgers up 2-1 in the second, Overbay's ground out scored Alfonso Soriano in the fourth.

And that was it for the Yankees offense — once again.

It was been a season filled with injuries and Alex Rodriguez's monster issues as a result of the Biogenesis scandal.

But the lineup is beginning to look more like a major league lineup and the Yankees need to get all they can out of veterans like Soriano, Jeter and Curtis Granderson, who could be back as soon as this weekend in San Diego.

Jeter, to protect his right quadriceps, has been told not to run full speed and that hurt the Yankees' offense when he was thrown out twice on balls he might have beaten out.

Robinson Cano also must do more. With his former agent, Scott Boras, looking on from the front row and his new agent, Jay-Z, perched 30 seats to the left of Boras, Cano tried to put on a show but failed. He singled in the first, struck out in the third, swinging wildly on all three strikes, flied to center to the sixth and struck out again in the eighth.

There is no pop to the Yankees. The Yankees went into the night 29th in slugging percentage with a .371 mark, only the Marlins were worse (.336).

"I understand that we are going to have to win games like this,'' manager Joe Girardi said. "It's not a surprise for me. I understand what we have. I think our guys are trying to get good at-bats so I don't get frustrated with them. I know we have to win close games.''

A large group of Yankees came out for early hitting, four hours before the game. That was a tremendous sign of team unity, but also a desperate comment on the struggling offense.

The 55-51 Yankees now trail the first-place Rays by 8 1/2₂games in the AL East. They are 3 1/2 games back in the race for the second wild card, in fifth place in that race.

So many things have gone wrong for the Yankees, not just A-Rod being A-Rod. There have been the failed signings, notably Kevin Youkilis. Still, it's the end of July and the Yankees have a playoff pulse — even if it is a weak one.

Most of all, these Yankees must prove they can beat the good teams and that is so difficult to do with a weak offense. Against the Red Sox, Orioles, A's Rays, Rangers and Tigers, they are a combined 19-31. That tells the real story of this 2013 Yankees team.

A crowd of 52,447 fans showed up and stayed late, the Dodgers 15th sellout of the season. There were celebrities everywhere. This is a much noisier Dodger Stadium than in past years. The new ownership group has turned up the noise in many ways, making this once again a destination point for fans.

Unlike the Yankees, the Dodgers are a team the fans now recognize.

kevin.kernan@nypost.com

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Old Yanks unlikely to get Young

LOS ANGELES — Despite the thick clouds smothering the corners of the Yankees' infield, Michael Young isn't likely to move them out.

With Young, who has a complete no-trade clause, prioritizing returning to Texas before agreeing to a deal that would deliver him to the Yankees or Red Sox, the free-falling Phillies have turned their attention to making a deal with the Rangers, whom Young played for from 2002 to 2012.

The Rangers, who are paying $10 million of Young's $16 million salary this year, need a right-handed bat.

The Phillies would like to get back Lisalverto Bonilla or Josh Lindblom, the right-handed pitchers they dealt for Young last Dec. 12. Tuesday night, Young belted his eighth homer of the season, drove in two runs to give him 34 RBIs and upped his average to .279.

It isn't known whether the Yankees received word from Young's camp he didn't want to be a Yankee and then moved quickly to acquire Alfonso Soriano from the Cubs last week. Or it's possible the Yankees have room for Soriano, a DH/left fielder, and Young, who can play first and third.

Third base has been a revolving door for the Yankees ever since it was revealed in December that Alex Rodriguez required hip surgery that was done in January.

Initially, the Yankees plugged Kevin Youkilis into the spot, giving him a one-year deal worth $12 million. They believed the veteran right-handed hitter was healthy enough to at least hold the position until Rodriguez's return following the All-Star break.

Instead, Youkilis lasted 28 games and underwent season-ending back surgery.

Including Youkilis, the Yankees have used seven players at third, where they thought Rodriguez would be standing by now.

Jayson Nix came off the disabled list Tuesday night and made his 25th start at third. Manager Joe Girardi said he will watch Eduardo Nunez work out at third before deciding if he will be the eighth Yankees' third baseman of the season.

Nothing has gone as planned regarding Rodriguez's re-entry into the Yankees' universe. On the verge of being activated from the DL, a left quadriceps injury extended his stay on the shelf indefinitely.

He is scheduled for a simulated game or a minor league rehab game tomorrow and after that it will be determined when — or if — he rejoins the club. A good guess is he could be back Monday in Chicago, where the Yankees open a three-game series against the awful White Sox.

Yet, nothing is simple with Rodriguez. He is awaiting word from MLB regarding what his sentence will be for involvement with Biogenesis, the defunct anti-aging clinic in Miami.

It's a foregone conclusion Rodriguez will be handed some type of suspension. He will appeal a suspension tied to the drug policy and could play while the appeals process takes place.

Nevertheless, if MLB suspends Rodriguez under the collective bargaining agreement language and he appeals, he can't participate while the appeal plays out.

Rodriguez's lawyer, David Cornwell, said Monday Rodriguez will appeal any penalty.

If the Yankees beat the odds and land Young — and that remains a possibility if the Rangers and Phillies can't get a deal done before today's 4 p.m. trading deadline — he could provide a right-handed hitting option at first, where the left-handed hitting Lyle Overbay is batting .196 (18-for-92) against lefties.

Sunday, Girardi used the right-handed hitting David Adams, a second baseman/third baseman against Tampa Bay lefty Matt Moore. Adams was sent to Triple-A following the 6-5 win.

As for third base, Brett Lillibridge, whose best position is second base, had started six straight games before Nix started against the Dodgers last night.

In those half-dozen games, he batted .190 (4-for-21) with three RBIs and one (a double) extra-base hit. In eight games as a Yankee, he was batting .185 (5-for-27).

"I would like to be hitting better, but I feel like I've been doing my job defensively. I know the hits will come if they keep putting me out there. I really want to prove myself,'' Lillibridge said.

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Pettitte keeps it close, but L.A. wins it in 9th

LOS ANGELES — With his teams' season circling the drain with two months remaining, Andy Pettitte understands crunch time has arrived.

Yet the veteran left-hander refuses to give in to the belief that the Yankees will be October spectators.

"No doubt it's getting late,'' Pettitte said after the Dodgers hung a 3-2 loss on the Yankees last night in front of a sold-out and vibrant Dodger Stadium crowd of 52,447. "We need to win, but all you can do is stay positive. We got Derek [Jeter] back in the lineup, we got Sori [Alfonso Soriano] back, and I feel better about the way I am throwing the ball and our bullpen has been amazing. Hopefully [tonight] is the day. Hopefully we get on a run shortly.''

Getty Images

ALL FOR NAUGHT: Chris Stewart, taking a throw from Ichiro Suzuki, tags out Hanley Ramirez to end the third inning, keeping the Yankees within a run after...

Getty Images

Andy Pettitte (above) gave up a homer to Juan Uribe an inning earlier. The Yankees tied it at 2-2, but lost in the bottom of the ninth when Shawn Kelley gave up a two-out RBI single to Mark Ellis.

Pettitte's seven innings in which he allowed two runs wasn't enough for a victory because Zack Greinke allowed two runs and five hits in seven frames.

The difference was Mark Ellis' bloop, two-out single to left in the ninth off Shawn Kelley that scored Andre Ethier from second with the game-winning run.

The loss dropped the Yankees a season-high 8 1/2 games behind the AL East-leading Rays, who are a half length ahead of the second-place Red Sox. The Yankees trail the Orioles by 3 1/2 games for the second wild-card spot.

The Dodgers, who have won 10 of 11, moved 3 1/2 games ahead of the second-place Diamondbacks in the NL West.

Though Kelley got beat with his best pitch — a slider — catcher Chris Stewart put the game-winning run on his shoulders because he never really gave Robinson Cano a chance to tag out Ethier, who stole second with two outs and Ellis at the plate.

"It was one of the worst throws I have made," Stewart said of the one-hop throw Cano gloved but lost when he went to tag Ethier. "It stinks that it was at that point in the game. I know he is a smart base runner. If I make a good throw and don't rush it there. … I put it on the ground.

"I forced [Cano] to make an unbelievable play.''

Jeter would have needed a large ladder to corral Ellis' soft game-winning hit to left. But even then he would have taken it easy climbing the stairs because he has been instructed to take it easy with his right quadriceps and left ankle.

Jeter grounded out in all four at-bats and ran under control to first in all of them.

"It's tough. You try to make a conscious effort not to do anything stupid but it's difficult to do,'' Jeter said. "I'm trying to do what I'm told. Your natural reaction is to run as hard as you can. I have the whispers coming in my head. I feel weird talking about it.''

There was a time when the Yankees could match any collection of star power in the seats with their mega-watt talent on the field.

Now, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson are on the DL, Jeter is just off the shelf and CC Sabathia is going through the worst stretch of his pinstriped career. Mariano Rivera certainly qualifies as a star, but he never left the right-field bullpen.

