SAN FRANCISCO -- Bostons Ryan Dempster accepted his punishment without admitting any misdeed. The Canadian pitcher was suspended for five games and fined by Major League Baseball on Tuesday for intentionally hitting New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez with a pitch last weekend. While Dempster still maintains he was only trying to establish the inside part of the plate and wasnt trying to hit Rodriguez on purpose, he will not contest the punishment and began serving it Tuesday. "I thought about appealing," the Gibsons, B.C., native said before Boston played the Giants. "At the end of the day, I think Major League Baseball does a really good job of thinking through punishments before they hand them out. I thought it was in the best interest of us as a team to go ahead and serve my suspension." MLB senior vice-president Joe Garagiola Jr. announced the penalty two days after Dempster hit A-Rod in the second inning at Fenway Park. Yankees manager Joe Girardi was fined for arguing with plate umpire Brian ONora. Dempsters fine was $2,500 and Girardis was $5,000, people familiar with the discipline told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the amounts were not announced. Dempster was scheduled to pitch Saturday at the Los Angeles Dodgers but now could be pushed back to next Tuesdays homestand opener against Baltimore. He will throw a simulated game on Friday. Boston is off Thursday, and Jon Lester will be able to pitch on regular rest Saturday in Dempsters place. Jake Peavy is set to go Sunday on normal four days rest. "That has nothing to do with it," Dempster said. "I think it has to do with taking my suspension and put it past. Theres no point in carrying out an appeals process. We have other things to worry about and thats going out and winning a ballgame tonight against the San Francisco Giants. Ill take my punishment." Earlier Tuesday, Girardi insisted it would be "open season" on Rodriguez if MLB failed to suspend Dempster. Girardi had hoped for a suspension long enough to make Dempster miss a turn. "I think I made my feelings pretty clear then," Girardi said after the suspension was announced. Dempster threw one pitch behind A-Rods knees and two more inside during the second inning. Then his 3-0 pitch struck Rodriguezs left elbow pad and ricocheted off his back. "You dont throw at a guy four times," Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia said. "He violated every code in every way." Dempster said he will never stop pitching inside. "Thats a real important part of pitching to any hitter, especially a big power hitter," he said. Girardi sprinted onto the field, screaming at ONora for not ejecting the pitcher. Girardi was tossed as the benches and bullpens emptied, and Rodriguez homered off Dempster to spark a sixth-inning rally that lifted New York to a 9-6 win. "That baseball is a weapon. Its not a tennis ball. Or its not an Incrediball thats soft. Its a weapon, and it can do a lot of damage to someones life," Girardi said before a doubleheader against Toronto. "And thats why I was so upset about it. You can express your opinion and be upset with someone, but you just cant start throwing baseballs at people. I mean, its scary." Girardi said his profane rant at ONora probably was the angriest hes been on a ball field. Rodriguez was suspended for 211 games on Aug. 5 for violating baseballs drug and labour agreements but is playing while he appeals. Red Sox pitcher John Lackey criticized the rules last week for allowing A-Rod to play. Girardi said prior to the announcement that if Dempster wasnt punished, it would make Rodriguez "open season for people, and that cant happen. Its not fair. If a player is suspended for throwing at someone, theyre going to get their appeal. Are we just going to throw that out, too?" Asked later if the level of penalty would make it open season, he responded: "Thats my concern. Well find out. I sure hope not." "If you suspend a position player three games, he misses three games," Girardi added. "You can suspend a pitcher five games, even six games and he may not miss a start. The off days come into play." The Red Sox did not criticize the decision, saying their focus was on winning games and making it to the playoffs. "We fully respect what MLB has decided to do and hand down the suspension," manager John Farrell said. "Never has it been uttered that its been unjust. To Ryans credit, hes serving the suspension starting tonight." New York didnt retaliate Sunday. Girardi wouldnt say whether there is a need to respond when the teams next meet, at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 5. Girardi said "protecting your own" in baseball has gone on for "for a long time. And unfortunately youre part of those situations sometimes, but thats part of the game." The manager also discussed the matter with his 6-year-old son, Dante. "Part of pitching is pitching inside, thats all part of it," he recalled telling the boy. "But I dont ever want you to hit anyone on purpose." After Sundays game, Rodriguez declined to say whether Dempster should be suspended. "Im the wrong guy to be asking about suspensions. Holy mackerel," A-Rod said with a laugh. "Ive got an attorney I can recommend." Wholesale Authentic Jordans . It was hard for Luck to pull off another comeback, or even get into the end zone, while standing on the sideline. Rivers threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to rookie Keenan Allen and Nick Novak kicked four field