LAKELAND, Fla. -- Ian Kinsler was expecting this kind of reaction -- even if he didnt agree with the way his comments were portrayed. Kinsler, who was traded from Texas to the Detroit Tigers in the off-season, said Tuesday some critical statements attributed to him in an ESPN The Magazine story were taken out of context. Kinsler was quoted as calling Rangers general manager Jon Daniels a "sleazeball." "Im not happy about it. I think that the story was written for drama, and taken a little out of context," the Tigers new second baseman said. "I understand there were some things directed at the GM, but as far as my teammates and the fans, theres nothing negative to say about that, and I think the quotes taken about the general manager were taken a little out of context." In the ESPN story, Kinsler blamed Daniels for the departure of Rangers CEO Nolan Ryan, who left the organization in October. "Daniels is a sleazeball," Kinsler was quoted as saying. "He got in good with the owners and straight pushed Ryan out. He thought all the things he should get credit for, Ryan got credit for. Its just ego." Kinsler was also quoted as saying he hopes the Rangers lose every game this season: "To be honest with you, I hope they go 0-162." Kinsler seemed surprised that comment in particular had gotten so much attention. "Thats a matter of telling a joke," he said. At their spring camp in Surprise, Ariz., the Rangers seemed to take Kinslers comments in stride. "We wont go 0-162, guaranteed," manager Ron Washington said. Third baseman Adrian Beltre said Kinsler is still a friend, and shortstop Elvis Andrus echoed that sentiment. "Hes there and were here now," Andrus said. "We have to focus on our season. Hes still my friend. I dont take anything from that." Kinsler said when he saw the ESPN story, he knew there would be plenty of talk about it. Chad Millman, ESPN The Magazines Editor in Chief, said the magazine stands by the context in which Kinslers statements were presented. Kinsler, meanwhile, said he doesnt expect to reach out to Daniels any time soon to explain his comments. "Theres no reason to," Kinsler said. "Hes a grown man. I think hes intelligent enough and had enough conversations with me to understand where I stand, and thats really it." Austin Rivers Jersey . The Mavericks avoided a season sweep by the Nuggets, who ran away with a win in Denver two weeks ago to hand Dallas its longest losing streak at three games. Dallas (42-28) got a boost in the playoff race when Miami rallied from seven down in the last 3 1/2 minutes to beat Memphis 91-86 Friday night. Issuf Sanon Jersey . -- Joe Thornton scored the tiebreaking goal with 5:39 left in regulation to help the San Jose Sharks overcome a two-goal deficit to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3 on Thursday night. http://www.cheapwizardsjerseys.com/?tag=...oubre-jr-jersey. Yahoo! Sports columnist Marc Spears says that the Boogie Smooth album may have been an elaborate April Fools prank. Wizards Jerseys Outlet . 1. AMIR JOHNSON: Nice to see him back in the lineup Tuesday night in Washington DC. Played with great energy and purpose. Its amazing when a guy gets those few precious days to recover what it does to the bounce in their step and overall game/confidence. Markieff Morris Jersey .com) - The Toronto Raptors set their sights on a second straight victory with the Oklahoma City Thunder visiting the Air Canada Centre tonight riding a two game streak of their own.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Washington Capitals will try to post consecutive wins for the first time this season when they host the sliding New York Rangers in Wednesdays battle at Verizon Center. You can watch the game on TSN2 at 8pm et/5pm pt. and get in-depth player stats, Twitter Trender and more with our GameTracker. The Capitals halted a three-game losing streak on Monday by downing the visiting Edmonton Oilers by a 4-2 count. It was Washingtons first win since beating Calgary in a shootout on Oct. 3. Alex Ovechkin tallied a goal and an assist to lead the Capitals to Mondays home win over the Oilers. Ovechkin, who led the NHL with 32 goals in last seasons lockout-shortened campaign, already has six goals and nine points through six games in 2013-14. Nicklas Backstrom assisted on three goals, while Braden Holtby turned away 28- of-30 shots to help Washington improve its home record this season to 2-2-0. "Both teams were very desperate," said Caps forward Brooks Laich. "Theyre a team thats struggling as well. And for us, losing three in a row in regulation is not acceptable at any time." Holtby also earned his first win of the season and is 1-3-0 with a 3.56 goals against average in five games. He is expected to get a second straight start in net on Wednesday. Washington has two games left on its current five-game homestand and will close the residency Saturday against Columbus. The Rangers, meanwhile, are still scuffling through their season-opening nine- game road trip. The club is just 1-4-0 on the swing so far and is still nearly two weeks away from its home debut at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 28 against Montreal. New York has lost its last three games in regulation and has been outscored by a combined 20-5 margin in those contests. The good news is the teams most recentt loss -- Saturdays 5-3 setback in St.dddddddddddd Louis -- was the clubs best effort since posting its lone win of the season on Oct. 7 in Los Angeles. The bad news is the club still surrendered five goals or more for the third straight game. The Rangers did receive a pair of power-play tallies from Ryan Callahan in defeat, while Brad Richards notched a goal and an assist. "In the third, we just ran out of gas," Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault admitted. "Four games in six nights. You could tell the effort was there, the willingness was there, but the legs were having a tough time." Martin Biron stopped only 13-of-17 shots before being removed in favor of Henrik Lundqvist to begin the third period. Biron and forward Arron Asham have since been placed on waivers by the club and replaced on the roster by goaltender Cam Talbot and forward J.T. Miller, who were both recalled from Hartford of the AHL on Tuesday. Rumors have been flying that Biron is going to announce his retirement soon, but the veteran goalie stopped short of saying hes going to call it quits. "I think there are many options ahead of me," Biron said Monday after being waived. "Its not the best-case scenario obviously, but I am going to figure it all out. Lundqvist will get the start on Tuesday as the five-time Vezina Trophy finalist and one-time winner tries to shake off his awful start to the season. The Swedish netminder is 1-3-0 with a 4.21 goals against average in 2013-14, but he is 7-3-3 with a 2.67 GAA in 24 career regular-season games against the Caps. Washington and the Rangers have split the last six meetings in the regular season. The clubs met for the fourth time in five postseasons in the 2013 playoffs and the Rangers downed the Caps in seven games of a first-round series. ' ' '