Clearly, the Dodgers had more stars than the Yankees and in Hollywood, stars rule. On this night they also won.

george.king@nypost.com

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Mets on deck at Marlins

TONIGHT — 7:10

RHP Zack Wheeler (4-1, 3.72)

vs. RHP Nathan Eovaldi

(2-1, 3.54)

TOMORROW — 7:10 P.M.

RHP Jenrry Mejia (1-0, 0.00)

vs. RHP Henderson Alvarez (1-1, 2.64)

THURSDAY — 12:40 P.M.

RHP Matt Harvey (8-2, 2.11)

vs. RHP Tom Koehler

(2-6, 4.67)

All games on SNY,

WFAN (660 AM, 101.9 FM)

INSIDE THE MATCHUPS

METS: Wheeler gritted through six innings in his last start, letting up four runs (three earned)

in a 7-4 victory over the Braves on Thursday. The young righty has had his share of growing pains — especially in the control department — but has not surrendered more than three earned runs in a four-game span in which he is sporting a 2.78 ERA.

MARLINS: Eovaldi, a 23-year-old Texan, has shown consistency in seven outings, notching a quality start in six of them. Last Thursday, he turned in a six-inning, three-hit, no-run performance in a win over the Rockies.

STAT SO?

METS: Batters are hitting a solid .312 against Wheeler with the bases empty. But with runners on, opponents are hitting .162 against the rookie, and that number drops to .114 with runners in scoring position.

MARLINS: Eovaldi has a 6.19 ERA in three nighttime starts, compared to a 1.82 ERA in four afternoon starts.

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After bursting on scene, Hughes’ & Joba’s days in Pinstripes nearly up

Joba Chamberlain was in a Tampa restaurant on May 1, 2007, when Phil Hughes made his second major league start.

Hughes no-hit the Rangers over 6 1/3 innings and Chamberlain, still moving up the Yankees' farm system, tried to put himself in Hughes' shoes.

"I'll never forget watching him that game against Texas," Chamberlain said. "The game was on TV and I saw this young kid, like me, doing something great. I thought, 'Man, I've got a chance to do that.' But I've learned life is never gonna go like it's supposed to."

Hughes and Chamberlain got to the majors only months apart in 2007, a pair of hard-throwing right-handers who seemed capable of remaking the pitching staff for years to come.

Charles Wenzelberg

BETTER DAZE: Joba Chamberlain (left) and Phil Hughes seemingly had bright futures when they celebrated the Yankees' clinching a playoff berth in 2007, but their careers have gone off the tracks and their days in The Bronx could be over by tomorrow's trade deadline.

Six years later, each has battled injuries, inconsistency and failure and could be looking at the end of their careers in The Bronx — either by trade before tomorrow's non-waiver trade deadline or following the season when they become free agents.

While the Yankees continue to search for offensive help, there's been scant interest in either pitcher.

Hughes has struggled with giving up homers once again — with 14 of the 20 he's surrendered coming at home — and Chamberlain has become little more than an afterthought in the bullpen, surpassed by Preston Claiborne and Shawn Kelley.

It's considerably different than when the two were rookies.

"He was setting the world on fire," Hughes said of Chamberlain, who pitched just 24 innings for the Yankees that season, but struck out 34 and had a 0.38 ERA. "They were trying to find a way to make room for him because he was so dominant. He was a rock star, basically. He had that point-whatever ERA and was striking out everybody. I'd never seen anything like that."

Hughes wasn't alone.

"I remember Joba being a big deal in the playoffs that year with that fastball," said CC Sabathia, who was on the Indians when they beat the Yankees in the postseason. "And then the whole thing with the midges. There always seemed to be a spotlight on him. He was a sensation, but you never know what's gonna happen. It's a tough game."

Both have found that out.

"Very rarely is the story written exactly how you'd want it," said Hughes, 4-9 this season, a victim of his own subpar performances and lack of run support. "Sometimes there are things to overcome. You hope it all pays off later."

GM Brian Cashman tried to temper expectations when each pitcher got to the majors, but believed they could both be a significant part of the future.

"We hoped," Cashman said. "They had big arms and so you look at them as potential long-term difference makers. But you realize how difficult it is. Between injuries and the difficulty of trying to perform at a high level, it's almost impossible. Hopefully, we've got more chapters to write with them."

When asked if those chapters could take place in The Bronx, Cashman said: "Time will tell. Their storyline here isn't over."

Chamberlain doesn't spend much time wondering what could have been.

"So much has happened since '07 — good, bad and indifferent," said Chamberlain, who still gets plenty of strikeouts, but gives up considerably more baserunners since returning from Tommy John surgery. "It really all runs together. We've both been through it all, pretty much."

So he looks across town at the Mets' hard-throwing, right-handed phenoms, Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler, and shakes his head.

"It sounds so familiar," said Chamberlain, who is friends with Harvey. "I've lived through all that, so I know sometimes, things happen. You try to do too much and you get in your own way and you end up trying to get back to where you were."

dan.martin@nypost.com

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Yankees on deck at Dodgers

TONIGHT — 10:10

LHP Andy Pettitte (7-8, 4.39) vs. RHP Zack Greinke

(8-3, 3.49)

TOMORROW — 10:10 P.M.

RHP Hiroki Kuroda (10-6, 2.51) vs. LHP Clayton Kershaw

(10-6, 1.96)

Both games on YES, WCBS (880 AM)

INSIDE THE MATCHUPS

YANKEES: Pettitte's previous start was a much needed reprieve from a troubling slew of poor outings, as he scattered eight hits and let up two runs in six innings in a 3-1 loss to the Rangers. It marked his first start since June 8 that he allowed fewer than three runs, a seven-game streak during which he posted a 5.40 ERA.

DODGERS: Greinke is coming off a mediocre outing against the Reds, in which he gave up four runs over seven innings in a loss. But he had tossed three consecutive gems heading into that outing, all three Dodgers victories, as he surrendered just one run in 22 innings (0.41 ERA).

STAT SO?

YANKEES: On Sunday, the Yankees won in a game in which they scored more than four runs, improving to 33-3 this season when scoring five or more. In games in which they produce four or fewer, though, the Bombers are 22-47.

DODGERS: The Dodgers might still be in good spirits after Sunday's emotional 1-0 victory over the Reds, a game in which phenom Yasiel Puig slammed a walk-off home run. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Puig's homer was the first walk-off for a Cuban player in a scoreless game in MLB history.

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Time Warner drops CBS, then halts decision

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Time Warner Cable has quickly stopped plans to remove CBS from its lineup in three major markets after initially announcing it would drop the network following a fee dispute.

Not long after Time Warner released a statement late Monday saying customers would lose the network at 12 a.m. EDT, it said it halted its plans at the broadcaster's request. The cable company did not immediately provide further details.

About 3 million customers in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas could potentially be affected by the spat, which centers mainly on how much Time Warner Cable pays for the right to retransmit signals from the CBS-owned stations.

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A-Rod attorney: Appeal will shred documents, Bosch’s credibility

TAMPA — While Alex Rodriguez spent time hitting yesterday, we learned considerably more about his defense.

Major League Baseball isn't impressed. And baseball is so offended by A-Rod's alleged behavior it might try to keep him off the field immediately.

With MLB set to bring down the suspension hammer on Rodriguez and other Biogenesis suspects as soon as tomorrow, his attorney, David Cornwell, offered a glimpse yesterday of how the beleaguered Yankees' third baseman intends to appeal such a penalty. The Post reported Sunday that MLB is leaning toward suspending A-Rod for the duration of the 2013 season and all of 2014, as it would be difficult to defend a life sentence in front of arbitrator Fredric Horowitz.

Reuters

HERE'S THE CATCH: Alex Rodriguez works out in Tampa yesterday while his attorney laid out his defense plan.

Cornwell, who made his name in baseball by successfully defending Ryan Braun's positive drug test last year, told Stephen A. Smith of ESPN NY Radio he expects Rodriguez to challenge his imminent suspension and focused his criticism on the documents (featuring the names of Rodriguez and other ballplayers) that appeared originally in the Miami New Times.

"What's been made public are various documents that a disgruntled ex-employee of Biogenesis allegedly stole," Cornwell said, referring to Porter Fischer. "I would imagine we'll spend some time talking with the arbitrator about the documents and things of that nature. Their authenticity, their relevancy, the reliability — all of the things that typically arise in an adversarial proceeding will be the basis of our defense of Alex in his appeal hearing."

While the New Times' publication of these documents publicized the Biogenesis case, MLB officials believe that they have gathered enough other, superior evidence from Biogenesis owner Anthony Bosch — most notably direct communication between Bosch and Rodriguez — that Fischer's credibility is a moot issue.

Asked yesterday what would constitute a victory, Cornwell replied, "No discipline."

Of Bosch, Cornwell said, "Obviously, they [baseball officials] believe that he's credible. I have my concerns. But what's most important is whether or not arbitrator Horowitz will believe that he's credible or not. And that's something we will present in a hearing room, not through the media."

The Associated Press reported last night that baseball could look to suspend A-Rod, who is suspected of obstructing MLB's investigation into Biogenesis, under baseball's collective bargaining agreement, rather than its Joint Drug Agreement. Unlike the JDA, the CBA doesn't allow for automatic stays under suspensions, and since obstruction in and of itself isn't a drug-related penalty, this could be a viable avenue that would spare MLB the embarrassment of Rodriguez playing with the Yankees while a suspension hangs over him.