goals to give the Chargers a 19-9 victory against the Colts on Monday night. Cheap Jordans From China . Los Angeles star goalie survived those perilous gymnastics with no problem, and he eventually backstopped the Kings to a skid-snapping win. Quick stopped 27 shots in his return from a 24-game injury absence, Jeff Carter scored the tiebreaking goal with 7:55 to play, and the Kings snapped their five-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. http://www.cheapjordansusa.com/ . Kiriasis and brakeman Franziska Fritz finished two runs in one minute 55.41 seconds -- a mere 0.01 seconds ahead of Meyers and Lolo Jones, who likely bolstered her Olympic hopes by helping give USA-1 a huge push in the second heat. Cheap Jordans Free Shipping . Louis Rams wide receiver Stedman Bailey last Sunday. The fine is the fourth this season for Goldson. He was fined $30,000 for a hit on the New York Jets Jeff Cumberland in Week 1. Cheap Jordans Usa .Y. - General manager Billy King says the Brooklyn Nets are looking to add a big man and confirmed the team worked out centre Jason Collins, who would become the first openly gay active NBA player if signed. In the hours after Sunday nights presidential debate, professional athletes rushed to Twitter to denounce Republican nominee Donald Trumps crude illustration of a locker room. Wrote former Vikings punter Chris Kluwe, I was in an NFL locker room for eight years, the very definition of the macho, alpha male environment youre so feebly trying to evoke to protect yourself, and not once did anyone approach your breathtaking depths of arrogant imbecility.Locker rooms have been the focus of much attention in the days since The Washington Post released a 2005 recording of Trump bragging about his behavior with women, including grabbing them by their genitals without their consent. In a statement posted several hours after the tape was released, Trump called his words locker room banter, and he echoed that sentiment Sunday night.I dont think you understood what was -- this was locker room talk, Trump said. Im not proud of it. I apologize to my family. I apologize to the American people. Certainly Im not proud of it. But this is locker room talk.It shouldnt be a surprise that Trump rushed to the safety of the locker room to excuse his words. For years players, coaches and media have excused?crude language, hate speech, immorality and even criminal acts in actual locker rooms as toughening-up exercises, harmless hazing or even team bonding.Even as the world around it evolves, the sports sphere is still very much a haven for antiquated ideas, misogynistic beliefs and over-the-top masculinity. By making the locker room a sort of mythologized space where men are free to shed the morality and humanity of the outside world, were, in essence, excusing that behavior.When the Miami Dolphins locker room was splintered by the Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin bullying scandal, former players came out in droves to mansplain how Incognitos actions were just a part of locker room culture. Incognito called his words and actions an indication of the teams closeness and brotherhood.In case youve forgotten, Incognito regularly hurled slurs and threats at Martin, texted with a teammate about rifle scopes that are perfect for shooting black people and directed racial slurs at the Dolphins assistant trainer, who was born in Japan.ddddddddddddThe Dolphins fired offensive line coach Jim Turner and head athletics trainer Kevin ONeill in the fallout after a workplace harassment report was released, but multiple sources reported that Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland told Martins agent that Martin couldve stopped the bullying and avoided disrupting the team had he simply punched Incognito. And that sentiment wasnt just expressed internally, plenty of players-turned-media agreed that Martin shouldve retaliated with his fists.Not surprisingly, the solve it with violence strategy doesnt always produce the best results. A couple of years after the Dolphins incident, Jets quarterback Geno Smith missed two months of football and, ultimately, lost the starting job after getting punched in the face by then-teammate IK Enemkpali. A five-million dollar guy playing the most important position on the field was on the bench because of locker room culture.The locker room, no matter how different it may be from a boardroom, a factory or a cubicle, is still a workplace. Of course, each workplace will have different standards for whats deemed socially acceptable; a bar will have different standards than a kindergarten classroom. But a workplace should always feel safe -- physically, mentally and emotionally -- for all employees. Trump felt secure seeking solace in the notion of a locker room because for years weve made excuses for actions that should be inexcusable in any venue, under the cover of a culture that should have been left behind years ago.Its the same sort of thinking that goes on when schools send girls home to change clothes because their legs, arms, shoulders, collarbones or chest are distracting to boys. Arguing that boys will be boys and they cant be expected to control themselves is as insulting as assuming that grown men are incapable of acting appropriately in a locker room.So while I understand athletes wanting to put distance between themselves and Trumps comments, they -- and we -- should be just as invested in making locker rooms a place people no longer go to hide. ' ' '