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Jeter opens with HR, Sori closes in ninth

If Jorge Posada ever wanted to come out of retirement, now might be the time.

Derek Jeter, in the first game of his second comeback of the season, hit a home run on the first pitch he saw and Alfonso Soriano delivered a game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth in the Yankees' 6-5 win over the Rays in The Bronx yesterday — although it looked a lot like 2003. Even Hideki Matsui was honored in a pre-game ceremony.

"It was fun to be back," Jeter said.

Jeter originally returned from a twice-fractured left ankle on July 11, but didn't make it through the game before straining his right quad.

AP

IT'S AL OVER: Alfonso Soriano, in his third day back in pinstripes, is mobbed after lining the game-winning single in the ninth inning of the Yankees' 6-5 win over the Rays at the Stadium.

Yesterday went considerably better.

He swung at the first pitch he saw from Rays lefty Matt Moore and drilled it into the right-center-field seats.

"What do you expect?" Andy Pettitte said. "He just waves the magic wand. You're thinking, 'He'll probably get a hit here,' and then it's a home run. It was cool, but he does cool stuff."

The homer helped spark a three-run first inning and was the first by a Yankees right-handed hitter since June 26.

"We need contributions from a lot of people, not just [me]," said Jeter, who went largely untested at shortstop and tried to adhere to the team's wishes and not run full speed at all times to protect his leg for the next few days.

"It's not like I'm some savior coming here, and all of a sudden we're just going to start winning every day. Everybody has to contribute. Hopefully we can start a streak."

After Phil Hughes coughed up the lead on Wil Myers' three-run homer in the third, Soriano answered with a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning.

Hughes surrendered a solo shot to Myers to start the fifth, tying the game at 5-5 before Soriano came up with the biggest hit of the day.

After Brett Gardner led off the ninth with a walk against lefty Jake McGee and moved to second on a wild pitch, Jeter was walked intentionally. Robinson Cano struck out looking, bringing up Soriano.

The 37-year-old went hitless in his first eight at-bats after being traded to the Yankees on Friday, but he made it up for that with four yesterday.

His single up the middle scored Gardner from second, made a winner of Mariano Rivera (2-2) and prevented the three-game sweep as the Yankees prepare to go on an eight-game road trip that begins tomorrow against the Dodgers.

Including Rivera's perfect ninth, the bullpen threw four scoreless innings in relief of Hughes, winless in his past four outings.

"When I see Mariano pitching, Jeter hitting and me, it feels like old times," Soriano said. "But it's the present."

The Yankees would like it to stay that way. They have learned the hard way this season that good news is often followed by bad, so it was encouraging Jeter survived the game with no complaint.

"I hope he feels good and we keep him healthy and the next two months here he helps us down the stretch," Pettitte said.

Like many of the veteran Yankees, Soriano's best days are behind him, but the player Pettitte described as "one of the most exciting players I've ever played [with]" provided some much-needed righty pop yesterday.

"This was a very important game for us," Ichiro Suzuki, who had four hits, said through a translator. "It feels like a new team was born today."

dan.martin@nypost.com

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Dramatic return: Derek Jeter launches HR on the first pitch he sees following injury

Joe Girardi was on the field Opening Day in Cleveland in 1996, Derek Jeter's first workday as the everyday shortstop for the Yankees, when Jeter clobbered a home run off Dennis Martinez, and then saved the game for David Cone with an over-the-shoulder catch.

Girardi was in the dugout two years ago when Jeter launched one off David Price that landed in the left-field bleachers, a forever way to collect hit No. 3,000. He has seen so many other moments from afar: the home run leading off Game 3 of the Subway Series in 2000, The Flip a year later, the Mr. November home run.

Paul J. Bereswill

RETURN, PART 2: Derek Jeter rounds the bases in The Bronx after launching the first pitch he saw in his second return from the disabled list for an opposite-field home run.

On and on and on, a Hollywood highlight reel.

"He's a movie," Girardi said.

This was after the Yankees had salvaged the final game of a series with the Rays, 6-5, Alfonso Soriano completing his own stylish script by driving in the game-winning run with a walk-off single after hitting a critical homer of his own earlier in the game.

If you can call any game in July critical, this felt critical, the Rays looking primed to lap the AL East and leave everyone tasting tire tracks, the Yankees trying to hang around the playoff picture.

So of course it would coincide with Jeter's second return of the season, 17 days after the first one, and of course Jeter would be the one presenting the team gift to the guest of honor on Hideki Matsui Day (and getting the bigger ovation when he popped out of the dugout to do so).

And, of course …

"What was I thinking? Just swing," he would say later, "and fortunately it was a fastball up."

It was a fastball up from Matt Moore, who only has been one of the two or three best pitchers in the American League this year, and soon it was a moonball out toward the gap in right-center, bisecting Desmond Jennings and Wil Myers, looking like a sure double off the wall until — of course — it wound up clearing the wall.

Jeter has never needed a ghostwriter. He gets it right all by himself, his whole career, a scrapbook of moments and memories deeper and thicker than any 50 careers you can conjure that keeps growing and expanding and bursting.

"You think about how he got his 3,000th hit," Girardi said. "And we haven't hit a right-handed home run in months [actually a month and three days, though for Girardi it probably seemed like a lot longer since Jayson Nix took Texas' Yu Darvish deep 434 at-bats previously] … and then he comes back and does it the first game back."

His first at-bat back. On the first pitch he saw.

Only one word applied, and Girardi used it again.

"A movie," the manager said.

There have been hundreds of chapters and thousands of verses written about the indescribable but inescapable jolt Jeter has given the Yankees going back to the beginning, back to Jacobs Field and 1996, and all of them are true. You could see all of them at the Stadium yesterday, from the extra hop in Robinson Cano's step to the child-like way Soriano sought out Jeter at game's end to enjoy their first win together since Game 3 of the 2003 World Series.

"Like old time's sake," Jeter said.

But it has always been Jeter's tangibles that have been more useful to the Yankees than his intangibles, and not just when he decides to slip into Roy Hobbs' spikes for extra dramatic effect.

"He changes our lineup," Girardi said, and that's certainly one huge impact his addition will make.

But he changes something else, too.

"People get used to seeing me," Jeter said, shrugging his shoulders. "I've been fortunate. I've been here for a lot of moments. I enjoy playing regardless of if it's April, October, November … I like to play, and I like to help us win."

The Yankees need to do some winning, and a lot of it, in the days and weeks ahead, out on the West Coast this week and then back home later on, with a schedule that isn't exactly forgiving, 57 games to leap over a couple of teams and elbow their way into October. One game doesn't solve everything. They are still only 55-50.

But they are 2-0 with Jeter in the lineup as they head for Los Angeles, head for Hollywood, and could there possibly be a better immediate destination than that for The Captain and his crew?

michael.vaccaro@nypost.com

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Waiting for a surge, underachieving Nats not in selling mode

The Nationals were humiliated 11-0 Friday in the opener of a doubleheader against the Mets. That dropped the Nationals a season-high-tying five games under .500, 8 1/2 games out of first place and further into the conversation for biggest underachievers of 2013.

A few days earlier hitting coach Rick Eckstein had been fired, a decision manager Davey Johnson opposed so much he told Mike Rizzo that the GM could fire him instead. Later that night struggling former closer Drew Storen was optioned to Triple-A and teammate Tyler Clippard came out and blasted the organization for how Storen was treated.

Getty Images

WAITING GAME: With young stars like Bryce Harper, the Nationals aren't ready to give up on the season.

So the Nats were a story of disappointment, discord and despair.

But here is something also to remember — a story of talent. That was on better display as Washington won the next three games against the Mets, allowing three runs in total.

An opposing scout, in fact, said Washington is the most obvious team currently with a losing record capable of "pulling a Dodgers," which is to say putting together a sustained run of excellence to get from below .500 to the top of a division. When reached yesterday by phone, Rizzo offered the same observation, saying, "We haven't had our run yet, and I think we are talented enough to have a Dodger-type run."

That is why with the trade deadline approaching the Nationals are still in buy mode — but mainly for bench help. Because their frontline players — at least on paper — still look so good.

Washington, however, remains one of six teams that began the year in go-for-it-mode that reached trade deadline week in crisis. The Yankees, Blue Jays, Giants, Phillies and Angels are the others. You could arguably add the Rangers, who have endured big pitching injuries and have had their offense shut down.

Of that group, the sense is Toronto will sell, and over the weekend the Phils and the Angels pushed into that group, as well — at least for pieces such as Philadelphia's Michael Young (the Yankees have some interest still) and Los Angeles lefty reliever Scott Downs. The Giants were also leaning that way, particularly to see if with so many clubs in dire need of righty power (the Yankees and Rangers among them), some team might be willing to make a big bid for free-agent-to-be Hunter Pence.

The Yanks and Nationals are the only members of that group showing no inclination to sell. Yes, the Yankees would move Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes if they could get a positive return, but they would not see that as surrendering on 2013. Rizzo said the Natioanals also could potentially sell, but only to enhance the current team. He did say his policy at the deadline has been that any acquisition should not be a rental and, thus, could help Washington beyond this year.

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With MLB ban days away, A-Rod smiles after quad workout

TAMPA — Despite a looming suspension, A-Rod is putting up a strong public front.

Alex Rodriguez gave a small group of reporters a thumbs-up and a large grin as he drove past following a brief workout to rehab his strained left quadriceps muscle yesterday at Steinbrenner Field.

His current predicament, however, is no laughing matter.

The embattled slugger, who has not played for the Yankees this year after offseason left hip surgery, could soon be handed a suspension for the rest of this season and all of next season as there are strong indications Major League Baseball will announce penalties in the Biogenesis case this week, possibly as soon as today, The Post's Joel Sherman and Ken Davidoff reported yesterday.

FLIP ATTITUDE: Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez, his MLB suspension imminent, continued light on-field workouts in Tampa, then smiled to reporters on the way out yesterday.

It has been baseball's plan to announce simultaneously the suspensions of the 15-plus players who are believed to be facing penalties in the performance-enhancing drug case. The league went ahead with the suspension of Brewers slugger Ryan Braun only because he agreed to accept a penalty of 65 games without an appeal.

Rodriguez's representatives met with MLB officials last week, sources told The Post, to get a better understanding of the penalties Rodriguez could be facing. However, a member of Rodriguez's camp said it is "unequivocally untrue" that Rodriguez is seeking a settlement.

It is believed Rodriguez's punishment will surpass Braun's. MLB believes it has more evidence against A-Rod than it did against Braun, and also thinks A-Rod obstructed the investigation.

A lifetime ban seems unlikely, because Rodriguez has not been suspended previously in his career, though commissioner Bud Selig could ask for one knowing an arbitrator — if Rodriguez appealed the suspension — would lower it to an acceptable length.

As a way to levy a sanction that would not be reduced, there is the belief that Selig will request the rest of this year and all of next year. That could, in effect, end Rodriguez's playing career as it would seem far-fetched a player in deteriorating health could not play this season or next and come back in 2015.

Rodriguez is owed $61 million from 2015-17, which might be a reason for him to accept such a penalty, protecting the future salary.

For now, Rodriguez still is working to rejoin the Yankees. He hit off a tee and took soft toss in the bowels of Steinbrenner Field before playing catch and taking ground balls in a stationary position in the rain-soaked outfield — similar to the light baseball drills he went through on Saturday, his 38th birthday, at the Yankees' minor league complex.

The plan for Rodriguez, general manager Brian Cashman has said, is to play in a simulated or minor league game on Thursday. If Rodriguez appeals the suspension that is expected this week, he can keep playing until his appeal is heard.

It has been an eventful week for Rodriguez, who has clashed with the Yankees over his quad, releasing a statement that he was ready to join the team on Friday and sending his MRI results to Hackensack University Medical Center orthopedist Michael Gross (who touted Rodriguez's good health) without the Yankees' knowledge. Rodriguez also went on WFAN without the team's consent, and when asked whether he trusts the Yankees, said, "I'd rather not get into that."

Cashman shot back on Friday, challenging Rodriguez to file a grievance regarding his quad, which he has yet to do.

Rodriguez, alas, has not acted like a healthy player with two extremely light workouts that cast doubt on his readiness to play on Thursday.

But, as it turns out, that may not matter. Rodriguez has bigger problems that his health.

zbraziller@nypost.com

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Hughes going home to Cali after Rays’ homer rally

After twice surrendering the lead yesterday in what emerged as his fourth straight winless start, Yankees right-hander Phil Hughes is welcoming a road trip to his native California where he can exhale, relax and clear his mind.

And then hopefully make his next start as a Yankee.

"I surely hope so," Hughes said. "That's my plan."

With free agency beckoning this off-season — and the non-waiver trade deadline looming Wednesday — Hughes' future with the Yankees is uncertain. He could be like the majority of folks and sit and fret. Or he can take that California approach and simply go with the flow.

"Things not in my control, I don't concern myself with. As far as I'm concerned, I'm here to help us win," said Hughes, who pitched four-plus innings, surrendering nine hits and five runs, twice being victimized for homers by Rays rookie Wil Myers.

"I'll be going home, have an off-day at home, which is good, kind of relax, take my mind off things for a while. I don't really think about the deadline or anything like that. It's out of my control. I just have to worry about what I'm going to do five days from now or six days from now."

When he hopes he still will have the interlocking NY on his hat.

The Yankees gave Hughes a 3-0 lead in the first. After surrendering a second-inning run, Hughes was touched by Myers for a three-run bomb in the third. Alfonso Soriano hit a two-run homer to put the Yankees back ahead, 5-4, but Myers took Hughes the other way in the fifth to make it 5-5. One walk later, Hughes exited. He wound up with a no-decision in the 6-5 Yankees victory, but his ERA rose to 4.58.

"The big blow was the three-run homer on a slider I left out over the plate," Hughes said. "The solo homer was a first-pitch fastball. I don't second-guess that one that much. It's disappointing to have a lead and give it away twice.

"I thought overall, I located decently today other than obviously the two balls that didn't come back. Mechanically, I was in and out of sync. The couple I missed on hurt pretty bad. I felt pretty good in the first inning, but after that, I left balls up in the zone."

fred.kerber@nypost.com

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MLB bans in PED case likely to drop this week; A-Rod's could keep him out until 2015

The strong indications are Major League Baseball will announce all the suspensions in the Biogenesis case this week, including one that could cover the rest of this year and all of next season for Alex Rodriguez, The Post has learned.

It always has been MLB's plan to announce the suspensions at one time for the 15-plus players believed to be facing sanctions in the performance-enhancing drug case. MLB went early with Ryan Braun's suspension because of his willingness to accept the penalty without appeal.

It is expected other players will do the same this week. To that end, Rodriguez's representatives met with MLB officials in the past few days, The Post has learned. It is believed A-Rod's camp was trying to gain a better understanding of potential penalties. However, a member of Rodriguez's team told The Post yesterday it is "unequivocally untrue" that Rodriguez is seeking a settlement.

REUTERS

TIME RUNNING OUT: Alex Rodriguez was all smiles in Tampa yesterday on his 38th birthday, but he won't be smiling if commissioner Bud Selig hands down a significant suspension for A-Rod's reported involvement with the Biogenesis clinic.

It is believed MLB wants to make the suspensions formal this week before teams reach the point at which they have fewer than 50 games to play. The penalty for first-time offenders who fail a PED test is 50 games.

MLB apparently is willing to give the same sanction to first-time offenders in this case, in which the evidence does not come from a failed urine or blood exam, but rather from an investigation. The thinking is MLB wants to provide the first-time offenders this carrot: Don't appeal and you can serve the entire suspension this year and start with a clean slate for next season.

Rodriguez does not fit into this category. It has become evident MLB is going to demand Rodriguez's punishment far exceed Braun's. That is because MLB believes the combination of being a user and obstructing the case demands a much stiffer penalty — especially because Rodriguez has admitted to previous drug use from 2001-03 and because MLB believes Rodriguez subsequently lied to its investigators in previous interviews about his usage.

Bud Selig was at the Hall of Fame ceremonies in Cooperstown this week and was said still to be mulling what punishment to deliver Rodriguez. It is conceivable he could ask for permanent banishment, akin to Pete Rose. But the belief is no matter the level of evidence — and it has been portrayed that MLB has substantially more evidence on Rodriguez than it does on Braun — it would be hard to convince an arbitrator, if Rodriguez appeals, that Rodriguez's first suspension should be for life.

Keep in mind, though, that Selig could ask for life knowing the arbitrator could lower the punishment to a shorter duration — or even find that Rodriguez should not be punished at all.

But as a way to levy a sanction that will not be reduced, there was growing belief around baseball that Selig would request the rest of this season and all of next year.

That could be viewed as just about the death penalty for Rodriguez, at least for his playing career. He turned 38 yesterday. He has yet to play this year. The idea that he would not play this season or next season and come back able to play in 2015 after two hip surgeries seems farfetched.

The expectation was Rodriguez had hired a cavalry of lawyers, private investigators, crisis managers and spokesmen to fight any sanction. Publicly, his camp has been feisty — and more — in trying to mount a case that both MLB and the Yankees have tried to injure his reputation and keep him from playing.

The only reason, in theory, he would cease that strategy and accept a suspension would be if he felt the evidence was irrefutable and was seeking a way to protect as much of the roughly $97 million he is still owed on his record $275 million contract.

For example, Rodriguez is owed $61 million from 2015-17. Thus, if a punishment were offered to him that extended through 2014, he might accept that to protect the $61 million. If he does accept the punishment, though, the Yankees could try to mount a case to void the rest of the deal based on fraud (a team cannot punish a player for illegal drug use; only the commissioner can do that).

If Rodriguez fights the suspension, he apparently is going to have to counter — among other things — alleged communications between him and the Biogenesis kingpin Tony Bosch that delineate usage of PEDs. It is believed that is just part of MLB's case and also that MLB will limit the scope of its suspension attempts to proving Rodriguez used PEDs and worked diligently to try to prevent MLB from finding evidence of that.

There was some anticipation that MLB might go after Rodriguez for serving as kind of a Pied Piper for Biogenesis or financially supporting the clinic, but it appears that will not be the case.

joel.sherman@nypost.com

kdavidoff@nypost.com

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JPP may not be ready for Big Blue opener

Training camp has started for the Giants but not for Jason Pierre-Paul, who is here in body but not so much in spirit.

"Honestly, I don't feel a part of the team now with them being out there and doing all the work they are doing,'' Pierre-Paul said yesterday. "I will be on the sideline through it all.''

It brings a shudder to the Giants and their fans to think of Pierre-Paul as not part of the team, but for now, that's the way it is. Pierre-Paul called having a back problem "a really, really horrible thing to have,'' and although he says he no longer is in any pain following surgery and estimates he is 75 percent healthy, he offered no promise he will be ready to play in the Sept. 8 regular-season opener in Dallas.

Ron Antonelli

Jason Pierre-Paul

"A back is a really, really horrible thing to have, back surgery period, and you don't want to rush back,'' Pierre-Paul said before the Giants hit the field for their first practice of camp. "I'm not concentrating on the first game, the second game, the third game, fourth game, fifth game, sixth game. I'm just trying to come back when I feel like I'm ready to come back.''

That's not exactly what Giants fans want to hear from their star defensive end, but that is the reality of the situation. Pierre-Paul is just 24 years old, but on June 4 underwent a microdiscetomy to repair a herniated disc in his lower back. The Giants at the time estimated his recovery time at 12 weeks, which kept alive the hope JPP could find his way back to the field for the first game. That could happen, but it's far more likely it won't, and he is not making any guarantees.

"I don't know, only time can tell,'' Pierre-Paul said. "It's all on me to recover. I can't promise nothing. I can't say I will be back for the season opener."

After his overwhelming 2011 season, when he erupted for 161/2 sacks and was a terror virtually every game, Pierre-Paul's sacks last season dropped to 61/2. He said in order to not miss any games, he took three epidural injections to dull the pain in his lower back and clearly was not physically able to inflict his usual damage. He said it was painful when he got down into his stance, and his back also hurt when he drove in a car for more than 30 minutes or simply when he stood up.

He hoped strengthening his core would alleviate the problem, but the pain persisted this spring and he finally opted for surgery.

"When I went to see the doctor he told me I had weakness in my right leg, which I never noticed,'' Pierre-Paul said.

As expected, Pierre-Paul started training camp on the physically unable to perform list and it appears he will stay on the PUP for the duration of camp. He said he weighs 280 pounds, up from the 273 pounds he was before the surgery, but he appears to be in shape and says he is rehabbing as hard as possible.

"I'd say what he's allowed to do he does well,'' coach Tom Coughlin said.

"Obviously he's a tremendous football player and we want him to be great,'' general manager Jerry Reese said. "He's coming off the back injury. But we think he can be a terrific player like he's been in the past and we expect that from him.''

For now, Mathias Kiwanuka is lining up in JPP's spot on the defensive line. The Giants do not want to consider their defense without Pierre-Paul, but for now they must.

"The whole discomfort is gone,'' Pierre-Paul said. "When I sit down I don't have that pain anymore. When I'm standing up I don't have that pain. I can stand up straight. Basically everything is gone. That's a good thing. I'm doing pretty good."

paul.schwartz@nypost.com

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Reese: Missing playoffs ‘below our standards’

Steve Serby

You never forget the sights and sounds of a ride up the Canyon of Heroes, and Giants general manager Jerry Reese already has been in two of them with Eli Manning and coach Tom Coughlin.

But in the cutthroat world of the NFL, you also never forget the anguish of a season ending without an invitation to the Tournament and watching others play for the Lombardi Trophy three times in the past four years. You never forget watching an underachieving team that forgets how to Play Like Giants, especially down the stretch.

In and around the Quest Diagnostics Training Center, it is no longer merely a goal to push long and hard for a Super Bowl championship. It is now a mandate. A playoffs-or-bust mandate.

Ron Antonelli

AIMING HIGH: : Giants GM Jerry Reese says there's "a sense of urgency" for Big Blue this season, and falling short of the NFL playoffs is "really not acceptable for us."

"I got a couple of numbers that have been bouncing around in my head," Reese said in a State Of The Giants Address. "The No. 1 number is 190 —that's 190 days 'till the Super Bowl is played in MetLife Stadium over there. That makes me think about the sense of urgency for our team. And the other number is the number 1. And that is, we've been to the playoffs one time in the last four years. That's really not acceptable for us. That's below our standards. That's not what we shoot for.

"We want to put everybody on notice — myself, everybody's on notice that that's not our standards."

The Giants have and will be made aware that it is 190 days and counting to Super Bowl XLVIII.

"We're going to put up in the locker room a countdown, so guys can see how urgent it is to be ready to go every week," Reese said. "You can't let games get away from you and expect to make it to the playoffs. So we've got to have a sense of urgency going into this season."

The Giants need no reminders their stadium, the one they share with the Jets, will play host to the first New York-New Jersey Super Bowl.

"It's a great motivator," Reese told The Post, "to look over there and say, 'Let's be the first team to go over there and play in your own stadium. We walk out here in practice every day, you look at that stadium, you know the Super Bowl is going to be there, so that's a great reminder for us every day."

During his first address to the 2013 Giants on Friday night, Coughlin brought up the site of Super Bowl XLVIII.

"He said that gives us added motivation, but you shouldn't have to look at that as your only motivation," one Giant said. "He even said, 'Even if it's on the moon, that should be where you want to be at the end of the year.'"

Coughlin showed a picture of Phil Mickelson holding his British Open trophy.

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Rodriguez spends 38th rehabbing

TAMPA — If Alex Rodriguez had his wish, he would have celebrated his 38th birthday Saturday in The Bronx in front of thousands of Yankees fans playing against the American League East-leading Rays.

Instead, he was on the back fields of the Yankees' minor league complex, taking baby steps in yet another attempted comeback.

If his left quadriceps muscle is OK — as he made it seem in his actions this week, including tweeting he was ready to return Friday at Yankee Stadium and sending his MRI exam to Hackensack University Medical Center orthopedist Michael Gross, who touted A-Rod's good health — his first step back onto a field since Quad-Gate began was odd.

Rodriguez did very little in the way of baseball activity for approximately 40 minutes. Hopefully for A-Rod, who has yet to play for the Yankees this season after offseason hip surgery, the rest of his birthday was more eventful.

The embattled slugger, in danger of being suspended by Major League Baseball due to his alleged involvement in the Biogenesis performance-enhancing drug scandal, fielded 17 ground balls on the infield grass in a stationary position, lightly jogged in the outfield — though he rarely ran hard in minor league games during his 20-day rehabilitation assignment — played catch briefly and hit off a tee in an indoor batting cage. He spent as much time applying pine tar to a bat as he did swinging it as the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Yankees faced the Braves on the main field.

He went back inside the facility after girlfriend Torrie Wilson showed up in his black Maybach with three dogs that combined couldn't have weighed more than 10 pounds. At 12:40 p.m, he hopped into the fancy sports car, 3 hours and 10 minutes after he arrived, and Wilson, wearing neon-green shorts, sped off with Rodriguez, who did not stop to address reporters or sign autographs for the six fans who came to watch him.

One of them, 61-year-old Joe Sagginario of Wilmauma, Fla., brought a white "Happy Birthday, Alex" sign along with balloons. Rodriguez did wave to Sagginario on his way into the facility and out of it, and thanked the retired data processing executive, originally from Valley Stream, N.Y., for the gesture. Sagginario and his 26-year-old son, also named Joe, are firmly in Rodriguez's corner.

"I came out for support," said the elder Sagginario, who arrived at the complex at 9 a.m. with his son and sat in the oppressive heat for more than four hours. "It's his birthday, the guy's going through heck. And I came out here to support him. I'd stand out here for six hours if I had to. ... I'm a die-hard Yankee fan. I love the Yankees. I've been a Yankee fan since 1959. You cut my veins, I bleed blue. But they're wrong here, the way they're treating the guy. So he's involved in Biogenesis, it's not like he killed somebody or something.

"If [Raul] Ibanez can hit 24 home runs at 41, he's got something left in the tank. I just hope [Rodriguez] has the opportunity to show everybody. He gets a raw deal, he's vilified."

The Yankees surely could use the A-Rod of old after dropping their second straight to the Rays and falling eight games behind the AL East leaders in the loss column. They have received paltry production from seven different third basemen this year, numbers even a diminished Rodriguez should easily surpass.

The plan is for Rodriguez to play in either a simulated or minor league game on Thursday, after a full week of rehabbing in Tampa, he and general manager Brian Cashman have said in recent days.

The process began in earnest yesterday — albeit extremely slowly.

zbraziller@nypost.com

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Serby's special Sunday Q & A with hall-of-fame-bound coach... Bill Parcells

Legendary coach Bill Parcells, before his Hall of Fame induction next week, sat down with Post columnist Steve Serby for some Q&A.

Q: John Madden once said that the Hall of Fame busts talk to each other at night. Who will your bust seek out?

A: That's really an easy question. Certainly I'd be keeping an eye on [Lawrence] Taylor (smile). And Harry Carson, of course. The players that I coached that are in there: Curtis Martin, [Andre] Tippett, those guys. And then Wellington [Mara]. And then the guys that helped me get going in the business — Al Davis, Tom Landry and Chuck Noll. ... And the personnel guys, none of those are in there, but there were three or four of them that helped me too: Gil Brandy, Mike Holovak, Bucko Kilroy, and of course, Ron Wolf. ... My contemporaries: Joe Gibbs, Bill Walsh, Marv Levy — those were the guys that I was competing against all the time that are in there.

AP

Former NFL head coach and general manager Bill Parcells

Q: What do you think your bust would say to Wellington?

A: Thanks for everything. Stuff like that. I'm gonna say something at the end of my talk that involves Wellington, so I can't say it now.

Q: Why did you pick former Giants defensive end George Martin to present you?

A: A lot of people have asked me that. Basically he was a very important player for me at the beginning of my career, at my formative years as a head coach in the NFL. He was my co-captain with Harry, and he was my player representative, and he was a conduit of information to the players and vice versa, in a time when there not rules and regulations that are in place now, to handle certain situations. So we had to kinda figure this out together, and he was very supportive in that regard. And quite frankly, I'm not certain that I would have ever gotten to go forward in the business without his help.

Q: Can you elaborate?

A: I can just say that he supported me — and his teammates — that was the balancing act that he had to do.

Q: A Bill Parcells football player would be described how in the dictionary, 25 words or less?

A: Smart ... tough ... committed ... in condition ... and the same guy every day. And I probably would say ... unselfish would be an important word for me too. And I'll say this at my speech, and I don't mind you saying this: I had the right guys at the right time. ... That was a rough and tumble crew now, people don't realize. ... There were some football players in that group. ... You were not awed by their skill level, some of them. But those attributes you couldn't see, they had 'em - - the [Maurice] Carthons and the [Jim] Burts, and those guys.

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Have cool fun on a hot day at 5 NYC area water parks

Alexander Michael

Get your chills and thrills on the Patriot's Plunge at Breakwater Beach.

BREAKWATER BEACH

800 Ocean Terrace, Seaside Heights, NJ

Local beefcakes and families with tweens flock to the Jersey Shore's Breakwater Beach, a compact, 2-acre water park that, while small in size, packs plenty of punch. Fifteen slides provide exhilarating experiences for the little ones, while parents relax on the half-mile lazy river.

Top Thrill: The six-lane racing slide Patriot's Plunge sees daredevils water-sledding headfirst on racing-striped foam mats, covering 100 feet in 10 seconds. "I felt like Superman," says 10-year-old Toms River resident Brandon Feigin, before getting back in line to ride again.

Other Fun: The park's newest attraction, Two If By Sea, sends tubers down racing rapids in single or double tubes in and out of giant water bowls before spitting them out backwards at the end. Kids love the Perfect Storm, a waterinfused giant jungle gym complete with a ship-shaped bucket that, when filled to the brim, topples over, drenching revelers underneath. A go-kart track also provides fun for those wishing to keep their britches dry.

Snacks: Feast at one of two grilling stations with burgers ($5.25) and "Texas approved" barbecue ribs ($7.25), then treat yourself to a Dippin' Dots sundae with M&Ms, chocolate syrup and whipped cream ($6.50).

Wet Word to the Wise: Bare feet are the norm, but the cement ground can be scorching, so bring flip-flops.

General Info: $31.95 for adults, $25.95 for kids under 4 feet; casinopiernj. com; 732-793-6488; open daily; NJ Transit bus from Penn Station to Seaside Heights ($45 roundtrip) stops at Central Avenue, walk north four blocks to Grant Avenue, turn east and walk two blocks to park.

Alexander Michael

Fly through jungle terrain and drop into the water at Mountain Creek's Tarzan Swing.

MOUNTAIN CREEK

200 Route 94, Vernon, NJ

Built into the side of a mountain, the family-run water park uses natural landscapes and fresh spring water to create action-packed experiences unlike any other.

Top Thrill: Though simple in nature, the fear felt before stepping off the rocky ledge of the 23-foot-tall Canyon Cliff Jump is unparalleled. Taylor Schroeper, a 16-year-old Sparta, NJ, resident, was supposed to jump at the same time as her boyfriend, but didn't. "I left him hanging," she admits. "I looked over the edge, and I couldn't go [at first]. It was scary on the way down because you've got no control."

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Gunman among 7 dead after Fla. apartment shootout

HIALEAH, Fla. — Police say a gunman who barricaded himself with hostages inside a South Florida apartment complex has killed six people before being shot to death by a SWAT team.

Sgt. Eddie Rodriguez tells The Associated Press the hours-long standoff began around 6:30 p.m. in a five-story building in Hialeah, just a few miles north of Miami.

He says the bodies of most of the victims were found throughout the apartment complex after police arrived. Another man was killed across the street when the gunman allegedly spotted him and took aim.

Rodriguez says the two hostages the man took were unharmed. Before the shootout, police had been able to communicate with the gunman.

Rodriguez says police were still investigating the motive and identifying the gunman and victims.

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Dozens killed in pro-Morsi clashes in Egypt

AP

Supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi carry an injured man to a field hospital following clashes with security forces at Nasr City.

CAIRO — Overnight clashes between security forces and supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi in east Cairo left at least 38 protesters dead on Saturday, a doctor at the demonstrators' field hospital said. They followed a day of massive pro-military rallies backing a tough hand against Morsi's backers and the Muslim Brotherhood group from which he hails.

The violence close to the Morsi supporters' month-old sit-in near the Rabaah al-Adawiyah Mosque in east Cairo is one of the deadliest bouts of violence in Egypt's turmoil following the 2011 popular uprising. It also comes almost three weeks after more than 50 people, mostly demonstrators, died in a similar outbreak of violence outside a military installation near the same sit-in.

Doctor Yehia Mikkia said Saturday's casualties — mostly gunshot and birdshot wounds to the upper part of the body — have overwhelmed the hospital operating from the sit-in. He said the number of death is likely to be higher because other casualties were transported to different hospitals.

The state news agency MENA quoted an unnamed senior security official saying that the security forces had not used gunfire against the protesters, only tear gas. He said security forces tried to prevent fighting between residents of the area and the protesters, and that eight members of the security forces were wounded, including some by birdshot.

The bodies of over 12 men were shrouded in white clothes, lying in pools of blood, were laid on the floor of the field hospital in images broadcast by Al-Jazeera Mubashir Misr TV. Mikkia said hundreds were wounded.

Health ministry officials were not immediately available for comment.

MENA said clashes continued into the morning, albeit at a lower intensity. It said Morsi supporters pelted security forces with rocks and firebombs, while security closed off the road with barbed wire and responded with tear gas.

The clashes started after police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of Morsi supporters who tried to extend the sit-in outside the Rabaah al-Adawiyah mosque into a major boulevard.

Morsi's Brotherhood and other Islamist groups had called for a rally in the area to counteract other protests called by the head of the armed forces Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi , who urged Egyptians to give him a mandate to stop "potential terrorism" by supporters of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood

The military's supporters dwarfed those of the former president, and appeared to be the largest crowds yet on Egypt's streets during the country's two-and-a-half years of turmoil. They filled the streets of some cities that had previously seen next to no street demonstrations.

As crowds gathered, authorities announced that Morsi was formally placed under investigation on a host of allegations including murder and conspiracy with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Late Friday night, hundreds of Morsi supporters marched out of their main sit-in. The protesters set up tents on an adjoining boulevard, where they had intended to stay for at least three days, said Mahmoud Zaqzouq, a Brotherhood spokesman. Others marched out of the area toward an overpass. They were met with police tear gas. The police push was met by resistance from the protesters who lobbed rocks and stones at the forces.

Police spokesman Hani Abdel-Latif said earlier in the night that a group of pro-Morsi protesters tried to block a major overpass from the area, and were "dealt" with because the forces were trying to restore law and order.

But the clashes quickly turned bloody. At first, doctors said half a dozen were killed in the clashes, mostly by birdshots and some live ammunition. At the crack of dawn, the intensity of casualties increased and Mikkia said the field hospital was unable to cope with the influx.

A statement by the pro-Morsi sit-in, called the Anti-Coup Coalition, said el-Sissi's call was "inciting violence and hatred," and " is used as a cover for such heinous crimes of killings."

The rival demonstrations in Cairo were mostly peaceful into the evening, but clashes between supporters and opponents of Morsi left seven killed in the coastal city of Alexandria.

Rallies have often turned violent, with more than 180 people killed this month. The Morsi supporters and opponents blame each other for the bloodshed, and people in both camps have been seen carrying weapons.

The unrest, as well as claims that Islamist groups are stockpiling weapons and escalating attacks against troops in the Sinai, were used by the country's new military-backed rulers as a basis for demanding popular support.

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Man killed in Brooklyn motorcycle accident

A motorcycle accident in Brooklyn left one man dead yesterday afternoon, accor police said.

Officers responded to the accident around 5 p.m. in front of 740 East 91st street in East Flatbush. Upon arrival, they saw the remnants of a motorcycle accident, and eventually determined Denzel Lionel, 22, of Brooklyn, was travelling northbound on East 91st street when he struck an unoccupied parked Mercedes Benz, police said.

Lionel was taken to Brookdale Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

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Two people missing, four injured after Hudson River boat accident

Christopher Sadowski

Rescue crews search the Hudson River for two missing people.

Two people were missing and four more were injured after a boating accident last night on the Hudson River about 25 miles north of New York City, authorities said.

"There were four people transported [to hospitals] and two still missing," Orangetown Police Officer John Makara told The Post.

The two missing people are a man and a woman, Makara said.

"There was a lot of people that didn't look too conscious and a lot of people in neck braces. One guy, his face was covered in blood," said Anthony Apolito, 18, who watched the injured boaters carried onto shore by rescue workers.

"They were still stunned from the crash, they didn't know what was going on."

Christopher Sadowski

The accident happened about 25 miles north of New York City.

Coast Guard spokeswoman Ali Flockerzi said last night three of the boat's passengers were seriously injured and another was unconscious. There were six people aboard the boat, she said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the accident.

Christopher Sadowski

Ambulance crews assemble near the site of Friday's Hudson River boat accident.

The boat had left Piermont and was heading for Tarrytown, according to the Rockland Fire Department.

Flockerzi said multiple agencies were searching for the pair, including aviation units from the NYPD, State Police and the Westchester County Police's marine unit.

With Post Wire Services

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Pugh, Nassib sign contracts

Justin Pugh is aiming to claim a starting job on the Giants' offensive line and in order to do so he needs to be at his first training camp when it begins. The rookie assured himself of an on-time arrival when he signed a four-year contract yesterday, allowing him to report to camp this afternoon along with the rest of his new teammates.

The only unsigned Giants player is Ryan Nassib, a former teammate of Pugh's at Syracuse. Nassib, a quarterback selected in the fourth round, is expected to sign shortly. Nassib is the NFL's only unsigned player not drafted in the first round, but sometimes it takes longer to strike a deal with quarterbacks.

"It will get done,'' co-owner John Mara said.

As the 19th pick in the draft, Pugh signed what is expected to be a four-year deal worth $8.345 million. He figures to immediately challenge for the starting right-tackle job, a spot occupied by David Diehl, the longest-tenured Giants player who is entering his 11th season. Pugh might also get a shot at supplanting Kevin Boothe at left guard.

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Giants report to camp today with handful of question marks

The offseason for the Giants was fairly quiet. Some familiar faces exited, no marquee players arrived and the team and Victor Cruz engaged in prolonged but respectful contract talks. The sting of missing out on the playoffs in 2012 has cast a wide net over an organization that expects more out of itself and the need to do better accompanies the Giants into training camp.

Players report this afternoon, with the first practice set for tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. at the Giants practice facility, the newly named Quest Diagnostics Training Center. Here are five Giants-sized issues heading into camp:

Anthony J. Causi

Justin Tuck

RELOCATE THE SWAGGER

Defense, defense, where for art thou, defense? Everything crumbled last season and the only major addition is defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins. Osi Umenyiora is gone (signed with the Falcons) and Jason Pierre-Paul will likely spend all of camp on the physically unable to perform list following back surgery. This summer is all about reestablishing a defensive identity. Stalwarts Justin Tuck and Corey Webster must show there's something left in their tanks, Mathias Kiwanuka has to prove he's a legit full-time end, Prince Amukamara has to take the next step at cornerback and coordinator Perry Fewell has to turn some interesting pieces into a cohesive and forceful group.

THREE'S COMPANY

There are plenty of candidates and no sure things for the three starting linebacker jobs — a stunning and a bit of a scary development — with Chase Blackburn and Michael Boley no longer on the scene. It's likely Keith Rivers, Mark Herzlich and Jacquian Williams (if he's healthy) receive the first crack with the first-team defense, but Spencer Paysinger, Aaron Curry and Dan Connor also likely will get opportunities to run with the ones. Throw Kyle Bosworth into the mix and you've got some athletic potential but loads of questions and the possibility this unit is the weak link on defense.

GET LINED UP

One of the few bona fide position battles in camp is at right tackle, where veteran David Diehl, entering his 11th season with the Giants, tries to fend off the challenge of rookie first-round pick Justin Pugh. Given the way the Giants usually respect experience, figure Diehl lines up with the starting unit at the beginning of camp, though Pugh will get plenty of looks as well. Pugh is the future, but he might also be the present if he accelerates his development. Elsewhere on the offensive line, right guard Chris Snee (hip) and center David Baas (elbow) are coming off surgeries that figure to limit their time on the field at the start of camp.

BACKUP PLAN

The Giants traded up in the fourth round of the NFL Draft to grab Ryan Nassib, which means they like him and expect him to stick around. Nassib will be on the team come September, but in what capacity? It's not exactly back-page material, but this camp will feature a battle for backup quarterback, also known as the non-playing caddie for Eli Manning. Veteran David Carr is experienced, well-versed in the system and popular, but he will have to convince Tom Coughlin he is the better option should anything happen to Manning. Coughlin usually prefers to keep only two quarterbacks on the roster and, barring an unforeseen pitfall, Manning and Nassib are the two.

IGNITE THE FIREPOWER

There's a feeling this assemblage of talent around Manning could be the best he has ever had. The physical prowess is there, but with caveats attached. Is Hakeem Nicks ready to regain his place as one of the NFL's top receivers after an injury-slowed 2012 season? Is second-year Rueben Randle ready to emerge? Does the freakishly athletic David Wilson take command of the running back job and make the Giants look smart in allowing Ahmad Bradshaw to leave? Is new tight end Brandon Myers a flash in the pan or the real thing after his 79-catch year with the Raiders? Will Cruz and his $46 million contract still be the same hungry, motivated player?

paul.schwartz@nypost.com

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This circus act has turned A-Rod's career from remarkable to utterly ridiculous

We sat in the stands down the third base line at PNC Field in Moosic, Pa., on Sunday, and I told Alex Rodriguez something directly — not through intermediaries or sources or third parties — I have wanted to for a long time:

"The shame is we will never know what your career would have been had you stayed clean. Would you have been a 500 [homer]-500 [steal] guy? More? Less? I would have loved to see what someone with your talent would have been without ever touching steroids."

Rodriguez did not reply. I didn't expect one. This was just something I think about regularly with all the players, such as Barry Bonds and A-Rod, I perceive would have been great without performance-enhancing drug use. For greed, ego, insecurity or some cocktail of that and more, they didn't completely invest in their natural talents.

Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post

CLOWN PRINCE: Alex Rodriguez has spent more time fielding questions from reporters this season than on the field for the Yankees.

So this is where we are with A-Rod, admitted steroids user from 2001-04 and — if MLB investigators are to be believed — much longer and more recently than that. The MLB pursuit of Rodriguez has him putting on a public defense that is farcical and bizarre, loopy and loony, and so heavy with innuendo and paranoia it reads more like a script of "The X-Files" than a coherent explanation of his actions.

Mostly it is sad. It was not that long ago the same people who now haunt Rodriguez, MLB officials, were building advertising campaigns around his skills. It was not that long ago a team he now claims is trying to short circuit his career was signing him to a record contract because — long gulp here — he was going to be the Clean Home Run Champ.

Right, sounds crazy with today's knowledge. But the Yankees were willing to invest $275 million and another $30 million in milestone homer bonuses because they envisioned a financial windfall from televising Rodriguez passing Mays and Ruth and Aaron and, finally, ousting that rotten scoundrel Bonds from the throne of what once was the most-cherished record in sports. That was in the 2007-08 offseason, not exactly ancient history.

Now look at where we are: Rodriguez's reputation has veered into the left lane of infamy, passing Bonds and Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods as if they were misunderstood choirboys. Rodriguez has become a WWE villain tinged with a Kardashian blessed by Anthony Weiner.

Even if you buy MLB is conducting a witch hunt and the Yankees are nefariously maneuvering to get out of paying that largest contract ever, A-Rod's public defense has made him look worse, not better — a strategy more self-destructive Costanza than self-defense Cochrane.

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A-Rod still yapping despite ceasefire

There is no peace in the Bronx — not even close — but there is a plan.

Another day of he said/they said at least produced a concrete timeline for Alex Rodriguez's return to the Yankees, even as it left A-Rod unhappy once more and the Yankees poised to discipline their beleaguered third baseman for violating protocol regarding second opinions.

General manager Brian Cashman announced yesterday that, following a re-examination of Rodriguez and a conference call with the beleaguered third baseman, the Yankees and A-Rod are in agreement on a schedule that would have him back in either a simulated game or a minor-league game by Aug. 1 — and then back with the Yankees "really soon after" — barring any health setbacks.

Paul J. Bereswill

UNEASY TRUCE: Alex Rodriguez (pictured) and Yankees general manager Brian Cashman appear to have agreed on a rehab schedule for Rodriguez's injured quad muscle that will have the third baseman playing a simulated game or rehab game by Aug. 1.

Meanwhile, as a penalty for seeking a second opinion on his left quadriceps injury without going through the proper channels, Rodriguez is likely to receive a small fine from the Yankees.

Rodriguez contended in an interview yesterday with WFAN's Mike Francesa that he alerted team president Randy Levine late Tuesday night that he was seeking a second opinion — with Hackensack Medical Center orthopedist Michael Gross, who declared Rodriguez to be fine after examining his MRI exam and speaking with him on the phone — but the Yankees' position is Rodriguez did that only after setting in motion his consultation with Gross.

Rodriguez told Francesa he hoped to return to the Yankees' lineup tonight and voiced his frustrations about the situation.

"I made it very clear to everyone I spoke with today that I'm ready to go," Rodriguez said. "Obviously, I'm an employee. I have to follow my bosses."

Earlier yesterday, Rodriguez released a statement that read, in part, "Enough doctors, let's play."

An early August return to the Yankees would align with the time, roughly, when Major League Baseball is expected to announce suspensions for Rodriguez and other players because of their alleged involvement with Biogenesis, the shuttered anti-aging clinic in South Florida. If Rodriguez chooses to appeal the suspension, as he is expected to do, then he could keep playing until an arbitrator ruled on his case — which might not happen until this winter.

Rodriguez met yesterday in Tampa with team orthopedic surgeon Daniel Murphy, Cashman said, and Murphy concurred with the July 21 analysis of team physician Christopher Ahmad that Rodriguez had a Grade 1 strain of his left quadriceps. Nevertheless, with four days having passed since the initial test, Cashman said, "There's been clearly some improvement in Alex's quad injury."

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QB call will determine Rex’s future with Jets

CORTLAND — Rex Ryan gets a do-over most NFL coaches don't get. He gets a second chance to handle a quarterback controversy. Let's hope he does a better job than he did last year.

You will recall what a mess the Jets' quarterback situation became. Ryan stuck with a slumping Mark Sanchez far too long then started third-stringer Greg McElroy ahead of second-stringer Tim Tebow while professing the Jets had the three best quarterbacks in the NFL.

By the time the season was done, Sanchez's confidence was shattered, McElroy was injured and Tebow simply was ignored.

Anthony J Causi

YOU MAKE THE CALL: Rex Ryan arrives at Jets training camp yesterday in Cortland. The coach faces a decision about who will be the team's QB to begin the season.

General manager Mike Tannenbaum took the fall for the fiasco, losing his job. Ryan survived, but heads into his fifth season as the coach on shaky ground.

How he handles the current quarterback controversy — err, competition — could go a long way in determining whether he has a chance to keep his job next season. The pressure clearly is on Ryan to get it right this time when he decides between Sanchez and rookie Geno Smith.

"It has to be the right decision," Ryan said yesterday as the Jets reported for training camp at SUNY Cortland.

The competition begins with the today's first practice. When he makes his decision, Ryan needs to choose with his head and not his heart. He promised Smith, the second-round pick from West Virginia, would get "a fair shake." But it feels like this is Sanchez's job to lose.

It will be difficult for the head coach to forget Sanchez led the Jets to the AFC Championship Game in his each of his first two seasons. They came into the league together and nearly reached the Super Bowl together.

But the Jets have gone 8-8 and 6-10 over the past two seasons with Sanchez throwing almost as many interceptions (36) as touchdowns (39. Still, giving up on a former first-round pick and someone who looked to have so much promise early in his career would be a scar on Ryan's tenure as the Jets head coach. Sanchise Lost.

Both quarterbacks said the right things yesterday, though each made it clear he was ready to compete for the starting job.

"I have a job to do and which is to come in and compete," Smith said, "and that's what I'm going to do."

Ryan said "several other people" will be involved in the decision on who will be the starter, but only Ryan will receive the backlash or the praise. It's his job that's on the line.

Sanchez could make it easy for Ryan by outplaying Smith during the preseason, something that should be expected given one is entering his fifth year in the NFL and the other hasn't played a down. But Sanchez looked so lost at the end of last year he still must prove he isn't a shot quarterback. If Smith performs well, there will be pressure for the coach to make a switch. It could be a tough call, a franchise-defining decision.

As Sanchez arrived at camp yesterday, photographers raced from one corner of the building to another, trying to capture photos as he collected his things from a car. But before Sanchez finished unloading his gear, Smith appeared at the opposite end of the building ready to speak to the media. In an instant, the cameras left Sanchez and scurried to position themselves to photograph Smith.

There's an omen in there somewhere. There figures to be a time when Smith becomes the leader of the Jets and no one will care about Sanchez. Whether that begins sometime during this training camp, this season or next year remains the 800-pound question weighing on Ryan.

Last year, Ryan wanted us to believe Sanchez was a championship-caliber quarterback, and McElroy and Tebow were just as good. We found out the Jets were a team without a single quarterback, a key reason why they finished 6-10.

Now Ryan gets another chance to make the right choice. He won't get a chance for strike three.

george.willis@nypost.com

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Jason Sudeikis leaving 'Saturday Night Live'

After eight years on the air at ''Saturday Night Live,'' Jason Sudeikis says he's calling it quits.

Sudeikis used another late-night institution to make his announcement, telling David Letterman in the taping of Wednesday's show that he's leaving NBC's weekend program. Sudeikis had a busy election year on ''Saturday Night Live,'' portraying both Republican Mitt Romney and Vice President Joe Biden.

Sudeikis told Letterman that his time on the show has been ''really, really amazing.''

It's an exodus of male cast members at ''SNL.'' Both Fred Armisen and Bill Hader previously announced they were leaving the show. Seth Meyers will be replacing Jimmy Fallon on his late-night talk show when Fallon moves up to the ''Tonight'' show.

AP

Jason Sudeikis on the set of "Saturday Night Live"

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Hugh Jackman admits dresses as Wolverine to heat up his sex life

Hugh Jackman has opened up on his marital relationship in the bedroom, saying he enjoys wearing the full Wolverine costume (blades and all) to bed.

"The sheets we go through..." Jackman joked.

The Aussie actor's wife Deborra-Lee Furness said the costume had some uses outside the bedroom too, including the kitchen, where it's ideal for making salads.

"Oh my God, it's dreadful! Always with the claws. I'm like, 'Mix the salad. Put them to use, come on!'"

The interview was part of Jackman's promotional tour of the UK to celebrate the release of the iconic character's latest outing The Wolverine.

WireImage

Hugh Jackman and wife Deborra-Lee Furness

AP

Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in a scene from the film, "The Wolverine."

He married Furness in 1996 before adopting two children with her years later.

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Former President George HW Bush shaves head to support child of Secret Service agent undergoing treatment for leukemia

AP

President George HW Bush with Patrick, 2, in Kennebunkport, Maine. Bush joined members of his Secret Service detail in shaving his head to show solidarity for Patrick, who is the son of one of the agents.

HOUSTON — Former President George HW Bush has shaved his head to show solidarity for the sick child of a Secret Service agent.

A statement issued by a Bush spokesman Wednesday says the 89-year-old former president acted earlier this week at his summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine. That was after he saw members of his Secret Service detail with newly shaved heads to show support for the 2-year-old son of an agent. The child's undergoing treatment for leukemia and is losing his hair as a result.

The Bush spokesman identified the boy only as Patrick.

George and Barbara Bush lost their second child, 4-year-old Robin Bush, to leukemia almost 60 years ago.

The security detail has launched a website, www.patrickspals.org , to help with expenses associated with Patrick's treatment.

Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com

AP

President George HW Bush (front center) with his Secret Service security detail including Jon (fifth from left) holding his son Patrick, 2, in Kennebunkport, Maine.

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Yankees on deck at Rangers

TODAY — 2:05 P.M.

RHP Hiroki Kuroda

(9-6, 2.65) vs.

LHP Derek Holland

(8-5, 3.10)

Game on YES,

WCBS (880 AM)

Begin a three-game series at home against the Rays tomorrow

INSIDE THE MATCHUPS

YANKEES: Kuroda has become the de facto Yankees ace in his past three starts. He has thrown 19 innings of two-run ball (0.95), and during that stretch, opponents have managed just a .203 batting average. If history is any indication, Kuroda will continue the solid streak against the Rangers — he boasts a 2.60 career ERA vs. Texas, allowing two earned runs or fewer in three of the four outings.

RANGERS: Holland has had five straight quality starts, including a two-hit, complete-game shutout of the Yankees on June 27. Texas is 13-7 in games Holland has started this season.

STAT SO?

YANKEES: David Robertson has retired 23 consecutive batters with the bases loaded. His streak goes back all the way to April 19, 2011 —

the last pitcher with a longer such streak was Jeff Brantley, who retired 30 straight hitters with

the bases jammed from 1989-91.

RANGERS: Holland's dominance last month against the Yankees must have been especially satisfying for him. The fifth-year starter previously had been a miserable 0-5 with an 8.85 ERA against the Bombers in regular-season play.

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